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Has anyone heard them and if so your thoughts.
Planning on purchasing them in April
The 100S's stood only about a foot from the sidewalls; Irbe believes that it's fine for them to be close to room boundaries, where they will acquire a bit of mid-bass emphasis. Adjust to taste. He added that the 100S speakers do best in small and medium-sized rooms, and that they also excel as nearfield monitors.
Since Aretai's AXPONA 2022 showing, where the 100S speakers were paired with well-regarded Benchmark gear, the company decided to hit the road with Convergent Audio electronics costing many times the Benchmarks' price. Convergent's JL5 power amp retails for $27,995, while the SL Legend Extreme preamp has a price tag of $59,995. Add the $15,000 Aurender A20 music server and DAC, plus cabling by Germany's ViaBlue, and the outlay for associated equipment was well north of a hundred grand. That seems high for a pair of speakers that costs $9000; most 100S buyers will surely pick more modestly-priced equipment. But if you'll excuse the double negative, I can't say that the sound in the Aretai room wasn't excellent.
The speakers imaged like champs, rendering most music with a bright-'n'-sunny presentation that reminded me of KEF's famous LS50s. I don't mean bright as in fatiguing, or with exaggerated detail: I mean that the sound from the Aretais was like an Ambrosia applecrisp and sweet.
Has anyone heard them and if so your thoughts.
Planning on purchasing them in April