Anyone heard the Alsyvox Botticelli planar speakers?
the Soundkaos - Liberatio http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews2/soundkaos2/1.html Looks like ET and Dalquest DQ10 had a baby. But seriously, I hope to hear a pair in the US. |
I have owned a pair of Apogee Caliper Signatures since 1989 (reribboned with Graz ribbons about a decade ago.) The Alsyvox speakers have all of the Apogee magic with few of the drawbacks. While they don’t have all the dynamic punch of a cone, they have more than the Apogees did and every bit of the glorious sound including the low end. The biggest problem I would have is would the Botticelli be better than a refurbed pair of Divas and worth $55K more? I can’t answer that. I have heard the new Carvers and despite being a huge fan of Bob’s since the 1980s, they did not sound great to me. I heard them at RMAF as well and thought it might be the room that made them sound bad, but the Carver rep thought they sounded great. The Botticellis were magic, pure and simple. Beautiful in every way and effectively Apogees reborn and improved upon. If you are an Apogee aficionado and are shopping in this price range you will kick yourself if you don’t listen to them. I currently own a pair of Stereophile “Class A” recommended speakers and have thought more than once about what I could get for them used to finance a pair of Botticellis. The only drawback to me was the piano black finish - it would be a nightmare to live with and would show every dust particle, fingerprint and scratch. |
Hi kucharsk7
I'll have a chance to listen to the Botticelli soon. It's a dream speaker for sure. Several feedback/reviews of the speaker mentioned bass similar to cone bass with all the slam missing in other planar speakers. As far as Carver's new ALS speaker is concerned, they require careful setup. I have not heard them sound good in any of the shows. It took me 6 months to have them sound great. Once set up correctly, I can think of any speaker near its price coming close to the majestic sound stage, imaging, extension, delicacy and dynamics. May be the new Magnepan 30.7 can compete, but I doubt it will have true 20 Hz extension with the slam and power in the bass. |
I heard the Magnepan 30.7s at a stop on their multi-year dealer tour, and to me they sounded… horrible. They certainly had more bass than any other Maggie I’ve heard, but the mid range was strange and phasy. Since the crossovers were connected by alligator clips and thin wires used as jumpers, that could’ve been the reason for the issue, but the Magnepan staff there thought they sounded their best. I couldn’t stand to listen to them for more than a few minutes. I haven’t heard anything that sounded like the Botticelli since the last time I got to hear a pair of Apogee Full Ranges. If I knew they would work in my room, and I could get enough for my current speakers to make the swap only moderately financially painful, and if there were any way I could demo a pair in my home to make sure that they would work as I heard them in the hotel suite, I would make the change instantly. |
