Congrats!

Those are great speakers from a great company.

I hope they make you happy forever!

Cheers.

I used GIK Acoustics and am very satisfied. Glenn and Bryan are very helpful with developing a room treatment configuration. Real Traps and Ethan Winer also provide good service from what I've heard.

Great news Mark! Keep us posted on the sound of your system
and the albums/cds that engages your ears.

Quote:
I do have some issues with the highly reflective nature of my listening room. I need some Bass traps and diffusers amongst other acoustical treatments. I have to get busy on that next.

I'm working on reviews of acoustical treatments from two companies. The review should be out in the first quarter of 2011. I hope it is helpful. Stay tuned!

Glenn Kuras at GIK is EXCELLENT.

www.gikacoustics.com

he will square you away. Tell him Teddy sent you. He has outfitted my house, my studio, and soon, my VO Studio. Products are simply amazing, and he can scale the package as high or as low as you can afford. Seriously, Treat that room now!. I promise you that once you address this issue, you will hear things as youve never heard them before. It is amazing as audiophiles..people can spend 4,000.00 on a goddamn power cord or some bullshit rice bowl, but when it comes to REAL acoustic treatment, you see a lot of rooms that suck. GIK is the best on the market...they have None of that snakeoil hokum(synergistics research, and the ilk) just solid scientific principles implemented in products that are now used around the globe and are soaring in popularity. the results of which can be easily measured.

He also has some traps that can be made to look however you want..

http://www.gikacoustics.com/gik_artpanel.html

also..for general info

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=3ebefff7500ec1d4b8d030ec5ab645b0

how cool looking..

looks like i can post again.

i have been using bass traps in my room with my previous aerials, dalis and now with the andras. I have 2 6 inch traps with a set of one 4 inch and one 2 inch stacked floor to ceiling in the corners behind the speakers. there are quilts on the walls and homemade high frequency traps on the walls at 1st reflection points. also using a set of 3 argent room lenses (helmholz resonators) which really focus the sound stage. my carpet has a jute pad which is sonically superior to the foam junk most installers use. unfortunately, the walls are plaster, there is an old upright piano in the room i can't seem to get rid of and the room is almost square.
i bought a preamp that should be here at the end of the week to see if some boost over the passives would bring out a little more bass.
the bass is accurate and tight, just not enough of it. all other frequencies - superb.
you may have to do a lot of head scratching to make these work for you, but i think it will be worth it.
good luck.

tom

My 11'6" by 15'9" room is configurated with four GIK TriTraps, two stacked in each of the front corners; two GIK 242s on the front wall; two GIK 242s on the side walls at the first reflection point; two GIK 242 on the ceiling at the first reflection point; two GIK 244s in the back corners; and two GIK 244s on the back wall. The floor is covered almost entirely with a nice middle Eastern rug. My room is tamed and the music is wonderful.

hey mark: i trust you are still loving the andras. i wanted to let you know that i hooked the andras back up when the owner came over on sat. they sounded a good bit deeper, so i theorize that the preamp i bought must have re-broken-in a bit more. because it was from an estate, it might have sat unused for some time. with the sound now, i once again think i would look at these speakers as a step-up in the future. they image incredibly and are very pitch coherent.
let me know how its going with yours.

tom

Mark,
Just joined this forum; did you get your 336 back and bass treatments installed? If so, how are things working for you? I have recently acquired a pair of Andra IIs and working through similar issues. I can see why the concensus is they need a lot of power to make these speakers sing; I can easily get all of the volume I need out of 30W Class A; the dynamics and bass control would be lacking however.

Thanks,
Mark

Mark: Do tell.

FYI. I retried the andras again in a different position this week. They sound better. However, I do not think it is so much due to the new position as to improvements I made to my turntable. The improvements further isolated the table and eliminated what I believed to be "micro-smearing" of transient attacks. The slight edginess that bothered me seems to be gone so the overall effect is smoother and cleaner especially in the top range. I am still not convinced that the tweeter is superior to my Dali tweeters. The bass is good and my soundpressure meter says that the rolloff looks better too. They are very focused in the bass, but I still think it would take a solid state of good wattage to make them come alive fully, but then would loose the fine top end that the Cary provides, especially in triode mode.

Tom

Tom,
A little background first;I recently acquired the Andra IIs at a good price as my initial move into a totally new system. I have previously had Harbeth SHL 5s, Quad 989s and currently have my Merlin VSM-MMEs up for sale. All of them excellent speakers, but I wanted to try out a more full range speaker. I had all of these speakers paired with either a Primaluna Dialogue Two or an ARS Sonum which made up for some very good combinations.

After I sold the speakers, I tried pairing up the amps with the Andra IIs; the ARS was definitely underpowered and the Primaluna, while they could drive them better, could not control the bass and was somewhat rolled off at the top and I could tell not quite the quality level of an amp that you need for these speakers to sound their best.

Next I tried some separates; an ARC LS-25 Mk I and a pair of the Manley Neo Classic 250 Monos. This combination sounded definitely better, but again, not enough control of the bass and still a little rolled at the top. I then borrowed a Luxman 590A II from a friend/local dealer; it is only 30W Class A, but I could still get some serious volume out of it. While it sounded good, I still had some bass control isues; however I was definitely getting more out of the top end.

I am going to install some treatments this weekend and move the speakers around some more to see if I can improve on reducing the boominess. Luckily, I will have access to a Plinius SA Reference amp this weekend to try out; I am hoping high quality power coupled with proper treatments will do the trick.

I will keep you posted-
Mark

post2338 wrote:

Mark,
Just joined this forum; did you get your 336 back and bass treatments installed? If so, how are things working for you? I have recently acquired a pair of Andra IIs and working through similar issues. I can see why the concensus is they need a lot of power to make these speakers sing; I can easily get all of the volume I need out of 30W Class A; the dynamics and bass control would be lacking however.

Thanks,
Mark

Yes I did get my 336 back, and WoW!

Initially, I hooked them up to my 200w/ch Adcom GFA555. Not taking anything away from my Adcom but with the 336 feeding the Andra's well, everything sonic was complemented 10 fold and then some.

First and foremost, after I hooked up the 336, I noticed that all I needed to bring out the inner detail of low level microdynamics, the volume of my ML 38 only needed to be at 45.5 on the alphanumeric display. The bass tightened up tremendously and the liquidity of acoustic guitar as well as other stringed instruments simply blew me away.

With the Adcom driving the Andra's, I needed to increase the volume to 62.5 on the 38. Where the Adcom was sufficient, it lacked the sweet timbre that the 336 was able to coax out of the Andra's.

Yes! these speaker love to be driven with high wattage amps such as the 336 but with that said, the Adcom was no slouch considering this was a 23 year old amp. Simply put, I could never part with my Adcom. Nelson Pass did some magic on this amp when helped with the design of this modest, straight-forward amp.

The 336 shined when it came to the bass. This was by far the best attribute the 336 had married to the Andra's. Since they are of an isobaric design internally, huge power amps will do magic with these speakers in the bass region.

Decay. When it came to notes hanging in the air, the 336 simply smoked the Adcom. There is simply no better words to describe it.

I haven't been able to get the bass traps and ceiling diffusers that I desperately need at the moment. This is priority 1 on my agenda. Teddy Ray hooked me up with GIK Acoustics and I will say that they have THE best deals on the web. Forget ASC.. way too overpriced in my humble opinion.

I just can't imagine how much better the performance of my system will be once I get my over-lively room tamed.

I look forward to one day soon going to a monoblock setup. I have been reading up on the Classe CA M400 Mono's. This is where it will get real interesting in my opinion. That is my next audio venture.

Mark Evans

tom collins wrote:

Mark: Do tell.

FYI. I retried the andras again in a different position this week. They sound better. However, I do not think it is so much due to the new position as to improvements I made to my turntable. The improvements further isolated the table and eliminated what I believed to be "micro-smearing" of transient attacks. The slight edginess that bothered me seems to be gone so the overall effect is smoother and cleaner especially in the top range. I am still not convinced that the tweeter is superior to my Dali tweeters. The bass is good and my soundpressure meter says that the rolloff looks better too. They are very focused in the bass, but I still think it would take a solid state of good wattage to make them come alive fully, but then would loose the fine top end that the Cary provides, especially in triode mode.

Tom

Interesting Tom. I agree whole-heartily on the solid state issue.

Just by reading what you wrote got me to thinking, How would a hybrid amp do with the Andra's in your opinion? Perhaps the best of both world's could be achieved.

I would like to maybe hear what a Conrad-Johnson ET 250S could do with the Andra's or some other hybrid amp. I would be willing to bet the older Counterpoint SA-5000 amp would be a nice synergy. I correlate the Counterpoint to the Adcom on so many levels which are great!

Tom, you have gotten me chomping at the bit to hear a pair of Dali's. I have NEVER heard anything but rave reviews of the Dali loudspeaker line. I really would like to hear the Helicon 400's or a pair of 800's.

keep me informed.

Mark Evans

i will let you know the results when the owner brings over his spectral power amp. we always used this in his room and it filled the bass right out. i will then be interested in the mids and highs.

tom

Mark,

I've been following your experiences with great interest - I was looking at a pair of Rosas when a pair of Andra IIs became available.

Only (potential) problem: our room is about 16'x14'x8'. 'Our'? Yup - it's a family room so I share it with the TV, DVD, Wii... I need to make the most of the time I get to listen to music!

Based on your experiences, would this - the idea of using the Andras - be a ridiculous thing to try? Is our room simply too small?

Cheers,
Graham

gjm wrote:

Mark,

I've been following your experiences with great interest - I was looking at a pair of Rosas when a pair of Andra IIs became available.

Only (potential) problem: our room is about 16'x14'x8'. 'Our'? Yup - it's a family room so I share it with the TV, DVD, Wii... I need to make the most of the time I get to listen to music!

Based on your experiences, would this - the idea of using the Andras - be a ridiculous thing to try? Is our room simply too small?

Cheers,
Graham

Well, the good thing is that the Andra II's are a sealed enclosure, so positioning them from the rear wall shouldn't be an issue which will work better in a smaller room. Make sure you have at least 24" from the side walls though. Toeing them in is really all the positioning you will need to do. Should be fine.

Mark Evans

Thanks Mark - I'll let you know how we get on. The slightly unusual almost sci-fi design of the Andras will engender either a "Ooh - that's different" or a "You're not putting them in the living room" opinion...

Graham

gjm wrote:

Thanks Mark - I'll let you know how we get on. The slightly unusual almost sci-fi design of the Andras will engender either a "Ooh - that's different" or a "You're not putting them in the living room" opinion...

Graham

Thats for sure. So far, everyone that comes over raves about the aesthetic appeal of these speakers. One friend actually likened them to a cemetary monument with the granite sides. lol! :)

They are simply beautiful in my opinion. The various geometric angles sets them apart from others. And the way they accurately reproduce music is astounding. They sound very close to the JM Labs Focal Scala Utopia's

Yes, please keep me informed.

Mark and others: The owner of the Andra's came over and brought the amp he has been using the speakers with. It is a Spectral DMA 100. He also brought the MIT speaker wires and interconnects that are recommended for that amp.
The bottom line is that these speakers are back on my short list, but only with that brand or a similar type of solid state amp. The key is the ability to move large amounts of current through low impedance loads which unfortunately is not the forte of tube amps, even big, rugged ones like my Cary.
The propulsion the system now has is unbelievable. The CD and Turntable sound like completely different units. However, this amp does not sacrifice tonality for the other qualities, a tube lover can actually love this amp. Interestingly, the top end is also under better control as well, though not quite as airy as with the tube amp. The bass is very tight and very large, bass drums just vibrate and keep on going.
The other amps that impress me greatly are made by Simaudio and I expect that they would work nicely as well. I do not know about your brand Mark, but if they share the qualities I mentioned above, I know you are having a great experience.
I could live happily ever after with this combination and I will be a very unhappy camper when he takes that amp back home.

Best,

Tom