Mike Kirkham from Magenta Audio has taken a look at this video and shared the following: 'Regarding your comments about “sweet spot”; powering these with a more phase coherent amplifier (such as our Halcro - or even PS Audio’s own Stellar M1200) improves this significantly. I did just that when I used them at home and found they did indeed have a razor sharp sweet spot. A glowing review published today in Hifi News says much the same thing.' I'm looking forward to trying the FR30s again for a more extended, focussed listen and maybe with a different source chain just for comparison.
'phase coherent amp' to address what is in fact a constructive/destructive interference lateral banding phenomenon (occurring when multiple sound sources emit simultaneously). :} play just one speaker, close range when trying to figure out what it does to music. that's the closest one can get to a 'headphone objectivity' experience. all the rest are room/multiple speakers interference. salesmen bet on illiteracy and win. great lighting and sound. wish you the best.
While this guy is a salesman (no problem), I have to say this is one of the better speaker presentations I've heard in a while. Really nice to listen to and thanks for the talk.
Those are some of the coolest looking speakers I've seen. Thanks for sharing this. You don't get to see this kind of thing all that often on RU-vid. The presenter's talk was very interesting.
@@PassionforSound i use JBL professional cinema PA and cost far less and x156 JBL in my THX cinema with real cinema THX not that home plastic version . these speakers and why do people place them in front of at-screens ? when they should be matched and behind a screen . question is can these speakers play 'star trek 6' at CIC Empire Leicester Square THX levels and that is just the opening music credits .
As a car guy who's been serious about audio for a few years now, I am blindsided that I have never used that as an analogy, and you do so artfully here.
Interesting, I follow PS Audio's RU-vid channel and it's always great to hear insights from Paul. Great to hear about PS Audio from an audiophile reviewer..
@@mixxeerr i do not agree with some of his videos and that's to be expected but agreeing with a vast majority of his videos is warranted, the fluff too has merit many a times
Wow! I’ve actually been extremely interested in PS audio products like the Directstream Dac. This is a very much appreciated surprise. Hopefully we get one in for review 🤞🏾
Thanks Lachlan - terrific impressions video. I've dealt with Geoff at HeyNow and Mike at Magenta and those experiences have always been positive. Take care.
Hey, Mr Hi End...have I got news for you! 😅 Make the best speakers you ever heard from existing 2-way towers, and it's reversable, without damaging the existing speakers in any way! Get a great 2-way floorstanding speaker with bi wire binding posts. Only connect the woofer and put a fairly large inductor on the bass binding post (outside). Choose the size inductor, cos it's a 300 hz crossover frequency (in series, combined with the existing crossover inside the speaker). This will also affect your choice of the external inductor. And (maybe) a small resistor in series...to adjust woofer level.Then run a cable from the woofer binding post outside (before the inductor) and have a meter (or so) of cable running to the top driver. Get a good cheap 5" FR driver (with the shallowest cone angle possible) for more linear response! And place it at an angle upwards (with a lot of Blue Tack) on the top of the box...completely open! Make a filter for the 5" FR driver for more ride cymbal and less high hat, if it's a cheap FR driver. Less efficient but sounds better. I use 2 mf ELECTROLYTIC cap to pizza them up. E caps sound WAY BETTER on FR drivers, than ceramic caps! A no brainer! 😅 E caps sound silky instead of brittle, as with C caps (on FR drivers). 😅 If you got some good spare 2-ways, try it with good cheap FR drivers and if you like it, then go to Feastrex. 😅😅😅😅 With the right tweaks, they will be the best speakers you ever heard. I did it with $9 FR drivers! BUT! They are radically modified for better voice sound, with cutaways 3/4 out to mimic a FREE EDGE CONE, 3" diam, inside the 5" diam driver. Ran open, it's a totally defined, pinpoint voice sound, dipole and just amazing! I also made slits in the cone 1 cm long immediately around the cenrer and also out half way. Then glued the slits with PVA on a pin, waiting 20 seconds a wiping over with a tissue. No glue on the cone, but in the slit (to stop vibrations). And it gives the cone more flexibility, for a much more linear sound, mitigating that harsh upper med in open FR drivers and extends treble on steroids! The cutaways (not the slits) at 3" diameter also mitigate resonance. Cut out crescents in a circle around the cone, 3" diameter. Max width of the cutouts is 4 mm. 5 of the crescents, like an inch long (with half inch gaps that are not cut). It like makes a free edge cone and (surprisingly) still handles the whole signal (with woofer running) at high volumes. But I have 100 mf on my top drivers, so they start at about 100 hz and crossover a bit higher than that. On the open driver, 250 hz is loud and clear on a RU-vid 250 hz video. 😅 And it's not too lean in the voice sound cos of the woofer! Not too round either cos you can tweak it both ways with the crossover. Mine sound good with just an indutor and resistor on the woofer and the 5" open driver directly connected. But I like the extra top end with my 2 mf E caps. 😅 Sounds way better than tweeters! Point source, dipole, linear sound of no box is a must to hear! 🎉
This doesn't mark the beginning of loudspeaker reviews I'm afraid. Just a quick dabble. As for the mic - I've been testing some different mics for a review. It'll be back to normal soon.
I am limited in the setups I can test at home, but I'll take every opportunity to play in speaker land. 🙂 I've got some new speaker content coming soon when I visit the Northern AV Show in Penang, Malaysia next week.
Thanks for sharing this little excursion into the FR30. The presentation was a good one. I especially liked your headphone analogy and comparison. Over the last few years, I've followed their development through PS Audio's various iterations. PSA is now on the 4th round of orders for FR30. These are on my shortlist for purchase by August. I'm wondering if the speaker placement wasn't optimal in the room. I've watched Paul McGowan and Chris Brunhaver, the speaker design engineer, set up these speakers in three different videos; they pull them out into the room a little further away from the back wall.
I do think the room could have been a limiting factor. I'm keen to try them again with some different gear and space that's more designed for a single listener at a time
Wow! Lighter-than-air planar drivers (?) Must be a challenge containing them in pre-assembly part bins. I wonder if there are escapees currently floating around the Colorado Rockies (?)
Haha. I wondered about that too, but it is possible that it actually is lighter than air depending on the size of the piece (and I'm not trying to be funny) 🙂
It’s not that the density of the polymer diaphragm is less than air, it’s that the air load that it drives is greater than the diaphragm mass. The diaphragm is so light that the viscosity of air itself is a large damping force on the diaphragm and it doesn’t ring or resonate like a cone does.
Your criticism of the FR30 regarding "razor sharp image" has more to do with setup than you're mentioning. The proper setup is critical and, if you didn't have a "razor sharp image", it doesn't sound like these were set up properly.
We'll see. I hope to hear them again in a different setup soon. I still really liked them for their ability to be extremely enjoyable anywhere in the room so, for me, the razor sharp central image isn't a big deal
I could easily justify flying around the continent just to have a listen to these. They seem to be a fine innovation to loudspeakers, considering they are being used by Octave records as studio monitors and exceptional home audio speakers. Just a question. How was for you the center imaging/focus while the rear firing tweeters were dis-engaged? great vid!
They're pretty cool speakers. Unfortunately, I can't answer your question about the rear tweeters because I haven't been in a situation to play around with them enough.
I agree he is a salesman, but the goal is at least he got you curious. I would love to hear these. Goal achieved. Could I afford these? Hell no! Only off putting would be how they lack precise image placement. Something I really didn't like about Magnepans I had. I want to hear this speaker in a properly treated room, not an indifferent hotel room for instance. If I would spend that kind of money, or not, room treatment is key for making your system sound its best regardless.
Positioning has to do with any perceived loss of central image accuracy rather than any inherent fault of the speakers. Maybe they needed a bit more toe in or a lesser distance between them.
I believe the people setting them up had it right and they took a lot of time and care with the setup. My guess is that the dispersion of the planar drivers changes the perception of image. To be clear, I personally prefer the trade-off of a larger listenable area for the loss of pinpoint accuracy in a sweet-spot.
Quite possibly, but I'll wait to heard them in a more dedicated setup before finalising my conclusions. For the record, I still really like them based on these first impressions
I couldn't disagree more on the comments about imaging. I just heard these at the TAS and the thing the stuck out the most was a good image and depth when sitting in the sweet spot. Setup issues boys???
Yes, it was a setup issue. I heard them again at the Melbourne Hifi Show and they sounded brilliant! I mentioned it in my Melbourne HiFi Show Highlights video. 🙂
I think that much of what the presenter was saying about the FR30 make sense. But a few things are slightly misleading - bass is nearly omnidirectional so the midrange being monopole is probably fine, but for a different reason than he talks about. As it has a rear firing tweeter, I think they didn't want to deal with a dipole midrange i.e. open baffle. Also, a planar magnetic is no doubt very low mass - it is the voice "coil" trace that makes up the majority of the mass. His point about these drivers to be non-inductive is correct. He mentioned transmission line speakers - he didn't discuss their advantages (disadvantages); which is too bad, because I thing mass loaded transmission line speakers have a lot of excellent qualities. Including more bass extension for a given driver size - which means you then get "quicker" bass because they can be smaller.
I can't speak to the design decisions, but I know that Peter (the presenter) had spoken to Paul McGowan directly about the design choices so I imagine what he's saying is factual.
Quicker bass, for me it means, it has good transients, low distortions, great dynamics. To me most drivers with very long coil, high Xmax sound rather slow, also their efficiency is low due to heavy moving mass required to have low Fs. Then we have very large Pro Audio drivers, with very large cones that produce high efficiency with lower input levels, shorter voice coil, 'strong' motor, they can also be optimized for good low distortion bass reproduction into low octaves, but they require large enclosures. Most of the time I find the Pro Audio drivers reproduce faster, cleaner, more natural bass than home audio transducers.
Great discussion on the new PS Audio loudspeakers. I am especially interested in what they come up with, but truthfully not really a fan of a speaker that cannot convey a feeling of direct communication.
I need to listen to them again in a more optimal setup I think to be certain, but to be clear, I definitely felt like they were giving an excellent connection to the music that's similar to being in a room with the band playing as opposed to hearing a razor sharp dissection of each element of a recording. Both can be fun and we'll all have our preferences.
Toe the speakers slightly inward until you achieve the sharpness of focus you desire. Paul could have set them up that way, but he was trying to sonically accommodate for a greater width of listeners. But you knew that already.
Absolutely. I've heard them again since this launch and they sounded brilliant so it's all about the setup and the source chain driving them when it comes to getting the most from a high end speaker like these (or any speaker for that matter 🙂)
grand tourer huh? alright i'm in the market for a performance estate like the panamera or a luxury like phantom or flying spur hope some audio company caters to those wants and maybe even a hypercar/ performance sedan limited edition run too? hehe
Happy I live about 50 miles from boulder so that I can stop by and listen to them. Otherwise, I'd never know if they are any good as I'll never spend that kind of money on speakers.
$30,000 for a speaker that really does backround music well for parties is not something you come across every day. I predict PS audio is going to own that market with these puppies.
I think that's taking my point a bit to extreme. Personally, I can't see myself sitting and listening to an album ever these days, but I'll regularly play music and enjoy it while I do other things (while still paying attention to the music, not as mindless background music). From the discussions I had with a number of people there at the launch, I'm not the only one who appreciates these speakers for their capabilities to fill a room with quality sound and not require a super targetted listening position
Very rarely, if ever, these days. I wish I had the time. My listening tends to be while I am doing other things. The music is often still my main focus because my activities don't require mental focus, but I'm rarely sitting completely still.
The reason why they dont image is the polar response abberations caused by directivity mismatch between drivers. Best way to get good imaging is a 2 way with a waveguide on top that matches the woofers directivity
The speaker has essentially constant horizontal directivity from 400 Hz to 13 kHz at 140 degrees nominal coverage. We will be publishing’s data on this.
@@cbrunhaver Wow thanks Chris! INteresting. Thtat means it should have great off axis response. Not easy to do with those drivers, especially with the high xover those tweeters will need. Looking forward to the data
@@cbrunhaver Interested to see what the vertical dispersion/directivity looks like using the tall (ribbon/planar?) midrange and handoff to the tweeter. Was that a purposeful design choice to perhaps reduce floor and ceiling bounce, or...?
@@cbrunhaver Too bad that these are too large for *Erin's Audio Corner* or the *Audio Science Review* Klippel NFS. Would like to see these tested by an independent reviewer. Will you be providing this type of "Spinorama" data?
I would have liked to hear them at Axpona but no such luck. Your comment about instrument placement was interesting. That instruments panned to the left or right were very clear. That says to me that these speakers would be difficult to make disappear. Something I really enjoy in a speaker
Interesting point about the speakers disappearing. I think for critical listening that's true, but if you're living life around them, they definitely disappear.
Air has mass, even light has mass, but the kapton material in this speaker - has no mass ( right ). However a very well and presented session. Just stumbled across this channel and subscribed as its aussie built, and look forward to seeing more . Thank you
Glad you like the channel and thanks for the sub! Peter's point about the kapton wasn't that it is weightless. It might have been a poor choice of wording, but the point behind it is that the planar drivers are able to be damped by the air around them rather than needing mechanical structures like spiders, surrounds, etc.
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@@PassionforSound i surprise the centre image isnt strong. how i set up my systems centre image one of the most important things to look for. as a show not so much i suppose
There could be many factors contributing to this. The room (size and acoustics), the fact it was set up for a group, and the source chain used. I'm keen to try them again in a more dedicated setup sometime
When you say kapton is lighter than air, you mean if you took it out of the system it would float up into the atmosphere? I haven’t seen it do that before.
was really enjoying this right up until the Crossover was shown and discussed. For the price of the speaker i would have hoped that much better caps and inductors were used. The resistors look good quality as they are not the normal sandcast wire resistors. I see a couple of what look like electrolytic caps on the smaller crossover board. I personally use ICW Clarity CSA caps and Jantzen air cored inductors in my DIY speaker designs . I never use resistors in my crossovers. I mainly use 1st or 2nd order x overs, not being a fan of 3rd and 4th order ones. The less components in the crossover the happier i am. I also hard wire my x overs with the same cable that i use from the amp to the speaker and inside the cabinet. The cable used in the speaker looks ordinary. Ho Hum . I had hoped that the crossover would be as sophisticated and high quality like the cabinet and drivers. I also see from the set up of the speakers that they have not followed Paul 's set up. He , like me , does not like a lot of toe in. I start with speaker facing straight ahead and slowly toe in until i get the sound i want.
I would’ve thought inductors would just cause resistance in a circuit. Resistors change electrical energy into heat while the inductors change it into magnetic fields.
I bet they would sound great hooked up to better electronics than the PS audio midfi stuff...Audionet Heisenberg amps and a Lampizator Horizon Dacc/Preamp would fix them up and scale better.
That's correct. The speakers we were listening to are a pre-production pair and there are just a handful of such units touring the world for launches and early demonstrations
I believe so. I think the point is that they allow for some extra output from the driven woofers in much the same way a vent does, but without the chuffing noise
We need on and off axis frequency response graphs. Directivity globe plots. IMD and THD distortion charts. Playback compression details etc etc or bust. These should be provided on such and expensive speaker, especially from a known snake oil salesman.
It all depends on how people want to use the speakers. I don't remember the last time I actually sat and critically listened to music (for enjoyment, not reviewing) so a pair of speakers that sound amazing while moving around is actually preferable to me. It will all depend on the individual though
A few people want to sit alone and listen, possibly to music and possible to equipment, but most find music a social event and find a somewhat broader focus a great advantage.
@@2ridiculous41 few people are willing to pay 30k USD for a pair of speakers too... it's a niche product for audiophiles and audiophiles are critical listeners.
I think there’s an assumption in there that the things that make for critical listening (pinpoint imagining and transparency?) = better. The popularity of R2R DACs, for example, are a solid sign that plenty of people don’t want that critical element. On the DAC theme, plenty of people don’t enjoy the HugoTT2 because it’s too revealing and detailed. There seems to be a reasonable degree of variance in what people want to hear. Perhaps a good contrast to the FR30 would be a similarly priced Wilson and a speaker from MBL. All brilliant products, sounding incredibly different. In that context, the strengths described in the video make sense to me.
This product is deeply frustrating for me. It's priced out of my pocket, fine. But worse, I cannot experience them for myself. So I have to imagine these speakers through your description.
Aspirational ? You would need a massive room! It's smart that PS Audio will be selling a smaller unit. Personally, I'm thinking that passive speakers are on the way out. Have you seen the KEF LF60 Wireless? They're powered and have advanced features like DSP and active cross-overs you typically see in astronomically expensive products. Yeah, the LF60 Wireless is over $6k. But expect the tech to go down in price.
@@user-xg6zz8qs3q well, i wonder. there've been super advanced drivers since before i was born, but every loudspeaker in my house uses aluminum domes (i'm getting some air motion tweeter units in six months or so), you know what i mean? i've never lived on the bleeding edge of anything, really
@@WeeWeeJumbo The bleeding edge of consumer technology is an invitation for buyer's remorse. The best example was the PS2. The first model was big and noisy. The second model was slim and quiet. Early adopters always get hurt.
the membrane is not lighter then air for a planar magnetic unfortunate.... that would be an ESL not a thick "relative" foil and alu traces and lets not forget the glue used
the pair of speakers that changed my world was MBL 101E one thing i find it interesting about this PSA pair is the use of multiple small bass woofers instead of a big one that requires tons of power to drive....
@@PassionforSound when you heard this pair did the bass dive really low?that's one thing I question regarding multiple smaller diameter cones that they can't produce much sub bass
@@PassionforSound Crikey, mate! The idea that smaller cone drivers will always reproduce "faster bass" than a larger diameter pistonic driver due to their "obvious size & moving mass" is a complete myth and is hogwash. You achieve "fast bass" by minimizing non-linearities in the "soft parts" (cone, spider, surround, etc.) and the motor system (voice coil & magnet). Small drive units obviously have appropriately sized smaller magnets & voice coils (the motor system) to control their respective mass. And larger drivers obviously have larger, stronger magnets and coils to overcome and control their increased mass. It's referred to as "BL" or motor force. It's analogous to a larger, heavier car needing a more powerful engine and brakes/tyres compared to a smaller car. They both can accelerate and decelerate at identical rates given the appropriate motor & braking force is designed and implemented for each. "Slow bass" is primarily due to non-linearities in the motor/magnet system. Namely, high inductance, where the inductance changes significantly as the voice coil begins to leave the magnetic gap at the forward and rearward limits of excursion. It has nothing to do with the size or mass of the moving parts. And it is worse when the inductance changes more in one position in relation to the other, i.e the inductance is non-linear and different on the forward stroke as compared to its rearward stroke. It is more expensive to design and produce a good, linear magnetic motor system that minimizes inductance non-linearities and distortion. If you have ever heard the mention of copper or aluminum "shorting rings" being used in a particular drive unit's motor system in order to lower distortion, that is their purpose. They minimize inductance rise as the coil approaches the front and rear extremes of the magnetic gap. This can be seen and is illustrated in the "BL/Symmetry Curve" plot or graph in speaker measurements. But the inclusion of shorting rings adds extra parts ($) and complexity to the design & production of the transducer, and loudspeaker companies will do everything they can to reduce production costs in order to increase profit margins. Large, professional movie theaters such as those that include THX, DTS, or ATMOS, as well as many home theater and large concert/auditorium/venue systems, use very large diameter subwoofer drivers. If your large driver = slow bass myth were true, the quality of the bass in these systems would be abysmal, but that is obviously not the case! Quite the opposite! This "Large Driver/Slow Bass" myth needs to be dispelled once an for all! The owner and designer of *Stereo Integrity* drive units uses a 24" subwoofer in an I.B. configuration in the rear hatch of his Audi A4 Avant car audio system, and by all accounts, it is the "fastest" most precise low bass you will ever hear. Google Search "DIYMA JI808 The Stereo Integrity 2006 Audi A4 Avant IB-24 Stealth Install". @William N And multiple small drivers are sometimes used instead of a single, much larger bass driver to keep the baffle size narrower for diffraction, or to keep the overall size of the design more compact. And yes, small drivers *can* produce clean, low bass, but at a much lower SPL, so multiple small drive units are needed and combined in an "array" in order to achieve the desired SPL. If designed and implemented properly, this can be very effective, and will produce excellent low end extension. Point #2: Why did you not list all of the specific Demo Tracks that were used in this presentation??? Those would have been a fantastic talking point, as you could have described and related how these speakers performed with the well known specific attributes of each recording, instead of waffling on in such vague terms. I like your content, mate, but the presentation could be a bit improved. Cheers
Paul is a nice man and all and I am sure their products are excellent and that speaker sounds great but I will not every again buy a speaker manufactured in China. i now own speakers from an American company that is close to the cost of the ps audio speaker and much happier knowing it went to a company here plus they really do speakers the right way from cabinet builds to treating you like actual family and bending over backwards for you the customer.
The speakers aren't made in China, Anthony. I think the cabinets might be, but the speaker overall is not based on what I understand from the local distributors.
Just got back from PS Audio in Boulder. Listened to these speakers for an hour. They may be the worst sounding pair of 30k speakers, I’ve ever heard. Not to mention the ugliest. A square module on top with a rounded bottom. Ugh. No cohesion between the two. I played several of my reference tracks only to hear speakers with no low end and tonality, we’ll, they just sounded weird. Sure they imaged fine, had a decent soundstage and the speakers disappeared in the room. How McGowan can state these are better than the IRS IV’s is beyond me? I went to Boulder years ago to hear the IRS IV’s and was “blown-away”. The FR30’s? The room is treated with PS Audio’s best electronics. Couldn’t have been more disappointed. Just one audiophile’s opinion…Completely underwhelmed. Oh well, now “I know”. Saw the prototype for the FR20’s. Maybe those will sound better? And they will be a lot cheaper than the 30’s. I felt I should put my opinion out there, as they were just awarded the 2022 Golden Ear by TAS. The TAS reviewer (Cordesman) has a connection with PS Audio and kept (purchased?) his review pair for the mags write-up…hmmm-interesting
I've definitely heard them sound ok in one setting and great in another. They sounded best running off non PS Audio amps so maybe that's a factor. Kind of a shame if PS Audio's own setup isn't showing them at their very best. ☹️
The term may have been slightly confusing, but the intent had been explained in a different comment thread. Peter was referring to the ability of the air to damp the motion of the driver rather than needing the types of mechanical structures used in heavier cone/dome speakers
Thank you. AMTs can perform quite well too and I think that there’s a bit of a family sound between ”thin film” drivers like planars, ribbons, amts and electrostatic speakers. With the planars, they’re quite similar to AMTs in dynamics for a given amount of magnets and cost. One unique aspect of our planars is that they can play relatively low for their footprint. The tweeter can cross over as low as 1.5 kHz and Midrange as low as 200 Hz with good performance. We are crossing over at 400 for power handling /output reasons, but this is still fairly low. A slightly larger version (for a 4 way system) can play to 100 Hz, which isn’t something I’ve seen from an AMT. This aids a lot in directivity and system design flexibility.
It’s also a big factor that we have 20+ years experience with working with planars and understand the trade offs and “levers to pull” to optimize and troubleshoot new designs.
@@cbrunhaver I believe that the main difference is in how they both go about moving air. A planar driver, or any other type of driver, moves air at a 1 to 1 ratio. The air moved by an AMT is moved by the ratio between the depth vs the width of the membrane opening. For example: The original Great Heil driver has pleated openings that are 5.1 times deeper than they are wide, therefore the air being moved by them comes out at 5.1 times faster than the diaphragm actually moves; hence the name Air Motion Transformer. The great heil is actually a step up transformer that steps up the output of the driver. I know that the Great Heil has been crossed over @ 700 HZ in production model loudspeakers. I have read that the Klipsch guys have been using it crossed over at 400 Hz.
"Everyone asks about crossovers." And for good reason. There are well educated engineers who don't know how to design what the presenter calls, "a proper crossover." Ideally, the driver would have a 20Hz to 20Khz frequency response that corresponds with the non-linear (Fletcher-Munson) curve inherent to the species, along with a flat impedance and 0 degree phase line--thus eliminating the necessity of a crossover. Until such a driver exists, we're stuck with real-world product, and too many manufacturers computer modeling their crossovers without understanding how to optimize. The presenter is in marketing, not engineering. His careful avoidance of using the word MDF is at odds with what's printed on the power point page, and comes across as kinda pretentious. To be fair, however, he's correct on the positive traits of higher grades of MDF, but it's gotten a bad rap from those who make (false) claims about MDF's inferiority for speaker cabinet construction, when compared against other "exotic" materials, e.g., aluminum, phenolic. And then there's the comments from a very nice gentleman who candidly expresses he's a headphone guy, not a speaker guy. Interesting. . . Needless to say, this "infomercial" will have many wanting to hear the speaker, including me.
I think you're being a bit unfair on the presenter. This event was over three nights and he didn't deliberately avoid the word MDF - he specifically used the word on another night On top of that, Peter was doing his best to represent PS Audio because they couldn't make it to the event due to the distance. I think the information provided, given that he was acting on PS Audio's behalf, but is not a member of their team, and therefore is limited in the scope of what he can cover.
That's not for me to comment on. My point was that Peter, who did the presentation, was doing a service for the people attending as best he could as a third party presenter.
@@PassionforSound and there is nothing wrong with mdf proven to be one of the best materials to build speakers out of . I don't understand people's hang ups with it.
avoid coloration of the sound by minimizing (the wall) reflections @8:30... BUT add a rear firing transducer to 'add spaciousness' @4:35. OK :} just like their yt channel, their products are a mix of somewhat pleasant contradictions. i would expect this speaker to have impressive capabilities in the low fqs considering the volume, number of woofers and mutual coupling...
@@PassionforSound i understand your point, the user can customize the 'spaciousness effect' (a doubling delay plus a bit of room reverb as a function of the distance from the reflective surface)
Interesting. Would have been nice to have a soundtrack demo. We hear lots of demos tracks from audio shows. I have only heard one track on the FR30 of a viola at the Montreal Audio show and it was mediocre. The RU-vid reviewers tended to not give them a lot of time and chose to focus on other speakers at the show. I think PS Audio is going to need to step up the PR launch a bit. Paul hyped these on his channel for 5 years. Maybe they just aren't able to live up to the expectation he set.
I recently heard them again at the Melbourne HiFi Show with a different amp and they thoroughly impressed. I'm not setup to effectively capture any audio from them, but they're definitely able to live up to the expectations IMO - they just need an amp that synergises better with them
I'm sorry, but if I was spending $50,000 on loudspeakers it would be because I want to listen to them critically and giving them my total attention at all times
You can definitely do that with these, but they're not limited to that. I also did a follow up on them when I heard them at the Melbourne HiFi Show after the release and they were setup better and produced a better sense of staging and imaging in the sweet spot.
mating with a large woofer that only propogate to the front ?? erm no thats not how it works, the woofers are omni directional since they do not play above 300 Hz or so
Lighter than air drivers, hmmmm, this what I found. Graphene based aerogels or Aero-Graphene are the only 3D materials which are light weight than air. Aero-Graphene is the least dense solid ever made
Yes and no. They are a lovely speaker that is also enjoyable for non-critical listening. They don't demand that you only sit in silence in the sweet spot to enjoy them.
I wouldn't waste all that money on passive loudspeakers, my money would go on the active crossover ATC SCM ASL reference monitors, with their bolt on 350 watt class A / AB mosfet amps
No such thing as fast bass It’s actually how quick the driver stops Bass reflex in my opinion is a way too get more bass out of smaller enclosure But.. it’s not what I will call accurate bass Time smear If you want articulate accurate bass Open baffle Servo control bass like Rythmic audio With all the functions dial up damping factor ect Will keel up with ribbons & electrostatic speakers 😁
@@user-xg6zz8qs3q Is not an amplifier problem. It's efficiency of the speaker. I've had open baffle speakers for years. I've owned Carver Amazing Loud Speakers as well as Wild Burrows, Magnapan, and others. They just don't play loud and dynamically.
why would a planar magnetic not have breakups, they do plenty to, broad even horizontal dispersion. is not at all one of the key aspects of a larger driver.... like a planar. it has often worse horizontal dispersion then regular drivers. im all for planars drivers but... please keep it real ditch the marketing wankt
Lighter than air? Suspended by air? That is impossible so why say something that basically is a lie? Metalysed poly film? Paul... Please check who represents your brand and to educate them before talking.
From the 2:08 time mark to the 18:48 time mark (16 minutes of lecturing), the visitors are held hostage. And note that at 18:48, the video is cut / edited. So the lecture probably went on for a lengthier period of time. The people there want to hear the audio speakers; not the human speaker. Make a short introduction. Explain that we will now hear the speakers, and afterwards a lecture. The reason the lecture came first, was because 1) the lecturer likes the attention, wants everyone to know that he knows all about the speakers, and likes to hear his own voice, and 2) he knows that few people will stay for his lecture, once they have heard the speakers. So he drones on and on, and everyone must politely sit there, as a fee (of sorts) to get to eventually listen to the speakers. The people showed up to hear the audio speakers; not the human speaker. The correct presentation is: 1) Short lecture. 2) Listen to the speakers. 3) Anyone have any questions? 4) Listen to the speakers. 5) Long lecture. If you were speaker shopping, and the salesperson would not let you listen to the speakers, unless you first let them ramble for 16+ minutes, would you humor them? Or would you go to a different store where they let you listen to the speakers? Or, perhaps you would tell the rambling salesperson that you are pressed for time, and would like to hear the speakers? At a presentation, like in this video, the (human) speaker knows that no one is going to complain. So he uses that knowledge to hold them hostage to his lecturing. Does he not put himself in the shoes of the visitors? Does he not realize how he is treating them, and how he would feel if he were one of those visitors? Is it a status thing, where the audience must be placed in awe of the magnificence of what they, the chosen few, are being allowed to experience? I have done a fair share of stereo shopping, and have never had to endure such an experience. I appreciated having a question and answer session. But at least I got to hear the speakers, and knew whether or not to even then have a question and answer session, and knew how to tailor my questions, based on what I heard. Imagine sitting through all of that, just to find out you do not care for those speakers. So you sat around for nothing. You would think that the show's host would understand this. So either he is audio smart, and lacking in people skills. Or, he is too absorbed with himself to care. I have had guests visit me to hear my stereo. I could not imagine making them listen to me yak on and on, before letting them listen. Would you ever do that to your guests? I let the stereo do the talking. Then my guests and I can discuss the attributes of the equipment and listening experience.
You're commenting about an event you didn't attend and are wrong about. The video was cut when they did Q&A IIRC. There was plenty of listening time provided before and after the presentation.
@@PassionforSound My comment was based on your video. Now you convey that your video does not depict what went on. It is reasonable to expect people to comment on the video, and not on what is not the video. If you post a video, then that is the basis for the comments.
It’s completely untrue to describe a planar magnetic as ‘essentially massless’ as the presenter does here. Such a driver still has a voicecoil, just as a conventional cone drive has, it’s just that it’s spread out over the face of the diaphragm. He also fails to mention the relative nonlinearity of the magnetic field unless magnets are also used in front of the diaphragm. In fact I could pick holes in absolutely everything he says and the supposed design decisions made for this speaker. The truth is there is nothing new here and all of it is a well trodden path.
Great to hear first impressions but to be honest I think the days of purely subjective reviews are over. There is too much snake oil within the audiophile world. A real review needs to provide objective measurements (Klippel machine) along with any subjective narratives.
I've heard far too many "well measuring" devices that sound dreadful so I'll always take subjective impressions in this subjective hobby. I don't ignore measurements, but both are equally valid IMO. The key to me is finding reviewers that you can consistently relate to - either consistently agreeing or disagreeing, or consistently understanding their perspective.
It would be perfect if a 50 inch planar driver was used with a high pass of 200 Hz to 9000 Hz then and only then you will have directed sound without reflections from ceiling and/or floor.
So, you mean a large, panel speaker? Like the ones known to have issues with the swimming pool effect? Am I missing something because I thought these had known and clearly understood problems of their own.
As always, you take far too much time to say far too little. Each time I attempt to listen to one of your reviews, I’m over whelmed by a feeling that you’re waisting my time…
You do realise that every single video I've made for the last couple of years includes chapter markers so you can jump to exactly what you need? It's a rather selfish approach to assume that what you want to know is all that anyone else needs.
@@PassionforSound Apologies, I've been stuck at home with an illness and it appears that I've taken it out on you - both unfair and unkind. I'm so sorry, please accept my sincere apology.
I'm no expert on speakers as I've said, but I'm fairly sure there are trade-offs with every possible solution. Nothing I've tried as yet in this hobby is perfect.
Your accent BLOWS and I'm strangely curious what in the hell you do with all the hair you wax off the top of your hands? Yet somehow I find your videos both professionally done and informative...strange I know.
