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One of my personal gripes about audio, particularly high end audio, is the proliferation of behemoth speakers, some of which look like they could grace a Star Wars set or or just flat butt ugly. These speakers demand dedicated listening rooms because no one would have these speakers in their living rooms.My other gripe about high end audio is that the typical high end store will tell you that your $20k speakers needs another $20k in amps, preamps and cables to sound good.
The Orion addresses both of these issues. By high end standards, this is a very attractive speaker. It's small compared to most high end speakers I've seen. This is not some massive speaker that is going to dominate the room no matter what you do. What struck me about Don's speakers is that you can do a lot to make them blend into the room's decor. Don's speakers are gray which matches the grays in the room. As a result, the speakers blend in with the room and don't call attention to themselves (It may cost a little more, but I'm sure SL's woodworker will make these speakers in whatever color combo you like). This speaker can fit into one's living environment. Don's wife uses the back of the speakers to hold plants!!! Some may call that sacrilege, I call it great. In the Orion, SL is making a statement that high end sound can blend in with one's living environment (Granted, the Orion's size is due to the fact it is a dipole, but the Orion makes you wonder why there aren't more dipoles on the market).
Second, we all know the standard rule of thumb: spend about 50% of your budget on the speakers and the rest for electronics. Then we spend countless hours auditioning speaker/amp combos or pick speakers and go thru the ritual of trying to find the right synergy between electronics and the speaker. SL has done most of this work for you and the electronics are downright dirt cheap by high end standards. This is NOT a $6500 speaker that needs another $6500 in electronics. The recommended amp for the Orion is around $1500 and is included in the $6500 price tag (this also show one inherent advantage of active speakers: they usually don't need expensive amps). Cabling is either included or is nominal in price: no speaker cable costing hundreds of dollars. How many questions do we see here about what cables/amps goes with this or that speaker? I know I spent years trying to discover the right driver/amp combo for my speakers.
This is a small attractive high end design that doesn't need the usual investment in associated electronics to sound great. Best of all, SL has worked out most of the synergy issues for you.
Follow Ups:
I have been running my active tri-amped Waveform Mach 17's for over 3 years now. The Mach 17 includes a custom built Bryston active 3-way crossover. Since I already have a tri-amped infrastructure in place ( amps, interconnects, speaker cables ) I keep threatening to build some Orions one of these days :-)I have played with many amps over the years -> many Brytons, EAD PM2000 & PM1000 & PM500, Cinepro 3K6-III, pro amps ( Crown & QSC ).
And my latest amp is a new Sim Audio Titan 7-channel that powers my Mach 17's and centre channel. The sonics & power of the Titan will keep me happy for a long long time, just as the PM2000 did before it.My thoughts are that just because one now has active speakers, great electronics do not become unnecessary. Same goes with interconnects and speaker cables. Sure a $1500 6-channel amp is a good start, but it can ALWAYS get better.
I also "think" that amps induce their own sort of "phase" or "delay" as teh signal flows through it. In my experiences, mixing & matching different brands of amps will not always yield the most cohesive sonics. Even when using something like a Placette passive to ensure proper level matching. I have had my best "cohesive" results by running a 6-channel amp, like the Cinepro and the Sim Titan.
- Andy
These speakers DO warrant refined amps as refined as teh speaker. As I said on Madisound, home constructors often make the big mistake of handcuffing the full potential of active speakers by looking for mulitple "value based" amps instead of refined amps that cost. In passive a $1500 amp can do a very fine job, but when the same $1500 must be spread over mulitple amps, there is a comprimise that hamstrings the full potential of the speaker design.
I couldn't agree less. You CAN use less expensive amps with active designs because you know the exact driver that the amp is powering. There is no need to design for loads the driver doesn't present, for example.When you don't know the driver, you have to build an amp to perform in a variety of conditions.
Disagree all you want, but variances exist in amps suitable for each driver.Actives do not eliminate the need for quality source or amplification they just require more amps.
Not a place to cut corners with a high refinement high quality set like SL's creations.
Not a question of cutting corners, but not using an amp which can do things it will never be called upon to do. One indication of some of the better made amps are their ability to drive difficult loads, but if the amp is never going to be called upon to drive such a load, who cares??? And why should you pay for it????
50% of the budget on speakers - I would not use that rule.
Regards,
Metralla
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