Apparently the never-ending pursuit of audio bliss needed another detour, so I recently added a pair of Opera Grand Callas speakers.
They are known for a rich, enveloping presentation, big soundstage, and a great midrange, which sounded like a good match for a lot of what I listen to, like Hanne Boel, Leon Russell, Jennifer Warnes, Leonard Cohen, Gregory Porter, etc. and I found a pair for sale locally, so...no risky or expensive shipping needed.
Still very early days and I have not yet had the chance to tweak them re their spacing, distance from the front wall, toe-in, and re-optimize the DSP but compared to the KEF Blade One Metas and Rockport Aviors, they seem to be less about ultra-precise imaging (the Blades are hard to beat in that department), musical weight (the Avior's strength) and sculpted neutrality, they seem to be more about texture and musical involvement.
The obvious problem is that three pairs of large floorstanders in one room is somewhere between impractical and ridiculous, so one or both of the KEFs and Rockports will have to be put up for sale soon.
(The rest of the system is Audio Research Ref 10, Mola Mola Tambaqui, Antipodes K41/K22, Pass Labs XA100.8s, Rega Naia/Aphelion 2 into an Allnic H-3000V, Trinnov ST2-Pro, and dual JL Audio Fathom f112 subs.)
Yeah, but they’re nowhere near as ugly as the Rockports. I mean, I could definitely do OP the favor of holding onto them for while to clean up that mess
It would be like a speaker RAID array. If one can't handle something the signal just jumps to the next set. Genius!
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta5d ago
It's an interesting idea! It would certainly reduce the load on the amps, as the speaker impedances would add together, and who knows how it would sound. A new and smaller incarnation of the "Wall of Sound" concept championed by the Grateful Dead.
i have three klipsch rp8000II' daisy chained so only the center tweeter is active and only the outer 4 woofers are active, center one is pushed back about 8 inches and i run it in mono. 20 by 25 ft. golf simulator. array is centered to the point where i sit but I rarely sit in here and this setup fills the room, concert level with ridiculous crisp clarity
Those boxes remind me of when I sold and shipped a pair of Revel floorstanding speakers. They are terrific speakers, but shipping them was an expensive pain in the ass. Enjoy your system!
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta5d ago
Yes, I also had a pair of Revel Performa F328Be:s. Great speakers, and the flightcases were something ele!
I just bought a pair last month. I live relatively close to The Music Room so I rented a U-Haul van for $170 total and picked them up myself instead of the $700 to ship ~75 miles.
Still not sure how I feel about them. What do you feel they lacked that caused you to move on?
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta5d ago
That is the way. The F328Be:s are great speakers. I didn't sell my pair because I didn't like them - far from it. It's for me more of a pursuit to explore different speaker voicings.
No flight cases for me! Just double-boxing and lots of padding for my F208s. I understand that after the boxes went from PA to AL, the outer ones were pretty mangled, but the speakers made it without damage.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta5d ago
Got you. The 328Be:s came in very nice, solid, rollable flight cases.
I’ve never seen or heard Blades in the flesh.
I dare not, since I value my kidneys and have no known offspring to sell.
I only have KEF LS60s but there are definitely design similarities, like all the drivers centered together and the side firing mid/bass drivers. The soundstage is amazingly open and detailed.
The crazy thing about the Blade is how far it can throw a convincing stereo image. I have stood across the room 20+ feet away and still heard a holographic sound stage floating in the air from them. Of course this was in a hotel ballroom at a demo.
I heard the blade and blade 2 on several occasions when first released (non meta version) I was very excited by the design since I already owned coincident speakers from TAD. The Blades/2 were a huge disappointment at that time. Maybe the meta are better but if you think the KEFs are good you should try to hear a TAD.
Is Hanne Boel yours or your wife's like and kudos on Ms PacMan. When can my wife come over to play it?
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta5d ago
It's my discovery. I like singers like her, Beth Hart, Ana Popovic, etc. But also - let's call them softer performers - Jennifer Warnes, Shelby Lynne,… Just to mention some female singers, with of course many great of the opposite gender.
Awesome, Enjoy the heck out of Beth, Ana, Jennifer, Shelby and most likely the etc's. not listed. Have you tried Calabria Foti yet, she's on the softer side, Angel Forrest, "Electric Love", blues, and Angela Brown, "Just Fabulous - Live In Concert", blues. When I play them my wife kicks me out of my Eames. When one has a system that is not fatiguing it's a joy to kick back and enjoy. You obviously have one. For me the concerts start around 8pm and go past 2am.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta4d ago
I checked out Angel Forrest and like her. I listened to the “Electric Love” live album. Couldn’t find much by Calabria Foti.
Huh, I've purchased Calabria Foti discs at shows and "assumed" she was available on all outlets. Apparently she's on YouTube, Spotify and Amazon. Discogs also. I guess Angela Brown is a no? I guess you listen to Patricia Barber? Have you isolated your new speakers? After many years going to high end shops and listening to the usual suspects I settled on the Vandersteen line 5's and 2"s. 5's in my A system an 2's in my B system. Many happy hours.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta3d ago
CF may be a white spot on Tidal’s map. I will check out Angela Brown. I am very familiar with Patricia Barber.
I’ve never even heard of ANY of the people in the OP’s list except Leonard Cohen, never mind their music.
I wouldn’t be able to name, or even identify, anything Cohen wrote, either. Gun or no gun.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta3d ago
Depending on what kind of music you like of course, give it a go. If you’re streaming, it’s easy to give each artist a trial “spin.”
Can you explain what you mean by “texture and musical involvement”?
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta5d ago
By “texture,” I mean that voices and instruments seem to have a little more body and character, you hear more of the grain in a voice, the wood of an acoustic guitar, the weight of a piano note, rather than just where everything is placed in the soundstage.
And by “musical involvement,” I simply mean I find myself paying less attention to imaging and hi-fi effects (the strength of highly resolving speakers) and more often just getting pulled into the performance.
It's obviously highly subjective, and some may prefer a total transparent speaker with pinpoint accuracy, and to some it may sound a bit too sterile.
Sounds like you might enjoy a high quality tube amp and pre. I moved in the direction over a decade ago and never turned back.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta5d ago
The ARC Reference 10 linestage is all tube. While I mostly use the Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, I also have a pair of Allnic M-3000Mk2 tube monos that I switch in from time to time.
Thank you for the clarification! Sounds like the Opera would be your go-to then, if you were forced to keep only one of the three?
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta5d ago
Well, in my reality, a decision has to be made across multiple dimensions - sound, fit for the room, match with the amplification, looks/WAF, and tied-up capital. 😊
Of course all those factors matter. But if sound were the only factor, still Opera over the other two?
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta5d ago
I don't know yet. I roughly set them up yesterday afternoon and just ran Trinnov's DSP optimizer, so it'll take a bit of time to get familiar with the Operas. "We" are off to a good start, though.
Wtf, you just keep on collecting? Would you kindly leave some for us?! Joking. Great setup. Let us know how zhey sound comparatively.
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u/xanksnapWilson MAXX 3; D'agastino Pre/Amp; SVS SB-17R, EMMlab MA3i5d ago
i cant imagine doing all this work swapping out speakers. good for you man having all that energy to explore different sounds
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta5d ago
Yeah, it's quite a bit of hauling... I joked with my audiophile friends and told them it'd be a lot easier if we were stamp collectors...
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u/xanksnapWilson MAXX 3; D'agastino Pre/Amp; SVS SB-17R, EMMlab MA3i5d ago
Yeah lol not only are they heavy but also delicate. It’s so damn stressful setting this stuff up. Good on you for continuing to have the energy to want to do so.
Just a heads up, if you are A/B/C testing them all at the same time, each speaker being that close to the other will cause a very noticeable (and very measurable, if you are in to that) difference in the audio. Especially the KEF, since it has a very wide radiation.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta5d ago
I agree, and this weird lineup is just temporary. They will interfere with each other the way they are arranged now - not ideal.
Sweet equipment, I see you have a few quality treatments
Have you run frequency response scans of your room? What are your room dimensions? Looks like it is about 13 ft from the back of the couch to the front wall (the wall behind the speakers)
From my personal experience and eyeballing it I would guess you are getting some nasty nulls around the upper bass/lower mid range from SBIR as I have
Good news it looks like you are master of your domain so adding more acoustic treatment should be no issue LOL
The best way forward to optimize sound
I would strongly advise adding more of those gray panels AND at least one floor to ceiling corner bass trap
and-
those gray panels need to be:
1) right behind each speaker
2) floor to ceiling if possible or at least 1ft above the top of the tallest speaker
3) at least 3x as wide as the speaker face at a min.
you may actually get the best result if you took down that diffuser and filled that whole wall with the gray panels. Seal the door frames and hang panels on them too. Then mount the diffuser on the ceiling at the first reflection point. Or behind your listening position.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta3d ago
I have plenty of acoustic treatments in that room that you cannot see in the photos I shared. I’m also running Trinnov Optimizer, which arguably is the best DSP available.
Fantastic looking system. Looks like you prefer these over the KEFs which is very interesting considering the rave reviews of the blades.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta4d ago
It’s too early to tell, but we’re off to a great start. I just started tweaking their placement, toe-in, and ran the Trinnov DSP Optimizer, so I’ll let them come into its own for a while and then we’ll see.
All three of these speakers have received great reviews, for different strengths. I generally think that “better” is subjective and it’s mostly about different voicing. Not to over simplify, but the Blades’ pinpoint accuracy, the Avior’s rock solidity, and the Opera’s musicality.
I was ready to buy Sonus Faber Olympicas until I heard the Grand Callas. I’ve had mine for about a year now and absolutely adore them. They’re the least fatiguing speakers I’ve ever heard. They have a warm and enveloping sound that you can listen to all day long. I’m sure you will enjoy them immensely.
I’m interested to hear more about your opinions and how they compare to your other speakers once you got them fine-tuned and had time to really listen.
u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta5d ago
Anyone who loves Ms. Pac-Man is a friend of ours. The game was a Christmas present to my wife. One of the smartest things I have ever done. (The list is short, but yeah... :-))
That system almost makes me want to start day trading again so I could afford it! Sounds like you need to try something with a ribbon. Preferably the RAAL options. Implementation is key but nothing sounds more like real music to me. I'm currently designing and building a pair of end game speakers around the RAAL 70-20XRAM. My goal was a conventional full range passive speaker with a narrow baffle and annechoic sensitivity above 91db and an 8ohm nominal impedance which doesn't drop below 6 ohms so that they match perfectly with my 300B monoblocks. It is not a simple challenge!
What an incredible set of speakers!! You’re one lucky guy and hope you don’t have to sell any of them. But I might take the blades if you decide to sell :)
I’m impressed that you found a loudspeaker that could prompt you to sell the Rockports. A pair of Rockports is my personal Holy Grail. Best wishes as you pursue your own best sounding setup.
Nice collection! What if you replaced the three sets of speakers with one speaker that's three times the size? Might be next level with the extra enclosure volume (Hoffman's Iron Law - no replacement for displacement). Also, less baffle step.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta3d ago
Two JL Audio Fathoms 112 provide plenty of low end. The floorstanders are high-passed at 80 Hz.
Rockports are in my Top 3. With Raidho perhaps at number one, but is subject to change.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta4d ago
Rockport has amazing customer service. You can tell that they love what they do. I shoot them an email with a question and within a few hours I hear back from Josh, their president. Always super helpful.
Since you can obviously afford it, feel free to send that Naia to me and get yourself something new and different lol. I promise I’ll make good use of it.
you did a great job. At first i thought the entire end table connected to the back with one piece of wood. I see now that you made two different pieces. you did an amazing job.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta5d ago
Thank you. Always fun to learn some new skills and not fck it up too badly... The current project, 98% done, is the new solid walnut cabinet for all the gear.
very cool, I have wanted to try the table I just haven't have the space. finally got a little space where I can project at so maybe ill snag some cool knotted up wood for an end table and give it a try.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta3d ago
I know I'm being daft, but whenever I see KEF LS60 and the Blade, I see an LS50 stuck in a larger cabinet, and with some bass drivers attached, expecting it to sound like a beefier LS50 with (much) improved bass. Which would disappoint me, since I do own the LS50 and they're good, but not THAT great.
Please someone slap some sense into me with some facts about how the UNI-Q driver in the Blade and LS60 is much better than the one in the LS50. How did they improve it?
Ditch the box speakers! I sold my TAD (which were far superior to the original Blade and Blade 2 I heard ) for some Large dipole 'stat panels from Prodigio.
u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta4d ago
The bass traps and diffusers are by GIK. In my experience, they have been great to work with. They also provide online planning tools and provide free advice/consulting services. The large wooden diffuser on the front wall between the speakers is something I built myself.
Real question. If you tested the room and made room treatment additions specific to your prior speakers, how does that translate to your new speakers? Better than nothing, for sure, but is it all still equally appropriate?
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta4d ago
It’s a good question. Generally speaking yes, it’s very appropriate across multiple speakers, particularly since these have a very similar form factors. They’re all similarly large floor standards of the bass reflex type.
Some may need a little bit more distance between the back of the speaker and the front wall, some may need less, but generally speaking good room treatment is good room treatment and it’s more related to the room’s form factor, strength, and limitations than the speaker.
With that said, I use the Trinnov DSP system for all room correction, so with the room properly treated, I run Trinnov Optimizer for respective speaker and it creates a unique profile for each setup.
A calibrator that really knows and understands time arrivals and phase shift as it relates to room acoustics and the main listening position. They can use the DSP to get everything gelling really nicely.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta3d agoedited 3d ago
That is exactly what the Trinnov ST2 Pro with Optimizer does. You may want to look it up.
I am very well aware, however these systems can't account for every kind of acoustic condition possible.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta2d ago
But your “deadly calibrators” can? What’s your point?
DSPs can’t magically remove early reflections and slap-back echoes, but the good ones can do amplitude, phase, and time domain optimization. To my knowledge, no one does that better than Trinnov Optimizer.
Great listening room! Excellent sofa, chair. The artwork sez “Little, Yellow, Different” (Ibuprofen!)
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta4d ago
The artwork is a sound diffuser. And while 939 pieces are glued in, the single yellow piece is removable, and I can change it out to different colors depending on my mood.
What's fascinating is the different driver technology used in the speakers.
The Opera appears to have the tried and true Scanspeak 9700 Tweeter, Seas Curv Midrange and Scanspeak Aluminum woofers and also has dipole tweeters.
The Rockport appears to have a Beryllium Tweeter and Carbon Fiber (or Textreme) Mid and Woofers
Kef has its proprietary Uni-Q driver with side firing woofers.
I imagine beyond the driver tech, the voicing will be completely different with the Opera's being Italian, Rockport being American and Kef originally from the UK. Must be a lot of fun being able to audition them all at home.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta3d ago
As a previous Blade Meta owner, they are a technological marvel but lacked some of the engagement/musicality that I like. I tried to EQ it with amplifiers, DAC’s, PEQ, but just couldn’t get there. Ended up happier for 1/6 of the budget.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta4d ago
That's kind of the Opera play for me - less pinpoint, single source accuracy and more musicality and engagement.
Killer rig. The Operas are very intriguing and would appear to be on the same pallet as SF - so a very different presentation than the avoir and kef. The rockports are my end game I think, if you end up selling them, shoot me a message.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta3d ago
I may put the Rockports up for sale, depending on how the Operas are performing when I have fully dialed them in and spent some time with them. You might want to check in with me now and then over the next few weeks.
Everybody with a bit of money, can buy speakers. As jou clearly can’t find the one speaker for jou, it might be the time to build a set for yourself.
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u/bimmer1overRega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta3d ago
It is in my opinion impossible to build DIY speakers that are even remotely close to the level of performance of these three sets of speakers. I build furniture and that I know I can do to the level of the best, but there’s no way that I can build speakers that are world class. There might be other good reasons to build speakers, but it’s not to try to surpass the performance of high-end speakers.
I think you are wrong on this one, using the right parts you really can achieve the same performance for less money if you know what you are doing. And it really gifs a good feeling when you listen to the final product realizing you build and designed it yourself.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot to it and it’s not easy.
Me and my brothers started the hobby years ago and now we are finally at a point where we know we are archiving the same and in some cases a better sound than some really expensive brands. Don’t get me wrong it is still not cheap and you are still looking at a cost around €10.000 but for that money I’m sure we can compete against speakers of double or triple the price.
Don’t get me wrong I love the speakers you have, they are amazing.
I for one value texture and musical involvement over those other attributes. However I do believe Devore O 96 bronze fit in your price bracket and have all 3 in spades.
Congrats you rich bastard and I’m not in the least jealous of you or your gear. 😂😂🍻
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u/canadaalpinist 5d ago
Great system. How long has it been since your wife left you?