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Both these bookshelf speakers seem to draw raves.Anybody hear them? If so, please describe how they sound and which speakers they beat out or lose out to in your honest opinion.
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Can't find anything on the EFE's but the Reimer site doesn't tell much about the crossover other than frequency. Cabinets are MDF which won't be as dead as the Green Mountain marble cabinets. Looks like the company produces a very good product without listening to them. They are using all top quality drivers, good internal wiring, and have done their homework. Definately worth a listen, i'd say. I used to work with Roy Johnson(green moutain) in Colorado Springs. He has a masters in physics and to my knowledge is the only designer applying this type of physics to speaker design. His objective is to build a phase/time coheren loudspeaker. After spending 20 years in retail audio, I agree those are the most realistic sounding speakers. Roy also worked for the Colorado Symphony recording them using high end microphones so he also understands, quite clearly the recording process as well. I think thats paramount in speaker design. If you know the limitations, practices of the engineer, etc and sound of the instruments, you have a better understanding of live music. He recently came up with a breakthrough crossover design and I must tell you i'm sold. Listen to the Europa's. Roy will treat you right.
Can You please Elaborate on the NEW crossover Design?
Not really.....all I know is as the frequency of the music goes higher, the tweeter wants to play lower. Just the opposite is true for the woofer. This has been eliminated with the design of the crossover. Took 30 years of work, and trmendous research to find the sollution, but it's stunning to listen to. E-mail Roy....he can tell you more. I have no clue how he did it.
I have the Green Mountain Eauropa's and I LOVE them. My old speakers were ADS L-1290's, a classic design from the mid 1980's. The Europa's made them sound boxy. I have compared them to Accoustat panels and the Europa's have that electrostatic mid/high detail and warmth, but better low end. Have compared them to the Paradigm Reference 100's(at $3K) and again, the Europa's made the Paradigm's sound boxy, un-detailed and "artificial" if you can relate to that term. Not musical like the GMA's. Vocals, especially anything live, are simply breathtakingly clear. "Texture" is the only word that relates to voices on the Europa's. You hear emotion in vocals that simply isn't there in other speakers I have listened to. Imaging is to die for with these babies. The marble cabinets really are solid as hell. You can play these things so loud, things rattle in the room but walk up to the cabinet and place your hand on it: Nothing. No vibration whatsoever. Not familiar with the other two you mentioned, but I can tell you if they are not 1st order x-over(6db/octave), they will not sound as good as the Europa's. There is definately something to this phase alingment. You can find reviews of Green Mountain speakers by doing a search in Alta Vista. Also, on the web site www.audiogon.com go to discussion groups on the right side of the page, chose speakers, then type in europa or green mountain and see what others are saying about these remarkable speakers. You can reach the designer Roy Johnson at: gma@pcisys.net
I sent Roy an email today for information on his speakers and dealer locations so I can audition the speakers. How long does it take him to respond normally? I'm sure he is pretty busy.
Roy is busy, but never too busy for a customer. His new Europa is getting tons of well deserved praise and sales are skyrocketing, so i'm told. I'm sure he'll respond soon, if he hasn't already. Thanks for considering the Green Mountain Line.....you'll thank yourself after you hear them.
Dale,You summed it up great!
I heard that Roy has put a new crossover in the Europa's. I blew a tweeter with a 60 wpc Vecteur Club Six and the old crossover. I bet he corrected that.
Of course Roy sent me a new tweeter for free(with silver solder)and was very nice about it. A true class act.
Pete
Hi,Above is a picture of the T-22s.
The Europas and T-22s are the two best stand mounters I've ever owned, no contest. I had them in two different rooms with different electronics so it's tough to compare them, but I'll try. The GMs are VERY detailed and really spacious sounding. The T-22's have more punch but have that same since of realism that the GMs do. This is really a tough call on which one I prefer. The GMs need more power than the T-22s. As far as I can tell 80 watts plus if you like it loud. I think the T-22s had a more relaxed sound than the GM's but then again, I was driving them with a tube amp in a small room. Both designers are two of the nicest guys I've ever dealt with. Ed Frias now uses carbon woofers in his T-22 which he says make it sound much better(hard to believe). Ask me about any of the other stand mounter I've owned and it would be easy. These are the two best and I like them both equally. It sure would be nice to have them side by side to compare.
Good Luck!
Just learned today from talking to the Reimer McCullough designer that he also uses phase & time coherence like the Green Mountain speakers. He apparently uses a quasi-second order crossover of premium parts but only a few parts are needed in this type of crossover. He says his crossover is the best he has ever developed. That IMHO means alot, as his speakers have been voted or nominated "Best in Sound" at various audio shows. You really can't go wrong with this jewel.
another small manufacturer making an incredible product an outstanding value.I haven't heard the above speakers but have heard good things about them.... I have had a number of speakers from Meadowlark and Audio Physic up $5500 and the sound that I get from my JTM's from www.carolinaaudio.com is a revelation. If have had their monitor at home as well and have never heard such range from a speaker this size.
The combination of the Jordan single driver with a true transmission line is just something that has to be experienced to be believe. They are going for $1500 but I've heard there is going to be an increase sometime in the summer.
Hi Newk,If I could get that magic that you mentioned out of their $500 and $750 models that would be something. Have you heard them?
Thanks,
I will be listening to the smaller Carolina 5XL's in the next couple of weeks. If you shoot me an email I can tell you what i think when I get to spend some time with them.
Yes I've heard good things about transmission line technology.Carolina Audio and the Bugtussel Cingulate (very highly reviewed bookshelf) use transmission line and seems to be the next evolution up from traditional speaker design.
The Green Mountain Europa, however, is cheaper than even the Carolina. From the reviews I've read, the Europa seems to be destined as a classic regardless of price. Roy uses time/phase design. Both the tweeter and woofer are in phase with each other. VERY rare among mfgrs. (Vandersteen and Thiel use this principal). Benefits include realistic, dynamically LIVE sounding, like an electrostat, but with the tight bass of a well designed woofer. Soundstage is said to be huge and eerily realistic. Marble cabinets and heavily designed dampeners make the speaker DEAD quiet vibration-wise (less than 1% THD at 93 db I believe).......Electrostat/woofer designs like Martin Logan have been reviewed to have flubby bass compared to the Europa..........For lit and pics, contact the owner Roy at: gma@pcisys.net .........His website will be up soon. When contacting him, you'll realize that he's an audio genius like few I have ever come across. He's truly on a different sphere than all of us when it comes to audio.
Reimer's McCullough GS is another stand-out. Based on my research, they use top-line drivers, exceptional cross-overs, great craftmanship, and real *value* to boot! Great customer service. Unfortunately, speakers from him take 2 months to make. A dealer I know preferred it's mids and highs to the vaunted VMPS 626r.....Thus, the McCullough is in extremely elite company.
The Buggtussel Cingulate (transmission like the Carolina) was reviewed highly at the same levels as the 626r and McCullough. This, for me, is hard to believe. I must audition this one to see if that's true.
The EFE Technology T-22, B-15 and T-35 floorstander are designed by S. Cali based Ed Frias--a supposed crossover expert. Since crossovers are extremely important to the design of the speaker, Ed Frias' speakers are "giant killers" at relatively amazing prices. The $1k T-22 is said to be around the sonic equivalent (except he deeper bass) to the $6k JM Labs Mini Utopia. The $1.6k T-35 (30 HZ bass) is said to best the $8k B&W Nautilus 802.........Unfortunately, unless you live in S. Cali, or find an owner, you won't be able to audition. Based on the reviews on audioreview.com, it's a safe bet that you'll end up with a pretty amazing speaker. The fit and finish is also pretty nice.......For info, you can email him at: EFESPKRS@aol.com for literature and pics.
One other already recognized speaker that is exceptional regadless of it's budget price of $1300 street is the VMPS 626r. Use neo mid ribbons and ribbon tweeter. Supposed to provide amzing sound. Only caveat is it's narrow sweet-spot and the loss of sound from the ribbon mid when you stand-up. If you sit stationary in your den, then it's amazing. If you move around on a sofa and stand up alot, then there are better options to your lifestyle.
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