Seeing as how I burst my posting cherry not too long ago, I thought that this crowd might appreciate the oddity of my latest speakers, a pair of Eclipse TD712z:
Yes, there is only one 120cm driver in each.
No crossover, nothing special except a lot of very clever, very careful engineering.
Why these?
I love my Dahlquist DQ-10s, but they have a hole in midrange response. The treble accuracy is wonderful and the soundstage is wholly unique, but I wanted better tonal balance. So I refurbished a pair of Acoustic Research AR90s. They have tonal balance but lack Dahlquist imaging. So I went through two Vandersteen versions, ending with the 2Ce Signature IIs. They possess most of the tonal balance of the AR90s and the soundstage is nearly as nice as the Dahlquists, but I needed to bi-amp them to get the bass response I wanted.
Several months ago, on a whim I put my old Epicure 1.0 bookshelf speakers into the system. They sounded amazing; I thought it was overkill to use them with nearly 200-watt Luxman B-12 amps, but that headroom simply made them sound better. Perhaps I was going in the wrong direction with speakers. I had been looking at Dynaudio and Sonus Faber floor-standing units, but I rarely listen to anything above ~70db. I realized that I really wanted speakers that sound their best at moderate levels.
I have auditioned some very, very impressive speakers before, but I have never heard anything like these Eclipses. The accuracy, transient response, and depth of soundstage are... Difficult to explain. They do not fill the room with sound like my old Acoustat Model 3s, much less the other speakers I still own. The DQ-10s were the best speakers I heard that disappear—one only hears the music. Were, that is. With good recordings, I cannot tell where the sound emanates from the Eclipses. They are that good.
They also reveal flaws in poor recordings more than anything else. It is not bad, but I can now hear engineering choices quite clearly. I listen to a large amount of jazz, and these speakers reveal nuances of detail in live performances that I have never heard before. Heck, even my non-live recordings sound better (or worse).
I got these TD712s from a dealer in CA as demo units. They predictably had been sitting the the back for a long time, so I paid less than half price. Now that I have lived with them a while, I consider them a bargain. I would have preferred a pair in black, possibly even white, but silver is okay. They look odd, but everything else is superlative.
Another California shop has the newer Mk II versions for sale. At three times the price, I might be tempted one day to get a pair.
End of my second HiFi Haven post.
Yes, there is only one 120cm driver in each.
No crossover, nothing special except a lot of very clever, very careful engineering.
Why these?
I love my Dahlquist DQ-10s, but they have a hole in midrange response. The treble accuracy is wonderful and the soundstage is wholly unique, but I wanted better tonal balance. So I refurbished a pair of Acoustic Research AR90s. They have tonal balance but lack Dahlquist imaging. So I went through two Vandersteen versions, ending with the 2Ce Signature IIs. They possess most of the tonal balance of the AR90s and the soundstage is nearly as nice as the Dahlquists, but I needed to bi-amp them to get the bass response I wanted.
Several months ago, on a whim I put my old Epicure 1.0 bookshelf speakers into the system. They sounded amazing; I thought it was overkill to use them with nearly 200-watt Luxman B-12 amps, but that headroom simply made them sound better. Perhaps I was going in the wrong direction with speakers. I had been looking at Dynaudio and Sonus Faber floor-standing units, but I rarely listen to anything above ~70db. I realized that I really wanted speakers that sound their best at moderate levels.
I have auditioned some very, very impressive speakers before, but I have never heard anything like these Eclipses. The accuracy, transient response, and depth of soundstage are... Difficult to explain. They do not fill the room with sound like my old Acoustat Model 3s, much less the other speakers I still own. The DQ-10s were the best speakers I heard that disappear—one only hears the music. Were, that is. With good recordings, I cannot tell where the sound emanates from the Eclipses. They are that good.
They also reveal flaws in poor recordings more than anything else. It is not bad, but I can now hear engineering choices quite clearly. I listen to a large amount of jazz, and these speakers reveal nuances of detail in live performances that I have never heard before. Heck, even my non-live recordings sound better (or worse).
I got these TD712s from a dealer in CA as demo units. They predictably had been sitting the the back for a long time, so I paid less than half price. Now that I have lived with them a while, I consider them a bargain. I would have preferred a pair in black, possibly even white, but silver is okay. They look odd, but everything else is superlative.
Another California shop has the newer Mk II versions for sale. At three times the price, I might be tempted one day to get a pair.
End of my second HiFi Haven post.
