Monitors tend to be power hungry. The more you put in, the more they give out, especially in low-end extension, where that bass cone can flex without distortion and the over all scale of instruments will be more true to life. Another relaxing Sunday afternoon with one of my favourite UA-cam channels. All the best, Kelvin.
I spent 20 years listening to Acoustic Energy AE2s on various 50 watt amplifiers but it wasn’t until I used two 200 watt mono blocks that they started to sing and thump. Currently I use two Class G mono blocks rated at 300 watts.
A very nice traditional speaker, though despite the Spendor BC-1 link, I always thought these were more a late Rogers Studio 1 re-take, more power handling and simply better drivers overall, which also get better with better amplification. But the whole Graham range is superb, I have a soft spot for these as I like the Rogers Studio 1, but anything in that range with EAR amplification would be sublime.
No other speaker can output a snare -drum like my DIY JBL E140’s. A super fast , tight 15” wide band driver ., my 400 watt per channel amp might help also. I also crossed them over rather high 3500hz. I have no bass., frequency beaming., phase cancellation ., but I wouldn’t give them up. Thanks again for the review! Spot on. !
Please tell me if I have this wrong. Are you saying that even though you have frequency beaming, phase cancellation and no bass, you wouldn't give up those speakers for speakers without those problems?
I am ever grateful to you Kelvin, for my acquisition of some two way Chartwell speakers (PM210), that I recognised as perhaps worth trying after seeing their similarity to some speakers you reviewed. Now you are reviewing Graham speakers and I think there is a connection between Graham and Chartwell. It would be interesting to hear the difference. Thanks for posting, and best wishes!
4k is a bit out of my price range and the amps to run such a speaker. But it's still an amazing review. Maybe in 25 years, there might be in my price range.
Hi Kelvin, always a Sunday treat with you show and you really have treated your self this time..yes I know there a loaner but they've got a hi price tag, for mere mortals Including me...anyhoo intresting how there quite power hungry, Maybe they have a complex cross over net work .but great you can. Hear those upper frequences a bit important me thinks . Take care pal.
They are certainly very classy speakers at a high price. Do you know when Graham Audio made them? I have an old Australian "Stereo Answers" magazine from 1975 and one of the HIFI systems they reviewed consisted of a pair of Spendor BC-11 speakers, a Voxson H 302 integrated amp (made in Italy) and a Linn Sondek turntable with an SME arm and Shure V-15/111 stereo cartridge. The system was priced at $1690 aus, then, which equates to around $14250 aus. or 7350 UK pounds these days. The review said that system was expensive but the components were considered among the best available (in 1975) and would provide superior hi-fidelity sound quality for many years. That may well have been true at the time but, as you mentioned, these Graham Audio speakers would outperform old Spendor BC 1's or11's by some margin, if paired with the right amplifier, which you should at that price. I wonder if similar ones made by Mat at Haycross Audio are better value and don't need as much power to perform at their best.
These are current production, one of Graham Audio's later ventures, and to be honest probably more home friendly than some of their bigger models, not small by modern standards but manageable.
Interesting review, as ever. Have you ever tried the (inexpensive if you can find them) Wharfedale 510.2 Kelvin? I think they deliver a lot of what you are after (except not at high volumes perhaps), but would be eager to hear your impressions.
I recently acquired some Wharfedale Delta 30.2. I had these as my first speakers in the early 90s. Great sound for budget priced speakers. Sometimes things just work, with no apparent reason why….
Hi Kelvin, thanks for great review. I have a Stirling SB-88 speaker and tried to connect to Leema Acoustic Pulse (MK1) integrated amp and also Sansui Eight. I'm looking for a better matching amp, which options would you recommend? (Got BlueSound Node X for streaming but also like Vinyl records)
curiously they are kind of similar to rogers ls7 generally just up everything including scale a bit weather that's worth 10 x the money just depends how rich you are
Great review. I've heard mixed things on these. Personally your pushing your luck crossing an 8inch woofer to a tweeter above 2kHz. There are a number of reasons why. I love the use of a super tweeter.
A large, relatively heavy coned bass mid driver can be expected to deliver full bodied and easy listening mid range but no snappy experience. BTW many experience 1500Hz already a high frequency.
@@JK-rt2jj If you divide the speed of sound by the diameter of the cone you will get the approximate beaming frequency. A 8 inch (0.2mt) cone is heavily beaming at about 1.7kHz. (343 / 0.2). The speed the cone needs to move albeit tiny movements at those frequency also is to much. The moving mass is to much. 2kHz and below is ok. You get that full body sound. Unfortunately our hearing is very sensitive in the 1 to 4kHz area which is where most 2ways are crossed. You can see how a well designed 3way is better
As always, the more audiophile the speakers are, the lesser records are enjoyable. If you give them the best recordings, the best source and the best amp, you are rewarded by an exquisite listening experience. However, you can’t play 80 or 90 percent of your favorite albums because they are too bright, too thin … whatever. Kelvin did you try your old Monitor Audios with the same source and amp ?
It means something produced by moderately priced materials and components of a relatively small size and capacity. Modest volume, extension and dynamics. Ie small 2 way speaker and 30w amp. Like the MGA of audio reproduction. Can be entertaining if you don’t ask too much from it though.
I would say the traditional sound you get from good quality vintage British speakers is, generally, an accurate, well balanced flat response across all the frequencies, with some attenuation of the highest and lowest frequencies to avoid harsh treble peakiness and bass boominess, with an emphasis on providing a clear, smooth, detailed and accurate midrange.
@@shaneonpole The "British sound" is synonymous with a generally flat, and therefore accurate, well balanced frequency response, which some might consider dull, predictable, boring or vanilla. However, any speaker designed to have a frequency response that is not flat but, as you say, has "triple chocolate with toppings' (party speakers for eg.) would be considered, by knowledgeable HI-Fi enthusiasts, as inaccurate and unable to reproduce a true and faithful reproduction of the source material. Those speakers would therefore not be considered Hi-Fidelity but merely Mid or Low fidelity speakers, of which there are many to be found at cheap prices or given away secondhand for being of little or no real value due to their low quality soundwise.
LOVE YOU AND ONE DAY WANT TO COME AND VISIT AND LISTEN TO MUSIC BUT. FOR ME I Want 25 to 60 60 to 500 200 to 5k 5k to 10 and 10k to 20k All these and these speakers have same problem. A deticated mid HAS TO Go From 60hz to 500 for Human Voice. ALL THE Human voice only from tweeters is awful
For the same amount of money I might try a pair of Klipsch Cornwall IV. They have 15 inch woofers with horn midrange and tweeter and need only a few watts to make big noise.
Yes, you get a big noise but some say they are not really hifi but midfi. There are many cheaper ways to get a big noise, if you are not fussed about getting accurate, true Hi-Fi quality sound.
Monitors tend to be power hungry. The more you put in, the more they give out, especially in low-end extension, where that bass cone can flex without distortion and the over all scale of instruments will be more true to life.
Another relaxing Sunday afternoon with one of my favourite UA-cam channels.
All the best, Kelvin.
I spent 20 years listening to Acoustic Energy AE2s on various 50 watt amplifiers but it wasn’t until I used two 200 watt mono blocks that they started to sing and thump. Currently I use two Class G mono blocks rated at 300 watts.
class G? do you mean Arcam?
Thank you Kelvin. Your reviews, as always, are excellent.
Another fantastic review Kelvin entertainment and honesty.
A very nice traditional speaker, though despite the Spendor BC-1 link, I always thought these were more a late Rogers Studio 1 re-take, more power handling and simply better drivers overall, which also get better with better amplification.
But the whole Graham range is superb, I have a soft spot for these as I like the Rogers Studio 1, but anything in that range with EAR amplification would be sublime.
Great video. They must be on another level at that price.
No other speaker can output a snare -drum like my DIY JBL E140’s.
A super fast , tight 15” wide band driver ., my 400 watt per channel amp might help also.
I also crossed them over rather high 3500hz.
I have no bass., frequency beaming., phase cancellation ., but I wouldn’t give them up.
Thanks again for the review!
Spot on. !
Please tell me if I have this wrong. Are you saying that even though you have frequency beaming, phase cancellation and no bass, you wouldn't give up those speakers for speakers without those problems?
I am ever grateful to you Kelvin, for my acquisition of some two way Chartwell speakers (PM210), that I recognised as perhaps worth trying after seeing their similarity to some speakers you reviewed. Now you are reviewing Graham speakers and I think there is a connection between Graham and Chartwell. It would be interesting to hear the difference. Thanks for posting, and best wishes!
Good video.All the best from Norway.
Another Sunday Afternoon Treat! Well outside my budget, but an interesting review all the same. Thanks.
Great review and free hearing test for you as well, absolutely brilliant Kelvin 😂
Absolutely
4k is a bit out of my price range and the amps to run such a speaker. But it's still an amazing review. Maybe in 25 years, there might be in my price range.
🙋♂️THANKS KELVIN,FOR SHARING THIS 🤗💚💚💚
Nice.......Audio gold , like your old shop video
Great review
Nice speaker , thanks for explanation .
Hi Kelvin, always a Sunday treat with you show and you really have treated your self this time..yes I know there a loaner but they've got a hi price tag, for mere mortals
Including me...anyhoo intresting how there quite power hungry,
Maybe they have a complex cross over net work .but great you can. Hear those upper frequences a bit important me thinks . Take care pal.
$5,996.02 per pair. I'll bet they sound really nice. They look fantastic as well.
@mikeday62 I hope they would
Hi Kevin if got chance to get one, could you review old Spendor SP1
They are certainly very classy speakers at a high price. Do you know when Graham Audio made them? I have an old Australian "Stereo Answers" magazine from 1975 and one of the HIFI systems they reviewed consisted of a pair of Spendor BC-11 speakers, a Voxson H 302 integrated amp (made in Italy) and a Linn Sondek turntable with an SME arm and Shure V-15/111 stereo cartridge. The system was priced at $1690 aus, then, which equates to around $14250 aus. or 7350 UK pounds these days. The review said that system was expensive but the components were considered among the best available (in 1975) and would provide superior hi-fidelity sound quality for many years. That may well have been true at the time but, as you mentioned, these Graham Audio speakers would outperform old Spendor BC 1's or11's by some margin, if paired with the right amplifier, which you should at that price. I wonder if similar ones made by Mat at Haycross Audio are better value and don't need as much power to perform at their best.
These are current production, one of Graham Audio's later ventures, and to be honest probably more home friendly than some of their bigger models, not small by modern standards but manageable.
I think the high frequency cause harmonics with the lower highs so you still hear the super tweeter even you won't be able to hear it on it's own.
Hopefully not! That would imply that the super tweeter produces severe intermodulation distortion because of bad non-linearity in its design, I think.
Interesting review, as ever. Have you ever tried the (inexpensive if you can find them) Wharfedale 510.2 Kelvin? I think they deliver a lot of what you are after (except not at high volumes perhaps), but would be eager to hear your impressions.
thanks
I recently acquired some Wharfedale Delta 30.2. I had these as my first speakers in the early 90s. Great sound for budget priced speakers. Sometimes things just work, with no apparent reason why….
Hi Kelvin, thanks for great review. I have a Stirling SB-88 speaker and tried to connect to Leema Acoustic Pulse (MK1) integrated amp and also Sansui Eight. I'm looking for a better matching amp, which options would you recommend?
(Got BlueSound Node X for streaming but also like Vinyl records)
I found this with Atc speakers if you don't have power they won't singing like they can do .
They sure are pretty, and a steal at $60. Oops, missed a few decimal places.
Just kidding, good fun hearing about all the toys, thanks Kelvin.
your welcome
Might be interesting to see how they compare to Harbeths and Spendors?
Great review Kelvin ,how would they compare to the Rodgers LS7t or the Hartbeth HL5 Super ?
curiously they are kind of similar to rogers ls7 generally just up everything including scale a bit
weather that's worth 10 x the money just depends how rich you are
@@stereoreviewx Thanks for reply Kelvin Much appreciated
Another good Sunday watch , out of my price range 😂
You and me both!
Would have auditioned them but they were not available before I bought my Spendor d7.2s.
Great review. I've heard mixed things on these. Personally your pushing your luck crossing an 8inch woofer to a tweeter above 2kHz. There are a number of reasons why. I love the use of a super tweeter.
A large, relatively heavy coned bass mid driver can be expected to deliver full bodied and easy listening mid range but no snappy experience. BTW many experience 1500Hz already a high frequency.
@@JK-rt2jj If you divide the speed of sound by the diameter of the cone you will get the approximate beaming frequency. A 8 inch (0.2mt) cone is heavily beaming at about 1.7kHz. (343 / 0.2). The speed the cone needs to move albeit tiny movements at those frequency also is to much. The moving mass is to much. 2kHz and below is ok. You get that full body sound. Unfortunately our hearing is very sensitive in the 1 to 4kHz area which is where most 2ways are crossed. You can see how a well designed 3way is better
@@haycrossaudio5474 In terms of vintage sound I've heard good things about Nightingdale Point 5. Very rare.
Well, if the Spendor BC1 pulled it off several decades ago and became a classic, it should be doable today with no problems.
@@gaborozorai3714 The BC1 crossed to the HF1300 lower than these. Around 2.5-3kHz. The BC1 Bextrene woofer was a fantastic driver.
How did the Arcam alpha 8 fare with these Grahams?
sounded too etchy /unatural
As always, the more audiophile the speakers are, the lesser records are enjoyable.
If you give them the best recordings, the best source and the best amp, you are rewarded by an exquisite listening experience.
However, you can’t play 80 or 90 percent of your favorite albums because they are too bright, too thin … whatever.
Kelvin did you try your old Monitor Audios with the same source and amp ?
yes you land up with limited material for best sound
can't say that's a great thing
Is it watts they need or current, I’d say current.
Current
Look at the old NAD power envelope amps. 40w but 45A of peak current, thats similar to some 120w amps of today.
How do they compare to the LNB’s with the transmission line bass and similar top end configuration?
Ok well lnb is more stylised sound
Grahams pure accuracy
If you don’t go loud lnb I may prefer
Bass more obvious and interesting
Can you describe what British sound is? I have no idea what that means. Thanks.
Smooth easy to listen to , not too bright , slightly dark, tight bass, not blasting
It means something produced by moderately priced materials and components of a relatively small size and capacity. Modest volume, extension and dynamics. Ie small 2 way speaker and 30w amp. Like the MGA of audio reproduction. Can be entertaining if you don’t ask too much from it though.
I would say the traditional sound you get from good quality vintage British speakers is, generally, an accurate, well balanced flat response across all the frequencies, with some attenuation of the highest and lowest frequencies to avoid harsh treble peakiness and bass boominess, with an emphasis on providing a clear, smooth, detailed and accurate midrange.
"British sound" is basically "Vanilla"...nice, simple and predictable. If you want "Triple Chocolate with toppings", then buy American stuff.
@@shaneonpole The "British sound" is synonymous with a generally flat, and therefore accurate, well balanced frequency response, which some might consider dull, predictable, boring or vanilla. However, any speaker designed to have a frequency response that is not flat but, as you say, has "triple chocolate with toppings' (party speakers for eg.) would be considered, by knowledgeable HI-Fi enthusiasts, as inaccurate and unable to reproduce a true and faithful reproduction of the source material. Those speakers would therefore not be considered Hi-Fidelity but merely Mid or Low fidelity speakers, of which there are many to be found at cheap prices or given away secondhand for being of little or no real value due to their low quality soundwise.
Now I have to wait 40 years to buy them vintage...
LOVE YOU AND ONE DAY WANT TO COME AND VISIT AND LISTEN TO MUSIC BUT. FOR ME I Want
25 to 60
60 to 500
200 to 5k
5k to 10 and
10k to 20k
All these and these speakers have same problem. A deticated mid HAS TO Go From 60hz to 500 for Human Voice. ALL THE Human voice only from tweeters is awful
For the same amount of money I might try a pair of Klipsch Cornwall IV. They have 15 inch woofers with horn midrange and tweeter and need only a few watts to make big noise.
Yes, you get a big noise but some say they are not really hifi but midfi. There are many cheaper ways to get a big noise, if you are not fussed about getting accurate, true Hi-Fi quality sound.