In my ongoing struggles with trying to find acceptable ways of getting full range sound in my small room, I decided I needed a change. I've always enjoyed the sound of bookshelf speakers--small, easy to place, versatile, etc., but the Achilles' heel is usually limited bass response. It's not that noticeable until I'd take a CD out to the HT rig, and find more parts to the music revealed by the subwoofer. "Why not use a sub, or subs, in your two-channel rig?" you might ask. Well, I have, and I just didn't like it. It seems I could never get the integration quite right. I suspect this may largely be due to user error (me), but I've tried multiple placements, multiple subs, varying phase, line-level connections, speaker level connections, and what have you, all to less than satisfactory results. So, my answer was to look for full range speakers.
Well, after looking at my ongoing "speaker wishlist," I decided to go with Odyssey Loreleis. Yeah, I know, you guys are probably sick of hearing about Odyssey products here, but Klaus makes good products with excellent customer service. Besides, it was my choice. So there :P
Initially, when I talked to Klaus I wanted to go with a new unnamed midline speaker, but then decided to go "whole hog" with the flagship. On paper, the Lorelei's are 6 ohm 89dB two-way speakers with a frequency response of 32-22,000 Hz. Seems a bit dubious asking that much out of two drivers, but those numbers are accurate, and then some. Curious about the actual in-room bass response, I did some casual measurements using the Hsu test CD. From my normal listening position and using my Rat Shack SPL meter, these are some of the numbers that I got:
80hz--74.5dB
63hz--69.5dB
50hz--79.5dB
40hz--82.5dB
31.5hz--76dB
25hz--69dB
20hz--66.5dB
I applied the SPL meter corrections from the Rives Audio site to those numbers. To me, these speakers do a more than fair job of representing a full range of sound, and that's exactly what I was looking for. For fun, I played Saint-Saens "Symphony No. 3 in C Minor" by Ormandy with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Biggs, and still got a sense of the power and scope of the work. No, the Loreleis couldn't capture some of the lowest tones, but neither did they embarrass themselves. Another surprise was the gentle organ undertones on Feist's "Let It Die" which gives the song a nice floor to work off of. Before, on my bookshelf speakers, the organ was certainly heard, but not felt. It is not a groundbreaking difference, but subtle enough to really lend gravity to the song.
You'd think having one driver handle low and midbass duties would muddy things up, but no. These Scanspeak drivers really over-perform in their duties and don't break a sweat while doing so. One of my favorites for sharp attacking drums is Spoon's "I Turn My Camera On." Again, the speakers do not disappoint. The snare and kick drum come in sharp and well-defined. The snare, a sharp crack, and the bass, a concise thud. Overall, the interplay between the low and midbass sounds remarkable to me. It's almost as if there are two separate drivers working together to form the bottom end. To play both ends of the spectrum with such clarity and power makes me keep popping in CD after CD to enjoy the sound.
For a while, the two main speakers that I used (and reviewed here) were Monitor Audio GR10s and Axiom M40s. The former excel at detail and a forward sound, and the latter present a warm, slightly recessed sound. Well, I'd say the Lorelei's are an almagam of both--not as quite in-your-face as the GR10s, but still retaining the articulation, all the while having the lush midrange of the M40s. Simply put, I would say the Odyssey speaker is richly detailed. One of the first CDs I put on when I initially set up the speakers was Modest Mouse's "Good News for People Who Love Bad News." The trumpets on the "Horn Intro" came on very smooth without the cringe inducing blare I have heard on other speakers. It's kinda hard to explain. There was a definite bite to the horns, but the last little bit of ringing overhang was absent--a clean and pleasing finish.
Along with the silky smoothness of the tweeter, there is also detail--subtle intakes of breath, distinct sound of the pick on guitar strings, fingers moving up and down the fret. Man, it seems like I could go on and on with the cliches, but I feel I get to be on on a bit more of intimate terms with the music.
Individual performances of the tweeter and woofer aside, their ability to play together is what's most important. Top to bottom the sound is very cohesive, forming a dynamic sound with resolving detail. Instruments are well defined, as well as multiple voices. When hearing double tracked vocals, I get a sense of a duet with two of the same voices, rather than a smearing of the two. Likewise, on dense material, such as "Worlds Apart" by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, a clearer sense of each instrument was more defined in the cacophony of sound. Rather than a blob of music, I heard a band making a lot of noise (I don't know how else to say it better).
And now for the bad. As is the case with most Axiom owners, some of those old CDs just don't cut the mustard. Not just old CDs, but poorly recorded ones. Sadly, with the purchase of new speakers that play exceptionally well, the gap between good and bad mastering widens considerably. What a shame. The other day, I was in the mood for some Stone Temple Pilots--ugh, compressed and flat. Almost no dynamic range to the music--just a singular plane of sound. Cranking up the volume sort of helped, but not much. The first week with the Loreleis I made the mistake of listening to three poorly recorded CDs in a row. I thought something was wrong with the speakers--the sound was flat and recessed--until I remembered the difference between sound quality on CDs and put on something good. Like I said, it really is a shame. Good recordings shine. Music is spacious and lush and involving and dynamic and. . .well. . .
better. Bad recordings are poo-like. Sad thing is, now, they are much more noticeable in their poo-ness. Such is the Catch-22 of high fidelity.
In the end, I know I like the Loreleis because I listen to them. A lot. What is immediately present with speakers is all well and good, but the true test is longevity. Like a well-worn Axiom forum saying, I trust my ears to tell me whether I like speakers or not. For the most part, I've always had a hard time listening to speakers in a store for 2 minutes and deciding whether or not I like the sound. I've found that most good speakers sound more alike than bad ones. To discover to what extent the differences are I need to spend time with them. So far so good with the new ones.
Here are some pics:
This last is a shot of a port-tuning experiment. I read about using straws cut to the length of the port to help control bass. Rather than stuffing the port with foam, or a sock, the straws reduce the port size while still allowing the passage of air. You know, it works! I've minimized some of the boom while still retaining a low end. Come to think of it, the frequency measurements I took above are with the straws in place. I guess I'll have to remove them and remeasure to get what the actual effect is.
On a side note, I had to monkey around with the pics to reduce some of the flash effects of the camera. I tried to show the dark rich grain. The last two pics are very close to the actual color.
Sean, I'm glad you got your Loreleis, very nice looking. Guess what, my Khartago face plates are on the way, Klaus forgot in his old age. 
Congrats on your new speakers and thanks for sharing.
