AWARDS
The Sonist Concerto 3 floorstanders were selected as a Stereophile Recommended Component in the October 2009 issue.REVIEWS
Art Dudley - Stereophile - April 2009 review of the Concerto 3's: "The Sonist Concerto 3 came as close as I've heard to being the one true, affordable, all-around satisfying choice among the SET -friendly loudspeakers I've heard." Full Review
Mike Quinn - Jazz Times - December 2007 review of the Concerto 2's: "One of the downsides of owning one of the currently in-vogue flea-powered amps, that is, amps which produce anywhere from a couple watts up to 11 or 12, is the difficulty in finding good-sounding speakers efficient enough to produce lifelike sound levels. If an amp such as this is not matched with the proper speakers, you might get only a faint whisper of music before the amp breaks up into fits of grainy, gritty distortion.
Well, music fan and speaker designer Randy Bankert took this problem by the horns, so to speak, and has solved it wonderfully with his two Sonist Concerto speakers (sonist.com), each capable of disturbing the neighbors with only three little watts of glorious tube power. Bankert was kind enough to loan me his Concerto 2 standmount speakers ($2,495) for a few months and I was finally able to really appreciate the quality of my Fi X 2A3 amplifier which is, yep, a three-watt monster. I also tried them with a couple of other tube amps, the DIY HiFi Supply Lady Day (DIYHiFiSupply.com) and the Shindo Montille (toneimports.com) and had a wonderful time basking in the warm glow of the tubes and the exciting music. Bankert is a big believer in the sonic properties of horn speakers, though such speakers often have more negatives than positives-however, when properly implemented, they can sound jaw-droppingly real. Bankert coaxes the good stuff horns can do from his somewhat more traditional drivers by mounting them behind a two-inch baffle, and that two-inch recess into the wood, called a wave guide, allows the drivers to possess many of the very good qualities of horn speakers. But since he is using a paper-coned woofer and a very high-quality ribbon tweeter (ribbons are very, very fast and produce transparent high frequencies without the problems inherent in more typical "coned" tweeters), the lows go quite low and the highs quite high, but most importantly, they preserve proper balance from top to bottom. The beefy heft of these speakers belies their relatively small size, and that solidity helps maintain the coherency of the sound, as does the fact that Bankert places the woofer a bit more forward in the baffle than the possible two inches (the tweeter is placed back the full two). This maintains coherency because the sound from the woofer and the tweeter will arrive at your ears at the same time. If those two frequency extremes are heard even microseconds apart, the ear detects the confusion and the sonics suffer accordingly.
As I said, the Concertos were lots of fun to audition and made great music no matter what amp I had pushing them. The Great Jazz Trio-Hank Jones, Tony Williams and Ron Carter-recorded a number of LP sides for the Japanese East Wind label, and each is both a sonic and musical masterpiece. The first in a series recorded at New York's jazz mecca, Live at the Village Vanguard features what is perhaps the most dynamic recording of a club date I've ever encountered. Through the Sonists, it was crisp and alive, astonishingly realistic with no traces of falseness, stridency or boominess. The bass was likewise amazing, especially from such small boxes, and delivered Tony Williams' high-tuned bass drum with plenty of punch and kick-in-the-chest rhythmic drive. Carter's bass was evenly balanced and upfront with plunging lows and properly percussive attacks, always tuneful and never sluggish. Overall, the gobs of detail in those grooves were delivered in a highly musical manner-let's just say these speakers were a blast to listen to.
Then I played another bass legend, Paul Chambers, from his Mosaic Select box set. PC's bowing on "Yesterdays" was rich, imbued with the perfect level of rosiny scratchiness-you could almost feel each individual horse hair exciting the strings-creating the impression that he was playing just for me, in my very own room, all the more incredible when you remember the disc was recorded 50 years ago. The Sonists possess the ability to paint a totally credible, totally satisfying in-home musical experience. If you enjoy the sound of low-powered tube amps, the Concerto 2s should be on your very, very short list."
Garrett Hongo - Ultra Audio - September 2006 review of the Concerto 2's: "Going to an audio show can be something like visiting a museum with a splendid collection of paintings, each with its attractions and emphases for the eye's pleasure and stimulation. Occasionally, wandering the galleries, you come upon something that changes your way of seeing -- it expands an aspect of perception in a way you hadn't before thought possible. Picasso's paintings had this effect when they were first unveiled -- a cartoon eye weeping bullets of tears out of a caricature of a Spanish woman's long profile, hair like a black waterfall, a sausage nose, mouth like the keys of a toy piano. Or maybe a luminous landscape catches your eye -- the peculiarly angled way an intensely yellow wash of sunlight strikes a humble row of haystacks in a newly mown field. You look and you look and you look. Somehow life has been rearranged. Grief has a face. And joy its portrait. At T.H.E. Show in Las Vegas this past January, I came upon speakers that affected me that way. I listened and I listened.
The Sonist is a new speaker designed by longtime audio distributor Randy Bankert, of O.S. Services in Southern California. After years of acting as distributor for several European speaker lines, Bankert decided to make his own, using characteristics and specs he'd long been suggesting to manufacturers. "They were kind but ignored me," he said when we talked by phone recently. "I took the best from what I heard -- the emotion of the Reynaud, the transient response and dynamics of the Loth-X, and the creamy tonality of the Zingali -- and tried to combine them."
I first heard the Sonists in a room at the St. Tropez in Las Vegas. Their sound was a rare blend of sweet and articulate extension into the extremes, but with a warm midrange. Both pairs of beautifully crafted speakers -- the floorstanding Concerto 3s and the stand-mounted Concerto 2s -- threw off huge soundstages and rendered the difficult choral music I asked to be played (a CD of Mozart's Mass in C Minor) with finesse, detail, and unusually good dynamic range. When editor Marc Mickelson assigned the Concerto 2 to be the subject of my first review for Ultra Audio, I was enthusiastic.
The Concerto 2 is huge for a minimonitor -- about the size of two car batteries strapped together. It measures 18.5"H x 11.5"W x 14.75"D and weighs about 38 pounds. Bankert built it large because, he said, "The bigger the cabinet, the deeper the bass." Indeed, the Concerto 2's rated frequency response of 40Hz-40kHz, +/- 3dB, is quite extended for a minimonitor, and its claimed sensitivity of 95dB and impedance of 7 ohms is in the territory of single-ended-triode (SET) tube amplifiers. The drivers are a Fountek JP3.0 ribbon tweeter and an 8" Credence treated-paper cone woofer. Interestingly, the Concerto 2's recommended power range is continuous from 3 to 100W; Bankert says he's built the speaker so that it can be driven either by direct-heated SET, push-pull, or solid-state amplifiers (he prefers SETs). The Concerto 2 sells for $2495 USD per pair through a dealer network, or directly from Sonist (at no discount).
Besides the Concerto 2's size, what immediately struck me was its lavish craftsmanship -- a gorgeously beveled piece of 2"-thick poplar facing (made from a single billet) stained a cherry color, and fitted and glued via tongue and groove to a black cabinet of 0.75"-thick MDF on all other surfaces. The tweeter and woofer are recessed behind precisely shaped Constant Directivity waveguides cut into the wood -- the tweeter sits in a 2"-deep trapezoidal funnel near the top of the speaker, and under it the woofer in a 1"-deep ring. "I'd worked with horns before and especially liked the sound of horn tweeters," Bankert said.
Constant Directivity in the tweeter means that the front baffle presumably reduces horizontal and vertical early reflections and room effects. For the woofer, the claim is that the waveguide design narrows the midrange wavefront between 1000 and 1400Hz, making room placement easier by reducing sidewall and floor-bounce early reflections. The smooth woodwork of the baffle also incorporates a 10"-long bass-reflex port about a half-inch from the baffle's beveled bottom edge. "This also makes it easier to place the speakers as opposed to having a rear port," Bankert said. He chose poplar because of its extremely low Q -- which means it doesn't ring much, but when it does, it's within a wide frequency band rather than any specific frequency. The result is a much less colored sound. But the wood's finish and color are gorgeous -- hand-sanded corners and bevels, a sealer coat, two coats of stain, and a topcoat of clear semigloss lacquer. The speaker looks as if it could sit comfortably in a museum of American woodcraft.
Each speaker has a 360-degree H-brace dadoed inside. The H-brace has cutouts instead of solid board, these openings permitting the easier passage of air. Bankert uses ten glue-blocks to hold the corners together and stiffen the box. The crossovers are first-order on the woofer, second-order on the tweeter, handmade and hardwired (there are no printed circuit boards) with silver-content solder and OFC wire. They're isolation-mounted with rubber grommets and silicon gasket material. Other parts are also of top quality: Audience Auricaps on the tweeters, Mills resistors in the tweeter and woofer circuits, Goertz Alpha-Core copper-foil inductors in the woofer circuit, Audience hookup wire throughout, and fine damping material from Black Hole inside the cabinet.
The terminal box is flush-mounted to the rear panel; its two sets of beefy Cardas spade-lug binding posts permit not only biwiring but biamping as well. "The tweeter and the woofer circuits are completely separate," Bankert said. The caps on the posts are Pomona banana connectors, so you can use any kind of termination you want: spades, bare wire, or bananas. My review samples came furnished with Bennic bracket jumpers, which I used only briefly before discarding them in favor of a set of Audience Au24 jumpers. Bankert told me he plans to ship new orders with in-house jumpers made from Audience 18AWG hookup wire, and that he'll issue these as a free upgrade to anyone who's already bought a pair of his speakers. He also plans to provide grilles that attach to the metal woofer frame with four small disc magnets -- no pegs or holes required!
Review systems and setup
My listening room is squarish -- 12' x 14' x 8.5' -- and doubles as my study. I tried the Concerto 2s in two basic positions: along the short wall, 6' apart, and then on the long wall, about 8' apart. They were straightforward to set up and easily accommodated several options: single-wired with jumpers, biwired, and biamped. There are also multiple amplifier possibilities: SET, push-pull, SS, and any combination for biamping. I tried all but biwiring. No setup (and teardown) took me more than 30 minutes to accomplish, and most took only 20.
At first, I placed the Concerto 2s about a foot from the short front wall (a bookshelf), firing straight ahead and set on 19" unspiked Gunsdorf stands of MDF. I drove them with a VAIC 300B SET integrated amp using Ayon 32b direct-heated output tubes, which produce a bit more filament current (2.0A) and a few more watts (23W) than the standard 300B. To my ears, the VAIC is extremely linear and produces a fine clarity and extension in the treble range while maintaining the midrange warmth SET amps are famous for. It also generally produces good bass. My source was a Marantz SA-11S1 SACD player, my rack a solid three-shelf model of Indonesian mahogany. Cables were all Audience -- Au24 interconnects and power cords directly into the wall.
After a few sessions with the Bennic brackets, the hash in the upper midrange of Luciano Pavarotti's Gala Concert at the Royal Albert Hall [CD, London 430-716-2] convinced me to break out the Au24 jumpers I had on loan from Audience. This cleared things up immediately and produced a lush upper midrange and sweet, liquid trebles. I'd attached my speaker wires to the tweeter posts, and then the jumpers from the tweeter to the woofer posts. At first, I thought this produced the best sound and the biggest soundstage -- much as I'd heard at T.H.E. Show. Then, after two weeks of listening this way, and more out of curiosity than policy, I tried going to the woofer terminals first, then running the Audience jumpers to the tweeter terminals. This produced the most consistently balanced sound, with the treble maintaining clarity and extension, a fulsome midrange, and big gains in bass punch and extension. This sound was richer, clearer in the midrange, more harmonically saturated, and still had all the resolution in the treble that I'd come to expect from the ribbon tweeters. For optimal results, I suggest trying your speaker wires a number of different ways: single wire to tweeter with jumpers to woofers, single-wire to woofers with jumpers to tweeters, and biwired.
Rich and relaxing as the sound of this simple system was, it wasn't long before I wanted to try the Sonists in my reference rig. The attraction was my analog setup with a Nottingham Spacedeck turntable, Spacearm tonearm, Shelter 501.2 cartridge, and John Thomas custom terminal box for changing resistors on the phono cable. My preamp is a Thor TA-1000 Mk.2, the phono amplifier an EAR 834P with NOS Amperex tubes, and my usual power amp, an Air Tight ATM-2 with RAM-tested Gold Lion KT88 output tubes -- all in a five-shelf Finite Elemente Signature Pagode rack. For this session, I moved the VAIC amp onto an FIM amp stand in front of the reference rack, bypassed its preamp section, and went into the Thor direct. Wires were again mainly Audience Au24 interconnects, jumpers, and speaker wires. I used an array of power cords: Harmonix Studio Master, Audience PowerChord, Verbatim Type 2, and Thor Red. From the EAR phono to the preamp, I used Cardas Golden Reference interconnects. Amps were always plugged directly into the wall, with the turntable motor, preamp, and phono all going into a Balanced Power Technologies Clean Power Center passive line conditioner with multiple Oyaide SWO-XX duplexes. The line conditioner itself was plugged into the wall through an Electraglide Epiphany X.2 PC. I have two 15A dedicated lines and minimal room treatments -- just three Acoustic Sciences Corporation panels, one hung behind each speaker, and one centered on the wall opposite them, about an inch below the ceiling.
I moved aside my reference speakers, a pair of Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home floorstanders, and placed the VAIC on the FIM stand (no easy task -- the VAIC weighs a tippy 68 pounds). I set up the Sonist Concerto 2s on a pair of 26"-tall, single-column Aliante stands that Randy Bankert had sent along, as I'd requested taller ones than the initial pair of Gunsdorfs. For resonance control, a final tweak was to place the base of each stand on the tips of three VTI black speaker cones, which sat flat-side down on travertine tiles on my rug. The extra height helped place the ribbon tweeters at the proper listening level for how I usually sit: on an Aeron chair pushed against my sofa. With the Gunsdorf stands (only 19" high), I'd found I had to sit on the floor in order to hear the Concerto 2's full frequency range. Likely, for most, an optimal stand might be one 22-24" tall with multiple fillable posts. Bankert told me he plans to offer his own stands soon, to be made of Medite and finished just like his cabinets.
I tried the Concerto 2s in various positions, eventually placing them almost exactly as I'd placed the Sonus Faber floorstanders -- about 8' apart along the room's longer dimension, 18" from the front wall, 3' from the sidewalls, but toed in about 20 degrees, so that the tweeter axes crossed about 3' behind my head (and 2.5' from the rear wall). I sat close to on axis with my ears just a little more than 9' from each speaker, and a little less than 8' from their front plane.
Sound
As indicated above, when I listened to the Sonist Concerto 2s in my simplest system (short-wall, Marantz SACD player), they sounded very good out of the box. Randy Bankert had already broken them in at the factory for 100 hours, and no further burn-in seemed necessary, especially for the ribbon tweeters. I played blues, chamber music, and recital CDs to begin with -- Albert King, Beethoven quartets, Pavarotti's Gala Concert -- but things were so dynamic, smooth, detailed, and clear that I quickly wanted to move on to my analog system. Once I'd got everything moved around and settled in, a final maneuver involved using gobs of Stick-Tac to secure each Concerto 2 to the top plate of its Aliante stand. I powered on and began spinning vinyl.
I've always loved Charles Mingus, his compositions, and his ensembles. He blends Ellington-like lushness with field hollers, political sloganeering, and the rhythmic cacophonies of Dada and free jazz. But he never forgets the beat, never fails to reach for the gorgeous in harmonies, the sublime in melodic line. Changes One [Atlantic SD 1677] has been one of my favorites ever since I heard Mingus and the band he always called The Jazz Workshop play tunes from it at The Bank, a short-lived but essential underground dive in Seattle's Pioneer Square district, early in the spring of 1978. On three successive nights, that sextet knocked the bricks out of those basement walls. I've owned the LP, the CD, and often run an imaginary DVD of those performances in my mind. It's music I've relived time and again, taking images from those three nights and relishing the blend of jazz sonic theatrics (such as Carla Bley's A Genuine Tong Funeral), George Adams preaching and begging and striking sonic poses on his tenor like a kabuki actor truttin' down a runway through the audience. On the LP, the band is a quintet, and the tunes run juxtaposed into each other -- beautifully romantic melodies, such as "Sue's Changes" and "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love," alternating with "Remember Attica Rockefeller" (a reference to the deadly quelling of the prison riot there in 1971) and the rawboned "Devil's Blues." With Mingus's bass thumping and humming along the bottom of every run and solo, it's music that is at once gorgeous and savage, like the novels of Herman Melville or Tuscan cuisine -- jellied marrow served in a crystal flute alongside a beefsteak bathed in a platter full of its own warm juices.
The Sonist Concerto 2s played "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love" as if the All-American ghosts of jazz were having their musical reunion inside the walls of my study -- Mingus pegging his bass through my indigo Chinese rug and into the floorboards below, Danny Richmond setting up his kit in the corner by my art books and photographs of me with friends at summer writers' conferences in Vermont, Don Pullen comping and filling in front of the bookcases crammed with poetry. And the best -- George Adams on tenor and Jack Walrath on trumpet harmonizing the theme written in a style borrowed from Ellington, the two horns coming from center stage over my desk, the long line of the tune billowing out like a sail of solitude from between the speakers to my heart hungry for the soul of this song. When the entire quintet kicked back in, Mingus plucking out the slow waltz of the tune like a nightingale on bass, the horns drew a lazy river of trailing harmonies across the music's melodic surface. Did I think of the ribbon tweeters? The big Cyclopean eyes of the paper-cone woofers? The cherry finish on the poplar baffle? Do I think of vocabulary and symbolism when tattooed Queequeg hoists a harpoon and sights on the arching back of a breeching sperm whale as I turn the pages of Melville's Moby-Dick? As we say in Hawai'i when things are particularly beautiful . . . and spooky -- I get chikin skin, Braddah! -- and a bit of momentary rapture to boot.
Next, I tried Back in the High Life [LP, Island 25448-1], by Stevie Winwood -- that high-heeled, English boy rocker from the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and the one-album supergroup Blind Faith. At 16, Winwood's voice on "Gimme Some Lovin'," a 45rpm single on an obscure label released without press kit or payola, was mistaken by DJs worldwide for a veteran black soul man's -- high and screechy as a preacher's, rhythmic and piercing enough to cut through Davis's R&B hash of fuzz-box guitar, Fender bass, honky-tonk piano, and Hammond organ. Winwood himself became a great rock composer, blending tunes based on old Scottish marches and reels, straight blues, drinking songs, and disco to make up this innovative album.
When I dropped the Shelter's stylus into the title groove, the traps intro was rhythmic, suspenseful, clear, and danceable. The timing of the synth bass, programmed drum tracks, and rhythm guitar all had superfast transients and that chopping, disco bite that made this recording beloved of old-school rock fans. And though there was real thunder in the combo of synth bass and kick drum, their clarity was such that I could tell the drum was being punched with a foot mallet that was padded -- for more of a thump! than a thwock! Throughout the tune there was a fabulously tactile rhythmic tapestry that combined with all of the articulation and good separation in the trebles, particularly between Winwood's overdubbed backing vocal and the chiming of the Wave Term synthesizer and bursts of fanfares from the synth horns. The dance beat swept me along, and when I could pick out that it was none other than the indomitable Chaka Khan singing the final choruses of the backing vocal, I was sold. That glorious ribbon tweeter! Winwood's normally plaintive, even reedy voice had soft edges here, sweeter body, more deft leading and fading transients. Winwood's mandolin, too, whether strummed or plucked, blended nicely with the synthesizer's strings and snare drums, each part still maintaining its distinct timbre. The soundstage was generous, with good depth, and all instruments, synth or real, cleanly spaced across the horizontal plane. Finally, I could tell that Chaka Khan wasn't singing choruses of "Bring me a higher love." She was singing "Brang me a higher love." I could never hear that before. And that made all the difference.
Perhaps the most difficult test of any speaker, let alone a stand-mounted design, is how it reproduces music made by a large orchestra. Georg Solti's version of Beethoven's Symphony No.2 [LP, London CS 6927] is a favorite of mine for its impact and dynamics, as well as its sweetness. Solti was known for sometimes conducting breakneck interpretations of standards, racing like a NASCAR driver through the score -- but here, leading the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, his even baton provides a more moderately paced performance. The first movement, Allegro con brio, opens with timpani strokes and brass fanfares, then quickly shifts to the sweetening airs of woodwinds and lush strings playing introductory pieces of the theme. The Concerto 2 reached pretty far down, with some impact and good bass extension, and though somewhat recessive -- as might be expected with a minimonitor -- the bass viols were nonetheless a warmly constant if not always obvious presence. The trebles were extended and somewhat forward, which accentuated the woodwinds and violins -- my listening thus gravitated more toward the splendors of the violin, viola, and woodwinds than to the bass and timpani. The Concerto 2 could detail the subtlest nuances of playing, particularly with violins, and much better than any other speaker I've heard. Where they fell a little short was in the impact of basses and drums, yet there was no lack of warmth from the middle strings or cellos. In general, the Concerto 2s presented a coherent orchestra, with wonderful string and woodwind timbres and good soundstaging, but the overall dynamic thrum of a full orchestra -- the full Monty of Beethoven -- was somewhat lacking. Through the Sonists, this symphony sounded more sprightly and Mozartean than fully thrilling, with that little bit of dreadful that makes LvB so sublime.
By far the most interesting and articulate sound the Sonists made was with solo female voices. I played numerous operatic recital LPs by a half-dozen superb lyric sopranos, among them Kathleen Battle, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Monserrat Caballé. But I had the most fun listening to a jazz artist with a bit lower range and more interpretive brio -- the inimitable Sarah Vaughan. Produced by the legendary Norman Granz and issued in the early 1980s, when Vaughan was in her 50s, Crazy and Mixed Up [Pablo Today 2312-137] features a champion lineup of sidemen -- Joe Pass on guitar, Roland Hanna on piano, Andy Simpkins on bass, and Harold Jones on drums -- and a playlist of great jazz standards. Listening was pure pleasure all the way through. Hanna's piano sound was deep and vibrant, and the entire rhythm section came in on time all the time -- the piano runs and Vaughan's silky glissandos always felt rhythmically integrated with the band. All the bounce and sass of Vaughan's improvisations came through. On "Autumn Leaves," particularly, I could feel the vibrancy of this remarkable studio date as she accelerates and expands the dynamic range of her scatting, then gives it over to Joe Pass, who launches into a buttery smooth, rhythmically deft guitar solo.
Vaughan's unusually pliant voice covered the range from tenor to soprano, and the Concerto 2 was completely up to all of it, rendering her dark, chocolaty low notes with robust warmth, her sailing soprano highs with great air and smoothness. Without sounding even the slightest bit analytic, the Concerto 2 had a lively, liquid extension in the treble range and an almost crystalline clarity. Hanna's piano positively tinkled. The detail in the system was nothing short of crazy -- transients not only opening the dimension of the music to fine attacks and decays from each performer, but also rendering the exquisite pianissimo dynamics of these sonic ephemera. The interpretive acuities of the performances were so clear that the musical thinking and instincts of each player were revealed, making for a thrilling listening experience. To quote a favorite lyric, my listening ended "all too soon."
Comparison
Like the Concerto 2, my reference loudspeaker, the Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home, is essentially a two-way (some say two-and-a-half way), but with two 6" woofers and a 1" silk-dome tweeter behind a spider cage. The Grand Piano Home is known for its warmth, its smoothness, and a soft, refined (some say rolled-off) treble. When new, its cost was $3495/pair -- exactly $1000 more than the Sonist Concerto 2. There are some other differences: the Italian speaker has only a single set of binding posts, so there's no need for jumpers; and, as its sensitivity is only 90dB (impedance is 6 ohms), I drove the pair of them with my reference Air Tight ATM-2's 80 pentode watts rather than with the VAIC SET amp.
The differences in sonic performance boiled down to two areas: bass dynamics and treble extension/sophistication. The Sonus Faber produced better push in the bass, and handled the midrange of Beethoven's Symphony No.2 more successfully than the Sonists, with which I missed the fast, resonant impacts of the timpani coupled with rapid bowing across the big strings of the bass viols. And the symphonic complement of instruments presented some challenge to the stand-mounts (as they would to any speaker). But the Sonist Concerto 2 excelled with rock and jazz, where the speed and clarity of its ribbon tweeter could be stunning, and its large, single midrange driver was more up to the reproduction of fewer instruments. Not only that, the Sonists' soundstage included more depth and image definition than that of the Sonus Fabers.
I wouldn't say that either speaker was made to be a blaster, but the Sonists outperformed my reference speakers in speed, detail, imaging, bass clarity, impact dynamics, and PRAT (pace, rhythm, and timing). Both performed well with jazz, but the Concerto 2 was crazy good -- much more immediate and live, rich in the midrange, with fine attack and decay transients, and highly articulate and sustained treble notes. It had verve. I'd guess the Concerto 3 -- the floorstanding version of the Concerto 2 -- would give the Sonus Faber a pretty good run in the symphonic world, but that's for another reviewer to find out.
Conclusion
There are usually two kinds of "good" listening, frequently opposed and rarely combined. One allows you to become more attentive, alert to subtleties and the interpretive choices of a performer, engaged in an excited but intellectual manner. Another is said to be more "involving," more emotionally engaged with the music, less judgmental, able to sweep you along in the ebbs and swells of the music's fundamental swirls.
The Sonist Concerto 2 allowed me to do both. It provided all the detail and nuance of a recording, as well as the music's primary, visceral character. As with a fine live performance, I could choose how to be thrilled: whether by an education in the subtleties of a passage, or by being mesmerized by a new way of engaging the senses -- as in gazing at Van Gogh's painting of a starry night, or his landscape row of sun-drenched haystacks. There are many good speakers in this price range, but if you want something that can work well with a variety of amps, I can't think of many that will give you a sound both as rich and as articulate as the Sonist Concerto 2, and few that will look as good and as well-crafted while doing it."
Jeff Dorgay - Tone Audio - June 2006 review of the Concerto 2's: ". . . fantastic results [with SET amps] . . . The C2's have nice weight, but aren't boomy . . . they go pretty strongly down to 40Hz, with some useable output at 30Hz . . . smooth, natural high-end response. . . Thanks to the ribbon tweeter and waveguide, these speakers do a nice job of throwing a big sound into the room . . . Randy nailed the crossover on these speakers, as I have never heard this tweeter sound this smooth in other designs . . ."
Review URL: http://www.tonepublications.com/images/pdfs/TA_004.pdf
SHOW REPORTS
John Atkinson - Jason Victor Serinus - Stereophile Axpona 2010 show report: "Sonist's Affordable High-Sensitivity Loudspeakers. Sonist of Studio City, CA was touting the premier of the Recital 3 all-wood floorstanders ($2195/pair), with a lower-price black textured finish model ($1795/pair) also available. . Featuring a 6" woofer and ribbon tweeter, the 8 ohm speaker has 93dB sensitivity, and a frequency response of 45Hz-40kHz. Audience and Cardas parts point to high quality. Shown next to the larger Concerto 3 ($4195/pair with all-wood cabinets, otherwise $3495 and reviewed by Art Dudley in April 2009), the Concerto 3 is an 8 ohm, 95dB-sensitivity speaker with a frequency response of 30Hz?40kHz. Current production of the Concerto 3 has fixed the cabinet resonance problem JA found in our review. With their source a Cary 306 Pro SACD-CD player ($8000) and two diminutive, single-ended Glow amps, the 5Wpc Amp One ($684) on the Concerto 3 and the prototype 7Wpc, 832 ($795) on the Recital 3, the system did a good job with low volume, less complex music. . . . When I took my first listen to Glow amplification in the Sonist loudspeaker room, one man who was just finishing his listening declared it his favorite sound at the show."
Stereophile Reader Comments - Axpona 2010 Show Report - Neil: "The 5 watt Glow on the 95 db Sonist Concerto 3 is actually a nice sounding combo.. and as Jason alludes to above, the Sonist can make real good use of higher end gear as well. The new Recital 3 is such a nice speaker that loves tube amps and is cost effective too! Made in the USA... for more info: Sonist.com clearsoundaudio1.com glow-audio.com -Anyone that heard them have thoughts/questions?" Jonathan Cohen: "Great set up. The amps were good enough for my ears. I'm considering Sonist as a future loudspeaker purchase." Jose Sevilla: "To my ears the concerto 3 were the best sound for the money at the show!...they even sound better than some other staff costing a few times this kind of money!" Aston Wright: "I thought the Sonist/Glow/Cable Research Lab room was the best value system of the show. Those Sonist speakers are amazing. Excellent sound for the money!"
Nels Ferre - Enjoy the Music Axpona 2010 show report: "Glow Audio had two of their diminutive amplifiers available for demo connected to the exquisitely built Sonist Loudspeakers, hand made one pair at a time in Studio City CA. I was especially interested to hear the 5 watt per channel Glow Audio Amp One ($648), which was the recipient of a coveted Enjoy the Music.com Blue Note Award. It is always interesting to hear what another reviewer deems the "cream of the crop." And get it I did. I was also shown their new, as yet unnamed amplifier, which Glow Audio President Patrick Tang tells me will, like the Amp One, feature a built in USB DAC, but will put out 7 watts per channel using the dual envelope 832 tube. It will not be available internet direct- for this one you will have to schlep down to a dealer. Although a traditional dealer network is involved, the price is projected to be according to Patrick, "under $900."
Amplifiers don't run on their own, but both the Sonist Recital 3 ($1,795 to $2,195 depending on finish) as well as the Concerto 3 ($3,495 to $4,195 depending on finish) sounded fantastic mated to the Glow Audio units, and although I vastly preferred the Concerto 3s for their extended bass response (and higher efficiency), Sonist President Randy Bankert stated that the Recital 3 had "eighty percent of the performance for half the price of the Concerto 3." Speaking of price, I liked that the there was a wide range of prices within the same model to make the speakers more affordable to price conscious buyers. That said, once buyers see the top finish offerings, I believe many will be swayed to part with the extra cash."
Ray Seda - Dagogo.com Axpona 2010 show report: "The Sonist / Cable Research Labs / Glow Audio / Cary Audio room was next down the hall. This was a small but very inviting room where the music just sounded so great it just begged to have a seat and stay a while; and that's exactly what I did. The Sonist speakers playing on the small-yet-elegant 5-watt Glow Audio amplifiers really did get the job done. Since I wasn't about to relinquish my seat, I sat back and listened while I chatted with founder and Chief Sonist, Randy Bankert. Both two-way designs, the Concerto 3 and the new Recital sport superbly well-matched ribbon and cone drivers in a 2-way design. At $700-$800 for amplification and $2,100 to $4,100 for speakers, this room was a poignant reminder of how far high-end audio has come with respect to sonic return on investment. By the way, filling in for Randy when he needed a cigar break was Chip Winston of Cable Research Labs (CRL). Chip's contribution to this and to several fine-sounding rooms was his High Energy Conductivity Cables. Thanks to his excellent cables, there was plenty of good sound to be heard on that hotel floor. It's a shame that there were still exhibits elsewhere that were using Best Buy zipcord and low-end blister pack interconnects for cables to their detriment. Sonist - Ribbons blast their way back to the forefront in speaker crafting in a well-balanced 2-way design."
Audiogon Axpona 2010 show report: "Anyway, some of today's low-priced audio products offer honestly good sound and honestly great values. You might not choose to run your $4000 speakers with a $700 amp, but Randy Bankert's $4,195 Sonist Concerto 3s sounded terrific powered by Patrick Tang's $684 Glow Audio Amp One, a 5 watt-per-channel single-ended integrated amp with EL84 output tubes. The sound had the punchiness and dimensionality associated with the best SETs, with none of the noise or "thinness" often found in (sorry, Patrick!) cheap tube amps. A win-win situation, and a winner of a system."
Ultra High End Audio Forum Axpona 2010 show report: "The Glow Audio/Sonist Loudspeaker Room - An upstart Glow Audio and Sonist Loudspeakers teamed up at AXPONA. Sonist demoed its larger Concerto 3 ($3,495 for standard finish) and debuted its somewhat smaller Recital 3 ($1,795 standard finish) speakers. The Concerto 3s are 95db efficient and go to 30Hz while the Recital 3s are 93db efficient and go to 35Hz. Neither the Glow Amp One EL84 SET amplifier ($684) which puts out just 5 watts/channel nor the Glow 835 directly heated triode amplifier ($795) which puts out 7 watts/channel had any trouble driving the speakers. Each has a built in USB port so you can connect your iPod directly."
Robo - Emotiva Forum Axpona 2010 show comments - "My wife's favorite room was the Sonist Recital 3 speakers and Glow Audio EL 84 tube amp. It was a good sounding system and for the money it was a steal. For a speaker with 93db sensitivity it made that 5watt amp sound unbelievable. The Cary CD made the system out of reach at $8,000.00. Add the ERC-1 and you'd have a smoking system."
A. Colin Flood - Enjoy the Music Axpona 2010 Show Report: "Patrick has a new amp offering from GLOW Audio: a 7-watt amplifier with an 832 tetrode power output tube that was driving the admirable SONIST loudspeakers in the room across the hall; it offers a built in DAC and USB port for under $800 and sounded smooth with Randy Bankert's new SONIST Recital 3's. There were several rooms that I regret not spending the time for a serious audition and Bankert's SONIST is at the top of the list. His sumptuous towers looked like they could be a very pleasing system."
Richard Austen - Dagogo.com CES / THE Show 2010 show report: "Sonist Loudspeakers/Glow Audio - This room was one of, if not the star budget room, of CES. The smaller floorstanding speaker was playing and is called the Recital 3 with 6-inch woofer and ribbon tweeter with a sensitivity of 93dB - 8ohms and priced at $2,195.00 (pair). The speakers were driven with a massive 5-watt-per-channel Glow audio 832 amp retailing for $795. The larger speaker is called the Concerto 3 priced at $4,195. The source was a Cary 306 Pro SACD-CD player and they were running an Acoustic Revive Power conditioner, and Cable Research labs provided the power cords, interconnects and speaker cables. The sound was open, lively and maintained a surprising level of resolution. A little box noise and some degree of directionality; but those are minor quibbles in a very easy-on-the-ears sound with some drive. The speakers were smooth, detailed, and very easy to listen to - a winner especially at these prices."
Brian Boehler - Spintricity CES 2010 Show Report: "2010 CES Recession Busting Speakers - As I looked through my notes and photos from the recent 2010 CES, one thing that struck me was a couple of really great values in speakers. Regardless of technology, size, or price, these speakers impressed me with their ability to convey music beyond accepted expectations. I kept coming back to them as offering extraordinary value and sound for the dollar.
Economy got you down, a little worried, or confused? Want some new speakers but don't want to extend yourself unreasonably? Want a great value that you can be proud of? Have I got some suggestions for you to contemplate! Consider the following: Sonist - Recital 3" How about a nice slim floor standing loudspeaker that offers a 6" woofer, ribbon tweeter in an integral waveguide in a solid poplar front baffle, tapered sidewalls, 93dB sensitivity, 8 ohms (6 ohms minimum), with frequency response from 45Hz to 40kHz, as well as Goertz Alpha Core copper foil Inductors, Audience Auricaps, Black Hole 5 cabinet damping, Cardas Tri Eutectic lead-free solder, Audience Auric hookup wire, Cardas gold-plated solid copper binding posts, Cardas jumpers, bi-wireable and bi-ampable, and adjustable floor spikes? Add to this a real wood cabinet (baffle and sides), two coats of semi-gloss lacquer, and 5 year parts and labor warranty with a retail price of $2,195 a pair!
The speaker is 40" high x 8.25" W x 12" D and weighs 50 pounds. This speaker can be driven by a small tube amplifier with as little as 5 watts per channel. Oh, by the way, the speaker sounded great. It has real world limitations in the lower bass and can't blow the doors off their hinges but for real world sound quality and a great look, it is an exceptional value. This speaker is a recession buster by offering more of what an audiophile wants at prices you would expect to pay for cheap vinyl wrapped mass produced junk!
Need to get under $2,000 for a pair? How about the same speaker with Medite cabinet walls with a black textured finish but still keeping the solid poplar front baffle finished in light cherry, medium cherry, or dark cherry and a retail price of $1,795 a pair. Check out the Sonist website or give Randy Bankert a call. You will meet a very nice sincere person that wants to share his passion with you."
Roger S. Gordon - Positive Feedback THE Show 2010 show report: "The Sonist room was demoing a relatively inexpensive system consisting of the Sonist Recital 3 floorstanding speakers ($1795, $2195 with all wood cabinet) driven by a Glow Audio 832 Stereo Amp with volume control ($795), with cabling by Cable Research Lab. The source was a Cary 306 Pro SACD CD Player ($9000). The Glow Audio 832 amp uses a single 832 transmitting power-beam tetrode. One half of the tube is used for each channel and produces 7 watts per channel. Seven watts is all you need to drive the 93dB efficient Recital 3 loudspeakers to loud volumes. The Glow Audio 832 has a USB port with built-in DAC in addition to the standard RCA inputs. Output is through standard binding posts or headphone jack. For $2600, plus your own source/computer and cables, this Sonist/Glow Audio system was an excellent value for the money."
Wayne Donnely - Enjoy the Music RMAF 2009 show report: "One of the things I most look forward to when attending a show is discovering something new that is both musically compelling and relatively affordable. For this show, that find was the Sonist Concerto 3, a nice-looking 95dB/W/m sensitive three-way floorstander being driven by a 5-watt push-pull Glow tube amp. At under $4k/pair, these speakers easily filled the room, projecting a relaxed musicality that promised long listening sessions without fatigue. I heard speakers at double the price and more that didn't equal the ease and balance of the Sonists. The strong value theme included good-looking and good-sounding wire from Cable Research Lab. I was told that the two pairs of interconnects and the speaker cables I was listening to could be purchased for a bundled $895! SET lovers especially should check out this stuff!"
Laurence Borden - Stereotimes RMAF 2009 show report: "For some time now I have been eager to hear Sonist speakers. The Concerto 3 is a 95dB efficient, 2-way floor-stander featuring a Fountek JP3.0 ribbon tweeter and an 8" proprietary treated paper cone woofer, with a retail price of $3,495/pair. Partnered with a deHavilland Mercury preamp, an EL84-based Glow Amp One 5wpc SET amp (only $648!), [CRL Bronze series interconnects and speaker cables], and Cary SACD player, the sound was nicely coherent, dynamic and tonally pleasant. All-in-all, a terrific sound for the money."
Tvad - Audiogon RMAF 2009 show report: Sonist Concerto 3 / Glow Amp One / CRL Bronze series - "Very, very good sound from this modestly priced system."
Bay Area Audio Society THE Show 2009 show report: "Sonist Concerto 3 - A "Top 5" speaker last year, these $3.4K beauties are simply stunning at that price point. IMO, these speakers are better than most (but not all) similarly-priced speakers on Audiogon. They are that good. Assisted by the always-capable deHavilland tube gear. BEST "BARGAIN" SPEAKERS IN SHOW."
James Darby - Stereo Mojo THE Show 2009 show report: "Here's a speaker for the value minded - the Sonist Concerto 3. These speakers are designed to work well with low power, triode powered tube amps such as EL34's and 300B's, although any speaker with an easy load will also work better with solid state amps. It's amazing how many solid state amps struggle with speakers with impedances that roam much below 8 Ohms - and a lot do. Many high-end owners are listening to a lot of clipping and distortion and don't even realize it because of bad matches between amps and speakers. This is directly related to what Luke Manley was saying, as have many others. Fact: A system that is lower priced but well matched within itself and also to the room will almost always sound better than a mega-buck system that is badly matched among its components and to the room. That's one of the reasons that systems at shows often sound, um, not so good. Speaker makers, to lower costs, often team up with amp makers to exhibit in the same room. Then different disk players are sometimes added.The result is that there are very bad matches. It is not uncommon for exhibitors to change horses mid show because of that, resulting major differences in system quality depending on what day you visit the room. Fun, huh? Sonist was teamed up with DeHaviland - a good match . . . We could tell that the Sonist's are high quality speakers and would appear to be a screaming bargain at around $3,500/pair . . . We asked for a review pair and were answered enthusiastically. We look forward to hearing them . . .
Donald Shaulis - Stereo Times THE Show 2009 show report: "The Sonist Concerto 3 loudspeaker ($3,495/pair) is designed to work well with low-powered SET amplifiers. Its minimalist crossover consists of two parts - a Goertz Alpha Core copper-foil inductor on the woofer and one Auricap capacitor on the time-aligned ribbon tweeter. Wave guides are an integral part of the 1.75" thick, solid poplar front baffles. This excellent sounding room was powered by a deHavilland Mercury III vacuum tube linestage preamplifier ($4,594 with remote) and KE-50A 40W KT88 tube monoblocks ($7,495/pair).
Dick Olsher - The Absolute Sound THE Show 2009 show report: "Driving the Sonist Concerto 3 speakers, the deHavilland 50A could best be described as eminently musical."
Neil Gader - The Absolute Sound RMAF 2008 show report - February 2009 issue: "The high sensitivity speakers from Sonist have continued to evolve, and now offer smoother and warmer sonics, terrific resolution, and great value. Recent upgrades include enclosure tuning that delivers deeper extension, along with a newly designed waveguide for the ribbon tweeter. The waveguides are integrated into the solid poplar front baffles. All the crossovers are hardwired with first-order types. The Concerto 2 is a compact monitor ($2,495), and the Concerto 3 is a 40" tall floorstander at $3500 per pair. Both speakers have a sensitivity of 95dB, making them ideal for low powered tubed amplifiers."
Patrick Tang - Glow Amp designer RMAF 2008 show report: "And down the hall from Audio-Magus, Randy Bankert, designer and builder of Sonist Loudspeakers, was exhibiting a little GLOW as well. Randy alternated between a single ended triode 300B and the little GLOW Amp One to power his amazing loudspeakers. Many listeners chose the tighter sound of the GLOW Amp One over the sound of the more expensive (about 5 times more expensive) 300B unit, although we couldn't find fault with either unit with the way Randy's speakers performed.
Randy has a winner with his Sonist loudspeakers. They were possibly the best monitor speakers at the show, regardless of price. Most noticeable was how remarkably non-fatiguing they sounded being driven with the low power tube amplifiers... we could listen to these speakers for hours and never tire of them. What a musical speaker! The box just disappeared, all we heard was the music. Somehow someway, Randy got the ribbon tweeter integrated just right with the bass driver.... I think his choice of a 1st order crossover has a lot to do with it... and there is no hint of cabinet resonance... the sound is superb on every kind of music we threw at them. It is clear that Randy spent a lot of time getting the sound right. This guy sweats the details. Great stuff."
Bob - Bay Area Audio Society RMAF 2008 "Best of Show" report: "And the special award for 'best value' goes to: Sonist Concerto 3 - Great-sounding two-way floorstanders built from premium parts, beautifully-constructed using primo parts . . . , driven by neat $500 EL84 Glow Amp”, At $3495, everyone should have a pair!"
Steve Marsh - 6moons VSAC 2008 show report: "Another room that I would consider to be in the top tier at the show was the deHavilland/Sonist/Cable Research room, featuring Randy Bankert's Sonist Concerto 3 high-efficiency, two-way floor standing speakers."
Jeff Poth - Enjoy the Music VSAC 2008 show report: "The Sonist loudspeakers had superb bass, and the driver integration was surprisingly good. One of my favorite rooms!"
DRCope - AudioAsylum Bottlehead forum VSAC 2008 show report: "The deHavilland/Sonist room was exceedingly musical."
Adam Goldfine - Positive Feedback THE Show 2008 show report: "Let's see, Goertz Alpha Core air core inductors, Cardas binding posts and jumpers, Auricaps and Auric internal wiring, 2" thick solid poplar baffles, these things [Concerto 3s] have got to be the high end bargain of the century. I had to ask several times if I heard the price correctly, $3495/pair. These sounded seriously good and better than anything I've heard at that price."
Garrett Hongo - Vacuum Tube Valley THE Show 2007 show report: "Both pairs of beautifully crafted speakers -- the floorstanding Concerto 3s and the stand-mounted Concerto 2s -- threw off huge soundstages and rendered the difficult choral music I asked to be played (a CD of Mozart’s Mass in C Minor) with finesse, detail, and unusually good dynamic range."
Dave Clark - Positive Feedback/Audio Musing - June 2006 VTV LA Show Report: "... and he said let there be speakers... rather good ones too... simple system and nice sound." System: Royal Device Sara 300B SET amplifier and Sonist Concerto 2 loudspeakers.
Audio Asylum November 2005 VTV Pasadena show report by Rick R.: "Best Monitor Speakers - Sonist. The Sonist Concerto 2 is just the kind of monitor I am interested in. Designed specifically for use with low powered SET amps, enough bass to get by without a sub in a small room, . . . great sound and excellent imaging. These use a treated paper 8" woofer, a ribbon tweeter, integral wave guides and extended bass shelf tuning. Three years of development done by science and by ear seem to have paid off. At $2,500, these definitely compete with the best monitors I have heard. These were run with a very sweet Sara 300B stereo amp."
SonicFlare - November 2005 VTV Pasadena Show Report: "At $2495, the Concerto 2 speakers from Sonist received a lot of positive comments at the show. One guy commented that the Sonist was the first speaker he heard that nailed this particular tweeter/woofer combo. The 2" solid front baffle sports integral wave guides for the Fountek ribbon tweeter and custom 8" woofer. Frequency is 40Hz to 40kHz and 95dB sensitivity. Power came from the $3295 Royal Device Sara 300B providing 10 watts into 2 channels. The Royal Device line is imported exclusively from Italy by OSS Audio, maker of the Sonist speakers."
Audio Asylum November 2005 VTV Pasadena show report by Jon L.: "Sonist Loudspeakers. Definitely another speaker company to watch. Fountek ribbon tweeter with simple paper-cone woofer. I've heard other speakers with this formula, but Sonist seems to have gotten it right. Stock Sony NS875V multi-disc player to Royal Device 300B SET ($3295) was making some seriously good music with strong bass and coherent integration. Speakers cost $2495 and definitely worth checking out, if only for the beautiful, 2" thick solid poplar baffle."
Audio Asylum November 2005 VTV Pasadena show report by Phil R.: "Randy Bankert also had a very nice sound going in the OSS room. The amplifier he was demo'ing his speakers with was the Royal Device 300b stereo. OSS represents the line in the US. The RD is Italian, with a particular emphasis on transformer quality. The designer uses an aggressive circuit that gets a full 10w/ch out of a single 300B each side, rather than the more common 7 or 8. Heck, there's 2 iMPAMPs worth of difference there! Anyway, I've listened to that Royal Device amp on some of my own equipment and it sounds beautiful, especially if you slip some upgraded tubes into it. It's simple, direct, uncluttered and was driving the new Sonist pair nicely."
Steve Hoffman forum - posting by 'audio': ". . . And finally, if you are attracted to the idea of a slim tower with great, accurate, tight and deep bass...wonderful midrange, total absence of fatigue...and a lush presentation, I would highly recommend that you keep your eye on Randy Bankert's superb Sonist Loudspeakers....a review of which will be posted here shortly in my CES report. Randy, FYI, also happens to be the former US Reynaud distributor."
Audio Asylum November 2005 VTV Pasadena show report: "I remember the OSS room because it was crowded. I have to say that I am now intrigued by tube products and high efficiency systems."
FORUM AND CUSTOMER COMMENTS
New York Rave February 2009 - AudioCircle.com:
Robin: "I heard a lot of good gear connected to them Sonist monitors, from Mike's massive Krell to Paul's hand built triode tube amps,, both made the Concerto 2's sound incredible, especially when Paul's computer audio fed AudioNote USB/DAC was connected."
Levi: "Neil's Sonist: Concerto 2 Standmount speakers are the rave's suprise. The Sonist wood finish are as beautiful as its sonics. Its highly resolving quality enabled equipment changes to be heard with cables and amps swapping."
Chris: "Thanks to Neil...for the Sonist speakers.......a very good hi-eff. Speaker (95db)....I liked it. With all the amps that were tried, they performed very good....SS and tubes. Really sounded sweet with the tube mono blocks, and rocked out with the Krell....and they did handle "Infected Mushroom"....one of Neil's favorite tunes..."
Jim: "There was some great equipment at this Rave. Neal, of Clearsound, brought the Sonist 2 monitors You can read the details here: http://www.sonist.com/. These speakers sounded excellent, The ribbon tweeter was smooth but also detailed. The mid range and bass were warm and full. The speakers easily let the amps show what they did or didn't have. Considering these monitors are $2500 MSRP, I'd say they represent great value. We listened to the Sonist's with several amps. I thought the best combo was either the Krell KSA 100 or the Heathkit monoblock EL34's. Although the Sonist's are quite sensitive, 95db/1m, the higher powered amps did a much better job of bringing out the bass and slam the Sonist has to offer."
Emil: "I especially liked Paul the Lizard's Laptop/Audio Note DAC combo running into the Custom Heathkit/EL34 based PP amps, driving the Sonist Concerto 2's."
Havard, a customer in Norway - AudioCircle.com 2009 posting: ". . . about a month ago I found a pair of speakers that I just HAD TO BUY! They are called Sonist and made by a dude called Randy Bankert. He lives and produces these speakers in California as well. So once again my intuition (and ears) bring me to California for high quality HiFi products."
Audiogon High Efficiency Speaker Forum comment re recommended speakers for 300B 8wpc SET amp by Mor2bz on 12-28-08: "Sonist - more lively than Audio Note and a terrific bargain."
Racamuti - Audio Asylum April 2008 customer comment: "I have a pair of Concerto 2s that are just fantastic with my 5 watt amps!"
November 2005 VTV show report by Rick R.: "Best Monitor Speakers - Sonist."
November 2005 VTV show report by Jon L: "Seriously good music with strong bass and coherent integration."
AlexR - Audiogon audition comment: "I auditioned a pair of the Sonist Concerto 2's with a Fi X 2A3 [3wpc]. I thought they were excellent and a definite upgrade with big improvements in almost all areas."
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