What do you think of Sunfire's cinema ribbon speakers?

[deacongreg]

Originally Posted by kennyt

I got to spend some time with Bob at the EHX expo in Orlando recently, what a super nice guy! He will gladly sit and geek out over audio for unlimited time, he gave me the complete history of the CR's dating back to Koss's original audio papers and his own research since. Then kindly regailed me with the reason they were made (his wife really did tell him to get rid of his floor standing speakers!!) and just what it took to create them. He was a joy to meet, and as enthusiastic as they come. He is not a young man, even though all the pictures you see of him are usually with the great 70's hair he had, yet you wouldn't guess his age by his energy. He is truly passionate about audio!

That is great to hear kennyt. I`ve always admired Bob Carver. From his earlier Phase Linear amplifiers, and his 3 - dimensional Holographic preamplifier, and now his Sunfire amplifiers and speakers, I `ve always have felt that Bob has not got his just do. Its good that you had a great time with him.
I`ve been wondering actually since HE2007, with what you and I heard from Bel Canto, wouldn`t it be intere sting or nice if Bob would re - introduce his "Magnetic Field Amplifier"to the marketplace. Its small in dimensions like the Bel Cantos, plenty of power, I believe it was 205 watts per channel. And it would fit, like the Bel`s, in very easy into more home theater installations.
What do you think about that?

[kennyt]

The more I hear the Bel Canto's the more I think they will find a home in my system. I think they are one of the best deals for amps on the market right now. FWIW Bob was talking about a new subwoofer amp that power supply included was the size of a matchbook and 3,400 wpc... I think he is waiting to release it until the entire sub can be that size!

[BIKER]

Well,

I just changed my mind.. I was thinking of purchasing tower speakers. I just demoed the CANTON 809DC and a pair of CANTON Ref 5 series speakers, $5K ad $10K/pr respectively. I thought the new CRS-3 speakers when combined with the True Subwoofer sounded as good or better than the CANTONs. By simply dialing in the volume/ frequency I was able to get just the right rumble/crisp base tones whether it was jazz/rock/electronic music.
A sunfire TGP-5 processor/TGA5200 amp was driving the system and the soundstage was improved/at its best w/ the SONIC HOLOGRAPHY enabled.
For about $4500 for L/R/C Subwoofer it would cost over $7500 for a matching CANTON speaker set up.

[kennyt]

I can't argue the cost difference BIKER, but the CR's are no Vento's. The CR do compress at volume, and give a wider soundstage but less imagine and absolute detail.

That said, they are both very good speakers and either one can be better depending on your tastes,room, etc.

Enjoy the Ribbons, they are one of the coolest speakers out now, amazingly funky to look at, sound good, and wait until you get them and unpack them! They are packed better than ANY product I have gotten in as long as I can remember! No kidding, they are packed like a fine watch, not an $800 speaker!

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by kennyt

I can't argue the cost difference BIKER, but the CR's are no Vento's. The CR do compress at volume, and give a wider soundstage but less imagine and absolute detail.

That said, they are both very good speakers and either one can be better depending on your tastes,room, etc.

Enjoy the Ribbons, they are one of the coolest speakers out now, amazingly funky to look at, sound good, and wait until you get them and unpack them! They are packed better than ANY product I have gotten in as long as I can remember! No kidding, they are packed like a fine watch, not an $800 speaker!

He's talking about the Treos. They have THREE 4.5" EMF woofers combined with the Ribbon. They're $1000 each or $2000 for a pair. The center has four woofers and is $1250.

I think they're an improvement over the CRs you reviewed, but only from what I've heard from Carver. I've yet to get a pair or set to test for my own.

I'm a fan of Canton as a brand that most don't recognize but is one of the better deals in AV. If memory serves the Ventos are the top of the line product right? With a $10K a pair set? I can think of a few brands I'd rather have at $10k than Canton... off the top of my head Martin Logan Summits, Avalon Acoustics Ascendants...

[kennyt]

The CRS-3's you are referring to have been around, not on the website or for sale, but at shows for around a year. They do not have the same advantage of cabinet shape and are a little less open (per my experience with the center and Mr Carver's personal comparison) They are designed to go on walls when the CRM-2's can't be used. I haven't had them personally, though I did have both the CRM-2 and CRM2C ()I preferred the CRM-2's all the way around) I would think the CRM-2's might slightly edge out the on walls, but I could be wrong.