Eikon speakers Gayle Martin Sanders!

[sleepysurf]

Eikon speakers by Gayle Martin Sanders!

Has anybody else seen this Axpona exhibitor listing for a ? new speaker by Gayle Sanders... http://www.axpona.com/exhibitors_detail.asp?ID=22302

Unlike Ron Sutherland, Gayle's been out of audio for quite some time. I wonder what the Eikon is?

 

[amey01]

I wonder what the Eikon is?

A quick Google will show

EIKON is a series of nearfield studio monitors

Not sure if that relates to the same thing.

No doubt when Gayle sold the company, he was under a contractual obligation to stay out of audio for a specified period of time. That must now have expired.

 

[sleepysurf]

Thanks. For some reason, I didn't see that when I tried searching. If so, I guess he's just helping with marketing. Nothing special about them.

 

[sleepysurf]

More info about this on the Axpona website... http://axpona.com/exhibitors_detail.asp?ID=22140

Looks like it's an entire system (? hybrid ribbon speaker) for $20k! Definitely something beyond a "nearfield monitor."

 

[Brad225]

When I go to that link and then the Elkonaudio.com link it takes me to a page that gives the impression of speakers.s you As scroll down it is 4 pages of trying to get you to sign up for payment service online.

Any search I did the only thing was a company Propal that make nearfield monitors in the UK.

 

[sleepysurf]

The original "GMS Illuminati" link on the Axpona website now just links to the (non-functioning) Eikon site. The earlier reference to the new product is completely gone. Maybe he/they pulled out from the show.

 

[sleepysurf]

Now there's a bit more of a tease... http://axpona.com/exhibitors_detail.asp?ID=22302

The website link currently takes you to a password protected page, but looking at a cached page gives a glimpse of prior (? future) content.

Definitely piquing my interest!

 

[Brad225]

I look forward to hearing opinions of them.

Interesting they are at the same MSRP as CLX.

 

[sleepysurf]

More details emerging... https://darko.audio/2018/04/gayle-sanders-eikon-is-a-high-end-active-loudspeaker-system/

I'm off to Axpona! Looking forward to hearing them.

 

[twich54]

some more tidbits ................

https://audiobacon.net/2018/04/11/gayle-sanders-returns-with-launch-of-new-company-at-axpona/

 

[RUR]

One man's opinion from Axpona

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/173-2-channel-audio/2969746-axpona-2018-recap.html#post56030394

"Gayle Sanders Eikon Audio - this is the world premier of his new system, apparently the guy was one of the founders of Martin Logan.

It’s a fully digital active system. It comes with two speakers (one AMT, one cone midrange, and front and back woofers, all independently DAC’d and amped) and one control device that has all of your inputs and then breaks things down into 8 channels (4 per speaker). With the digital control there’s room correction (custom wavelet setup and it comes with a mic) as well as automatic delay/phase/timing adjustment.

It’s all very techy, but they sound great. Gayle played Firebird for me, and wowza, these have some bite, they can handle loud and finesse equally well and switch between the two on a dime.

The whole system is $24,000. Given how good it sounds compared to much more expensive setups, that could be a bargain."

In his opinion, one of the top 5, money-no-object speakers in the show: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/173-2-channel-audio/2969746-axpona-2018-recap-6.html#post56044070

 

[JonFo]

^^^ RUR, and you know just how well a system with dedicated DAC's for each speaker, time and phase alignment as well as leading-edge room correction can sound.

Not sure that $24K is a bargain, but relative to other more expensive passive setups, I'm sure it could be a better performer, thus good value. But one can get really good results for less (but lots of expertise required).

More info on the new company and product: https://www.soundandvision.com/content/martinlogan-co-founder-launches-new-speaker-company

 

[sleepysurf]

According to Gayle, I was the first official person to hear the setup on Fri! Unfortunately, I didn't realize he had a second setup in an adjacent room (to the left), and friends later told me that room sounded better. I didn't care for the electronica/synthesizer tracks he was playing, so it was hard to judge the sound. At that time, I thought the bass was a little mushy, and overall tone and imaging were good, but not great. However it sounded much better when I went back Sun (adjacent room not playing at that time). The system uses the same Wavelet pre/processor as Legacy audio, and on Sunday the Wavelet guy was doing the demo, with more acoustic and vocal tracks. That demo sounded much better, with a deep and wide soundstage, tighter bass, and slightly warm (yet very musical) presentation. The Wavelet guy told me the speaker uses the latest IcePower Class D amps (vs. NCore), but overall tone, including highs, were fine.

Fit and finish are superb, and the angular design (which reminded me of Avalon Acoustics), has great "WAF!"

The only downside, IMHO, is the Wavelet Room Correction requires uploading the acoustic measurements to their server, for the DSP EQ calculations, which are then downloaded to the Pre/Pro, so you're totally dependent on their ecosystem (but no subscription fees).

The ~$24k price point seems a bit high, but then again, it's a "turnkey" system that includes all pre/power functionality, measurement mic, room correction, remote, etc. All you need to do is add a source, and you're good to go. Gayle is clearly targeting the "affluent music-lover" vs. the "audiophile" demographic, and given that perspective, I think it really hits the mark. I could even see myself eventually going this route, if/when I get tired of cobbling together and tweaking a disparate collection of speakers and electronics. Looking forward to seeing what other colors, models will be forthcoming!

BTW, here's the link to his (now functioning) website... http://eikonaudio.com

 

[RUR]

^^^ RUR, and you know just how well a system with dedicated DAC's for each speaker, time and phase alignment as well as leading-edge room correction can sound.

Why, yes I do Johathan.:music:

The only downside, IMHO, is the Wavelet Room Correction requires uploading the acoustic measurements to their server, for the DSP EQ calculations, which are then downloaded to the Pre/Pro, so you're totally dependent on their ecosystem (but no subscription fees).

Any idea what correction product they're using, Alan?

 

[sleepysurf]

Any idea what correction product they're using, Alan?

After a bit of Googling, I found this... http://bohmeraudio.com/J345/index.php/8-all-articles/14-readmore-b3

Apparently, both Legacy Audio, and now Gayle Sanders Eikon, are using a custom labeled version of this Böhmer Pre/Pro/DAC. Looks pretty robust. I wonder if the company is/was a spinoff from Lyngdorf, with added functionality?

 

[RUR]

After a bit of Googling, I found this... http://bohmeraudio.com/J345/index.php/8-all-articles/14-readmore-b3

It's an interesting white paper, but there are other SotA RC products which measure both direct and power FR, as well as time behavior (impulse response), and then, using proprietary algorithms, apply appropriate correction. Trinnov does this and I'd bet $$ Dirac does, too.

The challenging part of having filter calculation done in the cloud is that it usually means one and only one filter set. In practice, it pays to have a few available since spectral balance in recordings can and does vary - see Toole's "Circle of Confusion". Maybe the Eikon holds more than one in memory somewhere. It's worth investigating.

 

[GW1800]

I heard them also on Friday and again Sun. My comments would be very similar to what was already expressed soundwise and concerning the workmanship. I guess at this point I'm not willing to turn so much control over to one brand and give up the options separates create. Did not ask how update-able it was as this would be a major concern of mine. More and more of these types of solutions are showing up with this the best I have heard to date. It will sure be on my watch list for future shows.

 

[sleepysurf]

... Maybe the Eikon holds more than one in memory somewhere. It's worth investigating.

Yes. The Eikon/Böhmer processor does accommodate multiple presets, but not sure how many. However, rather than having different filters for varying recording types, I'd be more apt to use it for optimized imaging for 2 or 3 different listening positions (single listener in "sweet spot", broad sweet spot for multiple listeners, one for off-axis listening, etc.)

 

[sleepysurf]

... Did not ask how update-able it was as this would be a major concern of mine...

I was thinking the same thing. It would be great if the Eikon electronics were all mounted on that back plate (similar to bottom electronics tray in latest ML series), thus (theoretically) upgradeable.

I'd also like to know Gayle's long term plan for Eikon. Is this just a small "boutique" operation to "test" the market, or is he building a robust operation with strong technical expertise and support?

 

[rgbyhkr]

The Axpona coverage of these caught my eye and I've been doing a lot of Google searching to get more info. It's an interesting new offering, but there are also some questions still to be answered. One thing I haven't seen yet is when they expect to be shipping. Another question is whether the Eikontroller box will ship as the visually unmodified Bohmer Wavelet box they used at the show or whether they will wrap it in a new chassis, which is somewhat suggested in their video showing off the system concept. Then there's a further question of how confident they are that Bohmer will keep supporting the platform, especially with the reliance on them to crunch the data and send back results each time.

My guess is that Gayle saw how well the Bohmer tech worked with Legacy (Legacy showed the Wavelet paired with their speakers as early as RMAF 2014) and since Bohmer is offering the Wavelet as a turnkey product, he decided to make speakers that paired even more tightly with the Wavelet. I don't know for sure, but another guess is that by giving each output channel of the Wavelet a dedicated amp to dedicated driver pathway, they can more finely tune the results of the EQ data for more specific output on a per driver level. Eikon then can sell it as an end to end DAC/DSP-Amp-Speaker solution even though the first part isn't his company's IP but touting how the speaker makes best use of the technology. On the upside, he sidesteps years of research and lots of money spent to develop it, but on the downside there's a reliance on Bohmer and their ongoing commitment to the platform. From what I've seen, Legacy's version of the Wavelet definitely can get software upgrades, though I can't tell if any have been rolled out to them.

The mention of iOS and Android app support might also improve upon one complaint I've seen in reviews about the Wavelet - that the browser GUI could be better designed and laid out,.