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Post by arrogantyeti on Jan 2, 2019 12:50:00 GMT -5
First time poster, and happy new Emotiva owner.
I've been looking for a front pair for about 6 months now, finally got my T-Zero pair and really couldn't be happier.
I tried the B1 first, and while my wife and I were both positively blown away by how real everything sounded, I felt that they didn't offer quite as much "oomph" as I wanted my fronts to offer, so naturally I returned them and picked up the T2. The "oomph" had arrived, but somehow neither of us were as "wow"-ed by the towers as we had been by the B1, and I'm wondering if it has something to do with the height of the tweeter relative to our seating position. It didn't help that the speakers were absolutely monstrously large and overwhelmed our basement (12 x 24 x 7-ish). So they went back, and I decided to try out some KEF speakers. I went with the Q350 first, and while they were pretty decent, that "wow" was still missing. So I upgraded to the R300, which have been on sale for some time now because of their replacements. They added some pretty stellar imaging + soundstage tricks, but still that "wow" we had with music the B1 just wasn't quite there.
I kept the R300 for a few months, then I saw the announcement for the T-Zero and they looked like kind of exactly what I'd been wanting from the T2, namely tweeter at about the same height as our B1 stand-mounted, more power handling than the B1 (this was an assumption based on the additional driver, I never bothered to verify in the specs), and significantly more svelte-looking than both the T1 and T2. Sold.
The T-Zero arrived today, and while it's obviously very soon to say much definitively, I can confirm that for us the magic has returned. There's just something about these that makes everything sound more like a live show than even the R300, which retailed for significantly more. And from what I can tell so far, imaging seems rock solid as well. If anybody has specific questions about how something sounds, I'd be happy to take a listen myself and try to explain. And if anybody's in the northern Indiana area (South Bend), I'd be open to demoing.
Every speaker I've been through has been powered by my trusty old 51-lb Boston Acoustics AVR-7120 receiver, which definitely has an adequate amount of power, and paired with the SVS PB13-Ultra.
I'm thinking about going for 4.1, any thoughts on E1 vs B1 for surrounds? Would anybody recommend I go with a proper center first instead of surrounds? I feel like the T-Zero produce a pretty solid center image as-is so I was just going to stay 4.1.
And lastly, I now have a mint-condition set of glossy-black R300 if anybody's been looking for a deal on a pair of those.
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Post by garbulky on Jan 2, 2019 13:06:57 GMT -5
Nice review! So what do you think of the bass just by itself? Is it enough to run without a subwoofer and not feel like you HAVE to stick one in? Interesting you found the T2's too large. I found them to be rather small myself.
Also how about some pics?
I'm not an HT guy. But coming from a 2 channel background and my very few experiences with HT and what made a difference to me -
If you have a small area, I think the surrounds would make the biggest difference for movies. If you do get them in, you owe it to yourself to try the movie gravity in surround sound. Because it is a fantastic implementation of it with the voices going all the way around.
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Post by Percussionista on Jan 2, 2019 13:26:58 GMT -5
Although you will want surrounds for movies, not having a center channel means you cannot adjust its volume relative to the fronts. In our theater room where we watch a lot of TV we find that TV shows can be all over the map with how much sound is presented on the fronts relative to the center. On the other hand, in the various configurations we have had in different rooms, having a stable center image from just the two front speakers is also great and of course you don't need to worry about integration of the center.
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Post by arrogantyeti on Jan 2, 2019 13:43:36 GMT -5
Ha, my receiver is old and ancient enough that I have to go through some annoying hoops to even get to the on-screen setup menu (the only option for adjusting crossover / speaker config), I'll try to get to that in the next couple of days. I tried to do a set-it-and-forget-it method the last time I set the crossover, can't remember if it was 60 or 80hz right now. Attached a couple pics (first time doing this, hope it worked out). I still need to figure out a better organizational / storage solution, the whole "receiver on subwoofer" thing *works* but looks a little janky. Attachments:
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Post by rbk123 on Jan 2, 2019 13:46:37 GMT -5
picked up the T2. The "oomph" had arrived, but somehow neither of us were as "wow"-ed by the towers as we had been by the B1, a nd I'm wondering if it has something to do with the height of the tweeter relative to our seating position. It didn't help that the speakers were absolutely monstrously large and overwhelmed our basement (12 x 24 x 7-ish). This may have been the issue. I have a pair of Pendragons which are much larger than the T2's and thought they sounded very good after getting them all set up. However after I raised the rear 2 feet a small amount to angle them down a bit, they improved dramatically. Specifically in reference to 2 channel listening. Don't go back to the T2's, though. You're wow'd by the sound of the T0's and your wallet is wowed by the big $$ you saved.  Win-win. |
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Post by creimes on Jan 2, 2019 13:48:25 GMT -5
First time poster, and happy new Emotiva owner. I've been looking for a front pair for about 6 months now, finally got my T-Zero pair and really couldn't be happier. I tried the B1 first, and while my wife and I were both positively blown away by how real everything sounded, I felt that they didn't offer quite as much "oomph" as I wanted my fronts to offer, so naturally I returned them and picked up the T2. The "oomph" had arrived, but somehow neither of us were as "wow"-ed by the towers as we had been by the B1, and I'm wondering if it has something to do with the height of the tweeter relative to our seating position. It didn't help that the speakers were absolutely monstrously large and overwhelmed our basement (12 x 24 x 7-ish). So they went back, and I decided to try out some KEF speakers. I went with the Q350 first, and while they were pretty decent, that "wow" was still missing. So I upgraded to the R300, which have been on sale for some time now because of their replacements. They added some pretty stellar imaging + soundstage tricks, but still that "wow" we had with music the B1 just wasn't quite there. I kept the R300 for a few months, then I saw the announcement for the T-Zero and they looked like kind of exactly what I'd been wanting from the T2, namely tweeter at about the same height as our B1 stand-mounted, more power handling than the B1 (this was an assumption based on the additional driver, I never bothered to verify in the specs), and significantly more svelte-looking than both the T1 and T2. Sold. The T-Zero arrived today, and while it's obviously very soon to say much definitively, I can confirm that for us the magic has returned. There's just something about these that makes everything sound more like a live show than even the R300, which retailed for significantly more. And from what I can tell so far, imaging seems rock solid as well. If anybody has specific questions about how something sounds, I'd be happy to take a listen myself and try to explain. And if anybody's in the northern Indiana area (South Bend), I'd be open to demoing. Every speaker I've been through has been powered by my trusty old 51-lb Boston Acoustics AVR-7120 receiver, which definitely has an adequate amount of power, and paired with the SVS PB13-Ultra. I'm thinking about going for 4.1, any thoughts on E1 vs B1 for surrounds? Would anybody recommend I go with a proper center first instead of surrounds? I feel like the T-Zero produce a pretty solid center image as-is so I was just going to stay 4.1. And lastly, I now have a mint-condition set of glossy-black R300 if anybody's been looking for a deal on a pair of those. Welcome to the lounge, those T0 speakers are great looking towers, since last night I have been messing around with Dirac on my XMC-1 feeding two Airmotiv 6s speakers on Sanus SF26B stands and the sound is unreal, played around with toe-in/out again last night and they are ohhh sooo heavenly sounding now. I run three Chane A5rx-c towers across my front behind a 100" screen and thought about selling them to try the T1 but I really like the Chane's and thought it would be more of a sideways move. Congrats on those T-Zero towers, they are gorgeous looking speakers Chad |
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Post by arrogantyeti on Jan 2, 2019 13:49:40 GMT -5
Interesting you found the T2's too large. I found them to be rather small myself. This probably has everything to do with positioning. The way I've got things set up, the HT stuff is roughly 9 feet away from the sofa, and the T2s were just massive and imposing from that distance, for me. |
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Post by copperpipe on Jan 2, 2019 13:58:16 GMT -5
I see you got the obligatory "foot shot" in there That's the first review I've read about the T0, thanks for that. I'm considering them myself. |
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Post by arrogantyeti on Jan 2, 2019 14:03:42 GMT -5
I've been trying to think of speakers I could compare these to, and I keep going back to Boston Acoustics VR series (VR1, VR2, VR3). I've been through a *lot* of speakers the past decade (Swans Diva 2/4/6.1, Boston Acoustics VR2/3, Boston Acoustics VR975, Athena AS-F1, AV123 X-LS), and I've gotta say these remind me most of those good old Boston Acoustics VR speakers, at least in terms of overall balance + neutrality. To me, the Airmotiv speakers are still in another league in terms of realism (I'm attributing this to the tweeter), but balance-wise they're pretty close to my memory of most of the Boston speakers I've been through.
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Post by Hair Nick on Jan 2, 2019 14:20:41 GMT -5
I loved reading your review on the T-Zeros! They have blown us away with their performance as well here at the office.
I would recommend going after a center channel speaker first as well. For anything that is non-movie related, my wife and I pretty much just listen to 3.1. We make adjustments to the center channel a ton because not all content is mastered the same when it comes to dialogue. If we are just watching TV, we would rather push the center way up without having to bring the overall system volume up to match.
I also recommend getting that TV up on the wall so that frees up your space for a center channel and a different cabinet to house your receiver. Of course adding an Emotiva external amplifier will really make those speakers sing!
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Post by mick on Jan 2, 2019 14:44:04 GMT -5
I really like the look of those speakers with just the one notch, The T2's look to busy with the double notch.
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Post by garbulky on Jan 2, 2019 14:45:22 GMT -5
arrogantyeti Nice pics! Thanks! Your setup looks great. It looks like you have an echo dot and a harmony hub as well. Have you figured out how to configure it so it does everything for you HT wise with your voice? If not you can check out my review: emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/51943/talk-house-amazing-echo-reviewI use mine to mute, pause, play, change inputs on my DAC, turn on my amplifiers etc with my voice. Interesting that you have tried the Swans. I thought those speakers looked fab. Did you like them? FWIW, if you are not interested in surround sound, you can go with a very compact fully balanced solution with power amps with the DC-1/PA-1 stack which I tried and thought it sounded Ah-mazing! You can still use your sub with it though it's not as seamless as using your AVR.
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Post by rbk123 on Jan 2, 2019 14:55:02 GMT -5
I also recommend getting that TV up on the wall so that frees up your space for a center channel and a different cabinet to house your receiver. Of course adding an Emotiva external amplifier will really make those speakers sing! I have a better recommendation - move the receiver and use all that wall space between the speakers for a screen and get a projector. You won't regret going big. |
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Post by arrogantyeti on Jan 2, 2019 15:00:41 GMT -5
arrogantyeti It looks like you have an echo dot and a harmony hub as well. Have you figured out how to configure it so it does everything for you HT wise with your voice? If not you can check out my review: emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/51943/talk-house-amazing-echo-reviewI use mine to mute, pause, play, change inputs on my DAC, turn on my amplifiers etc with my voice. Interesting that you have tried the Swans. I thought those speakers looked fab. Did you like them? Yep - "Alexa turn on the TV/Music/Xbox" is a thing in my house Haven't tried fine-tuning it to do much more than power and volume, though, but it's just ever so slightly more convenient than reaching over to find the remote and hit the button. The Swans towers feel like a lifetime ago, in reality it's been something like 9 years. I remember liking them, they were by far the most expensive speakers I'd tried at the time. I still think they're beautiful, but I recently tried out the Diva 2.1 bookshelves again and they're not quite as epic-sounding as I remember. They really have nothing sound-wise on the B1, let alone KEF speakers I've tried recently. They are still quite fetching, though. |
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Post by arrogantyeti on Jan 2, 2019 15:29:39 GMT -5
I also recommend getting that TV up on the wall so that frees up your space for a center channel and a different cabinet to house your receiver. Of course adding an Emotiva external amplifier will really make those speakers sing! I have a better recommendation - move the receiver and use all that wall space between the speakers for a screen and get a projector. You won't regret going big. I spent way too much on that OLED to want anything different for some time  |
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Post by garbulky on Jan 2, 2019 15:53:16 GMT -5
I have a better recommendation - move the receiver and use all that wall space between the speakers for a screen and get a projector. You won't regret going big. I spent way too much on that OLED to want anything different for some time OLED's look fantastic! |
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Post by Hair Nick on Jan 2, 2019 17:06:21 GMT -5
I have a better recommendation - move the receiver and use all that wall space between the speakers for a screen and get a projector. You won't regret going big. I spent way too much on that OLED to want anything different for some time Hah saw that OLED and thought "he has a much better display than a projector can offer." Also that viewing distance, projection would be overkill. Adding an Airmotiv C1 center next, then E1/E2 surrounds, then external amplifier would be a great path for you to get the most out of your system. |
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Post by rbk123 on Jan 2, 2019 17:38:54 GMT -5
Hah saw that OLED and thought "he has a much better display than a projector can offer." Also that viewing distance, projection would be overkill. Hah. More detailed picture, definitely. Better? That's subjective. He's got enough wall for 130' inch diagonal which would dwarf that OLED and make the experience much more immersive, which is far "better" imo. No projection is overkill, that's just rationalizing settling for smaller. |
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Post by Hair Nick on Jan 2, 2019 17:43:25 GMT -5
Hah saw that OLED and thought "he has a much better display than a projector can offer." Also that viewing distance, projection would be overkill. Hah. More detailed picture, definitely. Better? That's subjective. He's got enough wall for 130' inch diagonal which would dwarf that OLED and make the experience much more immersive, which is far "better" imo. No projection is overkill, that's just rationalizing settling for smaller. He would be losing brightness, color, and black levels all for the sake of a larger picture. No projector is beating out an OLED screen in any attribute except in size. We are veering off topic here but I think a projection vs traditional TV thread would be fun. |
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Post by rbk123 on Jan 2, 2019 17:46:01 GMT -5
He would be losing brightness, color, and black levels all for the sake of a larger picture. No projector is beating out an OLED screen except in size. Yep, but the immersive gain from going big is greater than the OLED's superiority in brightness, color and black levels. I'd trade an excellent picture with 2X screen size (diagonal; square inch increase would be far greater) over a more excellent picture at 1/2X any day. |
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Win-win.
