I had the good fortune to spend a few hours with Doc at Bottleheadquarters a couple of months ago, just after he installed the impedance compensation networks. We listened to a wide range of music, from just about every source known to Man. We tried good recordings (the Tape Project! OMG!), crappy digital recordings, and everything in between. His new speakers are fantastic.
By that, I don't mean that they made crappy recordings sound good. They are too revealing for that. What they did do, however, was let the music shine through without emphasizing or masking anything. Poor recordings were revealed for what they were, but they were still enjoyable. Good recordings, on the other hand, were unlike anything I've yet heard. One of my favorites is "Saxophone Colossus" from Sonny Rollins. It is one of my reference albums, I know every note and brush stroke, and I listen to it on every system I can. I've never heard it sound this good. The same can be said for every album we tried. Driven by the Stereomour II in Doc's listening room, these speakers kick ass.
For contrast, my personal speakers are my own design/fabrication and are something of a homage to the Omega outlaws. They consist of a Fostex 120a in a sealed volume, rolled off with a single capacitor at around 300hz, driven by my Stereomour. In a separate sealed volume I've got a Dayton sub driven by a Crown XLS1500, digitally crossed over to integrate with the Fostex. At low to medium volumes they sound pretty damned good. Incredibly fast and detailed in the mids, as full range drivers so often are, with gobs of very punchy bass. I've blown the minds of many a visitor with these speakers, and it pains me more than a little to admit that the new Bottleheads are significantly better in every way. All of the detail and articulation, with none of the shout or high-volume breakup I get with mine. The bass is all there and perfectly integrated. Rich and full with no boom.
Am I gushing? Perhaps, but not because I have anything to gain. On the contrary, this is my attempt to give back a bit.
I've learned a tremendous amount from this forum and rarely have much to share that any one of you don't already know. In this particular case I'm one of only a few civilians to get my ears on these things so figured I'd give my best attempt at a useful review. If you are in the market for new speakers, I highly recommend giving these a shot.
