Jump to content

Hey guys just wondering if any of you have listened to Vienna Acoustics?


Recommended Posts

I went to a magnolia store just to listen to them the other day. They are pretty cool. But i only heard a pair of bookshelfs beccause i had to get going but they sounding amazing. But when they guy played a movie i think i'd still prefer my rf-82's. But for this clip of diana Krall. Holy cow she sounded like she was sitting right here singing. Just wondering what some of you guys think of those? I just rescently heard of the brand from someone at work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've had the opportunity to demo quite a few of the Vienna Acoustics speakers, some of the top end and some of the lower end. I think it's fair to claim that they tend towards a very natural tonal balance, but lack in the department of dynamics.

No offense to Krall lovers out there, but the recordings everyone uses of her for system demos are going to sound good no matter what speakers you play it on. Any sparse, relaxed, close mic'ed vocals recordings aren't going to bring out the distortions in a system. At best, it can be used to reveal the tonal balance of the speaker and that's probably why it sounds so great with VA speakers. The Eagles, Hotel California from the Hell Freezes Over tour is another popular recording amonst the Krall fans used for comparisons....again it's the same problems. The music is recorded great, and the style of the recordings are such that they don't bring out flaws - they just sound better than life on every system.

Don't get me wrong, it's always good to compare things with music that you love and are familiar with, but I would do it with music from your collection that is a bit more complex and covers the entire dynamic and frequency spectrum. In fact, it even helps to use source material with known flaws in the recording, because then you can expect a good system to reveal those flaws.

The downside to horn speakers is that they tend to have a rough tonal balance. This is where things start to get very room dependant because a controlled directivity speaker (like you get with horns) is actually going to achieve a smoother response at the listening position than a direct radiating topology in a room where early reflections are an issue. The better control over the power response is a big plus too...Nevertheless, since the directivity of the VA's at Best Buy aren't the same as your RF-82's at home, and the rooms are both completely different, then it's hard to claim which has the better tonal balance, which I would wager is the advantage you're hearing with the VA's?

I'd be curious to hear your impressions with other source material. I'm sure everyone is going to percieve things slightly differently so I hope I didn't offend sharing my experiences...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...