Sonist Concerto 2
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If you are a music lover, I invite you to listen to the Sonist Concerto 2 standmounts and Concerto 3 floorstanders with your favorite single-ended tube amplifier, using directly-heated triode output tubes such as 2A3, 45, 300B, EL34 (in triode mode), PX25, 6C33B, GM70, or 845. If you are a SET afficianado, I’m sure you will enjoy them very much. Although both models can handle upwards of 100 watts rms from solid state or push-pull tube designs, Sonist loudspeakers are intended for use with directly-heated triode single-ended tube amplifiers. I spent over three years from the initial design and prototyping stages until finally going into production with the Concerto 2 and Concerto 3, paying special attention to the voicing and tonal balance with a wide variety of music genres. Each of the SET tubes mentioned above has been used in voicing the Concerto 2 and Concerto 3, each different tube having its own distinctive personality and character when used with the Concerto 2 or Concerto 3.
What is a Sonist?
Like an artist or a scientist, a Sonist is a practitioner of the art and science of sound. It takes both art and science to achieve an optimum result when designing a loudspeaker, as there are many variables that just can’t be quantified or measured. Physics, acoustics, structural analysis, electronics, damping design, materials science, empirical measurement, all must be considered, but the most expensive piece of technical equipment cannot match the human ear when it comes to sensing if the result is music, or just some sounds coming out of a box. So science lays the foundation for art to find its voice, hence “The Art and Science of Sound.”
Music as Art
Art is shared experience, and music is the sharing of emotional experience. Sonist Loudspeakers have been designed and built with the goal of “musical truth”, not only to play the notes accurately from a physics standpoint, but to also communicate the nuances of performance and the subtleties of the composer’s intent in an involving, expressive way. The tonal balance and dynamic range of all Sonist loudspeakers bring music of all genres to life, and thereby provide a link to the performances recorded at a different place and time, providing a link to the past, if you will, by permitting you to hear the essence of the performance, hearing the instrumentalist’s or vocalist’s performance in an intimate way, not only hearing the subtle nuances of embouchure or phrasing, but also sharing the experience of the performer in a visceral way, understanding and feeling the “unspoken words” of the musical communication.
Musical Truth
In addition to the faithful playback of recorded material, Musical Truth means that the subtext of the performance is also communicated, not merely the mechanical reproduction of the recording medium. Detail and ambience, phase coherent harmonic overtones, and some of the unmeasured, and as of yet, unmeasureable, aspects of playback from single-ended tube amplifiers have the ability to communicate Musical Truth. Psychoacoustic phenomena, endorphins, and alpha-wave stimulation may account for some aspects of Musical Truth, but we may never actually “know” why some accurate playback systems are just not involving, no fun to listen to, and why some seemingly humble systems seem to capture the imagination and transport you, transcend the physical reality and take you to a different emotional and psychic space. If you are thus transported, and thus transcend reality, then you have experienced Musical Truth.
Late night listening sessions
Since I spent many, many hours listening to different versions of the Concerto 2 and Concerto 3, I deliberately set out to create a presentation that I could listen to for long periods of time without experiencing listening fatigue. As a result, I can listen to either model for extended periods of time and still feel that my ears are “fresh”. This involved significant SPL levels, mind you, not just background music. Caveat: With the Concerto 2 and Concerto 3, if you are like I am, you will probably spend some nights into the wee hours listening to “just one more” album.
Shared Experience
I’d like to share my musical experience with you through my speakers, hoping that you, too, will experience the enjoyment and satisfaction of listening to music that I have. I hope that my esthetic sensibilities and musical tastes will be appreciated by other music lovers. This is my raison d’etre with Sonist products, to share my musical experience with others through my speakers.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact me by email, phone, or snail-mail:
Best regards, Randy
Email: info@sonist.com Phone: (818) 632-0692 Address: Sonist Loudspeakers
10153 1/2 Riverside Drive, #159
Toluca Lake, CA 91602
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