Finally a line on CR-1's

[darkstar]

I heard the VTL 450 monoblocks along with the 7.5 III pre amp driving Wilson Sasha's.

Surprisingly they were very "fast", not what I was expecting from tubes with really good mids and an excellent top end. The bottom is where "the bottom fell out" for me. Then again, it may have been the Sasha's load that was not the right fit. As always, YMMV

[eelii08]

Im going to have the chance to listen to the CR1s at home in aprox. 2 weeks. I hope is better than the Evolution 1.

The E1 is very resolving speaker. Transparent and all that. You can hear all that is going on at soundstage. But having listened now to it for a while, it is a bit too bright to my taste I think. High strings, like first violins, sometines it is just too much. Can give you a bit of fatigue after long listenig sessions. May have to do with placement but have moved them around a lot.

Plugged back the B&W 800Di the other day and it is much more musical... Nothing to do regarding detail, bass with much more body but nowhere near in terms of definition. I wish I could have a mix of both... Hope the CR1 is that. If not, I do not now now what I will do, regardless of my first impressions when I thought the B&W where history.

[jdebonth]

Let us know what you think of the CR1. Perhaps start a new thread where you summarize your findings on the 3 different speakers, would be an interesting read!

[eelii08]

That is a good idea. i think it can be of interest to people, specially since there is almost no first hand info on the E1 still.

Will do it upon listening to the CR1 for a while. They are going to be fully broken in, so should be ready to go a week or so after I get them.

So far, Frankly I think TAD and B&W are probably On oposite sides of sonic design. We will see if this stands after listening to the CR1.

[Cellindo]

Originally Posted by eelii08

That is a good idea. i think it can be of interest to people, specially since there is almost no first hand info on the E1 still.

Will do it upon listening to the CR1 for a while. They are going to be fully broken in, so should be ready to go a week or so after I get them.

So far, Frankly I think TAD and B&W are probably On oposite sides of sonic design. We will see if this stands after listening to the CR1.

Dear eelii, if you love TAD's house sound (myself I've been blown away by their Reference One floorstander) you could also try out the HANSEN Prince v2.
One of the best compact speaker around!

Too bad the Hansen brand is not well distributed and has little to no awareness amongst European audiophiles. The Hansen are pricey, though in the same league, if not worse, than Wilson, TAD.

Back to TAD, I remain convinced the Ref One is the BEST speaker I am aware of. As fan as I'm with Wilson Audio, I would probably choose a TAD Ref One over a Maxx3.

Please post soon your impressions about the CR1. ;-)

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

[jdebonth]

eelii, what electronics are you using?

[eelii08]

Originally Posted by Cellindo

Dear eelii, if you love TAD's house sound (myself I've been blown away by their Reference One floorstander) you could also try out the HANSEN Prince v2.
One of the best compact speaker around!

Too bad the Hansen brand is not well distributed and has little to no awareness amongst European audiophiles. The Hansen are pricey, though in the same league, if not worse, than Wilson, TAD.

Back to TAD, I remain convinced the Ref One is the BEST speaker I am aware of. As fan as I'm with Wilson Audio, I would probably choose a TAD Ref One over a Maxx3.

Please post soon your impressions about the CR1. ;-)

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

The Ref 1 looks very good indeed. I have not listened to it, but I bet is a great great speaker. I do not have the room for it tough, I'm afraid.

Hansen I saw ones at one retailer in Madrid where I listened to the Magico's Q5, but they were not playing. I have never heard them.

The Maxx3 I have listened to it several times, but they are also too big I think for my room. Also listened to the SF Aidas in may search for a new pair of boxes. Out of all of them, no one was perfect for my taste. I think the one I liked most was the Magico's, although bass was not the greatest. Aidas I liked better than the Maxx 3. But all in all I would go for the Magico's, although there is not distribution in Spain anymore and I am not sure I want to buy such heavy expensive boxes from the US directly.

The E1 are good. Kind of like the Magico actually. I hope the CR1 are finally what I'm looking for. Will report as soon as they are in. They are expected to arrive at around the 15th.

[eelii08]

Originally Posted by jdebonth

eelii, what electronics are you using?

I'm using as source Esoteric P02/D02. As pre, ARC Ref 40 and as amp, Classe Omega's monoblocks.

I think overall is a balanced set. The Esoteric is very detailed and dynamic with great definition and bass. The ARC is very musical and dynamic, also with great definition and detail. Just a great piece of hardware all around. Performance wise is miles away from any pre I have ever heard before in my system. I like to have tubes somewhere in the chain and prefer pre over amps or source. The Omega's are very neutral and transparent; huge high current amps that I like very much because they adapt very well to almost any combination of gear / boxes you through at them. They just get out of the way very nicely.

[jdebonth]

Nice setup, seems like a very well thought-out combo. I hope the CR1's are everything you are looking for and more. IMO the beryllium CST drive unit is unmatched and the bass 'weight' surprises me everyday, it really is a beast of a stand-mount.

[joeinid]

Originally Posted by jdebonth

Nice setup, seems like a very well thought-out combo. I hope the CR1's are everything you are looking for and more. IMO the beryllium CST drive unit is unmatched and the bass 'weight' surprises me everyday, it really is a beast of a stand-mount.

+1

The CR-1's play well above their size. The bass is so satisfying and surprisingly full, I have no need or desire to hook up my F113's in the system. I often get surprised how much bass info there actually is compared to any previous speaker I've owned. The bass is very well defined. Good luck!