Nashua, NH Dealer Event Saturday Afternoon

Fidelis AV (460 Amherst Street) is holding a Technics Open House, Head-fi meet, and REL subwoofer demo on Saturday December 5 from noon–5pm. Bill Voss from Technics will be presenting and discussing Technics' new C700 Premium Series components (above). This series features a D/A integrated amplifier, a network player and CD player, as well as the new, linear-phase, point-sound-source SB-C700 loudspeaker, which is favorably reviewed in the forthcoming January issue of Stereophile. Dave Shultz will be demonstrating REL Acoustics subwoofers, and Vinnie Rossi will be showing his headphone amplifiers.

RSVP by calling (603) 880-hifi or emailing store@fidelisav.com.

COMMENTS
crenca's picture

I had a chance to listen to this speaker at a dealer this weekend. The treble was very harsh. Not only was it overly emphasized, it had a brassy/metallic character that grated the soul right from the beginning. I can't remember the name of the amp, but the dealer said it was in the $7k range. I recall the rest of the FR being OK, but it was impossible to get past that harsh treble sound.

I also listened to some GoldenEar 5's hooked up to a Rogue Audio Spinx. Now that sounded good...

K.Reid's picture

The C700 is not a harsh sounding speaker. In fact, it is quite dynamic and thoroughly engaging but upstream pairing of electronics is key. It will reveal bad recordings without mercy much like a studio monitor will. Technics recommends their integrated amplifier and lots of break in time. The amplifier used must have a high damping factor and robust 4ohm drive capability. I had an extended listening session at the NY Audio show in Rye Brook, NY and I was captivating by the macro and micro dynamics the made the KEF LS50 sound a little weak kneed particularly in mid bass by comparison. Steve Guttenberg agrees as I suspect Herb Reichert will when we read is January review. I thought it was quite spectacular for a small, well engineered box speaker.

crenca's picture

This is of course the problem - was it the speakers I was hearing, or some other part of the audio chain? I am confident in the recordings (they were a known quantity and not the problem) and the acoustics of the room. I am reasonably confident in the basic SQ of the amp - though I admit it could have been a simple mismatch. I doubt cabling could have had this much of an effect on the sound character. Would have more break in helped? Probably, but I doubt it would have changed the fundamental character of the treble - perhaps smoothing it some.

However, I have noticed that I like a more "natural" treble. When I attended our local symphony this past Saturday night, I did not notice all this "air" and "detail" and what not (the usual lingo) that folks use to describe these speakers with these "hot" tweeters. Of course it was present and as accurate as you can get (it is real live music after all).

Besides, like I said I heard a strange metallic flavor in addition to the treble being overemphasized. Of course, I admit it could have been other components (or something terribly wrong - a malfunctioning component maybe), but like I said I have reason to believe this speaker has this character built in at least to some degree...

K.Reid's picture

I did not find the tweeter to be forward or overemphasized. The tweeter was quite revealing and will definitely expose the character of upstream components. You want as neutral an amplifier as possible, in my opinion. You did not mention the components makes or models so I cannot comment as to what may have been the issue. You also did not mention what break in period was given to the speakers or the room that you listened in. All of the above goes a long way to assess what you experienced. Next month, John Atkinson's measurements will tell us about the Tweeter's measured behavior and whether it is neutral or far from, but my ears enjoyed the many Holly Cole and orchestra tracks I heard.

K.Reid's picture

During my listening session, the Technics rep mentioned the speakers were fully broken in. I did not get to hear the C700 with any hard rock music, so I cannot comment on its abilities in the rock's power range, but the orchestra music I heard was dynamic as was Holly's Cole's "Get out of Town" from her It Happened One Night live recording, which had plenty of mid bass punch and dynamics. Bass guitar was especially convincing. At the end of the day I thought this speaker was more dynamic than...say the KEF LS50. There's only so much you can expect from a small 17-18lb box. I thought the sound quality and what Technics achieved was pretty remarkable.

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