ERA D5

tonyb

like many these days, other matters dictate our wallets attention. I'm no different, just a part of life and the roller coaster of finances that go along with it. Having sold off my Legacy Focus speakers, I knew I couldn't get anywhere near their sound on the cheap, not even on the same planet, but you make sacrifices for the greater good sometimes.

I needed something of some sort of musical quality to listen to. Like tasting fine wine, hard to go back to the cheap junk afterwards. Enter Mr. Wagner....who graciously offered up some ERA D5's in piano black. He may not want the attention, but too frickin' bad, he's getting it because the man has saved my musical life, more than once.

Now, I'm not even going to attempt to compare these to their predecessors. I did set them up on 32 in. Pangea stands in the same spot the big guys were. Front end electronics and cabling all the same. My room is large, and the D5's are pretty small, no sub in the mix either, so my expectations were somewhat subdued. I trusted Bob's ears though, so when he told me these were musical, I take his word for it.

Like all of you, I have certain preferences for music to play when evaluating speakers. Don't laugh at this, but the first album I played was actually a Christmas album by Manheim Steamroller. Why ? It's recorded beautifully, with various instruments and set all over the soundstage.

Soon as I hit play, I was taken back at the clarity. These also image like a son of a beach. Instruments placed in their appropriate place....with depth of stage yet. Highs were clear as a bell, slightly rolled off in the extremes but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Has an immediacy and force, a very good Pratt to them. The bass that came out of these little suckers will shock you.....and no, it's not emphasized. Soundstage was wide, and layered. Highs also had plenty of air to float along. I was shocked at the sound these little things can produce.

Now, the bad.....which isn't a fault of the speaker per say. I have these in a 24 by 26 room. The limitations began to show themselves as the volume rose to really high levels. I was teetering on overdriving them and backed off. They simply could not reach the spl's I was accustomed to hearing in that room. No big surprise there, they can play plenty loud, I'm just used to louder. As much as I wanted to find fault with these little black boxes, I couldn't. Any faults were my own, given my room dimensions. They played any genre of music just peachy. Quality sound was back on the menu, thanks to Mr. Wagner. These are the type of speakers that will let you know your systems weaknesses, so quality electronics/cabling definitely benefit them. The tweeter and crossover in these little things is something special considering the price point. I haven't heard sound like this from a speaker this size until you get into B&W CM'S or Focals, even then....I'd prefer these over the B&W'S and they give up little to Focals smaller bookies. Which says a lot considering the price differences.

Are they a replacement for the big boys that left ? No...that should be obvious. Can they play beautiful music well beyond what their size and price dictates ? Absolutely, and then some. Thank you again Bob, you saved me from digging out the Bose cubes and possibly a trip to the doctor for depression.

I can highly recommend these little guys if anyone is in the market for speakers in a smaller room or even desktop solutions. You'll be amazed.

lightman1

Santa Bob!! Wooohooo!

erniejade

Great review on them. Once you get a sub if you crossover the tops, they will be able to playa bit louder without strain. If you need an electronic crossover let me know!!!.

tonyb

The sub will help some on the music side but SPL's have it's limits, and I got a good feel for it. The sub would benefit more on the HT side obviously.

I forgot to mention, the fit and finish of these D5's is outstanding for this price class. When you consider the fit and finish, the non fatiguing but detailed sound, the coherence top to bottom, soundstage they through and the excellent imaging, you scratch your head at how they did it for that price. I believe the designers of the d4-d5's had some background with Musical fidelity and AR.

To be honest, I'm not really a fan of bookies when you have a history of big floorstanders on your musical resume. There's just that gap of humongous sound being thrown that's hard to ignore in comparison. These are the first bookies I've heard that I actually like in a very long time. Well not quite up to the status of 2-3k super Bookies from the likes of Totem B&W Dali Focal, they hold their own very well and given their price point....a no brainer. To me, these would be perfect for apartment dwellers/condo's where upsetting the neighbors is a concern. You get plenty of detail and bass response even at lower volumes if you throw some power at them, they do need an amp. Plus their beautiful to look at, which is a huge WAF.

Highly recommended.

WagnerRC

Happy to help Tony. I knew they might get ya by for awhile. They have been in storage here for many years. Have a nice weekend.

tonyb

Thanks again Bob, they certainly are musical little buggers.

erniejade

If you want to hear how much a sub can add i can loan you my velodyne app 1200. I'm actually a fan of bookies and a sub combo.

tonyb

Thanks Brian, but that monster sub won't fit in my area. If you recall, my setup is in the corner of the room. Only place for a sub is on the left and I have a fireplace with a brick sitting area that extends out a bit.

I'm focusing on smaller footprint subs, like the Def tech supercubes, Sunfire Jr's. Something smaller but can still put out.....like an old high school cheerleader.

erniejade

I hear ya lol. I am not looking to get rid of mine that's for sure and and believe it or Not, it is much smaller then people might think. Here is a pic of Dans 12" with my 12" velo. Bert is on the floor for size.

erniejade

Sealed,smaller,tight and fast

Like a cheerleader. Lol

erniejade

Surround like the sunfire. I had mine re-capped around 2007 or 2008. If You can find a used 1200 cheap and it's been re-capped ( velo hum) I would think they would be cheap since they are hitting 15+++ years old

erniejade

Now that's funny!

tonyb

I've seen a few Velodyne impact 10's on my local CL. Are they worth the little bit extra ? My take is, those are the newer versions of the CHT subs ?

rooftop59

tonyb wrote: »

I've seen a few Velodyne impact 10's on my local CL. Are they worth the little bit extra ? My take is, those are the newer versions of the CHT subs ?

Not much different than a psw505 from my limited time with one. Maybe a bit tighter...don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent dual purpose sub. But those are easy to find under two bills. Nothing that really sets this one apart from the pack.

tonyb

rooftop59 wrote: »

tonyb wrote: »

I've seen a few Velodyne impact 10's on my local CL. Are they worth the little bit extra ? My take is, those are the newer versions of the CHT subs ?

Not much different than a psw505 from my limited time with one. Maybe a bit tighter...don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent dual purpose sub. But those are easy to find under two bills. Nothing that really sets this one apart from the pack.

So in other words....lots of bloated low bass and not very tight or fast in the mids ? Now that's a shame coming from a brand who cut their worth on subwoofers.

erniejade

I have not heard the 505 or the cht so I am not sure on the sound of them. I have heard the sunfire jr and a few of the def texh supervises. They were like my spl1200 tight and fast. Very musical. I think the spl1200 when New was 1600. I paid 500 for it in 05 or 06.

rooftop59

Certainly not a lot of midbass texture or articulation. But this is on a gradual scale, not all of nothing, and the velo is less boomy and bloated than a lot of others.

I would suggest a Martin Logan dynamo original. I have it mated with dynaudio m10s in a big room open to other big rooms and it holds its own. Tight, fast, articulate, pretty good texture in the midbass (though it can’t touch my ACI titan - ACI made GREAT subs). It doesn’t hit as hard or low as the svs but for pure 2 channel its pretty dang good. I got mine for $200 shopped on eBay and have seen several go for $150-175. You just have to be patient and ready to pull the trigger...

erniejade

I just looked up the cht10. Not in the same league as the spl1200

erniejade

+1 on the Logan. I have heard a few Logan subs and thought they sounded good for the $
Didn't they have a monster with like 3 15's in it?

tonyb

erniejade wrote: »

I just looked up the cht10. Not in the same league as the spl1200

Didn't mean to insinuate they were Brian. Kinda like saying the PSW 10 is in the same league as the DSW or micro-pro subs. I know every brand has it's entry level stuff, I'm just surprised at some of the bad reviews on Velodyne's, considering they cut their teeth on subs.

Now take SVS, which even their entry level stuff like the SB-1000 is pretty decent. I think I can squeeze in a sub that measures no more than 15 inches, 16 if I use a shoe horn.

kharp1

Wish I'd have looked at this thread before I came up here. I've got a pair of SB2000's that are going to need a new home.

tonyb

kharp1 wrote: »

Wish I'd have looked at this thread before I came up here. I've got a pair of SB2000's that are going to need a new home.

Dang Kerry, you probably got 10 subs hanging around, lol. Keep a few for that Hot tub bro. Might work the same as sitting on the dryer....naked.

vmoreno74

Hey Tony, my room is 21x20 and I was using a small PSW-I8M sub with jbl e80s. I think the sub will make a lot of difference in your room! Wishing you the best!

tonyb

vmoreno74 wrote: »

Hey Tony, my room is 21x20 and I was using a small PSW-I8M sub with jbl e80s. I think the sub will make a lot of difference in your room! Wishing you the best!

You don't need no stinkin' subwoofers, not with the monsters you bought.

Kerry might hook me up with an SVS SB-2000, which I think would work well with the D-5's.

erniejade

So, did you ever add a sub?

EndersShadow

erniejade wrote: »

So, did you ever add a sub?

SVS SB2000 sub

erniejade

Nice!!