Hi twl. I heard the $7,500 Type Three-A:
http://www.cadencebuilding.com/cadence/bslpix.html
The owner had the best Waytec SET amps and they are supposedly made especially for the Brentworths. I think they were over $8,000.
The room was very big - 18 feet wide x 28 feet deep (guess) so there was no room boundary reinforcement. Maybe sonic treated as well.
Listening in the nearfield these speakers are very clear. Piano was notably richer, fuller than SS gear. Had the distorted immediacy SET's are known for. I heard SET don't do deep bass and maybe with SS amp there would be more bass.
As my girlfriend said, it was all one level. Meaning there were no real highs and no real lows. Also no big dynamics you get with cone drivers. You probably know all this.
I didn't do the test frequencies but bass seemed to be running out around 70 Hz as a very loose guess. That seems really high but I just wasn't getting the base in organ music or the power in bass guitar.
These speakers had the most incredible soundstage I have ever heard. Neil Young live recordings finally made sense. On every speaker I have ever auditioned since, when I play "Needle and the Damage Done" Neil Young is pushed up above the audience. With the Brentworths, he was 20-30 feet away and the audience was understandably located around him. I didn't appreciate this feature until I could never duplicate it again. I thought Audio Physics could after hearing the Step ($3,500 model) a while back but no, the Virgo III's couldn't begin to compare. Maybe Audio Physic lost this feature because the Step's had to-the-inch listener position sensitivity and the Virgo III's sure didn't.
Hearing Michael Jackson's half speed master LP Thriller again had amazing depth and the footsteps were fast but had the SET pleasant distorted sound. This is how records should sound.
I'm not sure what else to say. They weren't for me because I like punchy, full range, dynamic sound and trying to analyze why he bought them, I guess he wants a stereo he can go home and relax with. Also he said the Audio Physics couldn't do the sounstage like the Brentworths.
http://www.cadencebuilding.com/cadence/bslpix.html
The owner had the best Waytec SET amps and they are supposedly made especially for the Brentworths. I think they were over $8,000.
The room was very big - 18 feet wide x 28 feet deep (guess) so there was no room boundary reinforcement. Maybe sonic treated as well.
Listening in the nearfield these speakers are very clear. Piano was notably richer, fuller than SS gear. Had the distorted immediacy SET's are known for. I heard SET don't do deep bass and maybe with SS amp there would be more bass.
As my girlfriend said, it was all one level. Meaning there were no real highs and no real lows. Also no big dynamics you get with cone drivers. You probably know all this.
I didn't do the test frequencies but bass seemed to be running out around 70 Hz as a very loose guess. That seems really high but I just wasn't getting the base in organ music or the power in bass guitar.
These speakers had the most incredible soundstage I have ever heard. Neil Young live recordings finally made sense. On every speaker I have ever auditioned since, when I play "Needle and the Damage Done" Neil Young is pushed up above the audience. With the Brentworths, he was 20-30 feet away and the audience was understandably located around him. I didn't appreciate this feature until I could never duplicate it again. I thought Audio Physics could after hearing the Step ($3,500 model) a while back but no, the Virgo III's couldn't begin to compare. Maybe Audio Physic lost this feature because the Step's had to-the-inch listener position sensitivity and the Virgo III's sure didn't.
Hearing Michael Jackson's half speed master LP Thriller again had amazing depth and the footsteps were fast but had the SET pleasant distorted sound. This is how records should sound.
I'm not sure what else to say. They weren't for me because I like punchy, full range, dynamic sound and trying to analyze why he bought them, I guess he wants a stereo he can go home and relax with. Also he said the Audio Physics couldn't do the sounstage like the Brentworths.