Vintage Asylum

Classic gear from yesteryear; vintage audio standing the test of time.

Return to Vintage Asylum

Message Sort: Post Order or Asylum Reverse Threaded

A shout out for Shahinian speakers!

66.87.77.1
Posted on May 27, 2017 at 04:37:26
Baranyi
Audiophile

Posts: 359
Location: Midwest
Joined: January 11, 2005
Contributor
  Since: August 31, 2012
 I always wanted to listen to the Obelisks in my home and finally bought a pair of 1990's vintage in excellent condition. I first heard them in Virginia about 1980 when I was in college and they were the best speaker at Digital Sound in Chesapeake VA. Anyway, I tried them with large Webster Tube amps (PP 6550) I have laying around and I thought they were pretty good. A good friend Dave Cox came to visit for Axpona bringing his Octave Research SS amps and the speakers came alive! They are excellent in my room that has 11 foot ceilings and fill the room very naturally with music. I find them to be one of the finest speakers that no one talks about anymore. As we all know there are amazing array of great vintage speakers. That all have their own magic I love the Magnepan Tympani speakers, Acoustats, Ohm F's, Jbl's , Electro voice, Jensens, Quads and many others. The Shahinians should definitely be in the conversation! I listen to mostly classical and Jazz and these speakers bring music in the room with their own version of magic! They are very compelling in a manageable small package.

 

Hide full thread outline!
    ...
RE: A shout out for Shahinian speakers!, posted on May 27, 2017 at 09:07:28
Lee of Omaha
Dealer

Posts: 1800
Location: Omaha NE
Joined: September 8, 2006
 We had a pair of Shahinians in our shop for a little while. While nice, they are really picky about amps. Some amps of good repute sounded pretty awful with them, others sounded much better.

 

Which explains why Shahinian always recommended Bedini~nT, posted on May 27, 2017 at 13:10:02
Cleantimestream
Audiophile

Posts: 7551
Location: Kentucky
Joined: June 30, 2005
 ~!
The Mind has No Firewall~ U.S. Army War College.

 

RE: Which explains why Shahinian always recommended Bedini~nT, posted on May 27, 2017 at 13:40:10
Baranyi
Audiophile

Posts: 359
Location: Midwest
Joined: January 11, 2005
Contributor
  Since: August 31, 2012
 They now recommend Plinius amps.

 

RE: Which explains why Shahinian always recommended Bedini~nT, posted on May 27, 2017 at 15:44:25
Cleantimestream
Audiophile

Posts: 7551
Location: Kentucky
Joined: June 30, 2005
 Yes, Sadly... Bedini {John and Gary} passed within 4 hours of each other, last year. I attended the funeral... the end of an era.
The Mind has No Firewall~ U.S. Army War College.

 

Always regret selling mine., posted on May 27, 2017 at 22:18:15
Mr. Dick Hertz
 I owned a pair from about 1980 through 1995 or so. Mine were powered with a Hafler DH-500 amp and they really kicked butt. In the right room and with the right tunes (preferably classical) they were magnificent. They also did rock music pretty damn good too. And as you point out, they are grossly underappreciated. Great speakers.

 

RE: Always regret selling mine., posted on May 29, 2017 at 05:21:47
Baranyi
Audiophile

Posts: 359
Location: Midwest
Joined: January 11, 2005
Contributor
  Since: August 31, 2012
 They seem to have no dealers in the USA which is a shame. I was really surprised how the little Obelisks filled my room. If I didn't have Beveridges, I could use these as daily drivers and be quite happy. Another audio nut Dave Cox (Puckerbrush Audio of Maine) and I went to Axpona and we came back to my house and listened to the Obelisks and both agreed they were as good conveying a musical experience as anything we heard at the show.

 

RE: A shout out for Shahinian speakers!, posted on May 30, 2017 at 18:25:22
6bq5
Audiophile

Posts: 4393
Location: SF Bay
Joined: August 16, 2001
 I have a pair of Elf that I have had in the living room for low these past 15 years - and everyone enjoys the sound-

All Shahinian speakers like high damping - so either SS or a few tube units that can provide decent damping-
Happy Listening

 

RE: My first "Audiophile" Loudspeakers, posted on May 30, 2017 at 19:15:39
BigguyinATL
Manufacturer

Posts: 3475
Joined: April 10, 2002
 were Obelisks... My ears were young, budget reasonable, enthusiasm, as it still is, high. 1980
Bookend Teak finish was striking.


"The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat" - Confucius

 

RE: Which explains why Shahinian always recommended Bedini~nT, posted on May 31, 2017 at 14:38:56
Lee of Omaha
Dealer

Posts: 1800
Location: Omaha NE
Joined: September 8, 2006
 Ours came in with a Bedini marked 100 watts class A (it wasn't class A, as I discussed in a post about 2 years ago). It did sound good with the Shahinians. A Nakamichi PA-7 (Nelson Pass design and very good sounding amp) didn't get along with the Shahinians, the only speaker we tried it on that it disagreed with.

Sadly the amp and speakers sold separately, against my recommendation. It was a consignment sale. I hope both purchasers are happy.

 

Amps for Obelisks.., posted on June 1, 2017 at 12:18:15
BigguyinATL
Manufacturer

Posts: 3475
Joined: April 10, 2002
 I owned four different Amplifiers while using the original Obelisks.
(1) Kenwood KA7300 Integrated. This 60 Watt Amplifier featured a Darlington Paired output device. Very low output impedance - Well regulated power supply. Sound was good - but with dynamic material the Kenwood would clip.
(2) "upgrade" to the Carver M400 Cube. Actually, not a bad sounding amp with the Obelisks. Made a nice aesthetic package with the Amp and Dynaco PAT-5 preamp I built/used after selling the Kenwood - both in champagne gold.
(3) Built a Dynaco 410 power amp for fun and swapped it in and out of the system - along with a couple different preamps (A Hafler DH101, and an Advent 300.) Ended up selling the PAT5/M400 combo for what I had in them (almost). Added Advent 500 soundspace digital delay and rear channels and had incredible sound with the Advent 300 driving Minimus 7 and later Boston A40 rear channels. Still own the A40, Advent 300 and 500. Psychoacoustically I liked performance of the Dyna410's less regulated supply (compared to the Kenwood) and also better than the no regulated supply of the Carver. The Carver had a slightly higher noise floor in my system.
(4) At this time I was 2nd jobbing selling Hi-fi @ Henry Radio in Orange County and took home the APT One Amp from Holman for a weekend. Liked it a lot too! but instead bought a new preamp (Acoustat RP2A) with some money as I was upgrading my turntable also.

The Shahinians and the Dyna left together along with my Real to real and Philips 212 turntable shortly there after to a friend that caught the audio bug. While I need collateral for an engagement ring!

Happy Ending (I think) to my Shahinian story...

Still Married.
"The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat" - Confucius

 

RE: A shout out for Shahinian speakers!, posted on June 1, 2017 at 12:57:37
BigguyinATL
Manufacturer

Posts: 3475
Joined: April 10, 2002
 BTW - Obelisks break a lot of the rules:
Not Time Aligned - fairly awful first arrival frequency response. Tweeter below ear level, & On wheels! (at least from 2.0)

They do have a tight (low resonance) cabinet and a compound T-Line Passive Radiator bass loading

Sound excellent and image like a concert! Live performance are outstanding.


"The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat" - Confucius

 

RE: Which explains why Shahinian always recommended Bedini~nT, posted on June 2, 2017 at 14:31:44
Cleantimestream
Audiophile

Posts: 7551
Location: Kentucky
Joined: June 30, 2005
 Only the MEG 100/100 was true class A @ 100 watts.

The 25 and the quite rare 200 that John built just before he died, were true class A.
The Mind has No Firewall~ U.S. Army War College.

 

Page processed in 0.024 seconds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]