Yes, I am - I get to have him for an entire week. :) It's good for my heart and soul to have that little guy around.

Sounds about right. I haven't owned the Doublets, but heard them briefly once. A acquaintance had a pair, and preferred them over the Minstrels, too. He also had the Abbots, and still preferred the Doublets. Like you, he moved on as well; he's currently running ProAc Reference 3, which he states are head and shoulders better than all the Royds he's owned. As for me - well, I'm always buying, trying, and selling... I think I have to let some go soon... I have seven pairs of speakers in my small apartment! hahaha Thanks for chiming in. Appreciated. :)

@@tonyfafoglia2927 yes, I've seen that model, too, so found it odd that mine had an XEL label on the back. It always made me wonder if they were somehow mis-labled, and since there's so little info out there on them, i could never figure out what's what. But I figured the d'Appolito versions were the actual XELs - after I made and posted this video, that is. Thanks for chiming in. Cheers!

Hi again! First off - apologies on my previous reply. I used my phone, and for some reason the typing got all messed up and I didn't notice. I was just going through some old photos, and happened to get to my old Rega Mk2 pictures. I happened to find a pic of one of the labels, and it does NOT have the XEL moniker on it, so I'm not 100% sure now why I thought it DID say that. It's possible the previous owner listed them that way, but who knows! Anyhow, glad you flagged it for me. I'll add a small edit to the description. Thanks!

I haven't actually listened to the Apexes, so I can't say one way or the other. Sorry about that! I'm sure the Apexes are good, though! :)

@@davidthom7127 What does cost have to do with anything? I've had lots of costly gear over my 4 decades in this hobby. Throwing money at audio doesn't guarantee anything. I prefer to get good bang for the buck, and assemble good-sounding systems with relatively meagre outlay. Also, I accumulate various pieces because they all have their respective strengths. It's fun to swap gear/ speakers in and out.

@@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio you say in the video, you can't afford expensive audiophile gear. Hence why I said, you'd be able to get better stuff if you bought less. Jeeeez 🤣

@@davidthom7127 I had to 'love' this comment of yours for the 'jeeez'. Sorry - didn't mean to come across as snippy.

Good morning! Yes, most likely. I was thinking about skipping this year, but I have a feeling I'll regret it. How about you?

Going Saturday..the usual go to everyone first (two hotels this year) then settle in the handful of rooms and people I actually want to spend time in .

hahahah As a matter of fact, I do! That book, plus about three or four others of identical size, were given to me by my Mother when I was a little kid. Still have 'em! Since my speaker stands are open-frame, they do the job! hahaha (whatever works is good for me!) :)

@@beslemeto No, this was beforehand.

@@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio Damn man it sounds fabulous! Meaty and spacious...Hmmm! I just wrote you somewhere else :))

@@beslemeto Yes, and now with that amp, it sounds even a little meatier, having a more solid centre image, and a bit smoother dynamics. I've got the 14s out of the loop at the moment, but I think I may throw them back in over the weekend. :)

@@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio The best speakers for the price for sure! I am even sure that much more expensive speakers won't give you the same pleasure as they do...By the way are these on the video with Epos logo or just serial number? The MK1 with the serial number only are the most musical ones according to the reviews.

@@beslemeto There is no Epos logo or anything on the back, but they have serial numbers inside their ports. (I just took a quick look at one of them to make sure). When I pull them out over the weekend, for fun, I'll check to see if they're consecutive (which they should be). These ES14s, while not perfect (what speaker is?), definitely do some things better than any other speaker I currently own. Their midrange is not 'flashy', but it can be very realistic and can give you a strong sense that the performer is right there in front of you. EG. There is one song on my playlist by Dominique Fils-Aime called Free Dom, which I discovered about 6 months ago or so. It's a simple song (not very 'busy') and all my speakers play it well, but through the 14s, it is more 'moving/ touching' than through any other speaker in my stable (by quite a margin). It's too bad I sold my Mk2s years ago... Would love to still have them, too.

Yes, they are. www.charismaaudio.com/?page_id=90

If you go to the Angela-Gilbert Yeung website, you'll see what was done.

This was one of my favourite songs when I was a kid. Still love it now.

I was never a HUGE fan, but I liked her. She certainly had a lot of hits and was popular for a very long time. She could be classified as a megastar, I would say.

It was my teenage era, too. Would love to be there again.

p

Yes, I agree. Melody Gardot's voice is beautiful (and the good recording really brings it out). :) Cheers!

Oh, that sucks! I feel your pain. Unfortunately, I have no idea where to source replacement drivers... It'll probably quite difficult to find. You may want to join the Royd group on Facebook and ask those people... You may get lucky that way. Sorry I can't help any more than this. These speakers are really good, so definitely worth looking for a replacement tweeter. Best of luck to you in your search!

BTW - have you pulled the tweeter out to see exactly what model it is? Who knows! Maybe the tweeter is available somewhere after all, and not like their proprietary main drivers.

tweeter for the Minstrels. I'm not sure if it's the same, but it might be. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196471284429?hash=item2dbe99e2cd%3Ag%3AkewAAOSwN0Jmfqa0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5336828753&customid=Royd&toolid=10049

here's another pair. Not sure where you are, but they ship to Canada / US. www.ebay.ca/itm/355834940970?itmmeta=01J1YB86GVTK9MJ2GE9WPTEZCW&hash=item52d96a4e2a:g:PvYAAOSwQy1lbjPo&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4CYkIBQz0FxZMnwfLNjnZI4B3FSJ10bBAOMieEAOaVd3Iz%2FMQYc1tzQVQvEarl56goKefX%2FTcWgwrfx%2BkoabdjkoBa3gUbaJNzw3DMXWcHT7Xf%2FrbR%2BroR63dKS0BCEmwn9fRLVlrkp%2FLXH73KPka3%2FjWJsxQdOvCxABGAPLM7D5H9dUENLDCAh0JBoP%2BIgJ9I%2BRKCW%2FqvKcxTSPiNZ1fZWV12WZaoGj0dP15UgCT5WFRJkW1YCjQxLAPc66vsljcfpOlusFZQndj6A2mOJywG23Z44dwsWMclMf6Dn%2BR502%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR77ooMuPZA

I'm sorry to hear that you're having issues with your 2010 integrated amp. I have heard there were some issues with it, but I've never experienced any problems, myself. With that said, I would reach out to Exposure directly. Their new engineer (who built the 2010s and onward) may be able to give you some good insight into what's going on with your amp. He was quite helpful to me when I reached out to him for a different reason. Best of luck to you! It's a good amp when it works, so hopefully you'll be able to get to the bottom of the problem and have it fixed.

Tell me you have no clue what you're talking about without saying it outright. In fact, most naysayers are missing the point and off-base in their judgment, because of closed-minded, limited knowledge. Admit that you just dont like the silicone and I can understand that, cuz I'm not a fan of the aesthetics myself. But honestly, don't make a negative comment like that when you have no clue wtf you're talking about, or even what the builder did (or how the unit sounds, for that matter). The tech has been building world-class amps for over 30 years. How long have you been building amps? There's always a mouthpiece or two prattling on, without the knowledge to back up their sleights.

And fyi - i buy and sell all the fucken time. That's what i do. Who tf are you to tell me what to do with my own gear, ffs? I mean, hellerrrrr!!!

Oh, and incidentally, my Sugden was similarly modified, and everyone loves it. Difference? No silicone. I don't g.a.f. how something looks; I care how it sounds.

go and read: www.angela-gilbert.com/

What about it?

@@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio sorry, I don't understand, what about what? Devaluing an amp, butchering it? It's your amp, you do what you want. Simply upping the PSU capacity, especially to a ridiculous level, places a strain on the transformer, but like I said, it's your amp. For me, I'd leave it original, but sympathetically serviced, to enjoy its sound just as its designer intended.

@@garf7767 I am asking you how it puts strain on the transformer. Exposure itself calls this a flawed amp, for the record, based, on my chats with their amp designer.

@@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio thinking back to the first video on this amp, you asked for more current because the amp was running out of steam. Well that current has to come from somewhere, the secondary winding on the transformer. And please nothing about the PSU providing that extra current, the cap still need to be refilled through the Tx secondary windings. Never mind the huge switch on surge to fill those caps. Interestingly how are those new PSU caps wired? As a series of RC? I couldn't see in the video how the earthing was arranged too, which can have a huge bearing on the amps performance. There can be plenty wrong with stock amps, but simply throwing uFs at the PSU is often a large hammer to crack a nut, and it is quite easy to miss the nut with the hammer. :) How is the amp flawed? I'm seriously interested. Clearly if it is just output power then adding uF to the PSU ain't going to help much there. The only thing that appeared to be wrong with the amp in the first video was it running out of steam. I don't think you mentioned which speakers, or room size, so it is hard to gauge whether simply using higher sensitivity speakers would help. Did you try higher sensitivity speakers? Just wondering.

@@garf7767 thanks for your reply. I'll get back to this thread tomorrow evening (currently at my folks' place, visiting for Father's Day). As with the others, I appreciate your taking the time to comment.

Care to qualify what makes it a 'hack job with little merit'?

@@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio Increasing capacitance, even immensely, brings little benefit in terms of 120Hz switching frequency noise suppression. Diode commutation noise is removed with a dnubber network, but of course, one can go for ultra soft, ultra fast Hexfred type diodes. If so inclined, one can go for a CRC/CLC type of filtering network, sacrificing power supply impedance at the altar of lowering noise, but local de-coupling/reservoir is usually more effective. Conversely, one could go for ultra low ESR Nichicon LKG type 3 caps. Regulated supplies, if used here, for the LTP/VAS stages can also looked at, obviously current sources/mirrors and so on.There are many ways to do something towards improving the power supply, but throwing a bunch of caps smothered in silicone at it, is not one of them.

@@paulb4661 thanks for the reply. I'm curious to know how long you've been building amplifiers, since you appear to be quite knowledgeable. Do you build any brand I may know?

@@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio Not really, this is pretty much what you learn at school. Douglas Self, Paul Horowitz, Bob Cordell provide incredible insight for those, who seek it.

@@paulb4661 Are you familiar with the person who did the work? Or listened to any of their gear, for that matter? (I ask b/c their work is quite far from being the work of a 'hack'. They've been at it for over 30 years, and their gear is top-shelf)

I get what you're saying, and agree to some extent, but getting accustomed to the sound of particular gear vs. actual break-in are two different things imo. This is from over 40 years of playing around with gear. I don't always notice/ experience it, but sometimes I do, and it's not about just getting accustomed to the sound. In the case of the NHT speakers, I had a broken-in pair vs a fresh out of the box pair side by side on the same amp, speakers A and B. There was a very, VERY obvious difference between the pair with hundreds of hours on them, vs the ones fresh out of the box. Not even close to the same. Seemed like two different speakers. Once they loosened up, which took a good few hours (I can't recall, exactly, but it didn't take that long...a couple /few days' use), they were just like the used pair sonically. But DEFINITELY not the same when fresh out of the box. No way. Some speakers - yes, sure...they don't require much. Some others, though...

I was going to edit, but thought I'd add: getting accustomed to the tonality is one thing (I agree - you can become accustomed to tonality in gear), but experiencing slightly off sonics with new parts is entirely something else. Your brain can get used to a tonality that's different from what you're used to and make it sound right in your mind after not too long of a listening period, but if the sound seems to fluctuate in its openness vs being constricted in nature, for example, that is not your brain acclimating to the sound, causing those fluctuations...

Yeah, I hear ya. I'm not a huge fan of the silicone, myself, but I gave AG free rein to do what they wanted. In the end, it's just sort of a solid block protecting the wires, which is really not a bad idea, while not the most attractive. The channel's just for fun, but thanks for the well-wishes nonetheless.

⁠@@jasonwebb6484😂 😂😂😂😂.

www.angela-gilbert.com/

Yeah, I'm really pleased. I don't have a ton of cash to throw around all the time, so this is just as perfect as I could possibly hope for. The issue I had with the 20" stands was that it put the midrange dome ABOVE my ear. The off-axis, downward position seemed to over-accentuate certain frequencies, giving the speaker a kind of glare or honkiness. Now, with the tweeter at ear level and the mid a bit below, it's much better

Yes, I understand what you're saying. Others have made similar statements, and while I am also not a fan of the look of the silicone, I can accept it for what it is, particularly given that it's all concealed. That said, I think I would have preferred not having the silicone in there (from an aesthetics point of view), however I gave A-G free reign to do the work as they see fit so it was included. I appreciate your comments. Cheers!

I agree. I've noticed the same thing. It goes against my logical mind, but I've experienced a couple of amps that just bloomed in a major way after awhile. This one and my Unico were two examples.

@@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio Which Unico amp do you have my friend? Do you like it? I was looking at the Unico Primo...

@@beslemeto I don't have one anymore, but I had the original Unico (version 1). I also had the version 1 with Underwood Wally's level 2 mods. The original Unico sounded much more balanced to me. The L2 had more bass, but it was thumpy, and it's high frequencies were too piercing. I returned it to the seller within a few days. The original Unico is balanced and natural-sounding. It was a great match with all of my speakers at that time (NHT 2.5i, NHT 1.3A, StudioLab Reference 1, and Neat Mystique II). It made all of those speakers sound sweet and full (very good body to the music, but spacious at the same time). When I moved to a different place, the Unico and the Neats didn't work very well in my new room, but that was not the fault of the amp; the Neats just didn't work well in the new place. If you're looking for ultimate slam and detail, those are not the Unico's strengths. If you want musicality wihout super-hard edges, the Unico may just be up your alley.

@@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio Thanks my friend!Very helpful! Hopefully i will like the Exposure 2010.I bought it and will test in the next few days.:)))Take care for now!

Hi there! I'm not sure if you mean the ES14 vs the M12.2, but if those are the ones you mean, they are very different-sounding, so it would depend on one's preferences. The M12.2s are brighter and punchier, but they do not have the same midrange seamlessness and beauty as the ES14s. As for me - the ES14s are magical. They are not perfect, but they render voices in three dimensional space very realistically (but subtle at the same time). They are NOT flashy-sounding speakers at all. Of all the speakers you may have seen in my videos, the ES14s are the most emotionally moving. The ES14s do not 'wow' the listener at first. In fact, many people may find them dull/ boring speakers at first. Their qualities creep up on you, and once you lock on to what they do, it's difficult to go to a speaker that is 'lesser'.

The Epos ES14 is in a higher league than the Royd Minstrel. The Minstrels are good, but they can sort of sound like toys by comparison to the ES14s. That's not to say the Minstrels aren't good, though; they are better suited for smaller rooms than the ES14s, so the room would definitely be a deciding factor between the two speakers. But again - the ES14s are just in a higher league than the Minstrels. The Minstrel SEs would be a better competitor to the ES14s, but even still - the 14s would take the cake.

@@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio Thanks for the reply, I would love to own a pair of the 14s someday of the 14s, but I was told that if the drivers go wrong is hard to fix because they are all fixed, I have the old Mission 720, full-range driver by mark audio 10P and had a coaxial driver made, quad 303 with passive amp two power Rotel, no vinyl yet but in the future, what is the exposure amps like

@@hamzatatta952 You've got some nice stuff! The Exposure has been modified. I posted a Part 1 video about it some time ago, which describes the Exposure in its original state. I'm currently working on Part 2, which I'll be uploading soon. Here's Part 1, if you're interested: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--JaXRZap5RQ.htmlsi=y_kiSA7pYojKIvPx

Hi so the es14 are more natural sounding than the S

@@hamzatatta952 Sorry... I don't know what you mean. '...more natural sounding than the S'? What is 'S'?

It's a 'universal' stand that my Dad made a few decades ago for a reason that eludes me at the moment. I use it wherever necessary.

Just trying to add some extra shorts b/c I hope to release the Exposure upgrade Part 2 video tonight or tomorrow, depending on when I get it finished. :)

@@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio Okay. Look forward to your message but I do go to bed early. I will watch it first thing tomorrow if I don't see you message tonight. I hope you know we are talking in public. 🙂

​@@angela-gilbert Public chat - all good, Ange! Have a good sleep, and hopefully I'll have the video completed by morning.

What’s your set up amps source ?

​@@hamzatatta952 Current amps are: 1971 Sansui AU666 (rebuilt) 1992 -1995 (unsure of year) Sugden A48b, upgraded 2000 Exposure 2010, upgraded Sources: Laptop computer (its internal DAC is good enough to go straight to any of my amps without using an external DAC) Desktop computer external DACs: NuForce uDAC3 (goes to the Sansui amp) SMSL Sanskrit 10th Anniversary Mk2 Schiit Modi Multibit I would like to eventually buy a higher-end DAC, but I firmly believe that changes in amps and speakers reap more noticeable sonic differences. (but that's not to say that I think all DACs sound the same, because each of my DACs sound different. The differences are subtle, but they are definitely noticeable).

I haven't had that issue with any of the ones I've bought/ had in the family. (We have 4 pairs; two hd116, and two hd120s). The only thing is earpads have worn out. Are you using standard batteries, but still putting it on the charger? That could be wrecking them.

@@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio No. We are expert on this matter. No way to test the transmitter.

@@kentek3141 when you say they fail, what occurs?

Currently working on it. Was busy for a bit, but back at it again. Part 2 should be done by next weekend.

Thanks very much for the kind words. Yeah, I love having lots of good gear around. Nothing's perfect, and it all sounds a little (or a lot) different, so it's never-ending fun for me. My favourite bit is getting the best bang-for-the buck stuff and getting it set up right to sound better than price would imply. Just yesterday, I finally found a pair of speaker stands for my ADS L730s, and now they're back in the loop sounding just incredible! - noticeably better than when they were on stands that were too tall for them. The kicker is that the stands were only $70 bucks plus tax (compared to online where they can be upwards of $300 per pair). Little wins like that do it for me! lol Cheers!

That's hilarious - and I see what you mean! lol

Yeah, I've always found paper drivers to sound the most natural with vocals; there's a certain rightness to the way they're presented. As far as whether I like Royds or Regas better, it's kind of a coin toss, and it really depends on the model. I like 'em all, really. These Aras really shine in a near-field setup in a smaller room. They have a really uncluttered, pacey, and punchy sound to them. The original Minstrels are more grainy than these, but more full-range and so paint a bigger picture. The Minstrel SEs are smoother, more full-bodied, and have better depth definition/3d presentation, while the Aras are lighter on their feet, presenting vocals in an airier way, with great positioning and openness, but with less body. It's really tough to pick favourites, which is why I keep so many around. Ultimately, though, I'm hoping to consolidate some of what I have and find a pair of next-level speakers on the used market. I'm curious what direction you took and what gear you ended up with. As much as I enjoy them all, the older I get, the more I want a speaker that's an all-rounder, and more full-range than these current British speakers I have. I'm loosely looking for older Proacs, wondering if they'll get me where I want to be (Response 3), but if you have any suggestions, I may explore different avenues.

@@BadMonkeyFinger_Audio An ideal all round speaker doesn’t exist in my opinion. I can’t listen to Dire Straits’ first album through my current speakers, it just sounds wrong all the way but my old Royds couldn’t take most orchestral music. Anyway, maybe you can accommodate something alongside your old British monitors. Try something high quality with larger poly cones and you will notice how such a speaker brings additional qualities. You won’t find any useful information about my current speakers, by the way. They are two way (Seas 6,5 inch poly cones, with a phase plug; I Iike these in 8 inch version too, also in a two way configuration) and they were once new.

@@JK-rt2jj thank you for your insight; I appreciate it, and will bear it in mind. Always good to hear from others with experience. Cheers!