Vanatoo Transparent One Encore

Discussion in 'Speakers' started by JustAnotherRando, Jan 10, 2019.

  1. JustAnotherRando

    JustAnotherRando My other bike is a Ferrari

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    Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but anyways:

    From Vanatoo on the Transparent One Encore: It is our plan to offer the introductory price until we sell all of our first production run or until we ship our first unit, whichever comes first.

    I was told via email that production starts 14th Jan, shipping is still "mid-February."


    Edited to add: I placed my order yesterday. For use with a very small TV/living room with only occasional music use. Reading up on soundbars, they all seem to be varying combinations of sonic compromise depending on how much money you throw at them. And the One Encores seem to have been practically designed with this use in mind (loads of inputs, auto-power on and sleep functions).
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2019
  2. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    Hopefully that means I can still get in on it. They really were fantastic speakers for the size and price.
     
  3. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    I cancelled my order. Ended up getting iloud MMs for $155 and I realized they’re good enough for my desk.
     
  4. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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  5. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    I listen about 10 mins every month on speakers on my desk in the office.
     
  6. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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  7. JustAnotherRando

    JustAnotherRando My other bike is a Ferrari

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    Quoted from the RMAF thread but put here for relevance.

    Confirmed with Vanatoo over email that analog in still goes through ADC. So no point running them off a DAC.
     
  8. jlucas

    jlucas Acquaintance

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    Is the preorder still open? Link?
     
  9. DEATHxMACHINE

    DEATHxMACHINE Friend

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  10. JustAnotherRando

    JustAnotherRando My other bike is a Ferrari

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    Pre-orders closed perhaps a week ago. I got an email yesterday that their first shipment has arrived in the US, shipping to customers starts end of month.
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2019
  11. Stuff Jones

    Stuff Jones Friend

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    These are a whole different level than the TOs. Highs are better, more detail but still smooth (despite the metal dome). Bass is deeper. They're more dynamic. Imaging is better. And they still have that fabulously balanced sound that the T0s have. But they're proper grown up bookshelf speakers, not a desktop speaker you can get away with in a small living room. I've got them in a 16 x 12 room and they have no problem filling the room. I've been using them exclusively with bluetooth and the SQ is still great.

    If Vanatoo wants to, I think they could disrupt the hifi world with these and by putting out a full range floor standing powered speaker in the 1k range.
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2019
  12. neogeosnk

    neogeosnk Friend

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    Got mine earlier this week, agree with everything @Stuff Jones said. Honestly, I thought they sucked when I first go them thought, they sounded worse than the shitty Audio Engines they replaced. But after a few days of continuous play something happened and the bass tightened and the soundstage opened up.
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2019
  13. Dr. Higgs

    Dr. Higgs Boson - Member

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    Just got mine in yesterday but pretty impressed so far. Need to spend more time breaking them in and comparing with the X14As. They immediately sound more resolving and dynamic, but I don’t feel like I’ve been doing the Dynaudio’s justice by preamping with a Lyr 3.

    Only negative so far is that the Bluetooth implementation sounds more etched compared to USB IMO.
     
  14. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

    Pyrate Slaytanic Cliff Clavin
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    If these Transparent One Encores bring the tonality from the Transparent Zero and get rid of the boxiness, they will be an improvement. The Zero was boxy as all hell and the One was muddy as hell.

    The Vanatoo stuff isn't too awful but disrupt the hifi world? How? The Transparent One and Zeros were worse than the JBL 305s in many ways. The guys I know who bought them and the iloud micros bought them as they didn't like the JBLs, the Vanatoos weren't chuck it out the window garbage like cheapo Adams and KRKs, and they were cheap. If Harman (now Samsung), Genelec, and Sennheiser can't engineer a two-way speaker with a 5" woofer that has good low end extension and sounds normal (not like a small, boxy, limited fart box even in nearfield. the ones without audible farts have fart warmth) at a much higher price point with economies of scale, why should Vanatoo?

    Now if Vanatoo could actually do something cool and become the JBLs of active 3 way floorstanders to shove it to the Andrew Jones Pioneers? Then they would be onto something.
     
  15. Dr. Higgs

    Dr. Higgs Boson - Member

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    I ended up swapping these into my living room setup since I got them in last week (Lifatec optical in) and I’m still digging them.

    Mids and treble are coherent and resolving, but they seem to have a bit of the AL “in your face” timbre like the Elex or LS50. I hear a tiny bit of sibilance that could probably be fixed with a notch down on the treble, but nothing offensive. Soundstage is kinda meh, not much depth to speak of.

    Bass is pretty damn good for a tiny box. They can slam quite well without sounding strained or bleeding into the mids (unlike my X14A) but it sounds like the bass has a bit of trouble keeping up with the mids and treble on fast low notes. From memory I think the bass quality is a step up from the LS50.

    My Phil 3 setup sounds much more relaxed and the depth/imaging is greatly improved, but I honestly feel like the detail retrieval is similar (except for low bass).

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2019
  16. Stuff Jones

    Stuff Jones Friend

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    I've not heard the 305s or Micros. I have however read reviews and from what I gather the Vanatoos are the most balanced and musical of the three, fwiw. I have however recently auditioned hifi gear in in the ~4000 range including Monitor Audio Silvers and Totem Hawks connected to a 2k parasound integrated and some 800-1000 dac I forget. I did not feel the SQ was that much better. I'd much prefer the T1E at 600 over those combos at 4k. I'd even more prefer similar sounding full range compact floorstanders at 1k over the aforementioned.
     
  17. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

    Pyrate Slaytanic Cliff Clavin
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    Eh they’re all boxy and fall apart when pushed to a reasonable volume. Which is better is pretty much splitting hairs; they’re all boxy and have a sort of processed warmth to them. JBL is the cheapest and has the waveguide.

    Well they should be better if not totally underbuilt. A 5” woofer in a nearfield or desktop speaker is going to have a much easier time of it than a 5” trying to fill an entire room. The latter is very ridiculous but even the 5 inchers that pretends to play low upclose like JBL LSR 305 or Neumann KH 120 or the Vanatoos sounds very off. Now a 6.5” to 8” woofer is just going to have much more low end extension up close (there’s usually one size or so in each brand that extends low but the mids don’t get too glazed over or sucked out. 7” for Adam, 8” for Yamaha, Neumann? you need the three way) but asking it to fill a medium size room with decently loud bass is still asking for trouble.

    There’s not reallya thing as a good, “compact” floorstander ime. All of these 6” woofer floor standers and three ways and “room-filling” bookshelves where the advertising blurbs have random old farts who listen to Diana Krall, string quartets, and Norah Jones go “I can’t believe there wasn’t a subwoofer!” Clearly have just never heard bass in their life. Techno and bassier metal and hardcore punk would make mincemeat of their setups. Not that 70s rock already isn’t but these farts aren’t cranking Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy to 90 dB; they’re putting on Dark Side of the Moon and Hotel California to flex their shitty gear to other old farts.
     
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2019
  18. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Those old guys have to be careful not to rupture their colostomy bags with all that crazy bass after all...
    Now how do you feel about 3x6" vs a 10" ?
     
  19. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

    Pyrate Slaytanic Cliff Clavin
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    I mean from my own experience, this 6” woofer ”full-range”, “wife-approved way to replace your big woofers” crap all sounds like shit. Even the active crossover ones that are able to cram in chip amps, boost the bass, and slap limiters on them to ensure you won’t blow it up, melt it, or it won’t get too distorted down low. A typical passive hi-fi, audiophool floorstander with baby dick woofers is going be even worse or just have no low end. Even though those 6” long throw woofers can get the surface area but never the excursion to effortlessly play loudly and cleanly. What would you rather listen to old school rap on?
     
  20. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    For the true retro experience?... Listening to 80's MTV on an old CRT Magnavox. For the high rollers, upgrading in the 90's through a Bose satellite+"bass module" system.
     

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