A couple reviews came out recently which illustrate the difficulty in relying on reviewers for advice in choosing equipment.
Dick Olsher and Srajan Ebaen are my two favorite reviewers, along with Jon Valin, Mike Smith
, Sam Tellig et al.
Dick and Srajen both reviewed the
Esoteric MG-20 in the last 6 months:
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/esoteric7/mg20.htmlhttp://www.avguide.com/the-absolute-soundThe significance of these speakers is that the drivers are made of pure magnesium, not mag/alum alloy like Seas. Pure magnesium has lower resonance than any other cone material, including titanium, carbon, whatever, but pure unprotected magnesium reacts with oxygen and quickly corrodes and fails. Esoteric has found a way to protect the Mg. The quieter driver cones were the reason for the strongly differing opinions, so the effect of the reduced driver distortion is easily noticeable. Of course, Xover tuning and other speaker design elements were not blamed by the experienced reviewers as variables that could explain their opinions. They both blamed the drivers for their judgements, which is probably what Esoteric prefers anyway.
Their overall opinions were almost opposite. Yet, the parameters of criticism were similar. For Srajen, metal driver detail was sterile and unmusical. He blamed himself for being pre-conditioned by euphonic drivers, but that was just his way of not blaming the ears of the digital engineers for the sound. For Dick, metal driver accuracy allowed improved detail, and was the ticket to his A+ grade.
I recently auditioned the Usher Be-718 which I found extremely stimulating and enjoyable but eventually decided to return it to the dealer because the Beryllium tweeter detail, while not bright or tonally inaccurate, was just a little too much info trying to get into my brain. I prefer the slightly softer, less revealing Legacys. However with the Feastrex driver approaching the same degree of detail as the Usher, albeit in a less balanced smaller bandwidth envelope, I enjoy that very much, and wish the Legacys had the ability to reveal that added layer of detail. The detail battle rages on the homefront. Interestingly, Ushers detail was beryllium, while Feastrex is paper, and driver materials do matter - a point pressed by
both reviewers.
I found the reasons for the judgements of these two master reviewers of the same product to be very interesting. Then Srajen mentioned DeVore, and that sent me off on a totally different tangent. haha
My local Esoteric dealer said he would be glad to order me a pair ($15k
) but they only stock one DVD player. I guess I should be glad to have a Esoteric dealer in my city, even if only virtual. The speakers were at RMAF, but I didn't notice them, and John Atkinson did not mention their sound in his blog entry about them. Considering the innovative technology of pure Mg drivers and the auspicious entry into new market territory by such an established high end mfg, that silence about how they sounded was deafening to me. I know he likes the dead ML/MF sound, so I would guess Dick Olsher's preference for lively sound would be the exact opposite. I've still never heard Zu, so I don't know Sarajen's preference, but based on his other reviews, I venture he like a realistic and lively sound too.
Anyone heard these speakers yet? I would love to hear your impression.
Rich
