Interesting stuff. We know about 'em now!
Things have come a long way since 1978. You would have seen many changes in the active speaker area also no doubt...
I'd love to hear one of Nelson Pass' V-fet amps. I'm sure that the v-fet technology would benefit from simpler signal paths. All of the reviews and testimonials have been glowing. I'd love to hear a single-ended v-fet amp. :yes:
I first read about active speakers in Australian H-Fi magazine in 1979. I wanted to go active ever since. The Altecs were/are awesome. No apology necessary for a 1964 speaker. I'm usually unimpressed by most systems I hear. Most sound shithouse. I generally don't blame the individual components. Most of the blame lies with individuals who have no clue how to put together a great system. Most people read a good review and think that the item will work with what they already have, even when the reviewer's system and room are completely different to the prospective system they envisage the item going into.
I'll tell you: I got lucky with the KRKs. I bought them on a whim. I'd never heard
any KRKs before I bought them. I bought them because they were under a year old and were being sold at less than 25% of the new price. My reasoning was that I could always listen to them and if I didn't like them I could definitely recoup my investment with the possibility that I might even be able to make a meager profit. The icing on the cake was that the seller lived about 40 kilometers from where I live. No need for delivery. I picked them up in person.
I was completely blown away when I switched them on. Utterly gobsmacked. I had to buy something to sit them on because if I put them on the floor, they would be too low. I bought two ottomans from K-Mart and placed them just next to the Altecs. I couldn't believe how good they sounded and you know what? They are still sitting on those K-mart ottomans in the exact same place that I initially placed them. It just sounds
so good that I've been loathe to change
anything. If it ain't broke..
They are about 13 feet apart and about 9 feet from my listening chair. Toed in to directly face me. Despite the distance between them they completely fill the space between them and have a really solid center image. They throw excellent images all around them when the system and recording allows it. The soundstage is a revelation. Again the system has to be providing it and the recording has to be suitable. They are chameleons. They only sound like what is being fed into them. They change in sound mightily with system changes and according to what is on the recording.
That is what High Fidelity should be. :yes: