Hi Gents

I'm quite excited about making this post....because I am now the proud owner of a pair of the mighty DSP8000s!

A few of you may remember the post a couple of months ago from a newcomer to the forum, in Israel? We made contact, discussed a number of things, all the information checked out, and we proceeded with the sale. True to his word on the forum, Zohar had the speakers sent here and delivered to me before a single penny was exchanged. He actually made a holiday to the UK and was here in person to see the 8ks delivered and working properly, before we set off to the bank. An absolute gentleman, and extraordinarily trusting of him to proceed with the sale in such a manner...hats off to him.

So the 8000s themselves? GORGEOUS! laugh The 6ks are stunning loudspeakers, but the 8ks really make a huge step up again. The extra clarity, timbre, realistic scale, unforced naturalness, dynamics, detail, speed, organic fluidity (I could go on) are an absolute joy. Perhaps the most telling remark was made by my 10 year old daughter though. I'd put on the recent Goldfrapp album, and she opined "They're good" I asked her "in what way?". "It sounds like Goldfrapp are actually there" came the reply. Couldn't agree more. This has to be about as close to having a gig in your front room as is possible to achieve. I have been sleep deprived for the past week due to the late night listening sessions, and everything I've lsitened to (music and movies) just sounds astounding. They do give rise to some interesting observations though...they really show up the quality of mastering on discs, as some previously bland recordings have now revealed hidden depths, yet some which sounded great previously now seem a bit limited.

Any downsides? Well, I can forsee a risk to my ears, as I find I'm running with the volume around 5-6 higher (at 72/73) due to the lack of any audible distortion. They sound so pure and clean that you can turn them up without reaching that natural point of slight "excess volume" discomfort that normally kicks in! The other aspect is their physical size. I'd previously compared their dimensions to the 6ks, and whilst there's only an inch more in height, and a couple of inches on either side of the bottom of the 6k base, they are altogether more imposing. That said, stuffing them into the average UK lounge is to rather squander their talents (rather like using a 4.4litre V8 Range Rover on the school run!) In due course, they will be re-housed in a rather larger room, and will have some decent space to breathe, but for now, they still sound delightful.

Their arrival has of course led to a re-evaluation of the rest of my system. When they arrived, I installed them exactly as I had the 6000s set up, ie same space, same cabling, and run from the Isotek Titan. After a couple of days, the Titan was removed, and the sound improved noticeably. The comments I have made above apply to the post-Titan listening. Only when it was removed from the system did the Titan effect become obvious...bass had been constrained, the soundstage had been flatter, and the midband had been comparatively hard. The whole presentation was much more communicative without the mains conditioner. Interesting, as I found that the Titan was a superb upgrade on the 5500s, a good upgrade on the 6000s, but definitely a detrimental influence on the 8000s. I suppose Bob must have put in a few hours of overtime when designing the 8k power supplies after all wink . I also find myself questioning the need for a sub. I have a REL Stentor III which has been unused since last February when my listening room bit the dust, but listening to the DTS soundtrack of "War of the Worlds" on the 8ks was quite staggering. The level of bass energy was breathtaking, and had the same sofa-bouncing quality which the REL had previously brought to proceedings.

Probably the biggest single issue to overcome was that involving Higher Authority wink . Those discussions were most interesting, and a weather eye is now being kept on my progress in selling the 6ks and other sundry 500 and 600 series units to recoup some of the 8ks cost!

I'm sure I'll be posting again on how I get on with these beauties, but for now I have to go and rest my superlatives.

Cheers!

George

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