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The Surround Wonder (Speakers)
Wooooooow !
That's it ! As some of you may know I was going out to find a nice 5.1 set. What I found on my search was not what I expected. I did not know surround can be so realistic.
A little dealer, far out in the nowhere, a little village aside from a major town, showed me what is possible. He does not have a big assortment of speakers and electronics. He is more of an idealist than a business-man and he told me several times, when I asked him why he does not have the Dynaudio, B&W, Focal and similare stuff, that he could not sell them, when he demoes them next to his favorites:
ME Geithain
Musikelectronic Geithain (http://www.me-geithain.de) is a German company, from former GDR, that does studiomonitors. They do this so well, that, reading their long reference-list, I came to know, that most of German Radio and TV use their products.
They produce all parts themselfes, give three years generic warranty, six years frequency-guarantee and thirteen years spare-parts guarantee (meaning, they will be able to repair your system in thirteen years, using the same spare-parts as now).
All the speakers of this company are totally identical in their tonal souiding, meaining they are compatible and can be combined. This is a requirement, so the sound stays the same within the production-line, at the location of the recording (small, portable speakers) as well as in the studio (large, heavy speakers).
They are coaxial systems and the most honest, authentic reproduction of sources I have ever heard. While my Dynaudio Contour are not the High-End, they already are quite satisfying for an average listener. But they did not even show the slightest little mark in a Clash song ("Should I stay or should I go..."), mainly, that the guitar in the very beginning is very very "tiny", held back, at least in this recording. The Geithain are like lenses. They magnify every mistake in the recording. Well, they are studio-monitors. But still within this field they are exceptional and remarkable.
When I first heard them (an arabic male solo singer) I was getting this audiophile grin on my face, that one you can not stop, being close to tears, well knowing, that these 2400 Euro/pair (passive) speakers will mean the end of your journey into sound (-reproduction). Enormous musicality, fantastic accuaracy and extraordinary accuracy, very precise. And when the vendor told me, there is a smaller, but active-system for the same price I was in heaven. All I'd need now would be either a RSP-1068 or a LINN Unidisk SC and the 5.1 set of the small monitors. XLR, nice stands, small size, incredible musicality and perfect picture, sound.
Next time I came with my own music and had to realize that I did not like a single thing. For me it felt all was fine (fine ?! Perfect !) as long I heard solo instruments, single voices. But as soon the concert started, the band played, all of the sphere of 2 dimensional space in the height got truncated to s single line. The many "bubbles of colorization" I "see" with usual audiophile systems was missing.
After philosophizing for two weeks (!) about the speakers ("Should I get or should I not...") I found out what I it could be:
These are coax-speakers. They come close to the ideal of a pointed sound source. Which, IMO, is right for a single instrument, a voice or environmental noise. But not for a bunch of them, playing together on a larger ground.
An orchestra is, to the listener, not a pointed sound-source anymore. It is more of a field. And while we might hear the instruments each by each at a certain location the whole band/orchestra gets a unit of all sound together. And this the coax shows as point as well, which simply is wrong.
Somehow it sounded like all the "points" (soundsorces) would be on one line. And a line is mathematically an infinite row of points (if I remember correctly).
So the "pointsource" which the coax shows well gets put, one by one, next to each other. This has nothing to do with the stereo-space they reproduce. That they do most accurately and deeply.
It is also not the size of the image or so. That all is fine. It is more the music, which gets put on one line, and the instruments do not really breath, so they could be colorfull.
However, it seems I am the only one. Some of the guys I met there had had really expensive High End speakers and sold all for the Geithain stuff. They use it with Theta, Lexicon and Meridian processors.
Now, after telling my thoughts and dissatisfaction with orchestral music, I want to fullfill my promise in the title:
These speakers build the very best multichannel movie system I have ever heard in my life. And since they reproduce all that is solo very well, this is no suprise. In a movie most soundsources are single and pointed.
When we were watching a movie (CRT projector) with a 7.2 setup I experienced multichannel heaven. The real soundscape of the room we were sitting in was not filled with the moviesound, not it was being r-e-p-l-a-c-e-d.
All of the sounds were so real, so accurately real, that, if I would build a dedicated HT I would buy nothing but Geithain.
And one very nice thing is, that at the front one can put two large speakers, in the center a medium one, for the sides and the rears tha smaller ones. They all sound the same, except for things, that are dependant on volume.
Or one could, if (s)he likes music with them get two passive speakers for stereo, with a tube-PA, while adding the smaller active speakers for surround.
Oh, last but not least: The subwoofer! If you build a 5.1 system with these, all the channels from the prepro go straight (XLR) into the woofer, where it filters out all the info it can play and sends only the rest to the sattelites. Brilliant.
I hope that was not too long and too much of my identification, though, I hope to get some feedback on what I theorize, feedback of some people, who have listened to top-of-the-notch coax-systems. Maybe I am not alone ?
But for HT these are the very best speakers I have heard and will hear in future, since the sound was not being reproduced, it was created 1:1. When a match got lightened one wanted to take out the cigarettes, if a door opened, I watched to the left (really!) where the door is, the water of the ocean was wet below my feet.
Just an example of how well they are priced:
The medium speakers, active, are 2.500 Euro each. Three for the front.
The small ones (enough for rear/side in a 30sqm room) are 1160 Euro each.
For a small room the small ones are sufficient.
Add the Geithain BASIS 1 Sub (2500 Euro) or a Velodyne (2500-3800) and you got the most realistic (it can't be more real than realistic!) surround set of your life. All you need now is a good prepro and you are done.
As for me, I bought four Dynaudio contour with a center. And though I had problems with the Geithain, I might sell my new Dynaudios and get the Geithains instead anyway. I realized my room is too small for the Dynaudios and the small set of 5 RL 906 is just ideal. Practical for the room (small, wall and stand mountable, XLR) and best for HT, so I might live with that little shading in music. Five out of six stars. Best Buy !
That's it ! As some of you may know I was going out to find a nice 5.1 set. What I found on my search was not what I expected. I did not know surround can be so realistic.
A little dealer, far out in the nowhere, a little village aside from a major town, showed me what is possible. He does not have a big assortment of speakers and electronics. He is more of an idealist than a business-man and he told me several times, when I asked him why he does not have the Dynaudio, B&W, Focal and similare stuff, that he could not sell them, when he demoes them next to his favorites:
ME Geithain
Musikelectronic Geithain (http://www.me-geithain.de) is a German company, from former GDR, that does studiomonitors. They do this so well, that, reading their long reference-list, I came to know, that most of German Radio and TV use their products.
They produce all parts themselfes, give three years generic warranty, six years frequency-guarantee and thirteen years spare-parts guarantee (meaning, they will be able to repair your system in thirteen years, using the same spare-parts as now).
All the speakers of this company are totally identical in their tonal souiding, meaining they are compatible and can be combined. This is a requirement, so the sound stays the same within the production-line, at the location of the recording (small, portable speakers) as well as in the studio (large, heavy speakers).
They are coaxial systems and the most honest, authentic reproduction of sources I have ever heard. While my Dynaudio Contour are not the High-End, they already are quite satisfying for an average listener. But they did not even show the slightest little mark in a Clash song ("Should I stay or should I go..."), mainly, that the guitar in the very beginning is very very "tiny", held back, at least in this recording. The Geithain are like lenses. They magnify every mistake in the recording. Well, they are studio-monitors. But still within this field they are exceptional and remarkable.
When I first heard them (an arabic male solo singer) I was getting this audiophile grin on my face, that one you can not stop, being close to tears, well knowing, that these 2400 Euro/pair (passive) speakers will mean the end of your journey into sound (-reproduction). Enormous musicality, fantastic accuaracy and extraordinary accuracy, very precise. And when the vendor told me, there is a smaller, but active-system for the same price I was in heaven. All I'd need now would be either a RSP-1068 or a LINN Unidisk SC and the 5.1 set of the small monitors. XLR, nice stands, small size, incredible musicality and perfect picture, sound.
Next time I came with my own music and had to realize that I did not like a single thing. For me it felt all was fine (fine ?! Perfect !) as long I heard solo instruments, single voices. But as soon the concert started, the band played, all of the sphere of 2 dimensional space in the height got truncated to s single line. The many "bubbles of colorization" I "see" with usual audiophile systems was missing.
After philosophizing for two weeks (!) about the speakers ("Should I get or should I not...") I found out what I it could be:
These are coax-speakers. They come close to the ideal of a pointed sound source. Which, IMO, is right for a single instrument, a voice or environmental noise. But not for a bunch of them, playing together on a larger ground.
An orchestra is, to the listener, not a pointed sound-source anymore. It is more of a field. And while we might hear the instruments each by each at a certain location the whole band/orchestra gets a unit of all sound together. And this the coax shows as point as well, which simply is wrong.
Somehow it sounded like all the "points" (soundsorces) would be on one line. And a line is mathematically an infinite row of points (if I remember correctly).
So the "pointsource" which the coax shows well gets put, one by one, next to each other. This has nothing to do with the stereo-space they reproduce. That they do most accurately and deeply.
It is also not the size of the image or so. That all is fine. It is more the music, which gets put on one line, and the instruments do not really breath, so they could be colorfull.
However, it seems I am the only one. Some of the guys I met there had had really expensive High End speakers and sold all for the Geithain stuff. They use it with Theta, Lexicon and Meridian processors.
Now, after telling my thoughts and dissatisfaction with orchestral music, I want to fullfill my promise in the title:
These speakers build the very best multichannel movie system I have ever heard in my life. And since they reproduce all that is solo very well, this is no suprise. In a movie most soundsources are single and pointed.
When we were watching a movie (CRT projector) with a 7.2 setup I experienced multichannel heaven. The real soundscape of the room we were sitting in was not filled with the moviesound, not it was being r-e-p-l-a-c-e-d.
All of the sounds were so real, so accurately real, that, if I would build a dedicated HT I would buy nothing but Geithain.
And one very nice thing is, that at the front one can put two large speakers, in the center a medium one, for the sides and the rears tha smaller ones. They all sound the same, except for things, that are dependant on volume.
Or one could, if (s)he likes music with them get two passive speakers for stereo, with a tube-PA, while adding the smaller active speakers for surround.
Oh, last but not least: The subwoofer! If you build a 5.1 system with these, all the channels from the prepro go straight (XLR) into the woofer, where it filters out all the info it can play and sends only the rest to the sattelites. Brilliant.
I hope that was not too long and too much of my identification, though, I hope to get some feedback on what I theorize, feedback of some people, who have listened to top-of-the-notch coax-systems. Maybe I am not alone ?
But for HT these are the very best speakers I have heard and will hear in future, since the sound was not being reproduced, it was created 1:1. When a match got lightened one wanted to take out the cigarettes, if a door opened, I watched to the left (really!) where the door is, the water of the ocean was wet below my feet.
Just an example of how well they are priced:
The medium speakers, active, are 2.500 Euro each. Three for the front.
The small ones (enough for rear/side in a 30sqm room) are 1160 Euro each.
For a small room the small ones are sufficient.
Add the Geithain BASIS 1 Sub (2500 Euro) or a Velodyne (2500-3800) and you got the most realistic (it can't be more real than realistic!) surround set of your life. All you need now is a good prepro and you are done.
As for me, I bought four Dynaudio contour with a center. And though I had problems with the Geithain, I might sell my new Dynaudios and get the Geithains instead anyway. I realized my room is too small for the Dynaudios and the small set of 5 RL 906 is just ideal. Practical for the room (small, wall and stand mountable, XLR) and best for HT, so I might live with that little shading in music. Five out of six stars. Best Buy !