It was not my intention to create an alien robot. Yet, here we are.
I've always had a soft spot for the Extremas. How did they perform?About 30 years ago I decided to do a search for speakers I would be happy with for the rest of my life.
I genuinely hate evaluating equipment when I could be listening to music and I didn’t want to do it any more.
At the time I had a pair of Sonus Fabre Extremas and Apogee Diva with DAX active crossover.
Anyway the opinion of the high end magazines seemed to be that the best speaker ever was the original Wilson Audio WAMM and I discovered a French dealer near Paris had a used “pair” (they comprise 4 towers) so I arranged to go for a listen.
They were in a huge room which looked like it was formed by roofing over the courtyard of a U shaped house. Sidewall reflections were not a possibility…
Anyway, I was unimpressed but amazed to see they also had a pair of the original Goldmund Apologues - the ones they only ever made 50 pairs of - also in the room and also the slightly smaller Goldmund Analogue.
I listened to them whilst I was there and felt they had the most realistic instrumental timbre of any speakers I had ever heard. I actually preferred the Analogue, probably because it had fewer drivers to interfere with each other.
I nearly bought the Analogue there and then but Goldmund were about to release their new metal enclosure line, the Epilog, so I waited until the first module of the Epilogue was available for audition, it was a couple of years iirc..
In the end my short list was the Epilog, the Analogue and also the B&W Nautilus, I loved the look of that, and still do.
The nearest they still make to mine is the SATYA, but that is DSP active, mine aren’t.
Anyway I ended up with the Epilog1 with Epilog 2 bass system and am still enjoying it every day.
I have listened to a fair few speakers since and still haven’t found any I would get my wallet out for.
The Epilogue 1 doesn’t have a waveguide, too old I suppose, but the tweeter is mounted in the same acoustic plane as the mid and has an absorbent block around it shaped to reduce vertical dispersion considerably and to match tweeter to mid at the crossover.
You seem to have misunderstood me. I was talking about the Goldmund.I'm even more confused by that description...
I was referring to the Apologue above. A comedy of errors.You seem to have misunderstood me. I was talking about the Goldmund.
Many times I've seen people vastly improve those sorts of flaws by simple crossover changes. I guess that just makes the original design that much more puzzling.Incomparable. The manufacturers of the speaker models mentioned in the thread seem to have just randomly thrown speaker drivers into some random boxes and then put a damn high price tag on them.
But I am impressed by how it is even possible to get such bad speakers together. UNLESS the speaker manufacturers DELIBERATELY created them to have a FR that looks like it climbs high mountain, deep valleys?
Do the manufacturers for the models in the thread state dB deviations based on the frequency range of the speaker models? For example 45Hz-20KHz, +/- 3 dB? If they don't say anything about dB deviations (which is not correct), then at least they're not lying.
Well, nowadays it's relatively easy to EQ a decent FR. At least on axes. EQ and FR off axes, maybe if the conditions are there.Many times I've seen people vastly improve those sorts of flaws by simple crossover changes. I guess that just makes the original design that much more puzzling.
Are the Epilogs fully passive?About 30 years ago I decided to do a search for speakers I would be happy with for the rest of my life.
I genuinely hate evaluating equipment when I could be listening to music and I didn’t want to do it any more.
At the time I had a pair of Sonus Fabre Extremas and Apogee Diva with DAX active crossover.
Anyway the opinion of the high end magazines seemed to be that the best speaker ever was the original Wilson Audio WAMM and I discovered a French dealer near Paris had a used “pair” (they comprise 4 towers) so I arranged to go for a listen.
They were in a huge room which looked like it was formed by roofing over the courtyard of a U shaped house. Sidewall reflections were not a possibility…
Anyway, I was unimpressed but amazed to see they also had a pair of the original Goldmund Apologues - the ones they only ever made 50 pairs of - also in the room and also the slightly smaller Goldmund Analogue.
I listened to them whilst I was there and felt they had the most realistic instrumental timbre of any speakers I had ever heard. I actually preferred the Analogue, probably because it had fewer drivers to interfere with each other.
I nearly bought the Analogue there and then but Goldmund were about to release their new metal enclosure line, the Epilog, so I waited until the first module of the Epilogue was available for audition, it was a couple of years iirc..
In the end my short list was the Epilog, the Analogue and also the B&W Nautilus, I loved the look of that, and still do.
The nearest they still make to mine is the SATYA, but that is DSP active, mine aren’t.
Anyway I ended up with the Epilog1 with Epilog 2 bass system and am still enjoying it every day.
I have listened to a fair few speakers since and still haven’t found any I would get my wallet out for.
The Epilogue 1 doesn’t have a waveguide, too old I suppose, but the tweeter is mounted in the same acoustic plane as the mid and has an absorbent block around it shaped to reduce vertical dispersion considerably and to match tweeter to mid at the crossover.
Are the Epilogs fully passive?
I've wanted to hear Goldmund loudspeakers before, but dealers seem loath to demonstrate them for someone who looks like a working man.
I only wear bespoke suits but don't wear them on visits to audio stores as a matter of principle.Time for that Zegna suit.
It might just be me but those Zegna pantlegs are too narrow and high.Time for that Zegna suit.
Find another salesperson that is not a snob and choosy.I've wanted to hear Goldmund loudspeakers before, but dealers seem loath to demonstrate them for someone who looks like a working man.
I only wear bespoke suits but don't wear them on visits to audio stores as a matter of principle.
Me too. Lots of them.Very short-sighted of the salesman. I know a couple guys that could buy the store without thinking about it. They dress like the homeless.
Yes, I refuse to put on a $3500 suit to listen to a pair of speakers or otherwise signal my financial well-being.Haha ... so you want to hear Goldmund speakers but your principles get in the way? Quite the delimma.
Me too. Lots of them.
Yes, I refuse to put on a $3500 suit to listen to a pair of speakers or otherwise signal my financial well-being.
The black Amex is incredibly rare even among people rich enough to have it. For most very wealthy people, it seems to offer poor value for money.Subtly flashing your black Amex will work just as well. Still signalling, but you can just wear the polo.
I did see a black Amex once
Sorry to all for the digression. To continue it, I have the stupid black metal Chase card that is a magnet for credit card thieves overseas but is actually a competitor to the Amex platinum and is not at all exclusive. I have never been able to pay for audio gear with that card.There you go: I did but see her passing by (our PM in my grandfather's day said that about Elizabeth II). Thanks for the story.
Subtly flashing your black Amex will work just as well. Still signalling, but you can just wear the polo.
Sorry to all for the digression. To continue it, I have the stupid black metal Chase card that is a magnet for credit card thieves overseas but is actually a competitor to the Amex platinum and is not at all exclusive. I have never been able to pay for audio gear with that card.