I held back from posting about the sound of the Orelino's until my new babies and me got to know each other
Also I was apprehensive that I was going to go too far "overboard". But Mani has had a listen and so here goes.
So what do I think? in short
WOW WOW they are
stonking brilliant. I have not heard anything as good as this anywhere. Except maybe in a live unplugged concert with no speakers!
All my concerns about the bass evaporated as soon as I switched them on. They sound
utterly different to both Peter and Mani's. More natural and life like - flowing natural bass. So why is that? we all have similar systems. It has to be the room which should be an absolute dog for sound quality - everything is wrong about it - really!
The mid range is simply stellar the smoothest most natural liquid sound I have ever heard (and that includes very very expensive tube systems). BUT bybees are totally essential - I tried without but not for long!! Never before have I heard horns sound like this. Well actually they don't sound like anything - they sound like live music!! I AM A TOTAL CONVERT TO HORNS. Delicacy, tiny detail, dynamics, liquid natural sound. That is the lot of a horn lover (but only implemented like this maybe).
There was an edge to the sound initially but over the last two days that has all but gone as the system beds in. The sound has opened up and there are real people with real instruments in my room now.
I really do not get it with the bass. It would be easy to think that the room is reinforcing the bass region. But it cannot be as simple as that - I tried Bert's filter which lifts the bass fairly gently from 90 down to 25Hz and (in my room) it just thickens the sound and takes away the delicacy and accuracy in the bass. Out of interest I created a filter with less lift than Berts and even that spoilt the sound. Actually it spoils the overall sound not just the bass. So what I am saying is that with such small changes to the bass from filters what is the room doing? it must be subtle and it does not spoil the sound at all - in fact completely the opposite.
But what of tone? instruments sound completely natural. A double bass sounds like a double bass no bloating or smearing - it just sounds like a double bass but with the tiniest details revealed with the strings. The tiniest little breath taken by the performer is revealed.
Trumpets, sax it just goes on - so little colouration they all sound like real instruments. Piano is awesome all those natural overtones without smearing and distortion.
So while I get all excited really there is nothing to get excited about at all because the sound is just natural and lifelike - maybe getting excited is not what I will doing for long but just listening to music.
Imaging is excellent (and always was with previous speakers) and that is also ridiculous because in this room which is very live and reflective has a maximum delay between direct and reflected sound of just 4ms well below the minimum of 20 (ish) required for good imaging. So sound stage should be a mess but it just is not
Not that sound stage bothers me much. Just saying!
When I was at Peter's I played an album I regard as being one of the very finest recordings. By Dick Olsher featuring Lesley Olsher. I played it at Peter's and sat there speechless it sounded dreadful - recessed and undynamic. I could not believe my ears. Peter scoffed and took it off immediately. But here Lesley Olsher is standing in the room and behind her in the conservatory are the instrumentalists. Sounding absolutely superb (I played it for Mani).
Just a note that my room always had standing waves and nothing has changed I still get those standing waves but significantly reduced. Except in the conservatory where there is the Mother of all bass reinforcements. Mani heard that as well.
I am listening with Peter's "as designed" bass filter and do not feel even slightly inclined to tweak it. Generally I listen with Fletcher Munson switches flat except for the mid which is down one notch. That seems the best overall but I do dial in different settings with some albums and on low (dinner eating) volume.
I will soon be trying 50 ohm coax with 50 ohm connectors and will let you know how I get on!!
I tried to get a good picture but it is difficult without proper lighting - the speakers look much better than the attached picture suggests. I will get better pictures and post - watch this space.
Oh yes apart from a dog of a room acoustically the speaker centres are "just" 2m apart and I sit 6.5m away from them. And that is all totally wrong as well isn't it?
By the way Mani and I both prefer the deeper section of these Orelino's to the flatter section of the MkII's - just saying we feel that aesthetically they are easier on the eye.
Just after I bought these I started to regret I already had a great sounding system what on earth was I doing spending all that money when I was not even sure about the sound. I can tell you that I woke up in the early hours of the morning a couple of times in a cold sweat thinking about it. Turns out it could be one of my smarter decisions.
Paul
PS
hey, I always want to be right you know !
Now I forgive you Peter for always wanting to be right!!
Seriously Peter and Bert thanks for all your hard work!!