meadowlark nighthawk/ vandersteen 3a sig

I'm not familiar with the Nighthawks, so I can't respond directly to your query. However, I am curious about your comment that your 3A Sig's seem to lack tight bass. I also own the 3A Sig's (plus a pair of 2Wq subs), and I would not characterize the 3A Sig's as having loose bass.

The dimensions of your listening room seem good for your Vandies, so there could be two possible factors that explain your sense that the 3A Sig's lack tight bass:
1. rooms that are constructed with dry wall over studs, or having a crawl space below the floor, can often be resonant, thereby making the bass sound boomy or loose;
2. amplifiers with inadequate power reserves, or low damping factor, may lack adequate bass control.

If either of the two factors I just outlined are true for your system, you may find that ANY dynamic speaker will sound somewhat loose.

It would be helpful to have a description of your system and your listening room. Before you sell your 3A Sig's, it would be a good idea to determine if the loose bass you are hearing is due to the room or the amp. By all means, check out the Nighthawks (Meadowlark is one of the very few companies other than Vandersteen that make time-accurate and phase-correct speakers), but since you like your Vandies you might consider adding a pair of 2Wq subs. I found that having a pair of 2Wq's not only make a significant improvement in the low frequency reproduction, but also yielded better mid-range transparency and dynamic response.

the vandys will have more bass than the meadowlarks but the amp must be suitable

thanks for the responses. scott, you're correct that the bass problems are caused by the room i have a large peak at 50hz. i really like the vandies and they sound excellent in my room. i was just nitpicking about the bass. i'm currently experimenting with room treatments. still considering the 2wq's. it's just that the offer came up and for some reason i'm intrigued by the meadowlarks. i figure that i can always switch back to the vandies and\or add 2wq's later. my biggest want is more front to back soundstaging/definition. by the way i'm using bat vk3i preamp and vk200 amp with ayre cx-7 cd player and audioquest cables. i have a couple of months to make up my mind. hard to find much info on the meadowlarks.

aloha keith

Keith, I did hear the Nighthawks once. They were in almost a warehouse type of room. Even so, they sounded quite good.

Just out of curiousity, is the slope responsible for the time/phase accuracy? If so, how do vertical speakers address that issue?

Hello Keith-

I may have some input for you... Your room size is actually a decent size. The Vandies are actually one of the other speaker manufacturers that I really considered, as I liked their time & phase aligned design as well. I currently own the Meadowlark Nighthawks, and have previously owned the Osprey's, so I feel I have a fairly good frame of reference as to their "new cabinet design" and sonics - compared to their older enclosures as well. It is odd you mention you wish the bass was a little tighter. This is the primary reason I chose Meadowlark over the Vandies. Don't get me wrong, if I was using the Vandies in a home theater/stereo combination, or perhaps had a much larger room I may have opted for them. However, with their larger woofer, it didn't seem to have the control available that I personally like in my bass. The Vandies I would say have more "slam" effect, however I think both the Nighthawks and the 3a's go equally deep. The Meadowlarks employ a transmission line bass using dual 7" woofers per speaker, coupled with the fact they are 91db efficient, you are greeted with very, very aticulate, tuneful, deep bass that feels more "real" to me in my auditions. I have not tried the Vandies at home, and all auditions were done using all tube amps on both speakers. Soundstaging was good on the Vandies from what I remember. The Nighthawks imaging and soundstaging is excellent. If you get a chance to look at them in person, notice the custom router work between the midrange and tweeter on the front baffle... I personally think this is partly due to the very "open & airy" soundstage presentation they give.

Impressions on the Nighthawk would be: musical, effortless presentation. they allow the music being fed them to effortlessly eminate from the speakers in their defined area in the soundstage. Extremely natural timbral accuracy and harmonics. Attack and decay are both excellent. Midbass and bass attack is tight and articulate, not even remotely loose. Listen to Keb Mo - Just Like You cd when you audition them. The stand up bass sounds extremely realistic. The fingering, the slide, the pluck, the acoustic thumping, the attack, the resonance... all very acurate and realistic. Some other speakers with larger woofers tend to smear a lot of this information to me, in which diminishes the realism for me. I want a stand up bass to sound like a stand up bass, not like a bass line in a club downtown... You also mentioned soundstaging... I would think that is dependent upon cabling and electronics, however I can assure you that the soundstaging capabilities are first rate. In my current setup they extend well outside of the speakers and quite far behind, I would say on good recordings almost seemingly through the rear wall.

If you have any other specific questions, feel free to email me.

CAUTION: if and when you audition make CERTAIN they have at least 1,200 hours of break in / play time on them. NO, I am not kidding. They sound fair at 500, decent at 800, and I honestly don't think they have that "natural, effortless" presentation until well after 1200-1300 hours on them. I know the book states 300, and I have talked to Pat about this, however he does state he does prototype with broken in drivers, and once he builds new, he doesn't know how long true break-in takes. I am sure he may not also want to scare people off stating a 1,000 hour plus break in time. Personally I am quite sure that is why you see ads for Ospreys up for sale that state "just broken in, 450 hours on them...." when they too took well over 1,000 hours, in which most that purchased them new can also confirm. The ONLY caveat I have with the speakers, but they are well worth the wait.

Good luck & your current speakers are also very good.