|
For the price there are no competitors. The OPAL is at a whole new level for Event. "List price $2,995, USD." That's for the PAIR. Side-by-side comparison, these trump Sweetwater's "go to" monitor, the Adam S2.5A. Those are over 4k a pair. None of this is 'hype'. There are a number of legitimate technologies in use that make this thing what it is. (I think I remember measuring just under 120dB at one point, but Shh... you didn't hear that from me  ) You wouldn't believe me if I told you how low the amp harmonic distortion is, so I'll wait until production numbers come out.
The motor structure is nearly voodoo, but not unexplainable. The BL 'curve' is linear, so dynamics are maintained and are true. Typical woofers suffer from compression as a result of the sudden dropoff of magnetic field that the voice-coil 'sees' during excursion. That causes harmonic distortion. Not here. Result? Much lower harmonic distortion. Also, it has as much excursion as most JL SUBWOOFERS, yet it's linear excursion unlike the JLs. The x-coil, as it's been called, lowers the CHANGE in impedance drastically. Typical drivers have a steep rise in resistance as frequency increases, preventing them from being efficient at high frequencies. This is also one of the things that bridges the gap between the low and high frequencies, as well as the ability to utilize filtering with very good transient response. This also does an amazing job at lowering harmonic distortion. There's no dip at the crossover frequency here. The ports... I did a bit of prototyping and tuning there. No nasty muddy bass out of the ports. No air velocity noise either. This is all a bit more explanation than what I gave to Alan Parsons.
The guys who did most of the engineering are like the 'Dream Team' of speaker design. Rode did a good job of assembling the engineering office. The analog circuit engineer is freakin' brilliant. I hope he writes a book one day. This all said, I'm not in sales, I get no commission. I'm just extremely happy to be able to be a part of something I'm passionate about, and that will impress the hell out of people. I didn't 'mingle' much at the release/listening preview. I was much more interested in hearing reactions of the listeners.
There wasn't much 'press' in Vegas.. mostly dealers and distributors, and hot chicks, in bikinis, looking hot, so the internet is slow in getting news it seems.
Well, it's time to hit the old dusty trail. G'nite.
|
