Post by monkumonku on Apr 25, 2013 23:44:03 GMT -5
I've had about a week to listen to the Airmotiv 4's and so now it's time for my review, for whatever that's worth. This is the most recent of a long, long line of speakers I've used on my desktop but maybe, just maybe it might be the last? Could be.
My previous set was a pair of Swans M200 Mk 2's, which I always thought were very good.
Along with the Airmotiv's I bought the cute little Schiit Modi USB DAC, which is the silver box in the left of one of the pictures below.
First, about the Schiit: It's in an attractive-looking silver case, seems solidly built and is very simple as it only has a USB input and RCA outputs; it runs on USB power so there's no power cord or batteries involved.
I initially connected it to my PC, running Windows 7, and Windows recognized and installed the software/drivers right away. It worked right off the bat, nice and simple.
For music I am using Foobar. The main volume in Windows is set at 50%, and I do the rest of controlling the volume using the Foobar slider. All of the music for this review was either off of a CD or flac files ripped from CD's. So everything is 16/44.1. The 4's volume is set at maximum.
At first the speakers were resting on top of Auralex Mopads.
My first impression of the 4's, listening to Cheryl Bentyne's "Let Me Off Uptown," was that the 4's had a much more prominent and punchy bass than the Swans. They also sounded more detailed. And that's pretty much my conclusion about the comparison between the two speakers after extended listening time - the 4's are a definite step up in audio quality. They have better bass (lower and punchier) and are more detailed. Both speakers have silky highs but the 4's have the silk plus lots of detail that is not as easy to hear with the Swans.
As you can see from the pics, the speakers are on top of a glass desk. They're now resting on the Emo ASM stands. The stands are attractive, give just the right tilt to the speakers and are nice and solid. As far as decoupling from the desk, they do a decent job, at least as good as the Mopads but still some bass comes out sort of muddy or boomy which I think is more the glass desk interaction than the speakers.
The speakers are about 2' apart and I sit about the same distance or a few inches farther than that. Yes that's an old fashioned non-wide screen monitor ;D but I love it. The picture is way better than the newer widescreen ones I've seen and/or tried.
Obviously there is not a big soundstage, but the imaging is very good - it's like I am at the window opening into a big room where the music is coming from. The ribbons in these speakers really do produce a silky, airy sound but they are also so detailed. On well-recorded material they sound superb and there's absolutely no listening fatigue. Poorly recorded material really gets exposed by them. I feel that vocals, both male and female, and piano really shine on these speakers although everything sounds good.
As far as bass - as I said before it is punchy and on some selections it gets boomy. They play low but at 4" they can't play THAT low. And as I said, I believe the glass is largely responsible for bass that isn't that well defined. I've always had to deal with that no matter what speakers I've had.
Speaker settings are flat. I tried reducing the bass but I put it back to zero. They are about 5" to 6" from the wall and toed in facing me.
I'm listening to some Reference Recordings right now - Eugene Istomin Mozart Concertos, and Joel Fan's West of the Sun albums. Wow they sound good. The piano is lovely and there's such a nice sense of air or presence in these recordings.
The speakers also sound nice from farther away, too. I don't think they can play loud enough for a main system as a surround, though.
Because I was impressed by the sound, I got curious about the Stealth 8's. I really love my Mirage OMD-28's and the C2 center. Of course I can't compare these with the 4's as I am listening to the 4's nearfield whereas the OMD's have more room influence plus they are just plain big (and big-sounding) speakers. As fabulous as the OMD's are, I just couldn't contain my curiosity about the Stealths so as you may know if you keep up with the forum, I put them up for sale and now they've been sold. I ordered 3 Stealth 8's and should have them next week. Just gotta scratch that itch when it happens because it ain't going away! ;D One of our forum members got a crazy good deal on the OMD's and my pair of XPA-1's. I will be sad to see them go but I don't have room (or budget) to keep them as well as get the Stealths.
Anyway, back to the 4's - I am totally happy with my purchase. These are amazing speakers that sound great. They look nice and the build quality is excellent, too. The only real "complaint" about them is what others have said as well - the volume knob is chintzy. It feels flimsy and is just plastic. But to compensate there's a blue light behind it.
There you have it.. if you're on the fence about the 4's, get them. I think you will love them and if you don't, you've got 30 days to send them back and it's not a real heavy package to ship. At the current sale price they are even more of a bargain.
My previous set was a pair of Swans M200 Mk 2's, which I always thought were very good.
Along with the Airmotiv's I bought the cute little Schiit Modi USB DAC, which is the silver box in the left of one of the pictures below.
First, about the Schiit: It's in an attractive-looking silver case, seems solidly built and is very simple as it only has a USB input and RCA outputs; it runs on USB power so there's no power cord or batteries involved.
I initially connected it to my PC, running Windows 7, and Windows recognized and installed the software/drivers right away. It worked right off the bat, nice and simple.
For music I am using Foobar. The main volume in Windows is set at 50%, and I do the rest of controlling the volume using the Foobar slider. All of the music for this review was either off of a CD or flac files ripped from CD's. So everything is 16/44.1. The 4's volume is set at maximum.
At first the speakers were resting on top of Auralex Mopads.
My first impression of the 4's, listening to Cheryl Bentyne's "Let Me Off Uptown," was that the 4's had a much more prominent and punchy bass than the Swans. They also sounded more detailed. And that's pretty much my conclusion about the comparison between the two speakers after extended listening time - the 4's are a definite step up in audio quality. They have better bass (lower and punchier) and are more detailed. Both speakers have silky highs but the 4's have the silk plus lots of detail that is not as easy to hear with the Swans.
As you can see from the pics, the speakers are on top of a glass desk. They're now resting on the Emo ASM stands. The stands are attractive, give just the right tilt to the speakers and are nice and solid. As far as decoupling from the desk, they do a decent job, at least as good as the Mopads but still some bass comes out sort of muddy or boomy which I think is more the glass desk interaction than the speakers.
The speakers are about 2' apart and I sit about the same distance or a few inches farther than that. Yes that's an old fashioned non-wide screen monitor ;D but I love it. The picture is way better than the newer widescreen ones I've seen and/or tried.
Obviously there is not a big soundstage, but the imaging is very good - it's like I am at the window opening into a big room where the music is coming from. The ribbons in these speakers really do produce a silky, airy sound but they are also so detailed. On well-recorded material they sound superb and there's absolutely no listening fatigue. Poorly recorded material really gets exposed by them. I feel that vocals, both male and female, and piano really shine on these speakers although everything sounds good.
As far as bass - as I said before it is punchy and on some selections it gets boomy. They play low but at 4" they can't play THAT low. And as I said, I believe the glass is largely responsible for bass that isn't that well defined. I've always had to deal with that no matter what speakers I've had.
Speaker settings are flat. I tried reducing the bass but I put it back to zero. They are about 5" to 6" from the wall and toed in facing me.
I'm listening to some Reference Recordings right now - Eugene Istomin Mozart Concertos, and Joel Fan's West of the Sun albums. Wow they sound good. The piano is lovely and there's such a nice sense of air or presence in these recordings.
The speakers also sound nice from farther away, too. I don't think they can play loud enough for a main system as a surround, though.
Because I was impressed by the sound, I got curious about the Stealth 8's. I really love my Mirage OMD-28's and the C2 center. Of course I can't compare these with the 4's as I am listening to the 4's nearfield whereas the OMD's have more room influence plus they are just plain big (and big-sounding) speakers. As fabulous as the OMD's are, I just couldn't contain my curiosity about the Stealths so as you may know if you keep up with the forum, I put them up for sale and now they've been sold. I ordered 3 Stealth 8's and should have them next week. Just gotta scratch that itch when it happens because it ain't going away! ;D One of our forum members got a crazy good deal on the OMD's and my pair of XPA-1's. I will be sad to see them go but I don't have room (or budget) to keep them as well as get the Stealths.
Anyway, back to the 4's - I am totally happy with my purchase. These are amazing speakers that sound great. They look nice and the build quality is excellent, too. The only real "complaint" about them is what others have said as well - the volume knob is chintzy. It feels flimsy and is just plastic. But to compensate there's a blue light behind it.
There you have it.. if you're on the fence about the 4's, get them. I think you will love them and if you don't, you've got 30 days to send them back and it's not a real heavy package to ship. At the current sale price they are even more of a bargain.
