FR20 Early Reveal

First listening of the FR30’s was with the BHK300’s but in another room so not so easy to compare. But I noticed that with the 600’ s the FR30’ probably had a bigger soundstage better dynamics. I have the BHK300’ s together with BHK preamp, DS DAC and Memory transport…so completely full rigg from PS Audio exept from speakers😄

Nice system! I have Martin Logans 11a now with Parasound JC5, just gave up my Directstream/Transport for an Esoteric DSD player with Dac, getting a separate streamer. I just needed a change from having them for so long! Thanks for your views on the amplifiers! I bet the BHK 300s would rock with the FR20s!

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Never get rid of the JC5!

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I do love the JC5. Ever heard them compared to the BHKs?

I had a JC5 before I moved to a 250, recently sold for a 625 S2. The biggest advantage of the 250 was being able to tune the sound by tube rolling. Otherwise, the JC5 is definitely a fantastic amp with tons of power.

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I’ve never heard the Evo 4 series, but my understanding is that they were designed as a “good for the money” line, while Elysian is Wharfedale’s reference line. So, I’m sure the FRs will sound better than the Evo 4s but also cost several times the price for a comparable size.

I have not.

Part of my fondness for Parasound is their reluctance to participate in the consumer treadmill. They seem to keep products in their line, unchanged, for years. I guess they’ve figured out a financial model to make this work.

Parasound manufacturers in Taiwan I believe and I once heard a rumor they’ve been using the same vendor for decades, at least for some of their models.

This would be nice…and the one used in conventional chassis probably the first kind of „rubber“ that lasts over 10-20 years :wink:


I also think the FR20 will rock with the BHK300’s.
This is my setup today with PS Audio and Piega Coax…sounds really good!
Home loan of the FR20 and test against the Piegas would be interesting :grinning:

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I think your system with your existing speakers might be a done deal.

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Looks nice! Shame we can’t avoid the TV in the middle (same with me), I sometimes put a little blanket over it and I feel the sound gets more focused. Sometimes it doesn’t take much. Would be interesting if you arranged with Mala and gave some feedback on your experience with the FR20, other than that your system seems pretty set!

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Yes, part of my fondness for Parasound is the same thing. Too much hype about next best things very often without anything really new to offer. They make long lasting products that are supported for many years. Plus I use electrostats too now and they are good in that department.

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That’s a cool trio of amps that I bet would make for a fun A/B/C head-to-head mini battle royale

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Happy Cake Day!

If it wasn’t for the insane increase in tube pricing I really wanted an Audio Research GS150. That would have been an interesting comparison as well.

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That is a fantastic setup!

Personally I like having a TV as part of my rig. Our house is small so there’s really no choice. But, like you, I have made the best of it and really enjoy it.

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I was just thinking that a Piega vs FR comparison would be interesting. Battle of the planar drivers!

Robert Harley of The Absolute Sound thought the Piega Coax 711 had good detail but was missing some dynamic punch in the midrange and treble, arguing that this is the trade off with planar drivers. I’m wondering what your experience is.

I’ve got a pair of FR-30’s on order, and I would be interested in a matching center channel. I have a combo 2CH/theater system, so my FR-30’s will be doing double duty.

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First time I listened to a Piega speaker I was struck by the open airy top, vocals and instruments was floating in the air clearly separated from the speakers. The coax ribbons are playing from 450 Hz and up, I have never heard this airiness in the music on traditional speakers with dome tweeters. This open airy sound form the Piega Coax 711 combined with the BHK pre and BHK 300’s with tubes in the front is really a magic combination. I have never missed any dynamic punch in the mid and treble but in direct comparison it could be that some speakers with cone element have more punch.
When I listened at the FR30’s by the local dealer I noticed the same open airy sound similar as for the Piega. The FR30’s though seems to have a more relaxed presentation and less reviling top than the Piega, but that could also be the room and setup. I guess the only way to find out is to do a direct comparison. I have not yet seen any pricing of the FR20’s yet but I guess it will be pretty close to the C711.

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I have not had the pleasure of hearing any Piega speakers in person and would love to. While the piega looks like a beautifully constructed (Swiss) and thought out speaker.

However, their midrange is quite wide and tweeter quite narrow (and cannot be crossed over low) and so there is an issue where the midrange narrows substantially before it hands over to the tweeter. From there, there is an off-axis “flare” at the bottom end of the tweeters range and quite narrow dispersion at high frequency.

In comparison to a measurement of the prototype of the FR20/FR30 mid/tweeter (we have improved this slightly be removing one of those tow small off axis dips around 5 kHz), you can see the off-axis performance is much more smooth (only a very small flare around the tweeter crossover) and that it has wider, more even dispersion above 10 kHz.

Generally, smooth even off-axis response leads to a more even imaging, tonal balance and easier placement, setup and overall sound quality.

Piega C8:
piega
FR20/FR30
FR30 horizontal

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Thanks Chris for sharing this information with frequency measurements and comparison between Piega and FR30/20. It could very well explain the difference I heard between this fine speakers.
I really love my Piega’ s…they are like a “Swiss Army Knife”.
But a direct comparison and listening test between the Piega and FR20 would be very interesting to do.