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REVIEW: Piega C8LTD Speakers

139.48.219.135


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Model: C8LTD
Category: Speakers
Suggested Retail Price: $13,500 I think
Description: Coaxial Ribbon Floorstanding Speaker
Manufacturer URL: Piega
Manufacturer URL: Piega

Review by GG ( A ) on November 26, 2002 at 06:05:42
IP Address: 139.48.219.135
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for the C8LTD


I don't intend this to be a full product review but just preliminary impressions some may find helpful. I have had the Piega P8ltd speakers for the past 18 months and have been delighted with them. Recently I had the opportunity to try the new C8. The speakers only have about 20 hours on them and from my dealer I understand they need about 200 hours to break in fully. The P8 LTD took about 150 - 200 hours to break in. The speakers may sound worse in the next few months but I will be surprised.

With regards to my system and musical tastes those are listed under my system.

Out of the box the looks are very striking, but much different than the P8 LTD. Wife acceptance has been important for me as they sit in the living room. These are really beautiful but more high tech or modern looking. Because of the shape of the cabinet the speakers appear smaller front on. The finish is superb as one would expect from a speaker this expensive.

In short the sound is quite amazing. I am partial to electostatics and the old Piegas were the best ribbons I had heard to this point. The new coaxial tweeter/midrange ribbon is that much better. It offers more sound that is fast, clear and accurate without being sterile or too bright. The soundstage is bigger, though not abnormally large, and the optimal listening area is larger than with the old speakers. I am not sure if it is the coaxial ribbon or its physical positioning in the speaker, but room interaction problems are less than what I experienced in the past. The bass is substantially deeper, though I am not a real bass hound.

I had a few friends over the other day, all are music lovers and not just equipment hounds. All had heard my system before and one has the P8LTD. To a person they all thought the improvement was remarkable. We did not have the time to A/B them that day. One individual noted that his first impression was that he had never heard a speaker disappear more. Another felt the mid-bass was really remarkable. All strongly advocated me keeping them (twist my arm). Since then I have done a brief A/B with the old Piegas and while they are a great speaker, putting them back in confirmed my impressions that the new speakers represent a significant improvement.

I will limit comments to these until the speakers have a few more months of break in. I offer these impressions only so that if people are interested or thinking about these speakers they can get some information. These speakers are expensive but in comparison to others I have heard in this price range (B&W, Verity, Utopias, Martin Logan) they are not overpriced (its impossible to say something this expensive is a bargain). Of course I have no affiliation with any manufacturers or dealers. I have posted this under loudspeakers and planar speakers, hope this does not upset anyone. Cheers.


Product Weakness: Pending full review, but none to my knowledge except expense. May not fit some interiors asthetics.
Product Strengths: Superb soundstage, wide listening area, rock solid bass


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Musical Fidelity M3 Integrated
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): None
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Audiomeca Mephisto II/Ekainthus DAC
Speakers: Piega P8 LTD
Cables/Interconnects: HMS Grand Finale, Audio Tekne
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Classical, Jazz, Some Popular Vocals
Room Size (LxWxH): 40 x 18 x 20
Room Comments/Treatments: Not enough
Time Period/Length of Audition: 2 weeks
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): Audio Tekne, Rollerblocks, Symposium Shelf
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Piega C8LTD Speakers - GG 06:05:42 11/26/02 ( 3)