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Upgraded Sirocco S30 Speakers with Bedrock Stands (Oak/Maple) |
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The stock Sirocco tromps most $500 speakers, as our listening comparisons
quickly showed. The new S30 eclipses the reigning budget
champions—Paradigm, PSB, Wharfedale, even Pierre's old favorite, Axiom—and
costs only $215/pair! The bass punch is really arresting for this size
speaker. The treble is surprisingly nuanced and grain-free; the midrange
delivers beautifully clear, eminently musical detail. The class-winning
sound is based on components of hard to believe quality at this price:
silk dome tweeter, woven composite fiber midrange with machined aluminum
phase plug, a superb first order crossover using polypropylene caps and a
super-rigid braced cabinet. The unmodded S30s are five-star rated by
What Hi-Fi.
The S30 has so much raw potential that Pierre happily weathered Maryland
winter blizzards expanding last fall's initial mods. Our Upgraded Sirocco
now incorporates the following internal mods:
• all-new proprietary internal re acoustic treatment
• new and radically retuned port
• crossover dielectric and component upgrade
• Clearview internal wiring
• Clearview ribbon jumpers replacing factory klooges
With these internal upgrades alone, our modded Sirocco exceeds or rivals
any $1000 monitor. But, like every other small speaker, our Upgraded S30
is dramatically improved by low, on-the-floor mounting with adjustable
time-correction (see here).
Pairing the Upgraded Siroccos with a Bedrock-style stand transforms a
great budget speaker into a giant killer, besting $2000 monitors we’ve
compared them to. The Upgraded Sirocco’s dynamic punch is doubled. There’s
a startling increase in low bass extension, bass power, and clean, even
bass articulation. Only the most bass-hungry listeners (and home theater
users) will hanker for a subwoofer. And the upgraded midrange
transparency, speed and subtlety of detail is a huge step upward. You’ll
hear a newfound purity and shimmer in the treble.
The Upgraded S30 is so good, it greatly simplifies speaker choices for
budgets anywhere from $500 to $2000. If you’re shopping in this price
range, our Upgraded Sirocco with optional Bedrock stand is the unambiguous
clear choice. On the other hand, if you are looking to spend more than
$2000, then you must seriously consider the Upgraded Stradas—the very best
monitors we've heard, no matter what the price.
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