My Auris 2 speakers made by Hans Kortenbach haven’t broken in yet, but I have about 30 hours on ‘em, and they are incredible so far. The packing was so good it would probably survive Gulf War II. Beautiful cabinetry and design, the pictures just don’t convey what they are like in reality. No commercial product comes near to this level of beauty in design and construction, at any price. They really put every faker out there to shame in the looks and build department, at any price.
Like I mentioned on the H-E Speaker forum, I am mystified why people would consider the butt-ugly Avantgardes (that don’t have the tonality or wholeness of sound these do), or Lowthers (made completely redundant by the PHY-HP drivers for all but those using half-watt amps who need a few extra dB efficiency)or other horns. Right out of the box they shamed my Tannoys, even though I still love ‘em like a mother loves her uglier kid.So 99 dB 16 ohms, in a folded open baffle, with a thin-walled construction that resonates like a violin, and a piezo-electric tweeter. Seemed at first glance to be a hopeless combination – open baffles have always sounded terrible to me, there is no damping or bracing whatsoever (so much for that preconception), and I never heard a piezo that didn’t make me run from the room. And full range drivers have no bass or extension right?
These are another product, like my zero-NFB Sun PP amps and the 47 Labs digital front end, that defy conventional disinformation. The bass is deep and profoundly propulsive. Still breaking in, but no question these can provide bass that is quick – but still so powerful I can FEEL the bass instead of just hearing it – which is the way it should be. The mids are lucid and clear, but magically creamy. The highs are incredibly smooth and detailed, with the extension and air I would expect from what is essentially a super-tweeter.
But above all, there is the wholeness and organic-ness of a single driver done right, and sheer beauty and magic of tonality. Musical instruments sound as they should, but rarely do. The speakers are alive and sing.Listening last night to King Crimson (ITCOTCK)I was stuck by the incredible micro-detail, but more so, I was transported back in time to the first time I bought this album, and original Atlantic pressing – and the sound I was experiencing was just like the analog I heard at the time – it was as if I were experiencing that all over again.
There was some bullshit talk over at HE-Speakers about how single drivers (or in this case, an augmented single driver) can’t give dynamics and can’t do bass. Wrong, these are dynamic as all get out but organic as well, and the bass is magnificent – there may be a bit too much, but break-in is ongoing.
I know you are way ahead of me on the break-in cycle, but even at this early point, these speakers are the bargain of the century and simply must be heard by anyone looking for the best in high efficiency speakers. They absolutely rock with 2 watts.
Actually, scratch the “must be heard” part. I didn’t hear them before.
A second reaction by Mr. Robert Hutton
Sorry, I disagree with you there – and I, along with a few others whose approach I respect, have taken the gamble blindly and have lived to speak of it!
The Tannoys are a great speakers, but the Auris is simply massively more HUMAN. They COMMUNICATE. The bass in my first week has tightented and any resonant slight muddy character has gone.
I am using these in a concrete basement room that has a HUGE problem with standing waves, I previously has a great pair of custom built boxes with Tannoy 15″ dual concentrics, no matter what I did, the boom in the bottom end was unbearable. The Auris has none of that, even though the bass is deep, propulsive and big. I can’t imagine there would be a problem, you could dampen the bass on the Auris quite easily, but I wouldn’t even think about it.
Not to offend your Fostex, but the PHY-HP driver is in a totally different class.
So, I recommend you take this leap of faith, sometimes the really great stuff can only