anyone using piega speakers?

Richards, you nailed it about Spudco.

>I'm currently listening to Piega C-40s. The break in was lengthy and they need lots of current to really fill a large room, but the sound is really something special. I have never been a ribbon fan, but these are very smooth with incredible detail.

French horn on Fanfare for a common man was in the room. Tower of Power was really rocking the house with completely clear horns and percussion. The percussion on American Beauty Score floated thought the room and the bass was haunting, deep and full. As a former player, I'm very snooty about piano and these are the best speakers for the wide range of overtones and dynamics I've ever heard. A Hammond never sounded better unless I was sitting at it. The bass on Lou Reed's Paranoia in E was full, deep and crisp. Never boomy in my room (32 X 18 with high ceilings). Guitars ring like you are in the studio. These are so good, I'm even listening to some classical just to here the strings!

The cabinets are also beautiful. You should really try to give these an audition.<

Reads like a fickle lover BEFORE the romance turns sour. Bad grapes indeed.........

Shakey

I am ready to admit that I was impressed with the Piegas early on. On about 15 of my 2,500 disks, they sounded good. Like many new owners, I wanted to believe I had found a great speaker. I realise that I was blinded by my need to feel that my hard earned dollars were well spent. The bottom line is that the Piegas were like a airheaded hot babe with a topside beef-up...fun for a short time, but no staying power. Good for a thrill, but not worth my time.

The fact that I sold them as new for 20% of what I paid should emperically demonstrate how little I liked them. I felt lucky to be rid of them - it took many months to sell them.

The truth is that my Piega based system was so bad that I gave up listening to music for many months. I just couldn't reconcile how easily I had bought into a hugely expensive system and how little I enjoyed it.

Now I can enjoy music again. I can easliy listen to most of my collection without cringing at the recording.

Of course, everyone is free to make up their own mind.

Spudco
Fair enough. Tastes are different, as is hearing, among the audiophile community. I think what was reacted to was the inflammatory way you expressed your feelings. Obviously many folks are moved by and connect with the sound of the Piegas. It wasn't your cup-of-tea. No problem.

I like my Piegas way better than the Dunlavy Athenas I owned a while back. But I won't disparage them, as I know some really like them. We audiophiles seem to keep moving on till we find what we like. If we can be respectful and civil with our personal experiences, we can help each other in this quest.

I hated them. I owned the C10 ltd and couldn't wait to sell them. Some of the worse speakers I have ever owned. They also have a very inflated retial price IMO. There's a reason why they are so discounted on audiogon. I figured that out the hard way.

I'll agree that Piegas are very expensive compared to other loudspeakers. But name one thing coming from Switzerland that is NOT more expensive than the same product coming from anywhere else. There is a reason for the expense. They are very labor intensive to build, and aren't haphazardly thrown together with off-the-shelf parts. The tweeter/midrange is built from the same stuff they wrap spacecraft in for goodness sake. Why? Because there is nothing else out there that will withstand the heat, and is light enough to play at 60kHz all day long.

As for them being "bright", I will agree with that too. But only if they aren't setup right, or your system is bright. If you feed them bright, you're going to get bright. If you want wooly, then don't buy Piegas. I listened to Spudco's setup back in the day, and I agree with him that C40's were not the right speaker for his application. They will not do a house party like a Dunlavy 5, nor will they have explosive and overly muddy bottom-end like a Vandersteen 5. If they aren't setup properly in a nice room, they won't do much of anything.

It took me 9 months to get my C3 Limiteds placed correctly in a dedicated room with thousands of dollars worth of treatment. I will admit, I could not do it alone. I had to have a guy come in with a RTA. But after 5 minutes with the RTA, and some laser alignment, I have never heard a better speaker. I've heard plenty of speakers that sound near as good, and one (Revel Salon 2) that I might consider trading the Piegas to acquire. But I didn't consider it for long b/c the Piega looks, and sounds prettier than the Revel.

Some say Revels are bright. And they're right too. If your system is bright, you're going to get bright from Piegas without a doubt. But I can honestly say that I swapped 20-30 pieces of gear in and out of my system in a year or two, and I found only a couple combos that made the Piegas sound bright. Remove the offending component, and they aren't bright.

If you like truth, and emotion, you will love the Piegas. If you like to fill a 5000 square foot home with tunes for parties, don't buy Piegas. If you aren't skilled at picking components that don't suck to go with them, then these probably aren't your speaker.

Also, Lofi, if you like the TC50, you cannot imagine what adding that planar midrange will do for you.