Tweet
I am starting this thread to capture audio that I think really shines on the A5's. Of course our music tastes are subjective so I'm sure tastes will influence what we think sounds "good". However - after extensive listening I've concluded there are albums I just don't like on the A5's - and albums that I previously didn't appreciate that really shine with the right setup. My setup is noted at the end. I'm curious what experiences you have.
I have a list of go-to "show off the system" CDs I'll list in another post below. A lot of them are usual suspects (SACD Hotel California and Brothers in Arms, etc.)
I'll start with some recent discoveries:
Chesky 10th Anniversary Special Edition Recordings - Forgot how awesome this 2 disc set is. Just dug it out again after putting in rotation retirement for a few years - and the A5's handle the first disc fantastically. I kept replaying it I was so enthralled. The Sarah K. track really stands out.
The second disc interestingly does not seem to image as well as the first. Yet I only played it once and had a number of interruptions so probably need revisit this impression.
That said - everyone needs this double-disc as part of their "reference collection":
---
John Zorn - The Gnostic Preludes - sounds great. This album is mellow acoustic-electric guitar instrumentals, sometimes with accompaniment. Very similar to Masada guitars but this is John Zorn jazz of his newer Books of Angels style (much more mellow than early Masada releases).
John Zorn - The Gift. Wow. This album sounds fantastic on the A5's.
I've got a half-dozen other John Zorn discs that really shine on the A5's. Zorn, of course, isn't for everyone, and if you find one Zorn disc/song you like - I encourage you to preview anything else you buy, as Zorn's musical output varies to the extreme. I listen to about everything - and even I can't handle some of Zorn's work. However - his mellow jazz (most of the Books of Angels), his Masada/Mountains of Madness guitar work, and his acapella work all sound great on the A5's. Ribbon high-end FTW!
--
Newer Albums by The Roots - Rising Down, How I Got Over, Undun. - Awesome.
The albums breathe smoothly and freely on the A5s - I think this is a result of the presence of real drums, and actual bass instruments combined with occasional digital bass - that give The Roots a jazz-like life if you hit the A5's with a little bit of power. The aforementioned albums have a much broader-spectrum and more natural sound than I realized playing on other speakers.
I'm not a huge hiphop fan but I've always enjoyed The Roots. But I hadn't listened to them in some time. They really didn't play that dynamically on my JBL Studio monitors, and didn't sound good at all in my Jeep. So I broke out their albums a few months ago and even the SO commented how nice they sound. Newer albums, pretty much anything from Phrenology on to Undun - is solid.
--
Movies/HT that shine:
Jiro Dreams of Sushi - is fantastic on the A5's. We have had a few others but I think it's safe to say that anything with a solid 5.1-DTS/HD soundtrack is going to sound great on the A5s.
--
Stuff that doesn't sound good:
Jay-Z: strangely I think recent Jay-Z albums sound worse on the A5's than they did on my previous JBL or Yamaha studio monitors. I think the last speakers I had that really didn't handle rap well were Klipsch monitors (Klipsch studio line - not the low end Sizzle & Boom HT series). The Jaz-Z discs I own sound thin, almost hollow, on the A5's. No idea why.
---
Stereo Setup: Panasonic BDT210 feeding pure-optic out with no pre-processing into an Onkyo TX-NR818 driving A5's and 2x Yamaha SW315 subs. The SW315's are tight and fast enough, and tuned tight and low enough, that I almost never need to turn them off (due to lack of speed or over-saturation of bass) to keep up with the A5's.
It took several times tweaking XT32 but the rolloff now is so seamless on digital music with high-to-low frequency bass drops that I run almost everything through XT32. There are only a few albums I will run a pure, clean signal to the A5's (sans subs) for attack and clarify.
I have a list of go-to "show off the system" CDs I'll list in another post below. A lot of them are usual suspects (SACD Hotel California and Brothers in Arms, etc.)
I'll start with some recent discoveries:
Chesky 10th Anniversary Special Edition Recordings - Forgot how awesome this 2 disc set is. Just dug it out again after putting in rotation retirement for a few years - and the A5's handle the first disc fantastically. I kept replaying it I was so enthralled. The Sarah K. track really stands out.
The second disc interestingly does not seem to image as well as the first. Yet I only played it once and had a number of interruptions so probably need revisit this impression.
That said - everyone needs this double-disc as part of their "reference collection":
---
John Zorn - The Gnostic Preludes - sounds great. This album is mellow acoustic-electric guitar instrumentals, sometimes with accompaniment. Very similar to Masada guitars but this is John Zorn jazz of his newer Books of Angels style (much more mellow than early Masada releases).
John Zorn - The Gift. Wow. This album sounds fantastic on the A5's.
I've got a half-dozen other John Zorn discs that really shine on the A5's. Zorn, of course, isn't for everyone, and if you find one Zorn disc/song you like - I encourage you to preview anything else you buy, as Zorn's musical output varies to the extreme. I listen to about everything - and even I can't handle some of Zorn's work. However - his mellow jazz (most of the Books of Angels), his Masada/Mountains of Madness guitar work, and his acapella work all sound great on the A5's. Ribbon high-end FTW!
--
Newer Albums by The Roots - Rising Down, How I Got Over, Undun. - Awesome.
The albums breathe smoothly and freely on the A5s - I think this is a result of the presence of real drums, and actual bass instruments combined with occasional digital bass - that give The Roots a jazz-like life if you hit the A5's with a little bit of power. The aforementioned albums have a much broader-spectrum and more natural sound than I realized playing on other speakers.
I'm not a huge hiphop fan but I've always enjoyed The Roots. But I hadn't listened to them in some time. They really didn't play that dynamically on my JBL Studio monitors, and didn't sound good at all in my Jeep. So I broke out their albums a few months ago and even the SO commented how nice they sound. Newer albums, pretty much anything from Phrenology on to Undun - is solid.
--
Movies/HT that shine:
Jiro Dreams of Sushi - is fantastic on the A5's. We have had a few others but I think it's safe to say that anything with a solid 5.1-DTS/HD soundtrack is going to sound great on the A5s.
--
Stuff that doesn't sound good:
Jay-Z: strangely I think recent Jay-Z albums sound worse on the A5's than they did on my previous JBL or Yamaha studio monitors. I think the last speakers I had that really didn't handle rap well were Klipsch monitors (Klipsch studio line - not the low end Sizzle & Boom HT series). The Jaz-Z discs I own sound thin, almost hollow, on the A5's. No idea why.
---
Stereo Setup: Panasonic BDT210 feeding pure-optic out with no pre-processing into an Onkyo TX-NR818 driving A5's and 2x Yamaha SW315 subs. The SW315's are tight and fast enough, and tuned tight and low enough, that I almost never need to turn them off (due to lack of speed or over-saturation of bass) to keep up with the A5's.
It took several times tweaking XT32 but the rolloff now is so seamless on digital music with high-to-low frequency bass drops that I run almost everything through XT32. There are only a few albums I will run a pure, clean signal to the A5's (sans subs) for attack and clarify.
Comment