lejonklou wrote: ↑2023-06-25 21:16
[...]
I would like something in between 1 and 2. On Kari, I prefer 1 but on Take Five, 2 has something that 1 lacks and I find 2 easier to dig into.
That sums it up. A hybrid of both worlds would be my ideal speaker. I also spoke to Marco from Hexagon Audio about this. The depth and height of the room with the precision of the Grahams, that would indeed be it!
Thanks Tom for your deeper insight. Unfortunately, I couldn't run the speakers directly against each other. The recordings, however, confirm your impression.
In fairness, I should write a little more about the Graham 5/5.
First of all, the Grahams weren't optimally set up.
Nevertheless, the Graham's midrange is the best and most natural I've ever heard. At times I thought the artists were physically present because of the voices. Malia's voice certainly melts ice through these speakers so approachable and direct her recording. Here the briks simply have to admit defeat. They do not create this realistic representation.
The timing was addressed, if not a directly comprehensible term for me, but I still didn't find the Grahams to be "faster" or "slower", but rather a little more dynamic than the briks.
When it came to tonal balance, the Grahams didn't cut a good figure at first either. I was amazed at the enormous bass pressure in a really large and high living room. At times we had to listen more quietly because the pressure was unbearable. Only the move to the mana stands brought relief. That was an amazing effect. And so a second pair of loudspeakers (after the Akubarik) proves that the briks are not made for this room and further acoustic measures have to be set up.
Furthermore, the enormous transparency, astonishingly clear and distinct, as I do not even know it from electrostatics. Here she is clearly ahead. And this is where my decision comes in. It was no longer so easy for me to follow musical lines, since the represented presence of simultaneous notes was too present. Astonishing!
The musicality is similar, although I give Graham a slight edge. In fact, this is a feeling that can hardly be described with examples. The Grahams are musical. Here, too, it must be determined to what extent Fredrik's developments are sufficient. The additional information was striking, regardless of whether Källa was playing or the LP12. She left no doubt about the quality of a good mix. es. In this regard, I certainly accept small restrictions on other advantages.
In one area, however, both speakers are equal. The width of the soundstage. The Graham is really well positioned here. It doesn't need a sweet spot either. It not only manages to reproduce in the three dimensions between the speakers, but also creates the impression of playing outside of this area, like the briks.
On the similarity of the two speaker systems. It is actually the case that, when distracted, it was not immediately clear which of the two was playing. At times I thought it was the briks but the Grahams played.
The Grahams were at a disadvantage when it came to spatial representation in terms of depth and height. The presentation didn't just seem slightly compressed and not very open to me. She didn't come close to reaching the depth that the briks create, nor the height. Instruments therefore did not have the space to "breathe" but played quite close together, much closer than with the briks. Although they could be separated cleanly and clearly, humans are creatures of habit and they don't always want to be discarded. A change in this area would have been very, very difficult.
Without question, improvements can be made with the list, but obviously a week is not enough to properly understand loudspeakers in this category.
In the beginning the Grahams were on manufacturer stands, which in my opinion are completely unsuitable. The distance to the back wall about 60cm and 1.81m distance between them (according to the circumstances the optimized point), about half of the sound stage I was used to from the briks was missing, in height as well as in depth. Even the recommended angling towards the listening position did not show the desired effect. It doesn't represent the depth of the soundstage to the same extent as the briks, understandably. The Grahams were placing 16cm from the back wall when the recording was taken, which may have been too close.
The volume, which had to be turned up significantly further with the Grahams, although according to the data sheet they are 2db more sensitive (86db briks to 88db LS 5/5) is a point. I was forced to unban the Sagatun monos. In fact, on some tracks, the amps clipped for the first time in this setup. And since this not only happened occasionally with quiet recordings (which are known), but with almost half of the music, that was a criterion for me. Certainly this can also be attributed to psychoacoustic backgrounds. When the briks played again, however, it immediately became clear that they play louder, much louder, at the same volume setting.
Compared to the four tweeters of the briks, the Grahams don't sound as bright and this benefits the reproduction. The Grahams fire forward, the briks up as well. Hardly any other speaker will achieve the result of this.
All in all, an extremely interesting experience, as such exercises constantly refine your hearing. The Graham 5/5 would certainly be my speakers if the briks couldn't do it anymore. This is not only clear to me. While listening habits are always changing and adapting, they would be the candidates due to some really fantastic features.