The SBLs have landed

All

After humming and hah-ing about upgrading my speakers (Castle Avons) for rather a long time, I have finally taken the plunge when a very reasonaly prices pair of 2nd hand SBLs became avaiable.

I've been running the Castles for over 6 years now initially with a (whisper it) Pioneer system, and then with the Naim kit which I'm currently using (CDi/02/82/Hi/180). All the upgrades they I made in the front end were suitably reflected through the speakers, but I was becoming tired of the slightly boomy bass, shrill treble at high volume, and generally "cuddly" presentation they had.

The first time I heard SBLs about 8 years ago, I really wasn't all that impressed, but I've become very familiar with them since then (my father has a pair), and have grown to love them. In the context of my all Naim electronics they seem like the obvious choice, and at 2nd hand prices, the bargain of the century.

I picked the speakers up on Tuesday evening, a very rainy evening and not much fun to drive. Thanks Steve for the help in packing them up, and sorry to have taken them away from you! By the time I got back home though, it was too late and I was too tired to even think about setting them up.

So I was, sat at work all day yesterday, itching to get home to get my new babies set up.

It was a lot easier than I thought. I'd read much on the forum about gaskets, and silicon gel, and was expecting quite battle, but the gaskets had only recently been re-sealed, and had stayed intact during transit, so all i needed to do was bolt on the treble unit, and pop them into place.

First impressions were gob-smacking. As I said, I've heard SBLs before, but wasn't really prepared for the improvement that they brought to my system. Gone was the shrill treble, the smoothing off of the notes, and the thump-thump bass. It was as if I'd been listening behind a curtain before, which had now been drawn back, giving me a clear audio view of the performers.

Listening to choral music, it was possible to follow the individual parts much more easily, whilst still retaining a feel for the whole piece. You could hear the subtle inflections of the voices, and also get a much greater sense of space around the performers.

Switching to more modern music I could really start to understand what people mean by PRaT. Drums started and stopped far quicker, and acoustic guitars had a wonderful zingy punch to them which I'd not heard before on my system.

And as for the bass: well, absolutely no complaints there. SBLs have been criticised for being bass light, but I spun "Cochise" from the Audioslave album and it ROCKED! I kept wanted to turn it up louder, as there was no sense of strain at all.

The rest of the evening was spent ploughing through my CD collection, and discovering nuances and phrases that had previously only been hinted at.

Suffice it to say I'm a very happy chappy. In the context of my system I would confidently say that it's the biggest upgrade I've made, and probably the most cost effective too.

The good point too, as made by the chap I bought them off, is that they will continue to get better as I upgrade the front end, though for the moment I'm more than happy with what I have, and will be investing future funds in expanding the CD collection, which after all, is what it's all about!

Cheers


Matt