Bye-bye Oppo Blu-ray Players, part of cord cutting plus I think their players were over-priced vs Sony for example

Agreed. When they first came out their players weren't too overpriced, I think they started around $300. Probably too much competition that low to be very profitable.

But in the last several years they just went way too high-end for my cheap @ss, lol.

I bought the HSU sub VTF-1, liked it so much, I bought 3.1 (my surrounds are small, due to the room). Love them. I never hear the speakers, only the source.

I have one, but here in the US of A.

Heh, I think I know what you mean. In one case, it may start from the top.

NHT. Besides MLP (below) I have Absolute Zeros and Super Zeros. I've never been disappointed.

Q acoustic concept 40 just bought a pair. this is a fantastic speaker I actually got it on sale. In my opinion this is plays in a much higher price range.


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I actually considered the UniB but with the debut line coming out with a brighter tweeter (which I enjoy) I figured I’d wait and see if they revise the Uni line as well. Although $350 is a nice price for that pair.

Totally agree on those higher end model, a simple model that do well with HDMI (4K and all), that most use, would have suffice.


$500 for the BD83, both in the US and Canada, and got one of them.
Yes they were a lot more expensive to get, but did have advantage over my previous Sony and Toshiba player.
It loaded much faster, and allow you to skip the previews that the other did not (not all previews, from the Sony and Toshiba would allow-it and the Oppo did).


As mention in the quote above, they were more pricey to get, but did had some advantage then.
They even fix mine once my warranty was done by a month at no charge (with free shipping, both ways [Canada to States, then States to Canada])
I will miss them, I was about to get a player capable of 4K/UHD from them


Ray

Did you get the CCB8? For the LCR

Give me the rundown. How are you liking your B1’s?

I'm sure that my saying it defies the permissible narrative, Geoff, but that's just out of the blue, and it's an ironic detraction itself. In fact, it could be why people tell us you have a talent for marginalizing at least one of those brands, especially the odd "for every application" charge.

Rather, speaking for Chane, it simply does quite well for itself when real users make real comparisons - almost always in-category, too - and report real results. You could look and listen for yourself instead of encouraging hearsay...

Well, I haven't had a chance to do an extended listening session at higher volumes or any AB comparisons yet, which is why I've been holding off on posting anything about them...however, I can say that they don't seem to do anything wrong at all. The moment of truth will be when I switch back to the Wharfedales after another week or two of exclusively listening to them.

And yet, when they are in stock, the Chanes are on my list of AVS favorites while the affordable bookshelves of the brand I have in my main home theater are not.

There are a lot of reasons to favor a product of any kind or in any category. There's appearance, reputation, price, community, or any number of perceptions, some of them potentially objective about it's real purpose and the experience it provides.

Bias evidences itself when a valid consideration or finding is consistently challenged simply because it conflicts with the competing preference or preconception: Narratives arise and narratives can be jealously guarded.

One reason to favor a product, technology, or a brand's expression is, in the case of a loudspeaker, even actual sound, as well as a user is able to determine it. In that case the only arbiter is the listener whose goal is the sound.

It's natural to pop into a conversation and casually inquire which complex product - car, meal, suit, boat, or even neighborhood or travel itinerary or hospital or townhouse - is "best" but getting a concrete, consensus report from actual, broad experience is less common than are the opinions drawn from one of the usual expectations or biases.

Maybe only a small fraction of ostensibly related chatter relates to tangible, concrete "scientific" reality, so to put it. Only the guys who have experienced a significant sampling possess it, and of them, only the ones free to discuss are going to be pertinent. The rest is just bias, hearsay, habit, or simple conjecture. In some cases it's even the gratuitous assumption or worse.

Solution? Go out and experience the item. That's been my recommendation for years. Unless you're in it for a reason other than listening, which is fine, you're best off hearing as much as you can. The folks with the broadest real experience set are the ones to consult if your aims align with theirs, that being how does something really drive, taste, wear, or sound.

Understood. No rush here just figured you had forgot that I asked. Seeing your first impression is nothing being noticeably wrong, I guess that somewhat answers my concerns of them being underwhelming. Still, I look forward to hearing what your impression is. Just curious what kind of Wharfedales do you have?

Well, "underwhelming" would be way too harsh and way too early...I'm just being a little cautious is all.

Also, I'm well aware that my personal preferences for a "warm" presentation is not shared by most AVS folks, who tend to be more HT focused and when they do listen to music, tend to be more analytical. My Wharfedales are 10.1s and by some accounts a good deal warmer than the subsequent 220s.

I can safely say however that the B1s do not have the treble "edge" that I discovered in the Q100s, so I would recommend them more widely and with fewer caveats as of now.

Just curious, for how long did you have your Q100s? I have found the edge rounding out somewhat over time. This relieves me. OTH, I'm still waiting for my newer ELAC C6.2 to sharpen up a bit more. Love the level of bass it produces for a center, but there's some thickness to it. Sorry, don't want to derail the thread--break-in periods have just been on my mind lately as I've bought 3 sets of bookshelves, a center, and a sub in the last two months and have been following their gradual evolution. The Uni-Fi UB5s are my clear favorites of the bunch. I like everything about them.

I was limited by BB's 15 day return period, but I listened to them pretty intensively...probably several hours a day.

Personally I'm agnostic on the topic of speaker break-in vs user break-in. I did have a very strong experience with my Wharfedales...hated them out of the box, but after a week or two I loved them. From reading anecdotal reviews, this seems to be a fairly common experience with many listeners.

If I had kept the Q100s for 30 days instead of 15, might I have gotten so used to them as to find the Wharfedales to be hopelessly "muddy and veiled" (the two most common descriptions used by their detractors)? I tend to doubt that, but who knows? I wouldn't be surprised if it just boils down to some unknowable mixture of habituation plus personal taste.

My favorite ID company? The one that does not price gouge customers.

I bought Emotiva and was so impressed I kept buying more. I’m sure they’re all good, just try one or two and stick with what you like.

How do you like the 2.0 line & have you listening to the first debuts? I’m curious if it’s true that the tweeter is brighter than the first gen. I had considered the Uni-Fi UB5’s while they were on sale for $350 but curiosity killed the cat and they went back up.

I’m still leaning with the B1’s but my first purchase was rash so I’m trying not to make the same mistake this time around.

Although I can’t get the CCB8’s out of my head. Just such a huge price difference. I’ve been debating the two for 3pgs now

I find that when a speaker “gets stuck in your head” you need to order it immediately and try it out. Only a demo will enable you to move on (either with the purchase or no longer considering it based on trying and returning).

I've owned speakers from several ID speaker manufacturer/sellers, Emotiva, Salk, Philharmonic Audio, and Selah Audio. I still have two pairs of Emotiva speakers, the ERD-1 bipole/dipole surrounds, and Emotiva XRM-4.1 bookshelf speakers in zone 2, and a single custom center channel from Selah Audio that is an amazingly good center speaker. Best I've ever heard. It has the same Hiquphon OW2 tweeter as used in the Song Towers (Salk) - timbre is nearly dead-on, closer than some center channel speakers that were matched to the front L/R. Until I bought the Song Towers I had regretted selling a pair of Emotiva ERT 8.3s for the longest time. I'd had them about 4 years and someone over on the Emotiva Lounge talked me out of them. When I'm ready for a new pair of speakers I'll be visiting one of these four companies. What I buy depends on the state of my funds at the time I'm looking. Dennis Murphy has some very interesting designs - and his flagship speakers are something more of us should be looking at. A pair of speakers for $3500 that play down to 30hz is not something to be ignored. And since I just sold my classic car for a very good price I'm thinking I should give Dennis a call. You may see a pair of Song Towers up for sale in a few months ---- or not! I really do like the Song Towers --- a lot!

I also have a sub from a now-defunct speaker manufacturer - Elemental Designs (eD) A5-350 15" sub. I suppose they deserve a mention here. Sub still works great. I even turn it on once in a great while. And I'm still impressed with how it shakes the entire house.

Most everyone here will tell you to go out and audition speakers before you buy. There isn't a decent audio shop within 100 miles of me. So I just read what the average Joe had to say about particular speakers. Based on so many favorable reviews I bit and bought. So far I haven't been disappointed in any of the ID speaker products I've bought over the years. The last speakers I could audition were a pair of Infinity Interlude IL40s. I still have a pair of them - but not the originals. When a pair came up locally for dirt cheap I bought them. They play for me every night for about 2 hours - nite nite music.

I know the feeling. CCB8's danced in my brain for months. I dont know exactly why. Partly because they were unique, partly because I had coaxial KEFs and id become enamored with the idea of coaxials in general, partly the 8inch midrange..whatever the reason I just couldnt stop thinking about them. Glad I ended up getting them. People ask ,"Do they perform $X more than the another speaker?" Confirmation bias is hard to escape, its unlikely you will let yourself believe you made a mistake. The telling factor should be if it stresses you out to pay the extra money. Irrespective of the performance increase, its not worth it.

Yes I think you guys are right, regardless if I’ll be spending $700 more for the CCB8’s I should still demo them at least were I can decide.

& @Category5 that’s exactly what’s been going through my head..High gloss piano black beautiful cabinets w/ a 8” yellow coaxial driver, you just don’t see many 8” drivers, you don’t see many coaxials. Ugh they’re beautiful!

Hell I guess I just decided I’ll order them next week.

it's a strange combo to live with on a daily basis... i like both about equally .. but i find myself playing music that emphasizes the strengths of whichever pair i am listening to at the time... i guess that's what a lot of folks might do...i have been thinking of adding b1's into the mix, thinking about WD denton's as an alternative.. plus a couple others..

Only one I own so far is HSU and I absolutely adore my VTF3-MK5. There just wasn't anything on the market quite like it at the price and I would certainly buy it again.

I am on the preorder for some Chane's so we will see how those turn out but I have little doubt I will love them.

For me I would list them this way:

Subs
Power Sound Audio*
SVS
HSU
Rythmic
Monoprice Monolith
Outlaw Audio

Speakers
Aperion
Ascend
RBH
SVS
Emotiva
Power Sound Audio

Amps
Emotiva*
Outlaw Audio*
Monoprice Monolith

*own currently or have owned

My favorite brand of speakers are PSB - so I cannot * any of the listed ones.