High Efficiency Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Bastani Prometheus II with Gemini tweeters Speakers by dth31 Need speakers that can rock with just one watt? You found da place.

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Model:	Prometheus II with Gemini tweeters
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$2198 (kit, without baffles)
Description:	D.I.Y. Open baffle with powered subs
Manufacturer URL:	Bastani
Model Picture:	View

Review by dth31 on March 25, 2007 at 14:15:44 IP Address: 70.181.179.230

Add Your Review for the Prometheus II with Gemini tweeters

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Prometheus II open baffle speakers with Gemini tweeter upgrade
$2198 (kit, Gemini tweeter extra); baffles by Audio Specialties of New Mexico

Let me start out by saying that while I have not heard even close to every high efficiency speaker out there, these are the best speakers I have heard, period. Above all, they are eminently musical, balanced and place life-sized images of seemingly real performers in the room with me. There is a truth and clarity to every recording that is akin to summertime mountain stream water: clear, refreshing, and bold without being too cold or warm.

These speakers bring a reality to recordings that I simply have not experienced before. Instruments sound like themselves. Note the lack of qualification. That statement is high praise, because most speakers tend to make some instruments, but not others, sound realistic. Different types of guitars and strings are easily identifiable. Cymbals shimmer without excessive sibilance. Percussion pops. Strings, brass, woodwinds have truthful tone and timbre. Depending upon the recording, strings may sound rosiny with lots of body, or smooth when more distantly miked. People and instruments have body. Clarity and realism that must be experienced to be appreciated.

It is important to emphasize that these speakers are DEFINITELY not “romantic”, “warm”, “slow” or “colored”. These speakers tell you exactly what is on the recording, and no 2 recordings sound alike. Change a component or interconnect and these speakers will tell you about. Change a few resistors or capacitors and you can hear the difference. However, neither are these speakers “cold” or hyper-analytical. They make beautiful, enjoyable, involving music that just pulls you in. There is lots of detail, but it is not the kind of false detail that calls undue attention to itself. The detail is simply part of the music: just like it is with real, live music.

These speakers are also equally at home with just about any type of music. They sound great on orchestral and chamber music, solo acoustic music, and rock. Voices in particular are outstanding and sound eerily real. Orchestras sound big and powerful. Rock rocks.

Are there things the Prometheus II’s don’t do well? Not from my perspective, but maybe from yours, depending upon your preferences. The most significant criticism that some might make (like my wife, but not me) is that they do take a little bit of volume to sound their very best. Soundstaging and imaging are another area that some may not fully appreciate. In my room, the soundstage is large and wide. Individual images also tend to be large, somewhat overlapping and the soundstage tends to be flatter than with some speakers. To me, this is a real strength of the Prometheus II’s because that is how I hear live music. For years we sat in the 2nd row of Verizon Hall at the Philadelphia Orchestra, and now sit in about the 12th row at the San Diego Symphony. These speakers give more of an upfront-to-mid hall perspective on the music, rather than rear hall. However, for those who like (to my ears artificially) small, pinpoint images with depth that goes back seemingly forever, these speakers may not be your cup of tea. This perspective is likely a function of room placement, too, and since I like the way the speakers image, I have not experimented to see if I can get more soundstage depth.

One question that some may have, and which I had before setting them up in my home and listening to them, was how well the powered subwoofers integrate with the baffles. The main speakers are fast and integrating subs with fast main speakers can be a major challenge. I don’t know how Robert Bastanis did it, but he successfully met the challenge. When I first set the speakers up, I had too much sub output and the subs were easy to hear. However, it was amazingly easy to adjust the sub amp settings (based upon Tony’s guidance) and now when the subs are on, there is absolutely no awareness that any sound is coming from them. They only become noticeable by their absence, if you turn them off. Outstanding.

The last thing I would like to comment on is the fact that the Prometheus II’s come as a kit. Woodworking is well beyond me, and these speakers are SO good, that I felt they deserved quality baffles. Tony Landry of Audio Specialties of New Mexico (www.audiospecialtiesofnm.com) built the custom hardwood baffles for me and did an absolutely fantastic job. Tony is a music-loving audiophile perfectionist who not only built the baffles but also installed the drivers for me (although it would have been simple for me to do that). Prior to building the baffles, Tony spent a lot of time showing me pictures, asking me exactly what I was looking for, and understanding my listening preferences. Great customer service and an outstanding buying experience. While the baffles were not cheap, they were a very good value. I HIGHLY recommend Tony and his work.

Comparisons:
I have not had the opportunity to listen to the Prometheus II speakers with other equipment than what was described above, particularly lower-powered SET amps. For example, in a large room, Tony feels that a 2A3 SET amp probably doesn’t have enough power for these speakers (although his listening room is very large). However, I can compare my current system to my old system. My old system consisted of the same analog source, a Wadia 850 CD player, Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Mk3 tube preamp, Bryston 7B-ST monoblock amps, and Magneplanar 3.6R speakers with dual Vandersteen subs (which were GREAT subs, BTW). Hands down, with absolutely NO question, I FAR prefer my current system. While the old system did a lot of things right, in the end it just wasn’t musical to me and was fatiguing to listen to (even with an analog source). I’ve been listening to music for 5 hours today, not unusual for me, and I will probably listen for a few more hours. Never did that with the old system, and that was in large part why I knew I needed to make a major redesign of my system.

Conclusion:
Tastes in audio vary, sometimes greatly, and there is no “right” or “wrong” when it comes to taste. Hopefully I have given you a good enough idea of my taste, and what I value in a music system, that you will be able to discern whether you might like these speakers. I certainly do. The electronics in my system may change, but I don’t see changing these speakers any time soon. They are superb and a tremendous value. For me.

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Product Weakness:	Take a little bit of power to sound their very best. May not be ideal for a 2A3 SET amp in a large room.
Product Strengths:	Clarity. Musicality. Neutrality. Realism.

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Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	DIY HiFi Supply Ladyday II 300B monoblock amplifiers with grid chokes, Audio Note tantalum resistors, Audio Note coupling capacitors, BlackGate and Elna Cerafine B+ and filament supply capacitors
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Audio Note kits M3 Signature preamp; Bottlehead extended Foreplay III preamp, Bottlehead Seduction phono stage with C4S, Jupiter coupling capacitors, BlackGate PS capacitors
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	VPI SuperScoutmaster turntable with JMW-9 arm and SDS; van den Hul Frog
Speakers:	under review
Cables/Interconnects:	various
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Orchestral, chamber, rock, acoustic
Time Period/Length of Audition:	3 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	various
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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