RMAF 2013: PranaFidelity
We talked a long time ago about the path from silence to a perfect reproduction. Every point along the path has no bad behavior, the sound is imperfect only in that it lacks the ultimate resolution, bass response, and dynamics that the Real Thing requires. Everything off the path has nasty side-effects; the further from the ‘path’ the component lies, the worse the side-effects.
The sound in this room with the modestly priced $3950 PranaFidelity Fifty90 speakers was spot on The Path.
The sound in this room, these speakers, are only lacking those things that more money, a LOT more money, would provide. But all too often, in fact the vast majority of the time, those extra funds would bring along with several improvments the misery of unpleasant side-effects: a muddiness in the midrange or bass at soft volumes, perhaps, or a sharpness in the treble, or a myriad world of other audiophile speaker gotchas.
These do everything AOK, at ungodly SPLs [well, me, I rarely listen this loud], in terms of just presenting listenable and enjoyable music. Not too sweet, not too raw, not too warm, not too cold… these are Goldilocks speakers.
With a little gold trim, or mahogany inlay, these speakers could easily go for $10K, or $20K in today’s marketplace. And this is what I personally recommend that they do – so you might want to get your way-under-priced Fifty90s before then. Just sayin’.