[zachchen1996]

 Well I have some balanced cables on order coming tuesday.I am peaked with anticipation on the peformance of this promising looking active monitor.

Can you compare the EDM performance of the stealth 8s vs the airmotiv 5s?

 

[buson160man]

 Well the cables came late tuesday afternoon, I hooked them up to my audio research ls2 mkII preamp yesterday and fired them up just using my old denon 3931ci universal player.I am not going to make any serious observations till I get used to the sound and some break in time on the new speakers and cables.My initial impression after a casual listen for a few hours is that the eight is definitely a step up from the airmotiv six. Even with the supreme fuse and emotiva iec power cord upgrade on my sixes the stealth eight sounds better with the stock power cables and fuses.
  It has better tonality and more body to the sound and better imaging.I have the bass ramped down by 6 db though it is tough beeing an audiophile while renting an apartment. You have to be considerate of your neigbors and especially the landlord.Hopefully next time the landlord and neighbor are away I can ramp things to the flat settings and let things fly so I can see what these speakers can really do.
  But even with the bass ramped down the eights have enough body to them to make them satisfying and that is only with a few hours on them.
 I am sure they will get even better with time. I just wonder what they will sound like with the fuse and power cord upgrade? Well that is later I have to let things settle in before I can make some definite observations of the stealth eights sound.Actually this is the first time that I have heard my audio research ls 2 mkII in balanced fashion and I like things already.With the balanced drive I need a noticeably lower volume setiing for a given volume.Those extra 6db I feel could come in handy even though I can not use them in my apartment.

 

[zachchen1996]

 Well the cables came late tuesday afternoon, I hooked them up to my audio research ls2 mkII preamp yesterday and fired them up just using my old denon 3931ci universal player.I am not going to make any serious observations till I get used to the sound and some break in time on the new speakers and cables.My initial impression after a casual listen for a few hours is that the eight is definitely a step up from the airmotiv six. Even with the supreme fuse and emotiva iec power cord upgrade on my sixes the stealth eight sounds better with the stock power cables and fuses.
  It has better tonality and more body to the sound and better imaging.I have the bass ramped down by 6 db though it is tough beeing an audiophile while renting an apartment. You have to be considerate of your neigbors and especially the landlord.Hopefully next time the landlord and neighbor are away I can ramp things to the flat settings and let things fly so I can see what these speakers can really do.
  But even with the bass ramped down the eights have enough body to them to make them satisfying and that is only with a few hours on them.
 I am sure they will get even better with time. I just wonder what they will sound like with the fuse and power cord upgrade? Well that is later I have to let things settle in before I can make some definite observations of the stealth eights sound.Actually this is the first time that I have heard my audio research ls 2 mkII in balanced fashion and I like things already.With the balanced drive I need a noticeably lower volume setiing for a given volume.Those extra 6db I feel could come in handy even though I can not use them in my apartment.

Just wait unitl you have those babies burned in for several hundred hours. I remember when I first got my airmotiv 4s and when I first played them, they were muddy as crap, but once burned in, Woo!

 

[kazsud]

Quote:

 Well the cables came late tuesday afternoon, I hooked them up to my audio research ls2 mkII preamp yesterday and fired them up just using my old denon 3931ci universal player.I am not going to make any serious observations till I get used to the sound and some break in time on the new speakers and cables.My initial impression after a casual listen for a few hours is that the eight is definitely a step up from the airmotiv six. Even with the supreme fuse and emotiva iec power cord upgrade on my sixes the stealth eight sounds better with the stock power cables and fuses.
  It has better tonality and more body to the sound and better imaging.I have the bass ramped down by 6 db though it is tough beeing an audiophile while renting an apartment. You have to be considerate of your neigbors and especially the landlord.Hopefully next time the landlord and neighbor are away I can ramp things to the flat settings and let things fly so I can see what these speakers can really do.
  But even with the bass ramped down the eights have enough body to them to make them satisfying and that is only with a few hours on them.
 I am sure they will get even better with time. I just wonder what they will sound like with the fuse and power cord upgrade? Well that is later I have to let things settle in before I can make some definite observations of the stealth eights sound.Actually this is the first time that I have heard my audio research ls 2 mkII in balanced fashion and I like things already.With the balanced drive I need a noticeably lower volume setiing for a given volume.Those extra 6db I feel could come in handy even though I can not use them in my apartment.

Nice!! I'm glad they are noticeably better.
 
Are the tweeters in the 8s and bigger then in the 6s?

 

[buson160man]

 I have been working at tweaking my set up the last couple of weeks.I have taken the plunge and purchased hifi tuning fuses for my stealth eights.The fuses have a difference the sound is more relaxed now and the sound has been getting better the last couple of days. I still will not be making any value judgements for a while because the speakers need time to breath and loosen up.
  Today I made another change to my set up I purhased some blue tack(dap adhesive picture and poster adhesive,much cheaper than bostik blue tack and very similar) from home depot.I added the blue tack to secure it to the speaker stand (four post sound anchors,two feet tall) and to provide some isolation as well from my speakers custom made granite tops which I added to the stands along time ago.
  Well I fired my set up up and set up my denon universal player and have started playing the avengers movie on the set up.Of course only the two channel mix down from the denons rca outputs.Wow the change was definitely worth the effort.The speakers definition has improved in general and there is more space to the sound now. Five of the stealth eights would make a pretty decent home theater set up.Add a subwoofer maybe the high end paradigm and you would have a serious home theater system.Five steath eights would give you two thousand watts rms that is two thousand active watts which makes for a lot less power loss through passive crossovers.These babies are going to be pretty dynamic once they have completly broken in.
   I am using my audio research ls2 mk II preamp running it balanced(only on the output side) to my stealth eights.I addeed a herbies audio labs tube damper to my audio researches input double triode tube last week to good effect.It displaced the two O rings that were supplied with the preamp  when I bought it used.The change was beneficial the preamp sounded a bit overdamped with the rubber O rings.The sound is a bit more open now and spacious with the new tube damper in place.The overdamped quality is largely ameliorated now.
  I am really enjoying the ride right now.I have to get back to the movie now.I will be making further comments as things progress in the break in process.

 

[Sphinx]

 I have been working at tweaking my set up the last couple of weeks.I have taken the plunge and purchased hifi tuning fuses for my stealth eights.The fuses have a difference the sound is more relaxed now and the sound has been getting better the last couple of days. I still will not be making any value judgements for a while because the speakers need time to breath and loosen up.
  Today I made another change to my set up I purhased some blue tack(dap adhesive picture and poster adhesive,much cheaper than bostik blue tack and very similar) from home depot.I added the blue tack to secure it to the speaker stand (four post sound anchors,two feet tall) and to provide some isolation as well from my speakers custom made granite tops which I added to the stands along time ago.
  Well I fired my set up up and set up my denon universal player and have started playing the avengers movie on the set up.Of course only the two channel mix down from the denons rca outputs.Wow the change was definitely worth the effort.The speakers definition has improved in general and there is more space to the sound now. Five of the stealth eights would make a pretty decent home theater set up.Add a subwoofer maybe the high end paradigm and you would have a serious home theater system.Five steath eights would give you two thousand watts rms that is two thousand active watts which makes for a lot less power loss through passive crossovers.These babies are going to be pretty dynamic once they have completly broken in.
   I am using my audio research ls2 mk II preamp running it balanced(only on the output side) to my stealth eights.I addeed a herbies audio labs tube damper to my audio researches input double triode tube last week to good effect.It displaced the two O rings that were supplied with the preamp  when I bought it used.The change was beneficial the preamp sounded a bit overdamped with the rubber O rings.The sound is a bit more open now and spacious with the new tube damper in place.The overdamped quality is largely ameliorated now.
  I am really enjoying the ride right now.I have to get back to the movie now.I will be making further comments as things progress in the break in process.

Buson,

What kind of music do you think sounds best out of these? I'm mostly into electronic but do listening to others also like Mike Oldfield etc.. I'm thinking of buying either the 6 or 8 and pairing it with my Totem Storm and hooking them up to my AV9.

 

[buson160man]

 Well it is now almost august. I got side tracked on the break in process because I purchased a teac ud 501 dsd dac which I had been breaking in with my headphones for a while. Well I think my dac is probably pretty well fleshed in so I thought it was time to get back to breaking in my stealth eights. I have been using them for a little bit over a week  and with the new dac and things sounded a bit better. I did a power cord shootout with some of my power cords this week but I was restricted to the ones that were two meters in length. I tried three my harmonic tech ac-11,my emotive and my cable pro reflection power cables. And the winner was the cable pro reflection it gave the most spacious presentation and the best bass definition along with being more open sounding in general. So I ordered a pair of cable pros best revelation power cords to try with my stealth 8s. They were not inexpensive at 310.99 each(of course you need two) so they ran me over 600 dollars for two 8 foot cords(ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) but I have the thirty day free trial period to see if they are worth the premium(around 200 dollars)over the less expensive reflection power cord that I presently own.
  We shall see. I am still trying to find the right combination that will reduce the speakers propensity in my set up for forward sound. I am trying to find the right combination to give me a more three dimensional result with more depth and move the sound back a bit so it is not as forward sounding . This is still a work in progress. I have to say I still do not think the speaker is fully fleshed in yet. I am hoping that as it does maybe that forwardness will be ameliorated. Time will tell.

 

[zachchen1996]

 Well it is now almost august. I got side tracked on the break in process because I purchased a teac ud 501 dsd dac which I had been breaking in with my headphones for a while. Well I think my dac is probably pretty well fleshed in so I thought it was time to get back to breaking in my stealth eights. I have been using them for a little bit over a week  and with the new dac and things sounded a bit better. I did a power cord shootout with some of my power cords this week but I was restricted to the ones that were two meters in length. I tried three my harmonic tech ac-11,my emotive and my cable pro reflection power cables. And the winner was the cable pro reflection it gave the most spacious presentation and the best bass definition along with being more open sounding in general. So I ordered a pair of cable pros best revelation power cords to try with my stealth 8s. They were not inexpensive at 310.99 each(of course you need two) so they ran me over 600 dollars for two 8 foot cords(ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) but I have the thirty day free trial period to see if they are worth the premium(around 200 dollars)over the less expensive reflection power cord that I presently own.
  We shall see. I am still trying to find the right combination that will reduce the speakers propensity in my set up for forward sound. I am trying to find the right combination to give me a more three dimensional result with more depth and move the sound back a bit so it is not as forward sounding . This is still a work in progress. I have to say I still do not think the speaker is fully fleshed in yet. I am hoping that as it does maybe that forwardness will be ameliorated. Time will tell.

Overall do you think the stealth 8 punches much higher than its $1280 asking price?

 

[TooPoor]

 Just ordered a pair with a Schiit Modi (will also be using my VLink 192 UBS/SPDIF)... Pretty excited. Impressions in a week!

 

[Sphinx]

TooPoor can't wait to here your impressions? I think in 2 months if all goes well I'll be ordering a pair. I might even grab the DAC they offer, or a tube DAC if I find the right one with volume control

 

[TooPoor]

 Its really unfortunate as I unloaded all my headphone gear including a great DAC to help fund a new car/house. I think the Modi will be perfect for starting off. I've had it before and liked it for what it is. I really was hesitant to pull the trigger on these as they are 'kind of' expensive with a lot of other active speakers to be had. But I didn't want to go through getting a receiver, amp, etc. My only concern is my new listening room might be too big for these...11'8x19'10. But I know NOTHING about speakers, only headphones...

 

[buson160man]

  Well the cable pro reverie power cables arrived Thursday(wow I just ordered them Monday). I have hooked them up to my stealth 8s and have been playing movies to flesh them in. They seem to have very good spatial properties after a couple of days. The stealth 8s tendency to sound somewhat analytical has subsided somewhat. I only have about maybe 10 hours on the cable so far. the recommended break in period is between 100 to 200 hours as stated in the handout that came with the cable. The stealth sounds pretty accurate with respect to reproducing spatial effects in the movies I have played so far. Well I will be getting back to playing some more movies today and see what more time on the reverie power cables does to the sound of the stealth 8s. I will keep posting my observations while the cables are breaking in.

 

[Sphinx]

 Its really unfortunate as I unloaded all my headphone gear including a great DAC to help fund a new car/house. I think the Modi will be perfect for starting off. I've had it before and liked it for what it is. I really was hesitant to pull the trigger on these as they are 'kind of' expensive with a lot of other active speakers to be had. But I didn't want to go through getting a receiver, amp, etc. My only concern is my new listening room might be too big for these...11'8x19'10. But I know NOTHING about speakers, only headphones...

I hear ya, I sold my headphone setup in my signature to put a down payment on my house. Now its time to get back into hifi...

 

[buson160man]

 Well the cable pro reverie power cords seem to be getting better with more play time. I am very pleased with the steering effects on movies with the stealth 8s and the cable pro power cables. The speakers are starting to disappear and dynamics are improving with the new power cables hooked up to the stealth eights.

 

[buson160man]

 Well I feel it is finally the time to comment on the performance of my stealth eights. It has been a long and at times uncertain journey. I had a pair of sixes I purchased in January which I was using and was pretty satisfied with their performance. About three months later I believe it was april I browsed the emotiva website and saw they had the eigths on sale. I decided to take the chance and bought them. When I initially hooked them up they had a forward presentation that was pretty analytical. For the most part they were not a easy listen. With some break in they started to relax a bit but they never seemed to lose the forward sound quality that they possessed. The first tweak I tried was to upgrade the stock fuses with hifi-tuning supreme fuses. Things improved somewhat the sound becoming more relaxed but I still found the presentation to be more forward sounding than desirable. There just was not much depth to the sound. Was it my equipment combination? But the sound with my airmotiv sixes was not as forward and there was a sense of some depth with my cds in my set up. I tried a few of my aftermarket power cables that I had that were long enough though barely at two meters length. I had a three way power cable shootout with my emotiva , my harmonic technology ac-11 and a cable pro reflection cable. The winner was the reflection it being to be the only cable that had a good sense of space to the sound and made the eight more open sounding. The bass also seemed to be better resolved as well with the reflection. I decided I would take my chances with their best cord. Besides there is a thirty day money back guaranty so I  ordered their reverie cords while they were not inexpensive at 310.99 for 8 foot lengths they were not as outrageously priced compared to my kubala and nordost cables.  Those would have easily cost at least a thousand dollars each which makes no sense on a pair of speakers that set me back a bit over 1300 when I bought mine(DAMN THEY LOWERED THE PRICE AFTER I BOUGHT MINE AND THE THIRTY DAY TRIAL PERIOD HAD EXPIRED) Well back to the review I hooked the reveries up initially in my desk top set up to my emotiva airmotiv 5s and after  a bit of break in they started to sound more spacious than I remembered them before.
   I got side tracked a bit later after I bought a teac ud-501 usb dsd dac. I spent some time fleshing the dac in on headphones and I got away from speaker listening for a period of time.
After the dac was fleshed in sufficiently I moved it into service on my living room set up with the stealth eights .The  sound was an improvement but I still had that forward quality to the sound that was off putting.
  I was using my emotiva power cables on the eights in my living room set up. So I moved the new cable pro reverie power cables to the eights. After a little more break in the eights started to get a bit more spacious but still had some of that forwardness that I had sensed. I spent some time playing movies through the stealth speakers in my living room. As I played movies I noticed as time went by that the sound became more spacious yet and the audio effects on movies were being much better resolved. Yesterday I hooked my new dac up to my preamp and fired up the stealth 8s and played it some last night. Things were more spacious and there was now a sense of depth to the music. I let things warm up overnight and listened this morning. Well the eights had arrived and the cds have a much more vivid presentation while at the same time a more relaxed and natural sound .
  I have been playing reference cd after reference cd and I have never been more satisfied with any of them before.
  The eigths are winners but I strongly advise you to upgrade the fuse and power cords with the hifi tuning supreme fuse and a pair of cable pro reverie power cable. The combination is magical.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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