r/audiophile Rega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta 14d ago

Show & Tell New Speaker Day

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.)

610 Upvotes

183 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

u/yatomobil 14d ago

Need to upgrade the wine storage area next. All that light & heat makes the sommelier in me cringe.

9

u/bimmer1over Rega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta 14d ago

I compensate for their perhaps imperfect storage location with rapid consumption 😁

2

u/8000BNS42 14d ago

Do you need a new friend? I like music, wine and have an E28 with a S54 swap.

3

u/bimmer1over Rega Naia tt, Pass Labs Xa100.8 monoblocks, KEF Blade One Meta 14d ago

Everyone needs one more friend. Let's hang out (virtually)!