SGR Audio Owners & Discussion Thread

[tuyen]

Steller review. Can't wait to be able to hear a pair of SGRs when more come to Perth

[Grimmie]

Hi Tuyen,

Now I feel really guilty that I have not had more than just a few people around to have a listen to my MT3A's in the forteen months that I have had them here. Especially so with the generosity from eso, Antripodean Curley Joe, and others with loans and offers of gear to try-out. It's not that I am too mean or shy or hermit-like, it's more that my system is still a work in progress, and I would not like it to be 'judged' while it is still incomplete. It should not be much longer before I do get the Elite amps to replace the not-so-disgraceful plate amps which have done me so well for this interim period, I know a few over East already have them and love them. Then I will be more than happy to have a GTG of those who may be interested, I hope you'll be in for that when it happens Tuyen.

Hopefully see you then,

Grimmie.

[bigears]

Thanks for the positive comments about my review everyone. I really wanted to share my experence with these speakers.

But the Kudos really must be saved for the hard work SGR has done to create these great speakers.

Great work SGR.

[joz]

Well yesterday I happened to be far from home running a few erands.

Anyhow finding myself way over the other side of town I realised that I was only ten minutes from SGR.

Now after reading Bigears comments I was really keen for a listen, so a quick phone call to announce my arrival I was on my way.

Both Stuart and Harry were on hand when I turned up which was a bonus for me,it gave me a chance to ask all my usual sticky nose questions.Big bonus for me.

But what really grabbed my attention is the amount of beautiful cabinetry in groups as I entered.

I'm talking about some of the most exquisitely finished boxes i've seen.

I must say to all that are waiting on their new speakers is that you will not be dissapointed.

from the stunning piano black to rich luxurious timber veneered gloss all I can say is WOW.

Because I was really only passing by only had a brief listen to the new floorstanders,only two tracks really.Then the only one I was familiar with was Dire Straits "Private investigation"

But within seconds I was drawn in and and really quite taken back by both the tonal balance and insight that I was hearing.

The slow single but repetitive bass note was so articulate but when the guitars and Knopplflers voice cut in it gave me goosebumps.

Guys, these are very nice speakers.As Molly would say do yourselves a favour and have a listen.

Oh but last but not least there were an amazing pair of monolithes unfortunaely not yet finished:love,both looked glorious in their shiny deep black finish.

Harry,Stuart...my fingers are tapping can you hear them.

[Sentient]

I will have to be careful because the quality is so good at high vol levels.

:mad: Yes !! The thing about SGR's are, the sound is ultra ultra clean. It's not always obvious when you pump the volume loud. The other thing for me, is the seperation of instruments and voices, everything just seems to have it's own place in the presentation.

I know I'm going to get many years of listening pleasure from the CX4Fs in the Walnut Birl. They are perfect for my needs.

Yes, you will. Congrats on the purchase bigears !

[Guest JohnA]

bigears.

Congratulations on the purchase and welcome to club SGR

I am sure they will provide you with many years of listening pleasure.

Joz, i nearly fell over backwards when i saw the size of the BEASTS.

mate, they are just huge but look damn amazing.

Cannot wait till they are fired up.

[hired goon]

G'day,

Yes congrats M. Grand Oreilles ...

I got word last week that the CX4Fs are nearing completion. It's been a long wait since I put my order in around the beginning of July last year and I am looking forward to finally hearing these jobbies at home in a few weeks (fingers crossed).

--Geoff

[jaspert]

Me too... fingers crossed or tapping, or both.

[Waylander]

Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending a day at the 'House of SGR'.

I was greeted with a warm welcome and had a good chat to both Harry and Stuart at the start and throughout the day. It was a great opportunity to see the effort that goes into developing these speakers and to talk one on one with their creators. I think that is something that you miss when purchasing imported speakers, and is a nice personal touch.

We talked a lot about R&D and the process of developing a range of speakers, amps and other products. In the real world I am paid to ask a lot of questions about people's business from an efficiency and effectiveness perspective and I guess that side of me took over a bit. I am happy to say that both Stuart and Harry were happy to answer any questions I put to them and were very open and frank. It's obvious that they have both invested their lives into SGR and are proud of the "family" they are creating.

I mention ‘family’ as Harry often talks of the ‘SGR family’. The 'SGR Family' are the Ralston’s of course, but Harry is also referring to the people who have either heard the SGR's and liked what they have heard enough to order a pair or taken a gamble and purchased on the numerous good user/listener reviews SGR speakers have received. People have put their trust in SGR and Harry thinks of them as an extended family.

Background

I had heard the Octagons at Norpus' and JohnA's before (although they were both earlier iterations without the elite series amps). I had been greatly impressed by the octagons, but due to the price had never really considered them (or SGR) as they were not within my grasp.

Along comes the CX3B's and CX4F's and suddenly the gap between my (former) set-up of Creek and Epos gear (RRP $10k) and the CX3B's or CX4F's is not so far. As an accountant, it seems the CX3B's and CX4F's represent a very economical price point to enter the world of active speakers.

Audition CD’s

Unfortunately I was working away from home when we were leaving for Melbourne, so I could only demo the 6 discs that were currently getting a spin in my car cd player. I would have preferably selected a sample of music for putting speakers through their paces, but to tell the truth I am not one for critical listening at the best of times and prefer to spend my money on new music which is mostly always badly mastered and can sound woeful (Audioslave anyone?).

The 6 discs I had were:

Eraser - Thom Yorke

Lungs - Florence and the Machine

Mule Variations - Tom Waits

So Real (songs from) - Jeff Buckley

The Resistance - Muse

The best of Nice Cave and the Bad Seeds [Yuck a best of album! ]

This is probably not a bad cross selection of stuff I listen to, but I probably would have thrown in some more acoustic and vocal stuff such as Angus and Julia Stone’s EP’s, The Audrey’s, Radiohead, and some poorly recorded/mastered RATM and Audioslave.

One of the main things I require from a system is that whilst I like it to be accurate and revealing, I want to avoid having a system that makes over ½ my CD collection be relegated to the car only. I don’t mind if it shows it up as a poor recording, so long as it is still listenable and low to moderate levels. I enjoy listening to music, not to hi-fi systems.

It also needs to have some base and ability to boogie with the wick up, because my wife likes to listen to stuff loud!

System

Speaker: SGR CX4F’s

Source: MSB Platinum III DAC fed by MSB Platinum CDIII Transport

Harry suggested the CX4F’s after a quick look at my bass heavy selection.

Listening Impressions

I’ll start with Florence and the Machine. Florence has a beautiful voice and writes a catchy song. I love this album and was disappointed to find it is not that well recorded/mastered. It is still a listenable CD no doubt, but not a high fidelity recording, not by a long shot. I didn’t take any notes on the day, but I do remember Florence’s voice sounding a bit recessed. I won’t dwell on this one.

Next cab off the rank was Mule Variations by Tom Waits. Wow. Tom’s voice is like coal being shovelled into a steam engine. It’s such a deep growl. A beautifully recorded album, it has lots of dynamics and plenty of detail to be revealed. You can hear the piano stool creak as Tom sits on it in the recording studio, the clear separation of each instrument you can even hear the odd bit of spit leaving the lips and hitting the microphone guard. The piano sounds like a piano should. The soundstage is deep and wide, but not unnaturally so.

Next was Nick Cave and Red Right Hand as the test track. Another well recorded track and a good show of what the CX4F’s can do in the bass department! This is a building brooding song and the CX4F’s were able to pressurize the room so you felt the pressure build along with the song. Exciting stuff.

Jeff Buckley sang sweet and high. Not harsh or bright.

Eraser was a great test of bass with only the sub 20hz stuff missing from the CX4F’s. Mostly synthesised stuff and not everyone’s cup of tea, but really tests out those lower octaves and some quite complicated arrangements to test cohesion between drivers. The CX4F’s were incredibly well integrated. My ears could not pick up where one driver stopped and another started.

Muse was not the best recording but still not something that would relegate it to the car. The CX4F’s and MSB combo was revealing but I didn’t find it fatiguing (and I was there about 6 hours!). So whilst it lets you know that it may not be the best recording for critical listening, it doesn’t make you cringe and hit the stop button either. I think this is in part to it being able to deliver great dynamics at low listening levels.

Conclusion

I liked my day of listening so much I put in an order for a pair of CX4F’s (sapelli finish). I had a brief listen to the CX3B’s which were also great, but I like the extra bass the CX4F’s deliver and I have a large room to fill. I also ordered a MSB front end (not the super $ platinum stuff, but the more reasonably priced Powerdac and CDIII combo).

So that should be me done for a while. I just need to break it to the wife and hope she doesn't kill me.

Joz - I also got a look at your babies. WOW. They are impressive speakers!

[Guest JohnA]

thanks for the great read Waylander and welcome to the SGR family as Harry would say.

[Grimmie]

Well-done Waylander,

It's a real pleasure to visit the Ralstons as I well know. It's maybe just as well that I live over this side of the Nullarbor or they would have had to slap a restraining order on me. Having said that I havn't got to hear the CX4F's yet so I have a good excuse to make the pilgrimage again,- maybe.

Anyhow, enjoy those beauties and welcome.

Grimmie

[hired goon]

G'day,

Congrats Waylander on yer purchase of new speakers, DAC and CD player. Sounds like you have found a combination of gear that hits all yer buttons.

I also ordered a MSB front end (not the super $ platinum stuff, but the more reasonably priced Powerdac and CDIII combo).

Strewth ... by my calculations this MSB front-end combo costs more than the speakers. They may be "reasonably priced" compared to the higher-end MSB offerings but it's still way above my meagre budget.

Out of curiosity, has anyone heard the CX3B or CX4F without using the MSB front-ends? I've only heard the CX3B + MSB combo listed above (I think). It would be interesting to hear impressions of these speakers using more mundane CD players/DACs.

--Geoff

[JeffK]

Thanks Waylander, more grist for the thought mill and inspiration to keep on saving for the SGR's, if indeed I go that way in the end. Unfortunately my savings are taking hits at the moment with supporting my daughter who has a commission only job where the wage goes up and down like a yo-yo, helping her get a car which she needs for her job and also her 21st in April. I need to stay focussed and not get sidetracked by silly eBay bids like I made to win a pair of Usher S-520's. Mind you I don't regret winning them really - they are good for their size and price. However if I get the SGR's I think they'll make everything else I have bought totally redundant.

Jeff

[rippingdragon]

It's good to see that others are having some similarly positive experiences at the house of SGR. Thanks for the writeups Waylander and Big Ears, it's made for some excellent reading! Not long to go now until the CX4F's hopefully start rolling out! I'm still haunted by the beauty of the Sapelli finish, I unfortunately couldn't get it past the Chief of Interior Decoration.

[rippingdragon]

Out of curiosity, has anyone heard the CX3B or CX4F without using the MSB front-ends? I've only heard the CX3B + MSB combo listed above (I think). It would be interesting to hear impressions of these speakers using more mundane CD players/DACs.--Geoff

Geoff,

Read my post on the previous page. Or click this more convenient link to it.

Summary:

I auditioned the CX4F's using my Logitech Transporter operating as a Transport, DAC, and Preamp. RRP for the Transporter is around the $4k mark with a street price a little under $3k. I was very very pleased with the results.

[hired goon]

G'day,

Read my post on the previous page. Or click this more convenient link to it.

Ah yes ... I forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me.

--Geoff

[Waylander]

I forgot to mention I think I saw Hired Goons in the Sapelli and fell in love. I have not yet run it passed the minister for finance (although I have said I have placed an order for speakers - so I am almost there!).

I was in the situation where I had no preamp or source (other than my SB3 or a laptop) so I tried to get a DAC that could also act as the pre-amp. The powerdac seemed to offer a lot of the benefits of the higher priced platinum range at a more affordable level. I must admit I have not heard the MSB PowerDac and CDIII transport before - so I took a bit of a gamble, but I don't feel the risk is too high. It reads like it is pretty good and as I am not a critical listener at most times, I probably wont notice a huge difference. I did go way over budget and I may never tell my wife the true cost. When I walk around the house I size everything up with dollar signs and will be moving most of my blu-ray collection and (maybe) my electra power amp (and possibly the SB3 and Aspen Hologram - but I want to hold onto these long enough to try them out!).

I also recently purchased some usher 520's to tide me over and if these don't find their way to the shed then I may sell these and some other gear I have too!

I have also given up caffiene and shaved $10 a month off both my insurance and internet costs as other feeble attempts to justify my blown budget!!!! That should save about $500+ a year

I heard the C3XB's with a Krell front end - but not sure what the street price of the Krell front end is.

[Grimmie]

I have also given up caffiene and shaved $10 a month off both my insurance and internet costs as other feeble attempts to justify my blown budget!!!! That should save about $500+ a year

I heard the C3XB's with a Krell front end - but not sure what the street price of the Krell front end is.

If it's the same Krell FE as the one I saw / heard, you don't want to know.

Ahhh the things we do to sell ourselves on the " I think I'm worth it" line. My DIY bathroom is almost finished (though it's the small things that drag on and on) and I think I must have saved $5K in that way, so what should I do? - Put it in the bank as inheritance for the offspring? or see what other SGR goodies are ready yet.

No Contest !

Grimmie

[bigears]

Great review Waylander.

Congrats on your purchase, I hope you will get just as much enjoyment from them as I do.

Cheers bigears

[handy steel]

Well done Waylander.

Boy there must be a huge waiting line for the CX4F's. Since I only have a small home the CX3B's are for me, And they look better too.....

[bigears]

Too right Handy

The CX3Bs look amazing. what finish have you decided on?

A cracker speaker, enjoy them wont you.

Cheers bigears

[brumby]

A (perhaps) dumb question regarding the CX4Fs.

Is there an "optimum" distance from the rear wall (behind the speaker) for these? The reason I ask is that my present speakers have to be at least 1 metre (preferably more) from the walls to give of their best. Since the room is not a dedicated hi fi room, it would be better to be able to place speakers closer (say 30 to 50 cm) from the wall.

[handy steel]

I dont really know, but since these speakers are not ported I would think they would sound good close to a rear wall.

[brumby]

I dont really know, but since these speakers are not ported I would think they would sound good close to a rear wall.

That would be my assumption too, specifically because they are not ported.

As always, only one way to find out I guess.

[Drizt]

hired_goon, Waylander, Ripping_dragon etc... I hope you guys get your CX4F's soon, as that means my final electronics are well on their way to completion