Flevoman

Comparing the speakers side by side won’t be possible. Listening to the speakers on location is an option, but then you're listening to a different setup in a different acoustic space. Of course, this will give you an impression of the speakers, but at home, they will sound different. In other words, the purchase will remain a gamble. By the way, the link you shared, @KT88 is interesting. This is just the opinion of one individual and not a definitive fact, but it was certainly interesting to read. My brother is a bit less adventurous when it comes to buying and selling speakers. However, he is intrigued by the CF-4.

Thank you for the replys guys. I will send them to my brother and let him decide 😊

True, that's the reason why I am wondering if they will surpass the CW4. The price is 3k in euro by the way

I see a pair of CF-4s for sale in Belgium. I've never heard these speakers, but from what I read on this forum, they seem to be amazing speakers and rare. My brother is using my old Cornwall 4, and his music style is quite diverse. He definitely enjoys jazz and acoustic music, but it leans mostly towards pop and metal. Will the CF-Epic outperform the Cornwall 4? Or should he better stick with the CW4?

The Cambridge has been replaced by a DIY streamer+DDDAC. I would like to keep this in my system, but as a result, I am tied to a few factors that make it harder to find the right component. It must have an analog input and a digital (preferably XLR) output. The only option I have found so far is the Minidsp SHD. However, I currently know too little about this device to determine whether it is indeed suitable or if there are other options.

I wish 😂.. I have no idea when, first I have to find out what is the best way to implant Dirac in to my system. For now I think it has to be done with something from Minidsp.

To be completely honest, I have no idea how well Dirac works with phase. The whole topic of phase is still a new area for me also. I can only share what I’ve heard from a few users I know and whose knowledge and experience I trust enough to take seriously. So far, I’ve only heard very positive feedback about Dirac and how it handles phase, among other things. I’m definitely very curious about it and am exploring how I can best implement it in my system.

How I understand things is this where Dirac is your best friend. A good audio friend just bought 1 for his setup and he is very pleased with it.

I fully agree on this

@KT88 Thank you for your explanation, Heinz, and for the link. It was an interesting explanation to read and it also clarified for me what is meant by single source. However, if I understand the explanation from the link correctly, the UJ can never be a single source. As I understand it, the strength of a single source lies in the fact that both the tweeter and the woofer are integrated into one component, causing the entire signal to be emitted from one central point. With my layman's knowledge, I would sooner say that the UJ functions similar to a normal speaker that consists of different drivers. But then again, who am I to contradict Roy's words? I just can't quite see the logic of why the UJ can be considered a single source. By the way, the horns have been horizontal again for a few days now. I'm going to listen to them this way for a few more days 😊

I understand the hint, Heinz. 😉 I will listen to the horns horizontally once again, but this time for a longer period instead of a brief impression. I just don’t quite understand what point source exactly means. Do you mean a very precise placement of instruments/vocals by this, perhaps? I can find information about pan controle via Google. There, I read the explanation that this technique is used during recording to give the singer/instrument a position where it seems to be located. Nicely in the center, or slightly off-center. But I know nothing about the possibility of applying this yourself as a user in your setup.

Sorry, I forgot what your setup is exactly. But do I understand from your response that you also own the UJ but see the Al as the best speaker? If so, I’m curious and would love to hear your opinion on this.

Can you please explain what a "pan" controle is?

For those who enjoy reading this and for those who might face this choice one day and are searching for information (which I couldn’t find myself), here’s my personal comparison between the Underground Jubilee and the La Scala AL5. In another post, I already shared my first impressions when switching from the UJ to the AL5, and I’ll copy-paste that here. Below that, I’ve added my impressions of switching back from the AL5 to the UJ. Setup: DIY streamer/DDDac DSpeaker Anti-Mode 2.0 Aiyima A07 MAX (for the bass bins) 45 SET (for the K402) Yamaha SP2060 DSP UJ + TAD Please keep in mind that I always need a bit more time to notice differences. My first impression when hearing the AL5 play again was a smaller sound and a lower soundstage and of course less bass. However, tonally, I found the AL5 very similar to the UJ. It was slightly less refined but not a huge difference. Only after listening to more tracks could I better distinguish the differences, and they turned out to be more significant and noticeable than my initial impression when I first heard the AL5 again. In terms of performance, the UJ is better in every aspect. The music feels richer, with more micro-detail, fuller, and the highs seem to extend further and are more detailed.The UJ sound a bit more open compared to the AL5. There's more energy in the music, more impact with drums, piano etc. Especially during drum solos, which I’m quite familiar with on the UJ, the AL5 sounded great, but the UJ still delivered them a notch better—more dynamic and more realistic. Female vocals sound even more magical on the UJ than on the AL5. Naturally, the sound on the UJ is also larger. The UJ delivers more slam—a kind of slam you feel more in your body than you actually hear. Now that I’ve reconnected the UJ after a week, I oddly enough hear the differences between the AL5 and the UJ better than the other way around, when I switched from the UJ to the AL5. The first thing I noticed was, of course, that the sound was grander. It also sounded more open, as if yet another layer had been removed from the speaker. Naturally, the bass sounded fuller. It even took a moment to readjust to the "more bass" after a week of listening to the La Scala. After listening to more tracks, what stood out the most was how much better, for instance, vocals sounded. More open, magical, and realistic. The drums also stood out as a noticeable difference. There’s nothing wrong with how a drum sounds on the La Scala, but the UJ has just a bit more body, presents it with greater dynamics, and makes the fine detail of the vibrating drumhead more audible. The kick/impact is also more present, making the whole sound very realistic on the UJ. The same applies to, for example, the piano. It has more energy, more body, and the strike of the strings sounds more dynamic and richer in tone and detail. Again, there’s nothing wrong with how it sounds on the La Scala, but with the UJ, it’s clearly more realistic, grander, and more impressive. I must honestly admit that during the week I listened to the AL5, I already began missing the UJ. Now it sounds like I’m badmouthing the AL5, which is absolutely not my intention. Before I owned the UJ, I was very content with how the AL5 sounded... until I heard the UJ. Then going back to the AL5, it feels a bit dull, maybe even. A bit less lively, less dynamic, less open, less detailed—just a little less overall. Does the UJ really outshine the AL5 in every aspect? Yes and no. When comparing each point individually, the UJ does perform better. But the AL5 has something the UJ doesn’t: a somewhat smaller soundstage. And that does have its charm. At certain moments, it can sound very pleasant—more intimate. For example, a big band can sound grand and impressive, but sometimes you just prefer a single singer strumming her guitar. What the AL5 does slightly better ( in my setup) is delivering a bit more of a 3D experience with some tracks. It’s as if you could almost touch the saxophone, so to speak. In terms of positioning and live presence, both do well, though the UJ gives more of a live feel. But the impression that the singer is really standing in front of you, that holographic quality, the AL5 ( in my setup) can sometimes do just a tad better with certain tracks. Maybe the smaller soundstage works to its advantage here? Maybe it’s my acoustics? In any case, the AL5 is truly an amazing speaker, but the UJ does everything just a bit better/more pleasantly.

I currently have the AL5 playing, and for fun, I decided to check at what dB level I’m actually listening and what level sounds most pleasant. By the way, I measured this with an app on my phone, so it’s probably not super accurate. Below 70 dB, it sounds good, but I do miss some dynamics and a live feel—it might even sound a bit dull. Around 78 dB, I think it sounds great. The dynamics are present, the music feels lively, it’s not disturbingly loud, and the live feel is strong. Around 85 dB, it can really shine. With the right tracks, you get a solid kick and punch in the sound that you can also feel—tight and dry. I rarely play much louder than this, though.