Review: Equinox Solstice bookshelf speaker
Mal P
Since there isn't much going in the newsgroup lately, just thought I'd drop
in and write up my impressions of a speaker I heard last year. These are
simply my opinions of what I heard and what I thought of the sound.
First up, we have Equinox Audio's Solstice bookshelf speaker. At the time I
heard them, I had been considering purchasing a bookshelf speaker to mate
with my high quality subwoofer, as it seemed the most logical path to
follow - allow the subwoofer to handle the deepest bass, with the bookshelf
speaker handling everything else. This could potentially save a lot of
money, as several high quality speaker series from various manufacturers are
available in both bookshelf and floorstanding forms, with the only
difference being the amount of bass able to be produced (the floorstanding
speaker would have more woofers etc). Usually, the tweeter and
bass/mid-range drivers would be identical, and thus the only thing you'd
miss out on is the bass - which is where the sub would come into it. Since I
already had the sub, why not save some cash and go with bookshelf speakers.
In the end, due to complications involving appropriate analog crossovers (to
filter off the bass from the bookshelf speakers and re-direct it to the sub)
I decided to go with normal floorstanding speakers, but that doesn't mean
what I heard from Equinox Audio wasn't top class.
I emailed Rick Staedelmeir (of Equinox) about possibly auditioning his
speakers (he allows in-home demos, even those interstate), and he had some
errands to run in Canberra (where I live) so he said he'd come down himself
to drop the speakers off for a couple of weeks! Well, a few days later he
arrives, and it was a pleasure to meet the guy, very down to earth, very
relaxed sort of fellow. We had a good laugh at the goings on in hi-fi, some
of the magical mystery tours associated with over-priced gear etc.
After that, well, he introduced me to his speakers. Suffice to say, gosh
they are heavy! 20kg each! There are floorstanding speakers out there which
don't weigh this much. The cabinet is made out of 32mm MDF, and the grey
drivers looked very imposing indeed. Unfortunately, I didn't have any
speaker stands, but I did have a pair of bedside drawers which provided
reasonable support for these speakers. The speakers look very nice,
especially with the grills on and with a glossy black polish. Just err don't
knock them over onto your foot!
At the time I had a pair of VAF DC-Xs which I wasn't all together too happy
with. They sounded a bit... coarse is the word. A certain harshness in the
mid-range was prevalent throughout the music played through them, and while
(eventually) moving from a dodgy Sony ES receiver to a full ME pre and
power-amp combo noticebly improved things, there was still something
lacking.
What that something was I realised as soon as I played some music through
the Equinox's that day. It's almost as if a layer of grit had been lifted
off of the music. The mid-range (especially female vocalists) receeded back
into their correct position in the soundstage (the VAFs were too forward)
and became much smoother, and high vocal peaks didn't take your ear off as
before, although this was dependant on the recording (some recordings take
your ears off no matter what). The (mid) bass was nice and full, and seemed
to be quite a bit more prominent than I was used to which added to the
"bounce" factor of music. I turned around to Rick who was sitting on the
chair opposite me, smiled and nodded my head.
Now, those were my first impressions, after just a few songs played. Of
course, after a few days of continuously listening to the speakers, you
gradually become accustomed to them and you are better able to determine the
speakers qualities. Which is why an extended in-home audition is pretty
handy if you're forking out big dosh on Hi-Fi gear.
The thing which over the next two weeks I noticed about these speakers was
the lack of listener fatigue - of course listening to any speaker for long
periods of time will cause eventual fatigue, but relatively, the Equinox's
seemes quite pleasant to listen to. Most likely due to the very low
distortion drivers used. There are made by Audax, and from this French
manufacturer's "Prestige" (i.e. highest quality) series. Not exactly the
prettiest drivers (just a stone grey) but boy did they do their job. No
doubt Rick's crossover, driver placement and cabinet design had something to
do with the superb sound too, but that would be giving the fella credit :-)
The mid-range is definately a strong point of these speakers... very clear,
and free of un-natural grunge which is oh so easy to mix in. The bass
performance of the speaker is also quite, quite respectable - of course, it
wasn't going to go down to the deepest notes, but it got to around 50hz with
plenth of kick. I felt there was a little bit of bloom to the mid-bass,
which is pretty standard for most bookshelf speakers, may or may not be to
your liking but I thought added a nice kick to a lot of music, especially
kick drums. If you don't like the slight bloom, just plug the port and
whola, dead flat frequency response down low to the natural limit of the
speakers, and very good for crossing over into a sub if you can afford a
good crossover [note: turns out, Marchand make some darn nice analog
electronic crossovers, for good prices too, wish I knew about them back
then].
The soundstage was nice and expansive - I definately felt there was more
depth to it than the VAFs. Music seemed to pop out of the speakers more, and
take away the back wall a lot more. However, this nice expansive soundstage
seemed to diffuse the imaging a little bit when compared to the DC-Xs...
with the DC-Xs, the vocal image for example, is dead set right in the middle
of the speakers, you could almost see the singer. With the Solstices, the
vocals were a tad more diffuse in the sense the vocal image seemed more
'around' the middle of the speakers - the speakers tended to 'dissapear'
with the Equinox's though.. Personal choice - most would probably like the
lovely spready out soundstage over pin-point placement. And Rick's MTM
designs would be more precise with the imaging, less reflected sound off the
roof and ceiling.
The level of detail was equally impressive - I was hearing things that were
just below the surface of some recordings, perhaps hidden due to frequency
balance issues etc, but came to the front with the Equinox's. Quite
revealing indeed, you can hear the defects on poorer recordings easily.
One other thing to note was that I noticed the speakers tended toward a
touch of brightness at the top. Not harshness - you could never, ever
describe these speakers as harsh, but bright as in instruments etc felt like
they had a bit more 'sheen' to them than usual, that there was more air
around vocals than usual. Apparently my room isn't particularly well damped,
bare walls etc although I do have lots of carpet and fabric couches around.
Rick said that he can customise his speakers to suit any room - by dropping
or increasing the treble level slightly (0.5dB or so). Tell me, would B&W or
Monitor Audio do that for you? :-) (Suppose you could do it yourself though,
not that hard).
What was really interesting was a few months later when I had the
opportunity to compare these speakers again with a pair of VAF Signature
I-66s - you could tell they were both from the same class of sound - very
refined and polished, with nothing blatantly wrong about either one. There
were some things the I-66s did better (didn't tend towards the brightness)
and some things the Equinox did better (nice and full mid-bass) and some
things both speakers did almost perfectly, the mid-range, which on both
speakers was gloriously smooth. Equinox not as revealing as the I-66s, but
still very clear.
I was mightily impressed with the fact that these speakers were only $1350,
as I actually went out to the Hi-Fi shop and brought home a pair of Dynaudio
Contour 1.3MkII's to do a side by side. Despide the fact that the Dynaudio's
were $3500, the Equinox gave absolutely nothing away, and were in fact ahead
in some areas especially in the treble where although the Equinox's tended
to be a tad loud, the Dynaudio were even more so. And the mid-range of
Equinox's was less congested as well - perhaps due to the fact that the
Dyn's have an un-natural and large lift in the mid-bass which obviously
carries on through to the lower mid-range.
If you're looking at buying a pair of speakers - check out the Equinox's,
who along with several other Aussie brands are making a great product for a
very nice price.
(I'd like to hear the Apogee versus the I-66s - it'd be a damn close
contest!)
Sincerely,
Mal
pasey25
great review, good to hear your side of the coin after reading Greg Kaan's
review.
It has been difficult to get much info on these speakers, and this has been
frustrating as they are speakers which i am seriously considering.
With regard to in home demo's. Rick has appointed Winovate as the Victorian
agent, but they have so far not responded to my request to demo these
speakers. That is kind of frustrating. I have only attempted to contact them
by email, but I will call them shortly. I have it on good authority that
they will also be getting their hands on a HT center channel for demo within
the next few weeks, which will allow me to demo the setup in both stereo and
HT modes.
pasey
"Mal P" <pandor...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:b1o57l$14fmja$1...@ID-106478.news.dfncis.de...
Marky
My current speakers (for not much longer i hope) are Polk Audio RT55
bookshelf's. In a side by side comparison, the Periphelions were clearer,
more detail etc but surprisingly the polks sounded like they had more bass.
However, I soon realised that the polks actually sounded boomy and boxy so
it took a little while to get used to the more accurate and flat freq.
response of the Periphelions.
Since returning the Periphelions to Winovate in Melbourne I have eagerly
been waiting for the arrival of the Aphelion model which I am most
interested in, so Rick if you are listening (I know you are) hurry up! :)
My problem however is that I will be buying my first home this year so I do
not know what room dimensions i will have, it seems that there are a tiny
percentage of homes (in my budget) that have suitably sized lounge rooms eg
4 X 5 or bigger.
My current room is approximately 3.7 X 7, and I would prefer it a little
wider although the length is probably longer than neccessary.
Anyway I am rambling on so I will stop here.
Marky
"pasey25" <pas...@COLDmail.com> wrote in message
news:3e403...@news.iprimus.com.au...
> Mal,
>
> great review, good to hear your side of the coin after reading Greg Kaan's
> review.
>
> It has been difficult to get much info on these speakers, and this has
been
> frustrating as they are speakers which i am seriously considering.
>
> With regard to in home demo's. Rick has appointed Winovate as the
Victorian
> agent, but they have so far not responded to my request to demo these
> speakers. That is kind of frustrating. I have only attempted to contact
them
> by email, but I will call them shortly. I have it on good authority that
> they will also be getting their hands on a HT center channel for demo
within
> the next few weeks, which will allow me to demo the setup in both stereo
and
> HT modes.
I forgot all about the centre channel, I would also like to here the Zenith
with the Aphelions in a HT application.
Rick, from the images on your website it looks like the Zenith doesn't have
the same drivers as the Aphelion/Periphelion, can you please comment on
this.
Rick Stadelmaier
> Mal,
>
> great review, good to hear your side of the coin after reading Greg Kaan's
> review.
>
> It has been difficult to get much info on these speakers, and this has been
> frustrating as they are speakers which i am seriously considering.
We have a pile of literature which will be going to Winovate on our next shipment,
which should be in around 2 weeks.
> With regard to in home demo's. Rick has appointed Winovate as the Victorian
> agent, but they have so far not responded to my request to demo these
> speakers. That is kind of frustrating. I have only attempted to contact them
> by email, but I will call them shortly.
I will contact Winovate about this.
> I have it on good authority that
> they will also be getting their hands on a HT center channel for demo within
> the next few weeks, which will allow me to demo the setup in both stereo and
> HT modes.
Yes, a Pluto will be part of that shipment.
Rick.
--
Rick Stadelmaier
Equinox Audio
http://www.equinoxaudio.com.au
ri...@SPAMTRAPequinoxaudio.com.au
(remove SPAMTRAP to reply via email)
Sydney, Australia
Rick Stadelmaier
>
> I forgot all about the centre channel, I would also like to here the Zenith
> with the Aphelions in a HT application.
> Rick, from the images on your website it looks like the Zenith doesn't have
> the same drivers as the Aphelion/Periphelion, can you please comment on
> this.
The Zenith does have the same drivers as the Aphelion, though shielded.
The pictures on the website are old and still have much earlier drivers we were using.
I'll see if I can scrounge up some later pics.
In regards to your other post, the Aphelions may be ready for this upcoming
shipment. If not, they'll be about two weeks later.
Marky
"Rick Stadelmaier" <ri...@SPAMTRAPequinoxaudio.com.au> wrote in message
news:3E4044F7...@SPAMTRAPequinoxaudio.com.au...
> The Zenith does have the same drivers as the Aphelion, though shielded.
> The pictures on the website are old and still have much earlier drivers we
were using.
> I'll see if I can scrounge up some later pics.
>
> In regards to your other post, the Aphelions may be ready for this
upcoming
> shipment. If not, they'll be about two weeks later.
>
Terrific, I will assume that Charlie will contact me.
Are the specs and price on the Zenith up to date? Looks like the Zenith
needs a seperate power amp, my yamaha RX-V795a doesn't mention 4 ohms, there
is a switch on the back for 6 ohms though.
Also what finish will the Aphelions be finished in, rosewood looks nice on
you website but it would be better to see in the flesh :) hint hint.
pasey25
>
Thanks Rick, i would appreciate it.
pasey
Mal P
> It has been difficult to get much info on these speakers, and this has
been
> frustrating as they are speakers which i am seriously considering.
Email Rick! I exchanged volumes of emails with him about these speakers,
he'll be happy to let you know everything about them, from drivers used to
wire to the types of caps etc.
> With regard to in home demo's. Rick has appointed Winovate as the
Victorian
> agent, but they have so far not responded to my request to demo these
> speakers. That is kind of frustrating. I have only attempted to contact
them
> by email, but I will call them shortly. I have it on good authority that
> they will also be getting their hands on a HT center channel for demo
within
> the next few weeks, which will allow me to demo the setup in both stereo
and
> HT modes.
Yes, if you can, try and borrow the gear for an in-home audition, otherwise,
sitting down for a couple of hours with them at the store would be
reasonably ok.
Cheers,
Mal
Mal P
> Great review. I have recently had a home trial of the Ricks'
Periphelions.
> My current speakers (for not much longer i hope) are Polk Audio RT55
> bookshelf's. In a side by side comparison, the Periphelions were clearer,
> more detail etc but surprisingly the polks sounded like they had more
bass.
> However, I soon realised that the polks actually sounded boomy and boxy so
> it took a little while to get used to the more accurate and flat freq.
> response of the Periphelions.
It is a bit disconcerting to get used to clean bass at first, but after a
while, you do get used to it, and it adds to the experience - I now love
hearing individual bass notes
> Since returning the Periphelions to Winovate in Melbourne I have eagerly
> been waiting for the arrival of the Aphelion model which I am most
> interested in, so Rick if you are listening (I know you are) hurry up! :)
> My problem however is that I will be buying my first home this year so I
do
> not know what room dimensions i will have, it seems that there are a tiny
> percentage of homes (in my budget) that have suitably sized lounge rooms
eg
> 4 X 5 or bigger.
> My current room is approximately 3.7 X 7, and I would prefer it a little
> wider although the length is probably longer than neccessary.
Hey, me too! (I was supposed to last year, but err I got slack). I too am
looking for rooms particularly with larger listening areas - isn't that sad,
buying houses based on stuff like that ;) My current room is rather large
(5m x 12m or so) and there is no way I can find something like that, so I
think 5m x 4m would be a good compromise.
Cheers,
Mal
Simon
I was recently looking for a Victorian ME dealer and tried on several
occasions to contact Winovate (e-mail and phone) as they are literally just
around the corner but they never got back to me. I ended up buying an ME-550
(and about to get an ME-24 if we can fix a minor problem...) from Audio
Trends in Wantirna.
I hope they they get their act together soon.
Simon
"pasey25" <pas...@COLDmail.com> wrote in message
news:3e403...@news.iprimus.com.au...
Marky
> Howdy,
>
<snipped>
> Hey, me too! (I was supposed to last year, but err I got slack). I too am
> looking for rooms particularly with larger listening areas - isn't that
sad,
> buying houses based on stuff like that ;) My current room is rather large
> (5m x 12m or so) and there is no way I can find something like that, so I
> think 5m x 4m would be a good compromise.
The misses is getting a bit annoyed (to say the least) because I am not
willing to look at alot of houses simply because they don't have a descent
room for my toys. A quote from my fiancee "I think it's more important to
have a nice kitchen and bathroom". Who needs those things? Some people have
funny priorites :)
4m wide and 5.5m long would be ideal for me i think, i am planning to get a
projector in the future. I hate those L-shape lounge rooms, note very
usefull, perhaps if the 2 parts of the L lounge were big enough, one part
could be closed off with a wall. See i am trying to compromise, really.
Dale
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Please remove "WWW" when replying via email
"Marky" <pooc...@SPAMalphalink.com.au> wrote in message
news:b1s1b6$70r$1...@perki.connect.com.au...
## i know what you mean quite well. we decided in the end to build our own
house a bit further away from the suburbs. i get a nice sound damped 5*8 m
room. ahhhh. i currently have one of those small L shaped ones also.
BTW great review mal. thanks
dale
Marky
"Dale" <dpoo...@iinet.net.au> wrote in message
news:3e41b336$0$229$5a62...@freenews.iinet.net.au...
<snip>
> ## i know what you mean quite well. we decided in the end to build our own
> house a bit further away from the suburbs. i get a nice sound damped 5*8 m
> room. ahhhh. i currently have one of those small L shaped ones also.
This is going off topic now but......
Unfortunately i'm from the northern suburbs and my fiancee is from the
south-eastern suburbs of melbourne, and we have decided to go east. Not
many blocks of land unless you go far east (not an option) and the small
number of blocks that do show up are 250K plus for a 500 or so sq m block.
Too much for us unfortunately.
It's going to be very hard to find what we(or should i say 'I') want.
Is it possible to get good sound in an open plan house/town house?
Dale
--
Please remove "WWW" when replying via email
"Marky" <pooc...@SPAMalphalink.com.au> wrote in message
news:b1sfi9$se8$1...@perki.connect.com.au...
>
> "Dale" <dpoo...@iinet.net.au> wrote in message
> news:3e41b336$0$229$5a62...@freenews.iinet.net.au...
>
> <snip>
>
> > ## i know what you mean quite well. we decided in the end to build our
own
> > house a bit further away from the suburbs. i get a nice sound damped 5*8
m
> > room. ahhhh. i currently have one of those small L shaped ones also.
>
> This is going off topic now but......
> Unfortunately i'm from the northern suburbs and my fiancee is from the
> south-eastern suburbs of melbourne, and we have decided to go east. Not
> many blocks of land unless you go far east (not an option) and the small
> number of blocks that do show up are 250K plus for a 500 or so sq m block.
## that was our choices too. pretty much anyway excepting in a perth
environment.
we could pay $100,000 for a 500 sq m block (where you water the front lawn
and hear the guy next door pissing in his toilet, whilst marvelling at the
beauty of the overhead high tension power lines) or pay the same amount of
money (18,000 extra actually) and go up into the hills and get 1.5 acres of
bush in a lovely estate with views. however this meant quite a big jump in
our psychology around where and how we wanted to live. now we just love the
idea.
> Too much for us unfortunately.
## yep, where we originally wanted to buy had gone up into the 250-300,000
bracket also. we simply had to change our thinking.
> It's going to be very hard to find what we (or should i say 'I') want.
## not if your open and willing to changing what you want. its not that hard
to do.
> Is it possible to get good sound in an open plan house/town house?
## from what i am learning so far i would sat absolutely, if, the area that
recieves the sound is balance. i would liken it to any other room, just with
different characteristics. all rooms probably need some kind of accoustic
balancing. a large open plan house would be no different. you could probably
find someone to do it. though it may cost around a grand but it would solve
your problems.
i would suggest to ring some reputable audio installers in your area and ask
them also.
or some more experienced folks here may want correct or add to what ive just
said
dale
Mal P
> willing to look at alot of houses simply because they don't have a descent
> room for my toys. A quote from my fiancee "I think it's more important to
> have a nice kitchen and bathroom". Who needs those things? Some people
have
> funny priorites :)
Just think of the effect of all those tiles on the acoustics! :)
> 4m wide and 5.5m long would be ideal for me i think, i am planning to get
a
> projector in the future. I hate those L-shape lounge rooms, note very
> usefull, perhaps if the 2 parts of the L lounge were big enough, one part
> could be closed off with a wall. See i am trying to compromise, really.
An L-shaped lounge room can be good, as long as one of the L's is long and
wide. Having an open back really helps with them standing waves.
Cheers,
Mal
Mal P
> house a bit further away from the suburbs. i get a nice sound damped 5*8 m
> room. ahhhh. i currently have one of those small L shaped ones also.
>
> BTW great review mal. thanks
No worries Dale.
In Canberra house prices are almost as expensive as in Sydney! Still, one or
two small places around the $200,000 mark are there, but hard part is
finding a large room for the entertaintment system. I'm only after a small
place cause I'm moving out from home for the first time - it would be ok for
me and my income for the time being.
Still, that nice pre-built listening room begs :)
Cheers,
Mal
Dale
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"Mal P" <pandor...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:b1t63d$16dnsh$1...@ID-106478.news.dfncis.de...
## yep, i see no point in sitting in your perfect ideal of a house listening
to that nice sound system and continually worrying about whether you can
make the next payment or be kicked out, whilst knowing you have to work your
ass off and see no real gain in the future.
i think its good to wait and savour the moment, wise choice!
dale
Rick Stadelmaier
> pasey25 wrote:
>
>> With regard to in home demo's. Rick has appointed Winovate as the
>> Victorian
>> agent, but they have so far not responded to my request to demo these
>> speakers. That is kind of frustrating. I have only attempted to
>> contact them
>> by email, but I will call them shortly.
>
>
> I will contact Winovate about this.
I spoke to Charlie this morning about the lack of contact and he claimed he hasn't
seen an email come in from you. Perhaps there was glitch in the email chain?
As far as phone contact goes, he said they have had a problem for sometime, which
has apparently been rectified.
Just for clarification, Charlies contact details are :
Email : cha...@SPAMTRAPwinovate.com (remove SPAMTRAP)
Phone : 03 8554 6063
Give him another try.
Rick Stadelmaier
> Pasey,
>
> I was recently looking for a Victorian ME dealer and tried on several
> occasions to contact Winovate (e-mail and phone) as they are literally just
> around the corner but they never got back to me. I ended up buying an ME-550
> (and about to get an ME-24 if we can fix a minor problem...) from Audio
> Trends in Wantirna.
>
> I hope they they get their act together soon.
I also mentioned this to Charlie in our conversation this morning and he also
claimed he hadn't seen the email.
Which leads me to believe there may have definitely been a email problem.
pasey25
Thanks Rick,
I spoke to Charlie and will figure out something for this week.
Adam