Re: Another set of 4 pis - my first


Hi Andy, I haven't run them enough to break them in yet, but maybe I can leave them playing tomorrow when the house is empty to get some hours on them. I do have some first impressions though, to partially answer your questions:

"How is the sound compared with your buschhorn MKII? Do the Pi 4 sound as smooth & coherent as the Buschhorn. Do the Pi has better bass? Do the bush horn image better."

As regards bass, the Pi is considerably louder, so care must be taken when A-B-ing the two, and the Pi bass is deeper. The B-horn cuts off pretty fast under maybe 50 or 60 hz, the Pi keeps going, although not into "subwoofer" territory. The Pi has !!very!! satisfying slam and shows no strain at any level that I can stand (cranked up in my living room, they sound great at my neighbor's house 200' away, very clear and plenty of thump). Keep in mind that I use the 40-1197 in the B-horn, which is several db less sensitive than the FE103.

So far, the B-horn images better. The Pi will place instruments left to right pretty well and is not as beamy, but the little horn re-creates a great stage. Break-in will probably make changes in details and nuances, though.

The crossover is seamless, which really surprised me. I keep listening for problems in that region and don't hear any. Some instruments seem to reproduce more accurately with the Pi, but they're both very musical. The Pi sounds very big and "alive", I don't know another way to put it.

If you have room for the big ones, I suggest building them both.

John




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