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Dynaudio Owner's Thread - Page 18

post #511 of 19640
4/8/07 at 8:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dynfan View Post

Hi my name is Wes and I have a problem! I just bought a pair of Focus 140's on Friday night and tonight I just bought a pair of Contour 1.4's..... Now I will get some quality time with both and figure out which to keep. After my audition on Friday I was set on the 140's but for the price I got the Contour's for I could pass them up!

Doesnt sound like you have a problem.

Sounds like twice the fun!
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post #512 of 19640
4/8/07 at 8:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AudioArchitect View Post

Doesnt sound like you have a problem.

Sounds like twice the fun!

3 times.... I still have my Contour 1.3 MKII's lying around

Need some audience and Confidence and I will be set...
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post #513 of 19640
4/9/07 at 2:16am
Wes,

Nice write-up and congrats on getting your new speakers.

Have fun
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post #514 of 19640
4/10/07 at 4:51pm
Wow, my focus 220 was lying on the floor and my dog actually chewed and scratched the tweeter until it is no more! Can someone lead me to a place where I can get a replacement for a good price? He started ti do it on the other so I wouldnt mind finding a pair. Also would the esotar tweeter work inside the focus 220 or would it sound funny since it isn't configured with the crossover. Any help would be apprciated..

Insom
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post #515 of 19640
4/10/07 at 5:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Insomniahead View Post

Wow, my focus 220 was lying on the floor and my dog actually chewed and scratched the tweeter until it is no more! Can someone lead me to a place where I can get a replacement for a good price? He started ti do it on the other so I wouldnt mind finding a pair. Also would the esotar tweeter work inside the focus 220 or would it sound funny since it isn't configured with the crossover. Any help would be apprciated..

Insom

Go to dynaudiousa.com and find your local dealer. They can order a replacement driver for you.
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post #516 of 19640
4/10/07 at 6:35pm
AND GET RID OF YOUR DOG!!!
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post #517 of 19640
4/10/07 at 9:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Insomniahead View Post

Wow, my focus 220 was lying on the floor and my dog actually chewed and scratched the tweeter until it is no more! Can someone lead me to a place where I can get a replacement for a good price? He started ti do it on the other so I wouldnt mind finding a pair. Also would the esotar tweeter work inside the focus 220 or would it sound funny since it isn't configured with the crossover. Any help would be apprciated..

Insom

There is apair on ebay right now that appear to be in similar condition to yours now

Sucks to hear about that though but you seem to be a good sport about it. I would stick with the Focus tweeter as the crossover is specifically designed for that tweeter. The Esotar would be a waste unless the crossover was re-designed.
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post #518 of 19640
4/10/07 at 9:52pm
So I spent a few hours going back and forth between my new Focus 140's and my Contour 1.3MKII's. This time I was at my own home with my own gear and it was certainly a different experience than when I was listening at next level. My gear consists of the following:

Audio Refinement Pre2DSP (analog bypass mode)
Pioneer Elite DV47Ai universal player
Earthquake Cinenova Grande 5

I must be used to my gear, as I definately seemed to prefer it over the Halcro gear I originally demoed on. The Halcro is great stuff, and big $$$, however I prefer my simple setup based on what I heard. I will say that the Halcro gear was great for hearing the overall differences between speakers!

After spending more time with the Focus 140's I am VERY impressed. Overall they are a VERY good speaker with undoubtedtly the best bass response I have heard from a bookshelf. They walk all over the 1.3MKII's in this area. I am also impressed by the upper end. I find myself going back and forth depending on the recording in terms of which tweeter I prefer. I find that on female vocals I prefer the 140 and on male vocals I prefer the 1.3. Overall I believe the 1.3 has a slightly more open upper range than the 140. Regardless the 140 wins in the bass area and offers 95-98 % of the upper end performance of the 1.3. The quality of the finish is also waaay better on the 140. All of this from an $1800 pair of speakers.

I cannot wait to get my Contour 1.4's for some more critical listening. Here's a couple of quick pics.



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post #519 of 19640
4/10/07 at 11:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ttowntony View Post

AND GET RID OF YOUR DOG!!!

\\

Hey Ttown. I have read over a couple of your posts and I think I recognize you. Are you a memeber on the av123 board? I owned some 750's before these dyn's and I think we have had a couple conversations over on the onix boards.
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post #520 of 19640
4/10/07 at 11:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dynfan View Post

So I spent a few hours going back and forth between my new Focus 140's and my Contour 1.3MKII's. This time I was at my own home with my own gear and it was certainly a different experience than when I was listening at next level. My gear consists of the following:

Audio Refinement Pre2DSP (analog bypass mode)
Pioneer Elite DV47Ai universal player
Earthquake Cinenova Grande 5

I must be used to my gear, as I definately seemed to prefer it over the Halcro gear I originally demoed on. The Halcro is great stuff, and big $$$, however I prefer my simple setup based on what I heard. I will say that the Halcro gear was great for hearing the overall differences between speakers!

After spending more time with the Focus 140's I am VERY impressed. Overall they are a VERY good speaker with undoubtedtly the best bass response I have heard from a bookshelf. They walk all over the 1.3MKII's in this area. I am also impressed by the upper end. I find myself going back and forth depending on the recording in terms of which tweeter I prefer. I find that on female vocals I prefer the 140 and on male vocals I prefer the 1.3. Overall I believe the 1.3 has a slightly more open upper range than the 140. Regardless the 140 wins in the bass area and offers 95-98 % of the upper end performance of the 1.3. The quality of the finish is also waaay better on the 140. All of this from an $1800 pair of speakers.

I cannot wait to get my Contour 1.4's for some more critical listening. Here's a couple of quick pics.


I have been waiting to try out aaudio refinement pre/pro like yours. But non have been coming up on audio as of late. How bout you sell me yours and you upgrade!


Hey I have been looking for a refinement pre like yours! Houw about you sell me yours so you can upgrade! =)
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post #521 of 19640
4/11/07 at 1:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dynfan View Post

So I spent a few hours going back and forth between my new Focus 140's and my Contour 1.3MKII's. This time I was at my own home with my own gear and it was certainly a different experience than when I was listening at next level. My gear consists of the following:

Audio Refinement Pre2DSP (analog bypass mode)
Pioneer Elite DV47Ai universal player
Earthquake Cinenova Grande 5

I must be used to my gear, as I definately seemed to prefer it over the Halcro gear I originally demoed on. The Halcro is great stuff, and big $$$, however I prefer my simple setup based on what I heard. I will say that the Halcro gear was great for hearing the overall differences between speakers!

After spending more time with the Focus 140's I am VERY impressed. Overall they are a VERY good speaker with undoubtedtly the best bass response I have heard from a bookshelf. They walk all over the 1.3MKII's in this area. I am also impressed by the upper end. I find myself going back and forth depending on the recording in terms of which tweeter I prefer. I find that on female vocals I prefer the 140 and on male vocals I prefer the 1.3. Overall I believe the 1.3 has a slightly more open upper range than the 140. Regardless the 140 wins in the bass area and offers 95-98 % of the upper end performance of the 1.3. The quality of the finish is also waaay better on the 140. All of this from an $1800 pair of speakers.

I cannot wait to get my Contour 1.4's for some more critical listening. Here's a couple of quick pics.




Gosh those are pretty speakers!! Thanks for the post. Are the 140's trully broken in?
Seems they need a couple hundred hours to break.

I hope my Focuses get here this week. I am anxious to see them in black.

Rick
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post #522 of 19640
4/11/07 at 5:47am
Quote:


Hey Ttown. I have read over a couple of your posts and I think I recognize you.

Probably so.....AV123 is definitely one of the better ID brands out there. We have a CI relationship with Mark and the boys. Excellent subwoofers BTW and looking forward to the big beasts coming out soon.....well, hopefully soon.
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post #523 of 19640
4/11/07 at 6:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CETA View Post

Gosh those are pretty speakers!! Thanks for the post. Are the 140's trully broken in?
Seems they need a couple hundred hours to break.

I hope my Focuses get here this week. I am anxious to see them in black.

Rick

I bought them as demo's with over 200 hours on them so they are broken. That is part of the reason I bought them. They truly are new (flawless) but I did not have to go through the break in period!
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post #524 of 19640
4/11/07 at 6:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Insomniahead View Post

Hey I have been looking for a refinement pre like yours! Houw about you sell me yours so you can upgrade! =)

That might happen within the next few weeks, if it does I will let you know.
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post #525 of 19640
4/11/07 at 12:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dynfan View Post

That might happen within the next few weeks, if it does I will let you know.

awesome@!
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post #526 of 19640
4/11/07 at 2:01pm
I've been watching this thread for a while, and it convinced me to go take a serious listen to some Dynaudio bookshelves as I was in the market for a pair of speakers to use in a secondary system that will do some duty as an audio workstation.

I auditioned the Audience 42, Focus 140 and Contour S1.4. Of the three, I was leaning towards the 140. I thought the Contour had an edge in detail, but the bottom end of the focus moved me a little more. The setup was a little less than ideal, so it may not have been a fair comparison.

In the end, I ended up jumping on a hot deal on a b-stock pair of 52SE's. They're still breaking in, so I have not gotten to the serious listening yet. However, they're already pushing my buttons enough to consider upgrading the main system to Dyn's. I'm getting married in the fall, so I am looking for some mains that will last me a good long time as I enter a period of fiscal responsibility!

The main system is in an L-shaped room (about 22x20x8 feet with a 6x10 corner removed) along one of the long walls. Current mains are B&W 604S3's. I'm listening to maybe 90% 2-channel music, so I don't expect to go back to a home theater setup for the forseeable future. As far as electronics goes, I have the following floating around:
Arcam AVR100 receiver (5x70watt or 2x90 in stereo)
Arcam A32 integrated (2x100watt)
Krell KAV-400xi integrated (2x200watt)
Rotel RB991 power amp (2x200watt predecessor of the current RB1080)
Arcam DV88 DVD player
Benchmark DAC1
Paradigm PW2200v1 subwoofer

Anything I don't keep will be sold to fund the upgrades. I'm planning on selling a whole buch of other excess stuff and using about half the proceeds towards this upgrade. Based on my inventory, I am guessing that I will have $4-6000 USD available to spend on on upgrading my mains and/or digital source components.

Based on that budget, I can most likely afford something in the Focus 140, 220 or Contour S1.4 range with money leftover for digital source upgrade either now or down the road. If I stretch things, I might be able to go for the gusto and search out a pair of Confidence C1s, but then I would in all likelihood have to forego any upgrades to the source components. I am open to demo, b-stock, used, trade-in routes to maximize bang for the buck.

Anyone want to chime in with an opinion on how to allocate the budget? Stick with bookshelf models and augment with a subwoofer when needed? Dump the subwoofer and go with the Focus 220...or hold out for a discounted S3.4? Go for broke with the C1s? I don't think my local dealer has the C1s or the Focus 220s on the floor, so I may need to hit the road to demo those options.

Thanks,
Chris
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post #527 of 19640
4/11/07 at 3:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cjstepp View Post

I've been watching this thread for a while, and it convinced me to go take a serious listen to some Dynaudio bookshelves as I was in the market for a pair of speakers to use in a secondary system that will do some duty as an audio workstation.

I auditioned the Audience 42, Focus 140 and Contour S1.4. Of the three, I was leaning towards the 140. I thought the Contour had an edge in detail, but the bottom end of the focus moved me a little more. The setup was a little less than ideal, so it may not have been a fair comparison.

In the end, I ended up jumping on a hot deal on a b-stock pair of 52SE's. They're still breaking in, so I have not gotten to the serious listening yet. However, they're already pushing my buttons enough to consider upgrading the main system to Dyn's. I'm getting married in the fall, so I am looking for some mains that will last me a good long time as I enter a period of fiscal responsibility!

The main system is in an L-shaped room (about 22x20x8 feet with a 6x10 corner removed) along one of the long walls. Current mains are B&W 604S3's. I'm listening to maybe 90% 2-channel music, so I don't expect to go back to a home theater setup for the forseeable future. As far as electronics goes, I have the following floating around:
Arcam AVR100 receiver (5x70watt or 2x90 in stereo)
Arcam A32 integrated (2x100watt)
Krell KAV-400xi integrated (2x200watt)
Rotel RB991 power amp (2x200watt predecessor of the current RB1080)
Arcam DV88 DVD player
Benchmark DAC1
Paradigm PW2200v1 subwoofer

Anything I don't keep will be sold to fund the upgrades. I'm planning on selling a whole buch of other excess stuff and using about half the proceeds towards this upgrade. Based on my inventory, I am guessing that I will have $4-6000 USD available to spend on on upgrading my mains and/or digital source components.

Based on that budget, I can most likely afford something in the Focus 140, 220 or Contour S1.4 range with money leftover for digital source upgrade either now or down the road. If I stretch things, I might be able to go for the gusto and search out a pair of Confidence C1s, but then I would in all likelihood have to forego any upgrades to the source components. I am open to demo, b-stock, used, trade-in routes to maximize bang for the buck.

Anyone want to chime in with an opinion on how to allocate the budget? Stick with bookshelf models and augment with a subwoofer when needed? Dump the subwoofer and go with the Focus 220...or hold out for a discounted S3.4? Go for broke with the C1s? I don't think my local dealer has the C1s or the Focus 220s on the floor, so I may need to hit the road to demo those options.

Thanks,
Chris


I have not heard the SE's but I did hear the special 25's and I did not care for their upper end, from what I have heard all of the SE's are hot rodded versions and tend to be a bit more forward than the typical dynaudio speakers. With that said I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the SE's in comparison tot he 140's or 1.4's....

I pretty much agree with your assessment of the 140 vs 1.4 in that the 1.4 had better overall detail. The 140 definately has a better perceived low end, however after spending some time with them I believe the cabinet structure compared to the 1.4 or older 1.3 contour models lends some bloom overall. They are a fantastic speaker however.

Personally for 90% music I would say get the 1.4's or C1's. I prefer the C1's to any bookshelf I have heard and give them a nod over the 1.4's, however I would not get in to that range unless I had some serious power to push them.
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post #528 of 19640
4/11/07 at 5:22pm
The 52SEs might be brighter than the Focus 140s, but it's too soon to tell. I think we heading out of town for the weekend, so I should be able to get the 52SEs over the 100 hour mark. Then I can get serious with them next weekend.

I'll have to see if I can arrange a home demo of the 140's and/or S1.4s. The S1.4s (or the C1s) have a practical advantage in that they are designed to bolt to the Dynaudio stands. We have a cat in the house and he has knocked my old bookshelves off the stands at least once. Bolting them to a fairly high mass stand should prevent that.
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post #529 of 19640
4/15/07 at 11:02am
I got my S5.4 last night, and haven't left the room in three hours just listening to two channel music. These speakers get better by the minute. The imaging is incredible.

I currently in running them on a SimAudio Aurora amp, and have a Bryston in the rack ready to demo later today.


Michael
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post #530 of 19640
4/15/07 at 2:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnthemAVM View Post

I got my S5.4 last night, and haven't left the room in three hours just listening to two channel music. These speakers get better by the minute. The imaging is incredible.

I currently in running them on a SimAudio Aurora amp, and have a Bryston in the rack ready to demo later today.


Michael


Awesome! I just got my 1.4's yesterday as well and did some serious listening! I am in love so far, I can only imagine the 5.4's with the esotar!
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post #531 of 19640
4/15/07 at 3:58pm
Hi Chris and Wes,

Please make sure you guys post your final impressions on the 52SE vs. S1.4 vs. Focus 140 vs. 1.3MKII (all that apply). We'd really appreciate that !

Regards,

Fernando
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post #532 of 19640
4/15/07 at 8:27pm
Congrad's Guys,

Sounds like it was a Dynaudio weekend!

I picked-up the NAD's and Focus 220, 200C and 110's w/stand1's on Friday. It was quite a chore tearing down the old set-up and then building up the new one.

I was wiped after I was done!

Just some quick thoughts.

1. The Focus line looks amazing in black.
2. The Stand1's are shorter than what I thought. Since these are used for the rears perhaps taller stands would have been in order. But now that I have had them for a couple of days I think they are fine and look great.
3. The 220's sound pretty dang good out of the gate but I think they do need to break in for a while. Vocals sound very very good thus far but perhaps some layers will come off as they open-up. I hear this most with instruments but vocals are beyond clear and pristine but I think it will all open up as time goes by.
4. System not calibrated yet. Too wiped out and had to go to work today. We will see how calibration goes next weekend.
5. The center sounds a little "congested" to me at times. It sounds a little "boxy" with some material. I know this will all change as the break-in starts. I did not get to see the center when I ordered the system. I hope it does not turn out to be the weak link in the system. No wait that would be my CD player and Sub.

I am more than happy at this point but I think this will increase as break-in starts. The speakers and stands are a sight to behold. I really love them.

That NAD Amp was a back breaker. It was one in the morning Saturday and I was trying to get the NAD's set-up. Decided to wait until the next morning and I was able to get it all going. These are my first separates and maybe I am just a dummy but I thought the manual could have been just a little better in details. They do sound very nice now but calibration will not occur until next weekend. How nice it is to plug the speaker cables in a separate AMP instead of swearing at an AVR for lack of room!!!!

I will turn on the CD player on repeat while I am at work and help speed everything along.

Now the fun can really begin (after calibration). I think I am beyond thrilled now and looking forward to the next couple of months as break-in occurs.

-Rick
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post #533 of 19640
4/15/07 at 9:38pm
Rick,

Congrats on the new speakers! I think I mentioned that I'm in the Bay Area and looking at the Focus Series, as well, so I'm very much looking forward to your impressions.

I'm not alone, I'm sure, in the hope that you'll pose some pics.

I hope you enjoy your speakers for a long, long time.
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post #534 of 19640
4/16/07 at 12:11pm
My fiance was home sick over the weekend, so I did not get to log any more significant break-in hours. Hopefully, this week or next weekend will provide an opportunity.

I did check with the local dealer and they don't have the 220's or the Confidence C1's available for auditioning. They sold their demo 220's off the floor, and will likely get them back in stock, but they weren't sure when.

I did manage to set the Audience 52se's up in the main system yesterday, though I'll need to work on the placement some more. I wasn't able to get the imaging anywhere near what I was hoping for. Because I'm working with an unusual L-shaped room, I have the left side speaker only about 3 feet from the side wall while the right side is more or less free standing. I could center the system on the wall, but then the listening distance becomes severely constrained. Anyway, I'll have to play with it and see what can be done.

If I can't get these working to my satisfaction, I'll probably be best off investing the money until I can get a better dedicated listening space (or something breaks). If I get things settled in, I will see if I can do a home demo of the Focus 140's and/or Contour S1.4s for comparison.
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post #535 of 19640
4/16/07 at 10:01pm
Ahh, much better. I scooted the tv closer to the wall so that it was further behind the plane of the speakers (I had pulled it out while mucking with cables). I also moved the speakers a bit closer together so they're just over 6ft apart. They're now doing the nice disappearing trick one expects out of a good monitor. It's too late to turn it up, but I'm headed in the right direction.
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post #536 of 19640
4/17/07 at 6:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cjstepp View Post

Ahh, much better. I scooted the tv closer to the wall so that it was further behind the plane of the speakers (I had pulled it out while mucking with cables). I also moved the speakers a bit closer together so they're just over 6ft apart. They're now doing the nice disappearing trick one expects out of a good monitor. It's too late to turn it up, but I'm headed in the right direction.

If they are 6 feet apart, how far are they from your listening position?
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post #537 of 19640
4/17/07 at 7:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnthemAVM View Post

If they are 6 feet apart, how far are they from your listening position?

I know youa re asking him specifically but I have mine temporarily set up with the speakers 6 ft apart and approx. 6 feet from the listening position. This is the recommended setup by Dynaudio in the manual for hte Focus series. What is everyone else using for placement?
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post #538 of 19640
4/17/07 at 7:51am
Please let me pulse the group here to see if any opinions on the MC15s yet. Can they be purchased yet?
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post #539 of 19640
4/17/07 at 8:36am
Big Hat,
The MC-15's are amazing, they are truly the best multimedia speaker made. The MC-15's will be available within the next three to four weeks in quantity and will be available through the normal dealer network. These are truly a Dynaudio speaker with the components being made specifically for the application. The amplifier used has a line level input, some basic x over adjustments and is actually a stereo amp in EACH speaker. 50 watts is sent to the tweeter and 50 to the woofer, a real transformer is used and there is also a protection circuit to avoid overdriving the speaker. Table stands are included since this is a nearfield speaker. Any source with a variable volume output can drive the MC-15's directly including an I pod, a CD player, DVD player hard drive and computers.
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post #540 of 19640
4/17/07 at 10:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dynlunatic View Post

Big Hat,
The MC-15's are amazing, they are truly the best multimedia speaker made. The MC-15's will be available within the next three to four weeks in quantity and will be available through the normal dealer network. These are truly a Dynaudio speaker with the components being made specifically for the application. The amplifier used has a line level input, some basic x over adjustments and is actually a stereo amp in EACH speaker. 50 watts is sent to the tweeter and 50 to the woofer, a real transformer is used and there is also a protection circuit to avoid overdriving the speaker. Table stands are included since this is a nearfield speaker. Any source with a variable volume output can drive the MC-15's directly including an I pod, a CD player, DVD player hard drive and computers.

Thanks for your input. I'm a big Dynaudio fan (C2s, C-center, and C3s) and think I want these for my office iPod setup. Have you heard them with the sub?

A another follow-up question for you regarding the "nearfield" comment. The best position in my office would put them about 8' away. Thinking that tilting would be bad. Can I take them off the small stands you see in the reviews?

Again, thanks and I appreciate the tolerance of others as I've asked this before. REALLY eager to get them, so just following up on what was advertised at CES to be a March release.
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