I got the pair of the Feastrex D5nf's. Big price jump (66%) coming on Nov 1st when the promo ends.
I heard them in some rear horn type speakers which will OK, but when I listened a couple feet away from them I could hear the real magic. If you like NOS dac, these are along the same line. Easy, pure, real, gentle but exciting in their own way.
I first listened for treble extension, doubting that a 5 inch driver could play enough treble well enough to allow eliminating a dedicated tweeter. No problem. Listening to Kind of Blue, Jimmy Cobb's ride cymbal on "So What?" never sounded more real. Is it as extended as ribbon tweeter? Probably not, but the juice in the middle is so much better without 2 crossovers (mid to dome and dome to ribbon) in the way. They do beam highs, but not as much I as expected. The drivers were facing straight ahead while I sat in triangle 10 feet away, so I was 30 degrees off center beam, and the cymbals sounded extremely satisfying. 'Ive never heard a cymbal that real come out of a speaker, not even studio monitors. This was using Scott Nixon chip amps, his newest NOS DAC, and HCAT preamp and lots of vibe tweaks, acrolink wire, I think.
Bass extension was not very good, OK down to 100 maybe. I could not judge dynamics at that freq but could easily hear the notes. Below that was lame, to be expected. Dealer had a single JL f112 sub placed in the middle which added a lot of music, but it did not integrate well.
The most striking thing was of course the midrange. Microdynamic detail was hard to believe. I could hear timidity and reservation in the first notes of Miles' proudest solo on So what. Misplaced lip, first tune of the session, whatever it was, I never heard it before. What is the value of hearing Miles' nerves while he starts the most important solo of his career? To me it is important. Solo violin was equally impressive and expressive. John Lennon solo guitar, Respighi large chamber group, it was all incredible. The detail is amazing but the tone depth and realness factor is startling. The sound is organic, solid, touchable. That is the most impressive thing, the tonal rightness. Much different than what I'm used to. Paper cone, leather surround, efficient motor, whatever it is, it works! The online hype is true.
Now I gotta build something to hold them up where I can here it. Probably start with a simple OB like the Visaton, then just tweak it from there. I would like to avoid a passive crossover, so I'm looking at some active systems/biamp with the 15" Hawthorne Augies. Lots of ideers to try.
Rich