Blue Ridge Sound HR 1


Category: Speakers

Audio equipment is my hobby and I am not a professional reviewer or have any affiliation with Blue Ridge Sound, a direct seller of speakers. Blue Ridge is run by Carl Halling who has an extensive background in engineering and audio design and who is pleasure to deal with.

I was in the market to replace the front channels of my HT system. I currently have KEF 103.2s and a B and W center channel, but all are quite old. The set up was tricky as my wife agreed a HT system in the family room as long as the components were placed either on enclosed racks or in cabinets (which she designed) with the plasma below the center channel.

After doing some research on Audiogon, Audio Circle and Audioasylum, I found very few "true" bookshelf speakers. By happenstance on ebay I located Blue Ridge Sound Engineering on the internet www.blueridgesoundeng.com.

I corresponded with the President of the company via email and his forthright answers and willingness to work with me put me at ease so that I bid on a pair of HR1s on ebay. Carl has an engineering degree and extensive experience in speaker design. The business model of the company is to sell directly and to use ebay and paypal.

On to the important stuff. I have never written an equipment review so bear with me. After winning the ebay auction the speakers arrived as promised. Carl provided the necessary support (placement, acoustic foam treatment etc.) through numerous emails back and forth. He also provided a phone contact,as well.

The speakers are beautiful right out of the box with high quality mahogany cabinets. The tweeter is mounted on top with two woofers and a port in front and on the side. I believe there is a port in the back as well, but the speaker can be placed fairly close to the back wall.

The aesthetics of the speaker are important, but since they will be enclosed in a cabinet, not the most important item. The sound was amazing right out of the box. The speakers produced bass at least an octave lower than the KEFs. (I shut off the center channel so they I could perform a true A vs. B with the KEFs). The clarity and balance of the speaker was also outstanding and I felt that I was really "hearing into the music." The speakers at comparable sound levels on the amp played much louder than the KEFs. There was depth and pinpoint focus. My wife, who enjoys good music, but is not an audio buff, walked into the room and said this is closest to a live performance she had ever heard from one of our speaker systems. The size and finish also met the wife acceptance factor (WAF), although she was curious about the top mounted tweeter.

Carl has suggested that the speakers require only 10-20 hours of break in, but after last nights first taste of the sound, I think these are "keepers." Carl provides a 10 day home try out period.

I cannot say what is the absolute best bookshelf speaker, but I have tried and own some very fine speakers (KEF 101s and 103s, Von Schweikert VR1s, North Acoustic Spirit, Sound Design 3000). I have auditioned many more that I do not own. The Blue Ridge Sound HR1s, at this stage of the audition process and my particular application are the best I have come across. At the current price for these speakers they are an outstanding value ( and I am not given to hyperbole). Finally, I liked them so much I have discussed with Carl building a matching center channel. Delivery is expected sometime in Fall 2006.

Associated equipment Denon 3802 AVR, Sony 900ES DVD, McCormack DNA 225 and preamp, Luxman turntable.
beesymph
http://www.blueridgesoundeng.com/ I tend to agree with ozzy62 in that small speakers do not interest me. That is why I have had the Quad ESL 57 and the Ohms. But the web sight intrigued me. So I bought a pair. I was & am very surprised. The depth of the sound and fullness is very impressive. I do not understand the white van reference.
'White van' pulls into town, and in a very public space offers $2500 speakers for $399. 'He' has over ordered, and his boss is going to fire him unless he unloads them NOW!

I've heard/seen it twice... Both times the local radio stations picked it up and warned listeners.

.02

Hello All,

I've heard of the "white van" scam too. In fact, many years ago between semesters in college I once went to a job interview that I found in the classifieds under "electronics sales" and it turned out to be one of these "white van" scams where they have absolute garbage speakers and they claim to be distressed employees unloading great speakers for nothing out of the back of a white delivery van. Needless to say I walked out of the interview, though they actually had the audacity to try to physically keep me from leaving the group of about 20 or so prospective employees until they saw that I was mad enough to be dangerous if they tried.

Anyway, if anyone ever suspects us of selling great speakers for next to nothing they'd be 100% correct. We DO sell great speakers for next to nothing! Please see our website: WWW.BlueRidgeSoundEng.Com and see our feedback both here and on Ebay for verification. While we've only been selling speakers under the BRSE banner for just over a year, we have many happy customers who all make positive comments like "worth many times the price" and "a solidly audiophile-grade product" and my favorite customer feedback because it's not only the highest praise a speaker manufacturer could ever hope for but also (quite honestly) the most common comment on our speakers "they sound like live music".

So, while our very low prices may spurr "white van" thoughts, our high-quality, very accruate and highly musical audiophile loudspeakers are the real thing, as verified by many happy customers. Please give a pair a try, you will not regret it. We have an auction on Audiogon nearly every weekend (or purchase directly from our website) under username BRSE and we promise a white van price with audiophile grade sound.

Thank You,
Carl Halling,
President, BRSE
President@BlueRidgeSoundEng.Com
I have been living with a pair for about a month now and I could not be more pleased. By way of background, I am a classically trained musician although I make my living otherwise; I have made it a serious hobby to compare the sounds of different gear and different rooms. I currently own PSB, Spendor, ProAc, Usher and Harbeth speakers and have done a layman's comparison of all of those in two different rooms/systems with the HR1. I now prefer the HR1's to everything else I own. As we all know, this is a very subjective issue but without a doubt these HR1's do not take a backseat to anything I've experienced. They are very, VERY good. You will hear the music!

David
Northbrook, IL
I'll try to keep this short.

I have no financial interest in Blue Ridge and here are my thoughts:

I was shocked by the range and clairty. I've had mine for well over a year. They are my office speakers driven by a McIntosh 4100. No this isn't giga-blah this and that fancy and expensive - but the set up produces clean, vivid, and full range sound. I shopped around a lot before putting my office system together and NOTHING compared to this set up at under $2K. Will it satisfy someone hell bent on God's greatest $100K system - probably not. BUT I will tell you that I took the chance on a mail order item and am estatic with my choice.

Downside? It took three shipments to me to get both speakers delivered without the tweeter broken - but Carl had very much patience and made sure I got my speakers ASAP. The cabinet is not show quality - at least mine aren't. They look fine from a listening distance but running your hand along the veneer is not the same as a well polished wood speaker. Then again, I'm not into fondeling my audio equipment!

I hope this helps. Summary: most highly recommended.