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Any chance it was shipped to Amir? Or can be shipped to him for testing?I ordered a pair to A/B with my DBR62.
Any chance it was shipped to Amir? Or can be shipped to him for testing?I ordered a pair to A/B with my DBR62.
I ordered a pair to A/B with my DBR62. I have a switch so I can A/B seemlessly. they are suppose to arrive Thur- I love my DBR62’s but the 3 way w the concentric driver sounds ideal for the vocals I frequently listen to. Stay tuned!
Thanks, appreciate the information. Any HT time ? Specifically, how does the new Uni-Fi do with HT dialogue ?Ok... they arrived a day early. After a couple hours tonight my initial response. First the cons: less bass
How much less? My listening room is just 12x10. In that room a sub was not needed with the DBR62. (Rotel 200x2 watt amp) I would need one with the uni-fi. It’s a small difference but just at that point where one will miss the sub. Heavy bass electronic Music caused the front round port to chuff, to make a loud distinct flutter noise. I could feel the air from the port 8 ft away! Seriously, not exaggerating. The front port on the DBR62 did not make any noise in spite of the extreme driver travel.
Now the pro’s:
As I had hoped the midrange no longer has that slight coloration from the cabinet and/or expecting the 6.5” driver to produce the 1k to 2.2k Range. It’s amazing how good a job it does do but it’s bested by wide margin on some recordings by the Uni-fi 2.0. The voice range sounds much closer to the Martin Logan electrostatic speakers I use to own, but Proved to be too large for the listening room in my new home. Voices have a lot more space surrounding the singer and its noticeably tighter, with a more focus location in space. If you listen to a lot of vocals like jazz, or Nora Jones, Dylan or Leonard Cohen I.e. stuff not over produced, these are a much better choice than the DBR62. Just add a sub. If you don’t use a sub or want more rock or pop type music, definitely go with the DBR62.
Ha, good question. Joe n Tell did a YT comparison, new vs old, and numerous people claimed that they liked the new Uni-Fi better. Me ? Couldn't tell any difference, even through headphones. Poor test conditions at best, need to listen live. Since Elac was able to raise the nominal impedance from 4 to 6 ohms, it saves me from buying new electronics to try the new Uni-Fi's. Will likely try the center channel first and see if it does dialogue any better than my current Debut C5.2.Are these better than the old ones? 300 doller better since old one is discounted by half
Are these better than the old ones? 300 doller better since old one is discounted by half
Good review, thanks. I had a similar experience with the Debut 2.0 a couple of yrs ago. Didn't like them at all, especially on old TV shows, just sounded harsh and unnatural. After a few days, no problems ... ??? I know that some people say that speaker break-in is not an event but something sure changed and it was so obvious that I don't believe that it was my ears adjusting.When I first hooked the UB52's up in my main setup (2.2 home theater) and started playing my tried-and-true test tracks, I hated these things. The vocals were strange, enveloped in an echo-ey, digital-sounding shell that I just couldn't stand. They were missing the "punch" of the original UB5's, particularly in the vocal range. The bass and mids were, for the most part, very detailed and pleasant (although a little less bass-ey than their predecessors). The bizarre vocal effects were just too much.
I then tried them in my desktop (near-field) setup, and I hated them even more. Even lossless files sounded metallic like a low-bitrate mp3 and still echoed as though played in a glass coke bottle. I am allowing for the fact that I was just in a bad mood at the time (I have two boys, one aged 4 years and the other 4 months - sue me).
I even went so far as to initiate a return, boxing them up and everything.
The next day when the kiddos were at school I chilled out a bit, re-unpackaged them, and hooked them back up for another go. After 30 or so hours the vocals opened up, and now they are scary natural-sounding. It's that old speaker review trope of "it's like the singer is right there in the room" but to a level I (admittedly, a novice) have never experienced. The separation, which at first seemed artificial/simulated, has become other-worldly.
I'm not good at describing audio in words so I may not be the most qualified person to write a speaker review, but I've been trying to think of a short description for their sound. The closest I've gotten is "passively meticulous." The detail is incredible, but they aren't "punchy" and they don't "shout." It's the difference between a slap and a tickle. The 2.0's tickle.
Now I can't stop listening to them. I keep thinking of more songs I want to "experience" through these speakers.
It's not all glowing. Playing music they shine, but every now and then I don't understand what they are doing with the audio. The majority of the time we are watching movies and TV in my main setup, and in that area things sometimes get weird. For example, I had the TV on in the background yesterday while I was picking up kids' toys and shoes and such, and an American Dad rerun was on. When the opening credits began, I had to stop and listen - they sounded like they did that first time with the vocals echoing through a tunnel and the instruments overly-bright and artificial-sounding. Yes, I know the opening credits of a cartoon sitcom are not audiophile territory, but it was a shock to hear after so much enjoyment. The rest of the episode sounded great with natural-sounding dialogue and music. There are still moments here and there when I am not happy with what I am hearing. Those sporadic moments are not enough to turn me off to them in general.
Also I have noticed that they seem much more sensitive to room placement than the originals. I was expecting the opposite given the front port. I am still playing with placement and angle, but haven't found the sweet spot. I have not tried them in near-field again, but I plan to. I also have a new, more powerful amp on the way. I am genuinely excited to learn more about them and try them out with different gear.
Anyway, I have cancelled the return.
Full-disclosure: my main setup is a Sony STR-DH770 receiver (which previously drove the UB5's just fine) with dual subs. I play music mostly in either 2-channel stereo or Pure Direct mode. My desktop is a near-field 2-channel setup via a Topping PA3 (though I have an Emotiva BasX A100 en route).
I was in the same anti-break-in camp, but something did change. It wasn't me. I'm quite gruff and stubborn.Good review, thanks. I had a similar experience with the Debut 2.0 a couple of yrs ago. Didn't like them at all, especially on old TV shows, just sounded harsh and unnatural. After a few days, no problems ... ??? I know that some people say that speaker break-in is not an event but something sure changed and it was so obvious that I don't believe that it was my ears adjusting.
Damned right and we're sticking to it !I was in the same anti-break-in camp, but something did change. It wasn't me. I'm quite gruff and stubborn.
I was in the same anti-break-in camp, but something did change. It wasn't me. I'm quite gruff and stubborn.
I hope the Sony's room EQ facilities are somewhat useful, 'cause I can't see this setup delivering the intended frequency response without some help. Baffle step compensation is likely to be overdoing things as effective baffle size is substantially increased, plus some symmetry issues. Proximity to back wall would also give a bass hump - good for level handling once EQ'd out.I have tried a few listening angles with these. It seems they were noticeably more position-sensitive at first, but somehow a few dozen hours of break-in have tamed this (I've never given much credence to "break-in" but I guess I do now). For a while I had them spread out and angled in, directed right at my listening position (which wasn't practical for my space but I did it anyway). From there I tried them towed-in, crossed the streams, towed out - just about everything. At first the differences in sound were very noticeable, but that waned. I've since moved them back to where the original Unifi won me over: flat and spaced out on either side of the TV. They are positioned just a little higher than my ears when seated - maybe 15 inches or so. There's nothing I can do about this without a complete reconfiguring of my living room furniture, including the record cabinet I custom-built myself for that specific space. Just gotta live with it for now.
LOL dang. I picked the wrong one.tow truck not required.
Last night we ended up watching The Neverending Story, and I had a realization about the occasional "weirdness" I've heard from these speakers. All the sound effects and dialogue sounded fantastic, but the opening song during the beginning credits, "The Neverending Story" by Limahl, which I've heard a thousand times and know every saccharine word to, sounded like it was coming from a speaker suspended a foot above the opposite end of a swimming pool in an echoey natatorium. JUST THAT ONE PART. Everything else was delightful. I listened to the actual song via Spotify just to be sure (through all the same inputs - AppleTV via HDMI to TV, optical cable from TV to receiver). It seems it's only music in movies and TV that are giving me this weird effect. Music performance via Spotify, Bluetooth, and CD (via Sony DVP-NS3100ES) continues to sparkle.
I am hoping this means that there is something in my system causing this. Any ideas on what it could be?
EDIT: I have a spare SMSL Sanskrit 10 I'm not using - may try running optical through that and switching to the RCA inputs on the receiver to see if it makes a difference?