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Hedd ‘MainTowers’ arrive !

Absolute

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It'd be interesting to hear about a in-room comparison with the BXT system to see whether or not the controlled dispersion on the Kii's will outperform the benefits of higher-quality cabinets and drivers. I reckon it will, but not sure.
 

Snarfie

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They only arrived Monday, at the moment both pairs of Kiis and 8Cs are out on dem, usually I place those two together in the same ( other) because potential customers like to compare.
The Kiis/8Cs are much more adjustable , when the Kiis return I will set them up next to the Hedd’s and report!
Keith
Can't wait for your finds between those 3.
 

Martin

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There you go, completely flat no EQ, just some Modex panels in the room, the room isn’t perfect and I have to use the Illusonic with the horns which are still at the other end of the room.


Keith
I love your definition of “flat.” :)

Martin
 

oivavoi

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It'd be interesting to hear about a in-room comparison with the BXT system to see whether or not the controlled dispersion on the Kii's will outperform the benefits of higher-quality cabinets and drivers. I reckon it will, but not sure.

Given the driver configuration, the Hedd towers are probably more controlled in their vertical dispersion than the Kiis. The kiis probably have a more controlled - and possibly narrower - horizontal dispersion.

My theoretical expectation would be that the Hedd towers sound better to my ears at least, given their better dynamics, the AMT tweeter (which I like), and what is probably a broader horizontal dispersion. But given that the Kiis and the Hedd Towers look so extremely different from each other, this is bound to influence how one perceives their sound. Seeing a big black tower has got to play a role for how one perceives it. So I would only trust my own listening judgments here if they were done from behind a veil.
 
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Purité Audio

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I love your definition of “flat.” :)

Martin
I only meant that I wasn’t applying any EQ to that measurement, difficult to get ‘flat’ outside an anechoic chamber.
Keith
 

Absolute

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Given the driver configuration, the Hedd towers are probably more controlled in their vertical dispersion than the Kiis. The kiis probably have a more controlled - and possibly narrower - horizontal dispersion.

My theoretical expectation would be that the Hedd towers sound better to my ears at least, given their better dynamics, the AMT tweeter (which I like), and what is probably a broader horizontal dispersion. But given that the Kiis and the Hedd Towers look so extremely different from each other, this is bound to influence how one perceives their sound. Seeing a big black tower has got to play a role for how one perceives it. So I would only trust my own listening judgments here if they were done from behind a veil.
If I recall correctly, Keith's listening room has quite high ceiling so not sure a better controlled vertical dispersion would matter much. I would also assume (assuming too much makes an ASS out of U & ME) that Kii actually has broader dispersion in the high frequencies where AMT's tend to beam a bit, which could mean a more favorable in-room response in such a big room. The dynamics of Kii BXT isn't a concern for sane people, but perhaps better cabinets and drivers could make a difference in micro-detail retrieval? And, of course, the cardioide is certainly a factor, but how big?
It'll be interesting to hear what Keith says :)
 
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Purité Audio

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Hedd’s standard Main Tower which consists of a TMS 36 subwoofer and the main TM80 unit has a recommended retail price of £16k inc vat.
The extended Main Towers, pictured below ( two TMS36 units) are £24k in standard dark grey.
Additional colours are available at a small extra charge .


keith
 

Soniclife

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Hedd’s standard Main Tower which consists of a TMS 36 subwoofer and the main TM80 unit has a recommended retail price of £16k inc vat.
The extended Main Towers, pictured below ( two TMS36 units) are £24k in standard dark grey.
Additional colours are available at a small extra charge .


keith
Have you compared the 2 Vs 3 box version in your room?
 
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Purité Audio

Purité Audio

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Yes you just turn off the top two subs, I think for most rooms , depending upon size and construction one TMS36 4x8” woofers would be enough.
Still really dynamic, perhaps if you had a really large room and could play really loudly then the extra module might be useful.
Keith
 
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Purité Audio

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The Hedd ‘Main Towers’ continue to impress, they are extremely dynamic!
From the Hedd site,
‘Modern Main Monitoring Systems have to be cost-effective and flexible enough to work in every possible studio environment. That’s why we designed the HEDD Tower Mains with a modular approach in mind.

They consist of one main unit (TM 80) that can be combined with either 1 or 2 subwoofers per channel. Each sub incorporates 4 drivers in a closed box design and 1.200 W of amplification. The Tower Mains components can be arranged flexibly, depending on the size and geometries of your working space. Due to a sophisticated filter design, you always will have a seamless transition and homogeneous sound: spectacular analog performance meets great versatility.

In the search for precision it was decided to apply closed box designs only as they principally allow the best approximation to ideal transient behaviour. The 3 dB lower efficiency compared to ported designs is compensated and even exceeded by having multiple drivers and enormous amplifier power. The TM 80 main unit with its five speakers in a vertically symmetrical alignment – a quasi d’Appolito configuration with the HEDD Air Motion Transformer as the centerpiece – delivers broad horizontal dispersion but a controlled vertical directivity. Thus unwanted reflexions from the ground or the ceiling are reduced.

The TM 80 is driven by 3x 300 W amplifiers with a response down to 80 Hz. The matching TMS 36 subwoofer comes with four 9” no-compromise long throw drivers and 1.200 W of amplifier power – 300 W per woofer to be more specific. Back to back sitting drivers compensate their impact to the enclosure thus avoiding cabinet resonances, their frequency response starts at 20 Hz (-3 dB) and stops at 80 Hz (-6 dB). The TMS 36 Subwoofer delivers an astounding transient response up to very high SPL levels.’

Keith
 
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Purité Audio

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Hedd’s Superb ‘Main Towers’ at Purité Audio, London.


Keith
 
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Purité Audio

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Ilkless

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I spent over an hour listening to the Main Towers at Giraffe Audio in Birmingham, courtesy of a demo event by UK HEDD distributors CUK. It was driven by an ADI-2 as preamp and DAC. Lineariser was not engaged. Placement was appropriate - close enough to the front wall to push speaker-boundary interference away from the midbass. Build seemed solid. But the mounting of the modularity might benefit from a rail-based system ala Kii rather than the bolt-based system currently, to make it easier.

The HEDD sound seems to be dominated by the relatively restricted dispersion of their AMT tweeter, generally dark and laid-back, lacking a bit of shimmer. The bass and midbass were some of the best I ever heard, with both slam and rumble, and effortless SPL. The lower midrange has a hauntingly good quality that shines on male vocals. The Type 07 had a slightly thin presentation on snarling male vocals (eg. Ronnie James Dio - Type 05 measurements showed a slight cone resonance at 800Hz, and the Type 07 might have it as well which would explain it), but that didn't seem to carry through to the flagship. I found it a really well-priced speaker for its size-class and featureset. Listening to a recording by the Civil Wars (Barton Hollow), I heard a very clear differentiation of the instruments and vocals, with an image that spread beyond the space between the speakers. But there seemed to be less midbass than I remembered on my own standmounters - possibly a hint of an unfavourable bass node that was not obviously excited by the other songs.
 
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Purité Audio

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Yes mounting the ’top’ module is a bit of a hoo haw, but Hedd provide neoprene spacers to rest the TMS36 on while you secure the side plates.
obviously I would be wary of forming any concrete opinions in an unfamiliar space, here the Hedd’s are in a different room so again not easy to directly compare , bass and mid bass is I agree superb.
Keith
 
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