The range of hybrid speaker products

For many years I asked Bruce Thigpen of Eminent Technology to make a bigger, more capable version of the LFT-8B, which would have been a terrific affordable solution for persons seeking a bigger slice of hybrid sound. Prior to reviewing I had owned the Vandersteen 2C followed by the Magnepan 1.6QR. I thought it would be great to have a speaker with a mix of those transducers’ attributes. The Eminent Technology LFT-8, which I wrote about the conversion in the field from the A version to the B version, captured what I saw as the best performance characteristics of both, and I was pulled toward ownership of it. The Eminent hybrid was my first, and I have been drawn toward hybrid speakers ever since. As I listen to the Grand Aspen, it strikes me that apart from having two towers per channel, this design is not foreign to what Eminent Technology might have produced, albeit likely with magnetic planar midrange and tweeter drivers. There is magic in the dynamic/dipole hybrid design when it is well done.

I heard the largest MartinLogan hybrid, the Neolith, at a show a few years ago, but for the price my initial impression was that it wasn’t particularly nuanced. That may have been partly due to the use of MacIntosh electronics and aggressive demo music that may have occluded a more refined character. It is difficult to make a hard, final determination of a speaker’s capabilities apart from use in one’s room. A demo either weakens or reinforces the desire to have an in-home session, but it is insufficient to make a final judgment of the speaker unless preferences preclude it as desirable. Those preferences should be discussed rather than the speaker being labeled as poor.

How, then can I discuss knowledgeably the Grand Aspen’s performance in an absolute sense in comparison to the Neolith if I haven’t had the latter speaker in my home? I cannot, and neither could anyone else. One can discuss the impact of specifications and the listening impressions and can even speculate about comparison as I sometimes do. But such should not be taken as a head-to-head comparison. Readers of reviews get into trouble when they hold a writer’s listening impressions as equivalent to direct comparisons. I make generalized comments about where I think the Grand Aspen would fall in terms of comparative sound between it and larger, more costly speakers; from my extended experience in the industry, I believe my generalizations are correct. Readers will determine whether they agree. It is tempting to give the performance nod to the Grand Aspen simply because the Neolith sports a $119K price tag, however, proper assessment of a speaker’s absolute performance is not relative to the price until one becomes a buyer. When discussing performance, I attempt to ignore price until such time as the speaker is to be considered as a good or poor value. If value is the predominant criteria by which a speaker’s performance is judged, then the assessment of performance is likely skewed in favor of the speaker considered the better value.

Revelatory experience

As I sit in front of the Grand Aspen, I struggle to process the reality of the situation. Scott made the ribbon drivers from scratch. I have used the Accuton driver previously and thought I knew its limits. I have used and heard demos of many fine panel speakers, the most recognized from Sound Lab and Magnepan. I have my King Sound King III electrostatic speakers and the Legacy Audio Whisper DSW Clarity Edition dynamic/ribbon hybrid speakers sitting in the other room. What do I hear? I hear a cleaner, more robust, tonally richer midrange and treble from the Grand Aspen than these others. The performance is simply better, and not by a little bit. The ribbon driverssurpass the performance of panel and hybrid speakers in the same price range that havemass-fabricated drivers.Evidently, Scott makes a superior ribbon driver by hand in his garage that plays with more panache thansome mass-produced ones. The conclusion is striking, that mass producing drivers does not assure superior sound quality!

I would not take my last comment to read that all craft and DIY speaker drivers are superior to all mass-produced drivers. One must simply compare to know. In my quest for SOTA sound, my willingness to take a risk, to invest in an unknown designer and builder is paying dividends. I have spent a reasonable amount of time at shows and dealers in front of upper end offerings from JM Labs, Wilson, Magnepan, Vivid, Tidal (note that these are not hybrid speakers) — name a dozen other prestigious brands’ big boy speakers in quarter to half million-dollar systems—and the overwhelming impression I have regarding the Grand Aspen is that it would not be out of place beside them. It may not outperform them, but neither would it be embarrassed by them.

I have reached that assessment after only one iteration on the system, biwiring the tweeter and midrange ribbons. I worked with the PureAudioProject Quintet15, Legacy Audio Whisper DSW Clarity Edition, and King Sound King III relentlessly to improve them, and they have not reached this level of realism.I have heard them with the same amps and source, the Legacy Audio i.V4 Ultra and the Small Green Computer sonicTransporter with the COS D1 DAC +Pre-Amplifier. They have also been assessed with the same cables I now use as my reference, Iconoclast Cable’s top interconnects and speaker cables.

Years ago, it spun my audiophile world around to discover that the way to a superior system is not through break in but through aggressive changes made to a system in experimentation to find the best combination of gear. It spins my head around now to experience that a speaker made by a high school physics teacher, with home-made drivers and crossovers, is outperforming these other late model ribbon and dipole designs! If you doubt it simply because I am a reviewer or you cannot conceive of such a result, feel free to buy a popular, high value speaker. Rub your wallet every time you listen, and you will be happy.

The post Aspen Acoustics Grand Aspen speakers Review, Part 2 – conclusion appeared first on Dagogo.

The range of hybrid speaker products

For many years I asked Bruce Thigpen of Eminent Technology to make a bigger, more capable version of the LFT-8B, which would have been a terrific affordable solution for persons seeking a bigger slice of hybrid sound. Prior to reviewing I had owned the Vandersteen 2C followed by the Magnepan 1.6QR. I thought it would be great to have a speaker with a mix of those transducers’ attributes. The Eminent Technology LFT-8, which I wrote about the conversion in the field from the A version to the B version, captured what I saw as the best performance characteristics of both, and I was pulled toward ownership of it. The Eminent hybrid was my first, and I have been drawn toward hybrid speakers ever since. As I listen to the Grand Aspen, it strikes me that apart from having two towers per channel, this design is not foreign to what Eminent Technology might have produced, albeit likely with magnetic planar midrange and tweeter drivers. There is magic in the dynamic/dipole hybrid design when it is well done.

I heard the largest MartinLogan hybrid, the Neolith, at a show a few years ago, but for the price my initial impression was that it wasn’t particularly nuanced. That may have been partly due to the use of MacIntosh electronics and aggressive demo music that may have occluded a more refined character. It is difficult to make a hard, final determination of a speaker’s capabilities apart from use in one’s room. A demo either weakens or reinforces the desire to have an in-home session, but it is insufficient to make a final judgment of the speaker unless preferences preclude it as desirable. Those preferences should be discussed rather than the speaker being labeled as poor.

How, then can I discuss knowledgeably the Grand Aspen’s performance in an absolute sense in comparison to the Neolith if I haven’t had the latter speaker in my home? I cannot, and neither could anyone else. One can discuss the impact of specifications and the listening impressions and can even speculate about comparison as I sometimes do. But such should not be taken as a head-to-head comparison. Readers of reviews get into trouble when they hold a writer’s listening impressions as equivalent to direct comparisons. I make generalized comments about where I think the Grand Aspen would fall in terms of comparative sound between it and larger, more costly speakers; from my extended experience in the industry, I believe my generalizations are correct. Readers will determine whether they agree. It is tempting to give the performance nod to the Grand Aspen simply because the Neolith sports a $119K price tag, however, proper assessment of a speaker’s absolute performance is not relative to the price until one becomes a buyer. When discussing performance, I attempt to ignore price until such time as the speaker is to be considered as a good or poor value. If value is the predominant criteria by which a speaker’s performance is judged, then the assessment of performance is likely skewed in favor of the speaker considered the better value.

Revelatory experience

As I sit in front of the Grand Aspen, I struggle to process the reality of the situation. Scott made the ribbon drivers from scratch. I have used the Accuton driver previously and thought I knew its limits. I have used and heard demos of many fine panel speakers, the most recognized from Sound Lab and Magnepan. I have my King Sound King III electrostatic speakers and the Legacy Audio Whisper DSW Clarity Edition dynamic/ribbon hybrid speakers sitting in the other room. What do I hear? I hear a cleaner, more robust, tonally richer midrange and treble from the Grand Aspen than these others. The performance is simply better, and not by a little bit. The ribbon driverssurpass the performance of panel and hybrid speakers in the same price range that havemass-fabricated drivers.Evidently, Scott makes a superior ribbon driver by hand in his garage that plays with more panache thansome mass-produced ones. The conclusion is striking, that mass producing drivers does not assure superior sound quality!

I would not take my last comment to read that all craft and DIY speaker drivers are superior to all mass-produced drivers. One must simply compare to know. In my quest for SOTA sound, my willingness to take a risk, to invest in an unknown designer and builder is paying dividends. I have spent a reasonable amount of time at shows and dealers in front of upper end offerings from JM Labs, Wilson, Magnepan, Vivid, Tidal (note that these are not hybrid speakers) — name a dozen other prestigious brands’ big boy speakers in quarter to half million-dollar systems—and the overwhelming impression I have regarding the Grand Aspen is that it would not be out of place beside them. It may not outperform them, but neither would it be embarrassed by them.

I have reached that assessment after only one iteration on the system, biwiring the tweeter and midrange ribbons. I worked with the PureAudioProject Quintet15, Legacy Audio Whisper DSW Clarity Edition, and King Sound King III relentlessly to improve them, and they have not reached this level of realism.I have heard them with the same amps and source, the Legacy Audio i.V4 Ultra and the Small Green Computer sonicTransporter with the COS D1 DAC +Pre-Amplifier. They have also been assessed with the same cables I now use as my reference, Iconoclast Cable’s top interconnects and speaker cables.

Years ago, it spun my audiophile world around to discover that the way to a superior system is not through break in but through aggressive changes made to a system in experimentation to find the best combination of gear. It spins my head around now to experience that a speaker made by a high school physics teacher, with home-made drivers and crossovers, is outperforming these other late model ribbon and dipole designs! If you doubt it simply because I am a reviewer or you cannot conceive of such a result, feel free to buy a popular, high value speaker. Rub your wallet every time you listen, and you will be happy.

The post Aspen Acoustics Grand Aspen speakers Review, Part 2 – conclusion appeared first on Dagogo.