Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: GR Research A/V-1 Speakers by jonbee

Model:	A/V-1
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$300 kit (with Sonicaps upgrade)
Description:	small 2-way monitor
Manufacturer URL:	GR Research
Manufacturer URL:	GR Research

Review by jonbee ( A ) on February 06, 2003 at 16:47:00
IP Address: 12.228.10.1

Add Your Review
for the A/V-1

This is a review of a pair I received from Danny, with Sonicaps, Black Hole, and cherry wood finish. The finish is quite nice, certainly a giant step up from the usual plastic finish you get for $600. There are grills that are held in place magnetically, so there are no extra holes on the fronts to mar the appearance with the grill off. A very nice touch, indeed.
The first thing that struck me about the sound is the uniformity and coherence of the character across the band. This kind of integration is something I appreciate in a well worked out design, and Danny's creations with the series xovers excel in this regard. No part of the spectrum sticks out, either because of emphasis, or coloration, or dynamic abnormalities. It is a seamless picture. Within that picture there is very good detail, an open soundstage, fine dynamics, and surprising body and weight. Coloration is quite low, without any obvious areas of emphasis. On the LOTR dvd, the bass special effects were quite weighty, although certainly not roomshaking. Large horns have the body they should, while voices are clear, distinct and without extra boom or coloration. Highs are very clean, natural and smooth. Depth is good to very good, as is the width of the soundstage. They sound a lot bigger than they are. A very credible performance all the way around for a smallish speaker.
For comparison in their price class, I would favor these over the Paradigm 20, or NHT 1.5, or even the much more pricey Soliloquy 5.0, although the 5.0 has a nicer cabinet yet (I've owned all of these). In all these cases the superior integration, dynamics and uniformity of sound are factors.
An interesting comparison is with the Paradox 1. The bass and midrange is very similar, for good reason, but the high end is less prominent and sounds less extended than the P1 (Danny tells me this has more to do with dispersion than on-axis response). The AV1 has good, clean high end detail, and to my ears integrates better with the midrange than the P1, but the P1's top end does project more. I think taste comes into play here, but I think perhaps over the long run the AV1 top end may be easier to live with, particularly with SS amps and with video material.
What do you not get for $600?
First, the ultimate volume ability is a bit limited, but no worse than any system with a 5.5 in. woofer. A sub would help a lot here, as well as fleshing out the bottom below 50 hz. or so. Compared to my 5x as expensive Merlin TSM-M, depth, detail, and space between instruments is much better with the Merlin, and the bass is deeper. So you do get noticeably better sound, as if the focus was increased a few notches, but a lot of people might conclude that the sweet part of the price/performance curve is right about where the AV1 is. I think they are a real contender in the under $1000 class.

Product Weakness: Won't play loud or very deep.
Product Strengths: Very good balanced performance. A soundstage that draws you in, and no obvious anomalies to disract you from the music. Very nice cabinets for the $.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	PS HCA2
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	CJ PFR
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Sony 7000 as transport, Monarchy DIP upsampler,MSB Gold DAC
Speakers:	VMPS 626R, Merlin TSM-M, Legacy sub
Cables/Interconnects:	.99999 braided silver/teflon and TQ I/Cs
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	lots
Room Size (LxWxH):	22 x 18 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments:	Lots of glass, a bit bright overall
Time Period/Length of Audition:	2 days
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Monster Cable 2000(front end only)
Type of Audition/Review:	Home Audition

Product Weakness:	Won't play loud or very deep.
Product Strengths:	Very good balanced performance. A soundstage that draws you in, and no obvious anomalies to disract you from the music. Very nice cabinets for the $.