Most of the people reading this post will already have had considerable experience with MLs in general and the Summit in particular, so I’ll keep my comments relatively brief. Left unchecked, I’m sure I could write pages.
As expected, my pair of Summits (dealer floor models) arrived Tuesday afternoon. They have been around for a while--over a year and a half, it turns out--but they are in excellent shape, at least as far as I can tell. I don’t think break-in is an issue with this pair. On the other hand, there is not a ding or scratch anywhere to be seen. Other than a couple of smudges on the tops, easily removed, there was no evidence that they were anything but new.
Overall, my impressions are exactly what I would have expected from hearing another pair a couple of years ago: a big, deep soundstage; fast, clear and largely uncolored reproduction from top to bottom; beautiful, fully dimensional vocals with very steady imaging and palpable body. One thing I hadn’t expected is such outstanding reproduction of percussion. Recorded cymbals, bells, etc. sound startlingly good; snares are highly convincing, etc. There have been many times when I’ve gotten that stupid WOW! grin on my face as I’ve suddenly encountered a surprisingly energized dimension of a familiar recording. This is especially true of instruments reaching into the upper registers.
The Summits are not euphonious in the sense that they make even bad recordings sound good. They show up clearly what’s in the mix, and that isn’t always a happy discovery. I have been disappointed with some well known recordings, especially those that put the vocalist so far back as to be overshadowed or even overwhelmed by the accompaniment. That’s not the Summit’s fault, of course, but you do wish that they could make everything sound equally good. Some speakers manage to smear things enough that most recordings sound more or less the same, but that certainly isn’t the case here. The mixes that are good, however, are often spectacularly good. For example, I’ve always liked the way that most of Chris Isaak’s albums are mixed, and that conclusion is all the more justified by the Summits. Really tight, focused and compelling. Anyway, it is easier than ever before to recognize what the recording engineer did, which on several occasions has made me wonder why on earth he did it. He certainly wasn't listening through these speakers, that's for sure.
The integration with the woofer is outstanding, but you already knew that. The two-setting woofer controls are a great help in this regard. I am used to very good subs, and these come awfully darn close. They are already there in sound quality and very nearly there in output and depth. I’m debating whether or not to use a pair of subs with them. Maybe, maybe not. They’re quite good all by themselves.
Some of the credit for what I am hearing needs to go to my still new BAT VK-32SE, which is a beautifully musical and (at the same time) dynamic and detailed preamp. When I added that to my system (replacing a modernized, tricked out ARC SP-6E), my Gallo Reference 3.1s went from very good to crazy good. In fact, one of the things worth noting is how similar in overall sound the Gallos and the Summits are. Obviously, the Summits are much larger, throw out a much bigger soundstage, etc., but the timbre, speed, dynamism and transparency of the two speakers are remarkably similar given their differences in design, size and price. Of course, I can’t use both in my listening room, so the Gallos, only a few months old, are going to have to go. This is the first time I’ve changed a major piece of gear that quickly, but the Summits are here to stay.
It is customary in such a review to mention the reaction of one’s typically uninterested, uninvolved spouse, and I can’t resist doing so, either. My wife immediately commented on how hard it was to believe that all of that sound, especially the highly textured center vocals, was coming from those two speakers. She also indicated that she had never heard recorded vocals that seemed so fully incarnated right before her. “That’s what great speakers do,” I responded. It is unlikely that she will ever value this as much as I do, but I’m pretty sure she gets it. ;-)
The room these are in leaves a lot to be desired–it’s very cluttered, for one thing–and that won’t change for several months. Eventually, we’ll get an addition put on the house, and 3/4 of the stuff/junk in this particular room will be moved out. At that point, I’ll finally begin to experiment with speaker placement, room treatments, etc. in earnest. In the meantime, what I have is more than enough. In fact, it’s wonderful.
Best wishes,
Craig
As expected, my pair of Summits (dealer floor models) arrived Tuesday afternoon. They have been around for a while--over a year and a half, it turns out--but they are in excellent shape, at least as far as I can tell. I don’t think break-in is an issue with this pair. On the other hand, there is not a ding or scratch anywhere to be seen. Other than a couple of smudges on the tops, easily removed, there was no evidence that they were anything but new.
Overall, my impressions are exactly what I would have expected from hearing another pair a couple of years ago: a big, deep soundstage; fast, clear and largely uncolored reproduction from top to bottom; beautiful, fully dimensional vocals with very steady imaging and palpable body. One thing I hadn’t expected is such outstanding reproduction of percussion. Recorded cymbals, bells, etc. sound startlingly good; snares are highly convincing, etc. There have been many times when I’ve gotten that stupid WOW! grin on my face as I’ve suddenly encountered a surprisingly energized dimension of a familiar recording. This is especially true of instruments reaching into the upper registers.
The Summits are not euphonious in the sense that they make even bad recordings sound good. They show up clearly what’s in the mix, and that isn’t always a happy discovery. I have been disappointed with some well known recordings, especially those that put the vocalist so far back as to be overshadowed or even overwhelmed by the accompaniment. That’s not the Summit’s fault, of course, but you do wish that they could make everything sound equally good. Some speakers manage to smear things enough that most recordings sound more or less the same, but that certainly isn’t the case here. The mixes that are good, however, are often spectacularly good. For example, I’ve always liked the way that most of Chris Isaak’s albums are mixed, and that conclusion is all the more justified by the Summits. Really tight, focused and compelling. Anyway, it is easier than ever before to recognize what the recording engineer did, which on several occasions has made me wonder why on earth he did it. He certainly wasn't listening through these speakers, that's for sure.
The integration with the woofer is outstanding, but you already knew that. The two-setting woofer controls are a great help in this regard. I am used to very good subs, and these come awfully darn close. They are already there in sound quality and very nearly there in output and depth. I’m debating whether or not to use a pair of subs with them. Maybe, maybe not. They’re quite good all by themselves.
Some of the credit for what I am hearing needs to go to my still new BAT VK-32SE, which is a beautifully musical and (at the same time) dynamic and detailed preamp. When I added that to my system (replacing a modernized, tricked out ARC SP-6E), my Gallo Reference 3.1s went from very good to crazy good. In fact, one of the things worth noting is how similar in overall sound the Gallos and the Summits are. Obviously, the Summits are much larger, throw out a much bigger soundstage, etc., but the timbre, speed, dynamism and transparency of the two speakers are remarkably similar given their differences in design, size and price. Of course, I can’t use both in my listening room, so the Gallos, only a few months old, are going to have to go. This is the first time I’ve changed a major piece of gear that quickly, but the Summits are here to stay.
It is customary in such a review to mention the reaction of one’s typically uninterested, uninvolved spouse, and I can’t resist doing so, either. My wife immediately commented on how hard it was to believe that all of that sound, especially the highly textured center vocals, was coming from those two speakers. She also indicated that she had never heard recorded vocals that seemed so fully incarnated right before her. “That’s what great speakers do,” I responded. It is unlikely that she will ever value this as much as I do, but I’m pretty sure she gets it. ;-)
The room these are in leaves a lot to be desired–it’s very cluttered, for one thing–and that won’t change for several months. Eventually, we’ll get an addition put on the house, and 3/4 of the stuff/junk in this particular room will be moved out. At that point, I’ll finally begin to experiment with speaker placement, room treatments, etc. in earnest. In the meantime, what I have is more than enough. In fact, it’s wonderful.
Best wishes,
Craig
