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REVIEW: Meadowlark Audio Kestrel Speakers Review by Till E. at Audio Asylum

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I'm surprised to find no review of this speaker here, popular as they are. If you'll excuse the dangling participle and the fact that I haven't done this before, here goes:
I've owned the Kestrel's for nearly a year with my only other long term experience being with the Acoustat 1+1. I won't go into the well known differences between planar and dynamic speakers but it does effect my judgement.
I first drove these with a Conrad Johnson Sonographe SC-250 and found the bass generous but the mid and treble overly bright with CD as the source. That led to changing the Sonographe for a Music Reference RM-10 on the advice of the designer, Pat McGinty. Kestrel's obviously like tubes as the sound became more "musical"; the bass not as strong but more tuneful and the mid-range very lifelike. Treble maintained most of the detail as with SS but the glare was gone. The silk dome tweeters are very nice.
I tried using a volume pot/passive pre-amp instead of the SFL-1 I had and was rewarded with a more "airy" presentation of most CD's along with greater disappearance of the speakers from the image with no loss of dynamics. The pot remains, the SFL-1 is gone.
It seems that the Kestrel's respond well to system changes even though the tweeter's are not metal and the overall character could be termed somewhat "dark". Switching AQ Turquoise for Home Grown Silver Solution and then Silver Lace significantly improved the sound. A recent change from the supplied RAM 12ax7 input tubes on the RM-10 to NOS Amperex resulted in a slightly more detailed presentation with improved imaging and brought more "light" to the sound. It's important to note that I am over 50 and am probably hearing less of the high frequencies than when I was a yute. Still, I think most listeners will want to be sure that associated equipment doesn't add to the somewhat laidback presentation of all soft dome tweeters. The silver wire and Amperex tubes really work well with the amp and speakers. I hear no digital glare and can listen for hours.
One of the tests I put speakers to is how they capture the almost Sitar-like vibration of the guitar on track 6 of Joni Mitchell's Blue. Electrostat's really let this through. The Kestrel's were at first reluctant, but now pass with flying colors. Another detail cue is understanding Natalie Merchant's lyrics altogether and the way Emmylou Harris swallows a syllable at the end of every phrase. I'd have to say I'm hearing more actual words from Natalie but Emmylou is Emmylou.
I check imaging and tonal balance with Vivaldi's Concerto For Flute in D, The Connecticut Early Music Ensemble; Chesky CD-78. With all the changes in place, the performers are smack where they ought to be, and stay there. The image is quite deep and even the soloist has his own place as opposed to some that extend speaker to speaker. I hate that. The bass growls, Cello's sing and violin's reveal strong attacks on the downbow. Good balance overall. The various system changes took the flute from generic to a very definite sound of a period, wooden instrument.
Another good test of tonality is Janacek Sinfonietta, Mackerras and the Vienna; London 448 255-2. A wonderful performance but the recording tends to make the trumpets sound like flugelhorns. This was one of the main reasons I began to brighten the system and suspect my hearing. The good news is how well the Kestrel's responded: while I wouldn't characterise them as neutral, they obviously are truthful.
Okay, will they rock?
How about Sympathy For the Devil? Mick and the boys live and in person.The EL-84's in the Music Reference will never be mistaken for EL-34's in Fender's, but the Kestrel's will go LOUD with 30 watts. All the sheer fun of Los Fabulosos Cadillacs 20 Grande Exitos caroms around my listening room; you have to get up and Salsa. What! You've never heard this Argentine rock/salsa/skai/Spike Jones group? Gedouddahere! (Sony LA2K-82681)
So where does that leave us? Well, in my listening room, 12X26X8 drywall over carpeted concrete, I can't get a wall to wall image. While 80% of good imaging results from placing the Kestrel's almost anywhere, I had to work really hard to find the placement and toe-in that released left and right "boundary instruments" from the speakers. That was especially true of the cymbals on Pat Barber's Cafe Blue. I also had trouble with exaggerated tonal shift from right to left on Horowitz at The Met, Musical Heritage 515652F. All this is now solved but very room dependent.
For a poor working stiff like me, the Meadowlark Kestrel's are well beyond what I expected at their price and wonderfully enjoyable. The best I can say is that they make music in a way that has caused me to forget about whether the source is digital or analog. The only negative is that lack of wall to wall soundstage I've heard with more expensive systems.



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Topic - REVIEW: Meadowlark Audio Kestrel Speakers Review by Till E. at Audio Asylum - Till E. 10:23:05 06/7/01 ( 2)