To upgrade or just listen and enjoy my system?!

[Bruskie]

Timex  😂

[ctsooner]

I just had lunch with a dear friend of mine. We always were getting watches back in the late 90's.  I would buy a few, but Greg has money and was buying some amazing watches and now his collection of 10 or so is worth a lot more than he purchased them for.  nearly all of his are limited editions and numbered etc...  He always got cool movements that I would marvel at.  It's a fun hobby if you cna afford it, but as others have said, you can get great looking and fun quartz watches for a little nothing that work great.  

I never use my Apple Watch (not even 1st gen as it was the original and never numbered).  I got it to see who's calling etc... as I use a rollator to walk and love not having to worry about pulling the phone out.  Now that I'm not using it anymore, I don't miss it at all.  

[DividedSky]

On 3/26/2023 at 12:23 PM, ctsooner said:

I love the Kento’s as do the others. It’s not just that cf mid.  It’s also the freaking way he implements the bass. I’ve thought about selling the Quatros and upgrading.  It would easily be the last upgrade doe speakers at my age. 

I'm a little late coming back to this, but it is definitely more than just the cf mid!  A lot more.   Yes more low end, yes transcendent mids, yes the amazing CT tweeter.   But it's given me so much better imaging and (? due to cabinet and side firing design) more transparency and better sound stage

[chris1625]

 Good news!!! and a little bad. The good, my Kento will be shipping in the next week to 10 days. The bad news I will own the only $85,000 pair of Kento's Richard has made this year. The wife figured it out and asked for a little Mothers Day gift from me. I argued that I don't drink, chase women or do drugs, and audio is  health hobby, she argued my argument was a bad one, since if I did the cost would be much, much, more then her house project I'm now paying for. 

[Holmz]

20 hours ago, chris1625 said:

 Good news!!! and a little bad. The good, my Kento will be shipping in the next week to 10 days. The bad news I will own the only $85,000 pair of Kento's Richard has made this year. The wife figured it out and asked for a little Mothers Day gift from me. I argued that I don't drink, chase women or do drugs, and audio is  health hobby, she argued my argument was a bad one, since if I did the cost would be much, much, more then her house project I'm now paying for. 

Let us know what you end up getting her.

[ctsooner]

.....with pics too please.

[chris1625]

Here is the before the Kento's. Yes I don't use room treatments, I like sound proof, thermal curtains and for $800 for 4- 8' x 8' and a rug works great for me. They are adjustable by simply open or closed. The ceiling is 8' front wall to 12' 8' back wall.

[DividedSky]

Nice clean set up there Chris.  Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the Kentos!  Hope your wife is happy this Sunday 😆

Edited May 9, 2023 by DividedSky

[chris1625]

Kento's have landed at my dealer!!! Jon and his team are planning on Wednesday as the delivered and set-up day. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas. This is my first upgrade staying with the same brand of speakers. In the past I have brand hopped with a good track recored of being happy and  just two horrible complete misses. With the Treo CT's performance can't wait to see what the Kento's do in my room and I'm 1000% confident in a hit not a miss.  

[ctsooner]

Can’t wait. So excited for you.  

[chris1625]

They are installed in my system. The set-up was very painless. Jon in fact said my room was his easiest in years to get right. We talked what it could be, instead of just being happy.  Jon came to the conclusion he's just that good at set ups!! lol No, he thinks it's the ceilings shape and the floor bracing I had installed.  My first thought's: Do not listen to them if you have some fun money set aside you will be owning a pair. Second: Spill the beans Richard!!! A midrange and two powered woofers, there has to be more??? The improvement is not a diminishing return but a major leap in sound quality. The sound stage is wider with more height and much more accurate to me. The details are so much better, it sounds like all drivers are improved. I put on some piano and violin tracks of really good recordings, it made me actually feel little uncomfortable because it should not of sounded so real. (it's my best reference since my two daughter have played for 8yrs. and 10 yrs., performing often in high school and college.) Now we wait for the break in. I did notice after 1.5 hours I heard an improvement in imaging.  Here is the crazy part of this whole upgrade. I never heard the Kentos even once, I refused too. I wanted my first listen to them in the environment they will be in, with the equipment they are paired with. I even had a long talk with Richard at Axpona, but I would not go into the Kento room. It was this old man's version of a blind date. I was ready to be very disappointed  or very happy. So far it's a match and now my wife gets her new exterior to our lake house since I was not sneaky enough. Construction begins 7/10/23. 

[TomicTime]

sweeet ! enjoy them in great health 😉

[Delkat]

Congratulations, they look great!

[Holmz]

4 hours ago, chris1625 said:

… So far it's a match and now my wife gets her new exterior to our lake house since I was not sneaky enough. Construction begins 7/10/23. ..

For the new build… have you considered the ceiling’s shape and bracing the floor 😎

[Oregon]

🙂

[GdnrBob]

Wow, they look mahvahlus! Congrats

B

[BKDad]

10 hours ago, chris1625 said:

Second: Spill the beans Richard!!! A midrange and two powered woofers, there has to be more??? 

If you look around this forum, one of the most widely discussed subjects has to do with what can be done to reduce cabinet vibrations.  Whether it's a piece of granite under the speakers, floor reinforcing, steel plates under carpets, or even the Vandersneakers, they all do something to help keep the speaker cabinets still.  Usually with good effect, just as you've described.

The woofers and subwoofers in loudspeakers move the cabinets when they play.  That moves the tweeters and midranges.  (The woofer bone is connected to the midrange bone, etc.)  It adds a layer of sonic noise that isn't helpful.  How can it not?  That's probably why a lot of people like so-called mini-monitors - no deep audio frequencies moving the cabinets.  But, there's also no deep frequencies to listen to, either.

So, using horizontally opposed subwoofers tends to reduce cabinet movement as well as cabinet vibration.  While still moving the air outside the cabinet, their physical movement tends to cancel the effects on the cabinet.  Pretty clever.

In the Kento, the subwoofers also are side firing.  So, that pretty much eliminates front and back movement of the other drivers.  Pretty clever.

Also, the subwoofers work up to 200 Hz, so the sounds up to that frequency don't move the cabinet.  Pretty clever.

I bet just the subwoofer arrangement has a huge impact on the sound.  Granite plates under Quatros sure do, and by comparison that's nuthin'.

The carbon balsa midrange drivers just are better.

Of course, that's just my view from the cheap seats...

[Holmz]

On 5/18/2023 at 10:18 PM, BKDad said:

Of course, that's just my view from the cheap seats...

I didn’t realise there were 2 of us.

Doppler distortion is a real thing and designing to mitigate it is no crime.
Distortions from cone break is also a real thing.
The main things left are distortions from the motor linearity and effects of the XO.

[BKDad]

1 hour ago, Holmz said:

I didn’t realise there were 2 of us.

Doppler distortion is a real thing and designing to mitigate it is no crime.
Distortions from cone break is also a real thing.
The main things left are distortions from the motor linearity and effects of the XO.

It may be crowded in our seating section.

As best I can tell, Vandersteen Audio has tried to address every single imperfection you mention.  Of course, I’m sure they ‘d tell you that this all is still a work in progress and they have some way to go.  And, because of the difficulty, they especially haven’t attained perfection in their lower priced models.

This may sound like I’m trying to soft soap the folks in Hanford, but I’m not.  I just believe in giving credit where it’s due.  You shouldn’t offer criticism if you don’t also give praise where each is merited.

[nymarty]

Chris, congrats on the Kentos.  They look fantastic and I’m sure they sound as good as they look.  Wish I was closer to WI to take the Treos off your hands.  The search continues.  Enjoy !

[Steve Edwards]

Absolutely beautiful Chris.  Is that Ebony veneer?  

[Bruskie]

Very sweet Chris, They look great!

Bruce

[Patrick D]

Quote

I thought you guys were performance oriented!  I use Timex and find them very reliable and accurate in time.  RV

LOL!

I bought a Rolex GMT in 1984 in Germany for $600. Sold it in 2000 for $1000 (I thought that was good!) after wearing it every day for 16 years (my daughter was a toddler and the bracelet/clasp scratched it bare skin a few times, so I'd put it in a drawer for a year). I replaced it with a Timex Ironman, which I wear to this day (I'm on my 5th one maybe? $35 each).  I joke that I went from a "Rolex Life" to a "Timex Life" which is a little too accurate but I will spare you the gory details. Oy. Shoulda kept it, of course...20/20 hindsight.

Now that Rolex would be $10k IF you can get one at MSRP. Submariner is even worse... super trendy, which is the reason I would not want one. Great watch though, if you love the look (I do). I'll put that $10K into my hi-fi, tenkyewberrymush. 

[BKDad]

The crazy thing is that your 1984 Rolex GMT Master would be worth more today than a new version, assuming you had the original box and the stuff that came with it.

I was at the local Rolex dealer a couple months back to retrieve another watch I had repaired.  A guy was there purchasing a new Rolex GMT Master II.  He got to try their demo model on, but was told that delivery for his purchase would be some months off.  (I was nearby and heard that part.)

Side story that  I know I've told before...

Our daughter is now over 30, but doesn't look it.  There's pluses and minuses to that, or course.  She happens to work in DC at a boutique IP law firm and occasionally used to go out at lunchtime to look in the some of the nicer clothing and jewelry stores in the neighborhood.  With only two exceptions, nobody would acknowledge her presence.  Ever.  Even when she was dressed for work at her firm.

At one point, she complained about that to me.  I had an idea.  Her Mom (my wife) used to wear a women's Rolex that she purchased in the mid 80's.  After a while the carpal tunnel effects she has from playing the piano for so many years made it painful to wear that watch.  So, it sat in a jewelry box for maybe 20 years.   I suggested that perhaps she might want to give it to the kid.  Yes!  The kid got the watch and paid to have the service done on it at a local jewelry store, who happens to not only be a Rolex dealer and service place but also was one of the two exceptions mentioned above who didn't brush her off when she came into the store.

Fast forward.

Now, she wears that watch to work and when she goes out, except for when she does some sporting activity - she wears an Apple Watch then.  Guess what?  Now, she gets the kind of attention a potential customer deserves wherever she goes.  Deserves does not mean fawning or bowing and scraping - it means just not getting ignored and being treated politely.

Sad, but true.  Kinda like it used to be when going into a NYC audio store.

So, the performance my daughter gets isn't measured in seconds of accuracy, but in other ways.

Epilogue - She kept note of all these stores and just doesn't go back to them.  She found other stores who were and are happy to see her stop by.

[Stringreen]

My costliest watch is a Breguet....but my most used watch is my Breitling Navitimer which I bought from the AOPA for about 350.00 in the day.   I used it to navigate when flying, but today, I can't read the dial.