Parts Express Classix II Bookshelf Speakers by Paul Carmody

Description: This sale is a for a pair of hand-built Paul Carmody designed Classix II kit speakers from Parts Express and assembled by yours truly. I covered these in genuine walnut veneer and finished them with Danish oil to let the beauty of the grain shine through. This is my first build and I took my time, and they came out very nice. These are quality inside and out. There are a few tiny details that give away the fact they were built by hand, but you'll never see them at a distance. Note: the pictured stands are NOT included in this sale. You can read many reviews on Parts Express as to the sound of these. Here's my review: the amout of bass is astonishing for a stand-mount speaker, and the sound quality comes within spitting distance of my full-size tower speakers. I built these just to prove that I could and because I love the look of walnut, but my wife still likes our old speakers better. I'd rather pass these along to someone else to enjoy rather than let them sit in storage, so long as I'm not losing on the price of the parts. Here's what the designer has to say about these speakers: "I know you'll think I'm kidding, but of all the speaker designs I've done, if I could only keep a handful, these would be near the top of my list. Why? Because not everything I listen to is all that well-recorded--and that's where the Classix II really shine. For example: give them a grungy rock album and they will run with it. Hip Hop, R&B, Pop, Metal, Country--all stuff we spent so many hours of our lives listening to, developing emotional ties to--that music usually doesn't stand much of a chance on a true HiFi set of speakers. But as I said, the Classix II have a "euphonic" quality about them. They gloss over many of the problematic details of popular music (that an "audiophile" speaker would glare at you with), but at the same time are engineered to be revealing enough that most people would be surprised to hear new things in favorite old recordings. Imaging is pretty solid. No, it's not pinpoint like you might get from a speaker with a Hiquphon OW1 or a Vifa XT25, but the soundstage is surprisingly spacious, with a nice sense of separation. I find it interesting each time I turn on a pop song to realize that there actually is a soundstage on the recording, and to hear instruments and voices intentionally placed--not just a mash of sound, like I thought I heard in my car or at the mall. And of course, the big highlight of the Classix II is the deep bass coming from such an unassuming bookshelf speaker cabinet. Perhaps one reason I'm so attached to this design is that I wish so dearly I had it for the years I was living in apartments. During that time--the time before I knew what DIY was--I had to keep listening volumes pretty soft, and all I had to listen through was a dusty pair of old Cerwin Vegas. Kinda sad, really. I loved listening to music, but a sub was out of the question, and the Cerwin Vegas sort of sucked the life out of the music. If only I'd had something like these. Even now, these have superseded the Overnight Sensations as my "late night" listening speakers because they go so low. Plus, the paper cone woofer with its slightly dipped mids goes a long way to eliminate any possibility of listening fatigue."

Price: 400 USD

Location: Boulder, Colorado

End Time: 2024-08-17T14:30:36.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD