Completely disappointed in this 24K speaker...shakes head

konik · November 2019

Hey Tom why don't you go and kick rocks cuz you're a liar buddy and I think I respect Robert deutsches opinion more than yours cuz he reviews for stereophile and he bought the three hundreds of this new reference so I think you better get your ears checked take the wax out of them you're a joke you couldn't review crap.

F1nut · November 2019

Oh great, another troll.

Nightfall · November 2019

konik wrote: »

Hey Tom why don't you go and kick rocks cuz you're a liar buddy and I think I respect Robert deutsches opinion more than yours cuz he reviews for stereophile and he bought the three hundreds of this new reference so I think you better get your ears checked take the wax out of them you're a joke you couldn't review crap.

If you like them so much just enjoy them. Why are you so concerned what other people think about them?

treitz3 · November 2019

*yawn*

Tom

voltz · November 2019

konik wrote: »

Hey Tom why don't you go and kick rocks cuz you're a liar buddy and I think I respect Robert deutsches opinion more than yours cuz he reviews for stereophile and he bought the three hundreds of this new reference so I think you better get your ears checked take the wax out of them you're a joke you couldn't review crap.

Sorry my friend that you feel that these people who ears I have come to realize are special and better then mine feel that the speakers in question do not own up to what they cost.

I myself have heard some of the upper Audio monitors stuff and was left a little wanting but at other time the lower cost stuff seem worth every penny spent!
I didn't get my ear on the ones in question so I can not give a opinion except that I have come to trust Tom's ear's and would not ever considered buying anything he himself would not considered buying. (if that make's any sense)

All that every matters is what your own ears think is special...so if those speakers speaker to you i& makes you feel they are special then go for it.. buy them and lose no sleep over what anyone else things! I sure the heck wouldn't

I choose to walk my own path..but I will never judge others for like homey when I hate homey....my dad swore he love the taste of homey.. I told him you wrong? you may like it or thing you love it but nobody could love something so taste less as homey then my sister jump in and said she really likes homey also? what is wrong with my family ?

anyways Rock on! enjoy your stuff and chill

richieg · February 2020

Tom,
Have you listened to B&W 800’s D3? If so, I would love to get your opinion.
Thanks,

Rich

treitz3 · February 2020

Hello, richeg and welcome to Club Polk. No sir. I have not heard that particular speaker, therefore I cannot comment on them. We have a shop in town that has a B&W and McIntosh room but that particular model has not been in there yet.

Tom

Willow · February 2020

I think Joey probably has listened to those or actually has them as his pantry set up.

nooshinjohn · February 2020

I have heard the D3's... I love the design of B&W speakers, and really want to like the sound of them, but they are just too dry and sterile sounding for my taste. They are incredibly accurate, but they also seem to strip away the soul of the music.

I have a couple good friends that work for Magnolia. They both are of the opinion that I would be nuts to part with my SDA-SRS 1.2TL's to get the Bowers. They prefer the big Polks to the Kef Blades and the D3's.

treitz3 · February 2020

@richieg, I did have time today to stop by that shop to see what they had. The big boy B&W's that they had set up were the 802's hooked up to McIntosh separates with mono blocks. I would hope that the D3's sound much better because I didn't want to listen to too much on this set up.

I listened to;

1 - 1 minute of Yosi Horikawa's "Bubbles"
2 - about 45 seconds of Alan Jackson's "Like Red on a Rose"
3 - Less that 20 seconds of Yosi Hirokawa's "Bump"

What I heard was the emotions that one would get from crushing a cricket and bass that was slow, sloppy, muddy and laughable when it came to the lowest of registers. The mids were congested (especially on voices) and the upper end was decent (read defined) but clinical, if you will. Overall, just a bad experience that left me wanting so much more.

I don't know how much those speakers cost but it had a front end that was probably around 45K (All McIntosh) played with a network system that I didn't even bother to look at or inquire about. The salesman was a little taken aback of my observations when he asked me if I liked it but I'll give credit where it's due and will not hold back when I have an experience like this. It was just plain old bad. You could not pay me to listen to a system like that.

My apologies to anyone on this forum who happens to own these speakers but it is what it is and I will not sugar coat something that was so uninspiring that I honestly felt like I needed to take a bath after auditioning.

Tom

deronb1 · February 2020

Ha! Its the McIntosh's

treitz3 · February 2020

Might have been, I dunno. Rumor has it that they go good with Classe gear. Anyhoo, I called back because I started researching the different lines of the B&W's and apparently the pair I heard today were the D2's.

Tom

Kex · February 2020

treitz3 wrote: »

... What I heard was the emotions that one would get from crushing a cricket and bass that was slow, sloppy, muddy and laughable when it came to the lowest of registers. The mids were congested (especially on voices) and the upper end was decent (read defined) but clinical, if you will. Overall, just a bad experience that left me wanting so much more.

[...] It was just plain old bad. You could not pay me to listen to a system like that.

[...] I will not sugar coat something that was so uninspiring that I honestly felt like I needed to take a bath after auditioning.

Tom

C’mon now... don’t hold back, tell us what you really feel! 😂 😱

jbreezy5 · February 2020

treitz3 wrote: »

Might have been, I dunno. Rumor has it that they go good with Classe gear. Anyhoo, I called back because I started researching the different lines of the B&W's and apparently the pair I heard today were the D2's.

Tom

Haven’t heard any big B&Ws that I like yet. It’s hard to fathom at these price points; one would think they should embarrass more affordable designs. I like B&W CMs, though.

deronb1 wrote: »

Ha! Its the McIntosh's

I’ve heard a confused sounding McIntosh system with the 7-tube preamp (not sure the model #) and MC275 on Paradigm Signature floorstanders. I was shocked to say the least. One could hardly attribute the result to the speakers, in this case.

However, the MC275 sounded fabulous with a McIntosh solid-state pre on Totem’s. Also, the speakers wouldn’t have added to or taken away from the experience, here.

Verdict: 🤷🏻‍♂️ (to all of the above)

treitz3 · February 2020

The pre that they had in there used 10 tubes total. IIRC, there were 2ea 12AT7's and the other 8 were 12AX7's. When I inquired about what brand of tubes they were, they said they were relabeled Russian tubes, most likely Tung Sol. The pre also had a "controller" unit underneath it. When I inquired, the pre and controller were about 14K for both.

I got up and did not want to hear anymore after around 20 seconds of "Bump". It isn't because I am an audio snob or anything, they simply sounded bad. I've heard systems at Best Buy that would sound more pleasurable, TBT. I really do not see what the hype is with them.

Just for reference, they sounded better at lower volumes but when we turned it up? The system completely fell apart. (sound wise)

[EDIT:] Found it - https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/preamplifiers/C1100 - but I think they had a different controller IIRC.

Tom

jbreezy5 · February 2020

treitz3 - I hear you on the “not being a snob” point. It’s good to be an audiophile these days. Incredibly good sound can be had for relatively little $$$.

I’ve never heard the 24k Monitor Audios referenced in this thread; but I have a pair of Silver 1 bookshelves, and they sound superb. Got’em NIB on clearance for $600/pr.; mighty impressive at 40x less cost!

dec · March 22

What are you guys talking about... pl500ii have a "godly" sound, eader you use a amp that it was not a match for the speakers or something must be wrong with them .... It is impossible that they sound the way are described here! I understand that on phone, pc, tablet, etc the sound is different then listening to them live but just watch this video on YouTube please, then decide for yourself.

https://youtu.be/fnrO8QMbM5Y?si=m6UPXI_7MBqP5gQX

CH46E · March 22

.

CH46E · March 22

Yep, a YouTube video will certainly change everyone's minds. 😂
After watching the video are you ready to recant you assessment @treitz3 ?

I am shocked I missed this thread from years ago. 😂

nooshinjohn · March 22

dec wrote: »

What are you guys talking about... pl500ii have a "godly" sound, eader you use a amp that it was not a match for the speakers or something must be wrong with them .... It is impossible that they sound the way are described here! I understand that on phone, pc, tablet, etc the sound is different then listening to them live but just watch this video on YouTube please, then decide for yourself. https://youtu.be/fnrO8QMbM5Y?si=m6UPXI_7MBqP5gQX

Your listening session is a waste of time, as all anyone would hear is their own system playing the sound reproduced by another system. This is of zero value whatsoever. If you like them, that’s fine by me. Stop wasting our time and go listen to your music and enjoy.

VR3 · March 22

It always intrigues me when someone necroposts something like this. Like does this guy troll the internet for posts in regards to these speakers to be their super hero when negative feedback is presented?

Never understood it. Would be like me traversing the internet trying to defend bad reviews of the original Utopia series. Who has time for that?

Viking64 · March 22

I watch 4K Ultra HD movies on this TV and the image is absolutely stunning.

You guys are missing out.

CH46E · March 22

Viking64 wrote: »

I watch 4K Ultra HD movies on this TV and the image is absolutely stunning.

You guys are missing out.

Show us a YouTube video so we can see the stunning 4k streamed over our phone please. 😆

nooshinjohn · March 23

CH46E wrote: »

Viking64 wrote: »

I watch 4K Ultra HD movies on this TV and the image is absolutely stunning.

You guys are missing out.

Show us a YouTube video so we can see the stunning 4k streamed over our phone please. 😆

It should look great on your Motorola flip-phone.

Clipdat · March 23

dec wrote: »

What are you guys talking about... pl500ii have a "godly" sound, eader you use a amp that it was not a match for the speakers or something must be wrong with them .... It is impossible that they sound the way are described here! I understand that on phone, pc, tablet, etc the sound is different then listening to them live but just watch this video on YouTube please, then decide for yourself.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they don't sound good in the video either.

msg · March 23

konik wrote: »

You guys that are saying the speaker sound like crap are full of it. You're obviously lying because I heard the 500 ll with simaudio gear and they were one of the most three-dimensional sounding speakers I've ever heard that's why I bought the 200 ll. RD who is a reviewer at stereophile said the 300 ll was one of the most lifelike speakers that he's ever heard. That's why he bought them as his new reference, so you guys definitely don't know what you're talkin about.

I heard the 500 II and the 300 II. I also read that RD said good things about the 300 II, like you said, but that he went on to say the 200 II was completely different than the aforementioned, and really sucked in comparison, like absolutely awful, one of the worst ever made, that it sounded like they were constructed of a cabinet full of tweeters. He went on to say that if given the choice, he'd prefer an AM radio Walkman over the 200 II in order to stanch the bleeding they caused in his ears.

treitz3 · March 23

CH46E wrote: »

After watching the video are you ready to recant you assessment @treitz3 ?

No.

dec wrote: »

What are you guys talking about...<snip> It is impossible that they sound the way are described here!

No, they sounded exactly the way they are described here. If you have read through they various posts, you will discover that I am not the only one who observed the same thing or had the same observations.

Now with that said, this post was made 7 years ago after visiting Alan's shop in Atlanta, GA. I still remember the sound quite well, it was so un-engaging. I must have listened to about 6 or 7 systems that day and the sound from the rest of them were good/decent to exemplary. These speakers stood out to me so much, that I decided to post about them....they were that bad.

At first, I thought it was because we were streaming through a BlueSound streamer (which I ended up buying that day). I figured that maybe that was the cause, so we switched to vinyl. Even with vinyl, the same, underwhelming sound emanated from them. So I took a few photos of these gorgeous speakers and moved onto another room.

In the video you shared, I do hear an improvement in what they do versus what I remember hearing that day but I also notice that there is probably an estimated $200,000 more worth of upstream gear hooked up to them to make them sound that way. Case in point. A speaker should not "have" to have so much invested on the front end to sound at least decent.

To this day, I believe that this is the only speaker I have offered a review on that, and I quote....

treitz3 wrote:

The song started and I was wondering where the music was".

No speaker should ever have an observation like that but this is exactly what I (didn't) hear. It's kind of hard to forget when you are straining to hear the music and you don't. We even looked at the iPad and checked to see if we accidentally paused it. Nope. So, we re-wound it a couple of times and all of the times we did this, the music/musical information simply was not there.

It's kinda hard to forget an experience like that and was one of the main reasons why I posted about them.

Tom

dromunds · March 23

Do you still have this for sale? I live in Psychological Siberia but willing to meet you halfway. I’ve literally been looking for one of these for over two years but they never come up by me.

Viking64 wrote: »

I watch 4K Ultra HD movies on this TV and the image is absolutely stunning.

You guys are missing out.

Completely disappointed in this 24K speaker...*shakes head*

Comments

Completely disappointed in this 24K speaker...shakes head