The Quads died after 18 years of stellar service. Not bad for a basement in hot, humid Washington DC. They’ve been replaced by a pair of Stenheim Alumine 2SE’s. A little bass shy, but they do everything else so well, even in comparison to the Quads, that I’m reluctant to mess with subwoofers. Everything else stays the same. The room gets a bigger without the bulk of the Quads.
22 Likes
very nice!!! how far away are you sitting from the speakers?
Nice !
(from a fellow Stenheim owner)
I wouldn’t be - I’ve heard some remarkable demos of what a pair of good low cost subs can do to space and musicality offered by smaller speakers, whilst taking nothing away. It’s all about the tuning - your dealer will be able to help, and if they are a REL dealer, they would I’m sure already be well versed in Subs not just being for Reggae fans anymore.
@rshillas That is a beautiful looking room and I am sure your kit in it sounds marvelous with the Stenheims.
Agreed with all of this. Stenheim make a rather lovely sub now, too:
2 Likes
2.5 meters from the speaker plane; 2.8 meters from the speakers.
1 Like
Very nice set up and room . I had the Alumine 2s on an extensive home loan and ran them with a meridian 808 dac and ch precision i1 integrated . I liked the small footprint and they were very revealing but ultimately the bass was too weak . In the end I opted for the Alumine 3s and ch precision a1.5 power amp and sold the meridian for dcs ( bartok and then Rossini apex ).
6 Likes
Very interesting but not something I’m going to pursue while the current tariff of 39% on imports from Switzerland is in effect.
Good choices all, although I did audition the Alumine 2 against the 3 and preferred the former for what it does (make the speakers disappear) as opposed to what the latter does (better bass, broader spectrum).
My digital front end remains Rossini Apex stack and Berning amplification.
1 Like
I’m very much with Matt and Ben on this. A pair of subs can do wonderful things (with floor standers as well as bookshelves) if they’re dialed in correctly.
Anyway, congrats on your new speakers. That’s a really wonderful looking room, I can well imagine how great everything is sounding!
6 Likes
I’m a big Berning fan with the same Rossini front end. Respect!
1 Like
Sub user here 
used for presence and weight at low volumes.
3 Likes
Those Stenheims must sound amazing in such a well treated and spacious room! Congrats and I’m sure you’ll enjoy them for years to come. Any more detailed thoughts on how they compare to the quads? I love my Stenheims!
2 Likes
Today I attended a listening session with Wadax Studio Player, Pilium Leonidas Integrated and the new Magico S2, just re-calibrating my ears after several weeks of intense enjoyment of my new TAD E1TX-K’s.
As far as can be judged in the short period of such a limited session, there was nothing wrong with the sound, it was excellent.
Now sitting on the couch, listening to my home system, I notice that everything certainly sounds just as great etc. To me a confirmation I made the right choices for components and cabling, at least for my ears 
17 Likes
If Dad plays “Dark side of the Meown” one more I time, I swear… 
6 Likes
A wider view of my setup….
• Linn LP12, Keel, Trampolin2, Audio Origami PU7ti, Dynavector TKR, Revolver, Karmen, Evenstar (Radikal lurking on a separate shelf behind the left speaker) (Dynavector Phono lurking underneath the rack)
• Accuphase C3900 pre amp
• dCS Apex Rossini
• dCS Rossini Master Clock
• Accuphase A80 Class A power amp
• Bowers and Wilkins 801 D4 (with ChordMusic upgraded jumpers)
• Transparent Ultra Balanced connectors, Naim SuperLimina Speaker Cable, Cardas/Chord power cables, Chord PowerHaus M8 Power Strip. Melco S100/2 and Roon Nucleus+ tucked away. Blue Jeans Cat6E Network Cable. Quadraspire X-Reference rack and Floor Protectors.
…sounds utterly brilliant to me. Now taken to having the DAC screen off. Still miss a nice screen showing the artwork at a glance towards the rack - but miss having two racks less.
As an aside - anybody looking for the most comfortable Sofas in the world - I have the answer. It’s the Ligne Roset Togo modular sofa. We love it.
16 Likes
We also have the Togo sofas, although not in the listening room. They are quite low and can be a challenge for the less agile or more senior, but very comfy as you say.
2 Likes