Time for a change??

The advantage you do have PB is plenty of space behind your listening position.  I was particularly impressed by the 707s when standing behind your sofa.  Perhaps you should dispose of the dining table and install an elevated listening throne lol.

I actually spend a lot of time at the dinning room table working Lindsay, the sound there is very enjoyable :-)

piggy posted:

Interesting as Derek had the Titan range that I listened to at the Ceritech Kudos event day all close to back wall. I have since auditioned the 707's at home in place of my SBL's,  again the dealer had them just off the back wall.

I have since placed an order as they did everything right in that position but....I only could audition them them for a few hours at home.

I would understand that this is room dependant but out of interest what do you gain by having them further into the room as I had no boom and top end was sublime even at very loud volume levels.

Andy

Hi Andy,

what do do you gain by having them further out into the room?  Well more space and air, a more three dimensional sound. For me it opens up the sound more, it leads to a less congested mid range. It’s not just about controlling bass boom. I know with my room, those rear corners do strange thing to the sound and by getting the speakers out of the corners simplifies the sound.

also, I believe speakers should be seen as well as heard. I don’t like my speakers to be lurking in the corners, I like them to say, hey look at me, you must listen to me!  However, I am lucky to have the space and a wife that agrees with me.

one ex girl friend muttered those classic words, either those speakers go or I do?  I wonder what she is doing now lol?

Arghh former girl friends and music and hifi?  I wonder if my girlfriend of 1977 recognises the historical significance of me taking her to see the Eagles on the Hotel California tour!

Well the 808's have been here for a few days now and its time to offer a few thoughts. 

I enjoyed the 707's, compact and musical, nicely balanced. They timed well and dug plenty of detail out from the outdated CD. Highly entertaining and very easy to listen to. So what more could the 88's deliver?  Well just more of everything, not just in hi-fi terms, yes there's more detail, more weight, they are more open but its the sense of composure, the sense of realism. ITs the musical terms where the 808's excellent, the musical tones, the nuances, the space between the notes and the timing, yes did I mention the timing, its just so right.

Not saying there was anything wrong with the 707's, there isn't. They paint a wonderful picture of the music in front of you, plenty of colour, great depth to the brush strokes, they represent a true image of the object in front but with the 808's it just like having the real object in front of you. Its hard to describe but your ears are just telling you this is just so right.

I am playing Porcupine Tree Coma Divine at quite a low volume for me and its gorgeous, the weighting and timing of all notes are just perfect, there is a real sense of ease. Put London Grammar on and the vocals are divine. We played Gary more live at Montreal last night and the tones and edges Gary's guitar make are just wonderful.

Where people say above, the 88's are just like the 707's but just bigger, thats not right, the 88's give you so much more in terms of musical  and in fact they remind mer very much of an old pair of speakers I used to own, probably one of the best speakers I ever owned and maybe, just maybe I was foolish to let them go.

All joking apart, Mr. Bear, have you considered chatting with Bob to see if you might have a pair of XL 10's on home demo? 

I did think about nipping over to the Moscow Hi-fi show to have a listen Dave but they seem to be very rare here Dave :-)

I had a day out at the factory a while back, and met and chatted with Bob, who is genuinely one of the good guys, and who couldn't have been more helpful.

I'm sure he would do his best to accommodate you with a home demo, if it's at all possible.

It's the old adage ....."If you don't ask" etc.

'At the third stroke, it will be 8:0:8 - precisely!!!!!!,

maybe lol

 Well its been a week now since Peter delivered the 808’s and its flown by. I have taken every opportunity to listen to the 808’s and I am sure they are getting even more enjoyable. So whats different, well they are not as bombastic as the ART’s but thats a good thing.The ART’s had a huge soundstage and a huge bass line whilst retained delicacy and detail and were very enjoyable. However I have had ten great years with them and many thought they would be speakers for life but everything has its time and that urge to try something else was getting bigger and bigger. Having the bigger Titans here has been like a breath of fresh air, they are lighter and brighter, the bass units are obviously tighter and quicker and the mids have a delicacy and tome which the ART’s just simply can’t live with I am finding that listening sessions are getting longer, whereas with the ART’s I wasn’t really that fussed about listening to them and that to me, is a sign that somethings not right. 

Both karen and I really enjoyed having the Titan 707’s here for a week and I am really glad we had the opportunity to listen to them, they really are a great speaker, fast and funky with huge foot tapping abilities. They suit our room perfectly and many who have seen photo’s of them in our room prefer them to the bigger Titans but sound wise, as good as they are, they don’t match their bigger brother, the sound window just isn’t as big and they leave you wanting that little bit more. With my original CDS3/252/300 system, I would have said they were perfect but the 555/552/500 deserve that little bit more.

Sounds like you have found what you were looking for, PB. Different reactions to bass lines, top-end, imaging etc are clues but longer and longer listening sessions are usually a pretty good indicator that the system is hitting the right spot.  Good that you've found what pleases you so quickly.

Mike 

Decision made or further auditions to be arranged to make sure the 808's are the ones?  Significant decision for PB.

Peter

The PB's decision makes perfect sense to me Great speakers...

ATB,

Mark

I knew it!

northpole posted:

Decision made or further auditions to be arranged to make sure the 808's are the ones?  Significant decision for PB.

Peter

Well the immediate problem is that I don't have a pair of speakers so I need to buying something pretty sharpish or its going to be very quiet here. 

Or you find something else to demo, what’s left?

yeti42 posted:

Or you find something else to demo, what’s left?

Ahem. 

Good stuff Nigel. Glad to hear that the 808's are working well for you and Karen.

Enjoy - as dear Ken would say.

John.

PS. Oh yeah re 'Coma Divine'. I currently can't get enough of the new 'Arriving Somewhere' double CD. Superbly well recorded and mastered live performances.

I think PB has come very close to making a decision,might even make an announcement in the next couple of days 

J.N. posted:

Good stuff Nigel. Glad to hear that the 808's are working well for you and Karen.

Enjoy - as dear Ken would say.

John.

PS. Oh yeah re 'Coma Divine'. I currently can't get enough of the new 'Arriving Somewhere' double CD. Superbly well recorded and mastered live performances.

Had a look for that one yesterday John, HMV didn’t stock it, but I did pick up a new copy of Deadwing on vinyl.

dave marshall posted:

yeti42 posted:

Or you find something else to demo, what’s left?

Ahem. 

Does the other alternative go active Dave?

ayap1 posted:

I think PB has come very close to making a decision,might even make an announcement in the next couple of days 

I am in limbo for a few weeks while my dealer is taking a well deserved holiday.

A very well timed holiday - provided Peter didn't take the 808's away with him...!!  Three weeks is a very useful contemplation period!

Peter

Well timed as you never know what will be shown at a Munich in a few days, PMC have a new high end speaker, and probably others too.