RFC Rhapsody 'speakers
I was very struck by Paul's Tannoy driver based RFC Fidelos last year. Big Tannoys had not often been to my personal tastes on the odd occasion that I had heard them previously. Paul's Fidelos were more musical and airy than I was expecting.
I have been very interested in the recent development of his new, smaller, speaker design The Rhapsody.
Somewhere in the meantime, Paul was able to make some time to take some business from me and pimp my Goodmans ride. Again, results were impressive. The old Goodmans were completely reinvigorated.
It was interesting yesterday to see them all together...
I took the Goodwoods because I wanted a familiar point of reference against which to judge the Rhapsodies.
The Rhapsodies are breathtaking. Imaging is utterly convincing. Frequency repsonse sounds flat as a pancake from way down low to way up high. There is a wonderful smoothness too. They have the same eerie realism that for me characterises Paul's speakers. However the Rhapsodies are different beasts to the Fidelos. The Fildelos inevitably are to some degree coloured by the fun and games of their Tannoy driver. The Rhapsodies sound more like a purely Paul speaker. They are cleaner, more revealing, more out of the way. The music that comes out of them has so much to merit it and to make you want to keep listening. Simply mesmorising performance. They don't quite have the all mighty impact of the Fidelos, but overall, the Rhapsodies sound more musical and for me, even more listenable than their larger cousins. They have as much bass as anyone outside of a Jamaican dance hall would need, but that bass isn't pounded into your soul like the Fidelos do.
As for the comparison with the Goodwoods. Well, I was very pleased and relieved that my RFC/Goodmans were not shamed. In fact it was gratifying to feel that they sounded as if they were from the same stable. Clearly they were some way behind the Rhapsodies, but with similar qualities around imaging and a realistic and extended frequency response. Overall a highly pleasing and enticing sound.
I am really hoping that Paul will shift some of the Rhapsodies. They deserve to do well. Every moment that Paul has put into their design is evident is how just how musically they perform. To me they sounded remarkable.
I have been very interested in the recent development of his new, smaller, speaker design The Rhapsody.
Somewhere in the meantime, Paul was able to make some time to take some business from me and pimp my Goodmans ride. Again, results were impressive. The old Goodmans were completely reinvigorated.
It was interesting yesterday to see them all together...
I took the Goodwoods because I wanted a familiar point of reference against which to judge the Rhapsodies.
The Rhapsodies are breathtaking. Imaging is utterly convincing. Frequency repsonse sounds flat as a pancake from way down low to way up high. There is a wonderful smoothness too. They have the same eerie realism that for me characterises Paul's speakers. However the Rhapsodies are different beasts to the Fidelos. The Fildelos inevitably are to some degree coloured by the fun and games of their Tannoy driver. The Rhapsodies sound more like a purely Paul speaker. They are cleaner, more revealing, more out of the way. The music that comes out of them has so much to merit it and to make you want to keep listening. Simply mesmorising performance. They don't quite have the all mighty impact of the Fidelos, but overall, the Rhapsodies sound more musical and for me, even more listenable than their larger cousins. They have as much bass as anyone outside of a Jamaican dance hall would need, but that bass isn't pounded into your soul like the Fidelos do.
As for the comparison with the Goodwoods. Well, I was very pleased and relieved that my RFC/Goodmans were not shamed. In fact it was gratifying to feel that they sounded as if they were from the same stable. Clearly they were some way behind the Rhapsodies, but with similar qualities around imaging and a realistic and extended frequency response. Overall a highly pleasing and enticing sound.
I am really hoping that Paul will shift some of the Rhapsodies. They deserve to do well. Every moment that Paul has put into their design is evident is how just how musically they perform. To me they sounded remarkable.
Comments
They now come with grilles with anti-diffraction wadding - which is effective and makes the speakers look much better imo. And their own purpose-designed stands which look cool.
And they sound very good, but you'll have to wait for me to finish writing up the review to get the full story.
:!! ... but as a teaser ... boy, can they boogie! B-)
:-t
1 week later - email arrives containing photos of the latest xover mods .... b-(
For the small business where product is effectively built to order, there is no need for such an approach.
And we can see from Ben's comments at the start of this thread that you had an impressively capable product from when the speaker was 1st announced. =D>
And I'm sure you would be happy to upgrade any previously sold to current spec.
A great product there. As I've said before, they deserve to do well. :-)
Incredible scale and dynamics on that orchestral stuff today. Eerie realism to that piano too.
And, it ain't me.