Naim 'n' Vienna Acoustics

After some lengthy searching and listening, I ended up buying a pair of Vienna Acoustics Bachs. I initially had misgivings about their "warmth," but those concerns were misplaced. They reveal what the electronics are doing, so my initial introduction to them driven by a warm receiver misled me. I subsequently tried them with some B&K and Krell* gear at the dealer (this was the “best” gear they had), and, of course, with my Naim gear at home. The speakers sounded far different with each rig. I expect some variance, but not as much as I experienced, certainly at this price ($1500). Usually, I associate such behavior with more upscale speakers.

They are wonderful. Right out of the box they sounded really good. After 20 or so hours of music and 3 all nighters of pink noise, they sound absolutely fantastic. Gobs and gobs of clarity and detail. And excellent bass. Well, at least for me. They won’t shake the foundations, but the sound is generally convincing. I did get quite a surprise, though, listening to the final movement of the Andras Schiff / Ivan Fischer version of Bartok’s second piano concerto. The bass drum produced a mighty wallop that I could feel. (From a 6.5 inch paper woofer, no less.) Scale is exceptional as well. I never thought I was listening to a live orchestra, but the sound was “bigger” than I am used to. And PRaT? They got PRaT. The Bachs essentially just pass all that wonderful Naim sound through unfettered. They are pleasantly less bright than my MAs. And those 30 puny watts my Nait delivers seem to drive ‘em just fine.

That written, these are definitely classical music speakers. They do an excellent job on all music, but man do they shine on classical. Piano is absolutely nailed. String Quartets are breathtaking. And large orchestral works are unbelievably good. I think these speakers were designed expressly for this music. They had to be. Now jazz is good, too, as is rock, but they're not as relatively good as classical. One odd thing I noticed is that while they are generally easier to listen to for very long stretches (3+ hours) than my MAs, they are also less forgiving of crappier recordings and/or transfers, like, alas, some of my Zeppelin discs. (Read with sadness.) However, since 90% of my listening is classical, I'd say these are the speakers for me. If you need room friendly speakers and listen mostly to classical, check these out.

I tried some other speakers, including a lengthy demo with Intro IIs, but the Bachs took it (and they were “cheap,” too). I really wanted to like the Intros, especially since they offered that active upgrade path, but they just didn’t do it for me. They got piano and voice down, but strings and brass weren’t what I liked. And they were probably the best speakers I have heard for pop and rock, but my current listening preferences require other traits. Thanks, however, to those who offered their opinions on them.

And get this: my wife likes 'em, too! When I told her I was getting floorstanders she cringed, but when she saw how small and well made they are, she (sort of) smiled.

*I heard my first decent sounding Krell system during my search. It was the new CAST system. It didn’t hurt my ears or bore me to death. It wasn’t even close to worth the $30K or so it cost; my humble entry-level Naim rig sounds better.