Rethm coming out with bookshelf speakers - Aarka
- Thread starter PCA
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mpw
Guest
Look on page 3 of the article
These are powered speakers and look so nice..
These are powered speakers and look so nice..
subhobh
Active Member
I believe, yes. So it much be an active powered speaker! Very clever move. It should be a fascinating one.
PCA
Active Member
The quotes from Jacob (reproduced in the write up) suggest he ain't convinced about the advantages of bookshelf speakers over compact floorstanders and is purely doing this to satiate customer demand
I have been following it aswell. I spoke to Jacob a few days back. These are actives with 5 inch widebander and dual bass drivers. It has option an switch to an external amplification of choice for main driver. Due to be out in a couple of months. Excellent pricing as indicated by him.
Also the enclosures of Maargas and Saadhnaas have gone through an upgrade for mid bass correction. Drivers configuration are the same though.
Also the enclosures of Maargas and Saadhnaas have gone through an upgrade for mid bass correction. Drivers configuration are the same though.
It would be unfair to compare bookshelves to larger designs.
PCA
Active Member
Rethm Aarka listed on the US/North American distributor webpage for $3250 a pair
wellpleasedav.com
Well Pleased Audio Vida
wellpleasedav.com
PCA
Active Member
liverpool_for_life
Well-Known Member
The comment about "just fans" and needing a "100% fail-safe solution" suggests a final solution that has something in addition to the fans. IMO.
Slightly off topic, but as mentioned in the 6 moons review, quite a house.
www.meta-space.in
Metaspace - JACOB GEORGE RESIDENCE | Kakkanad, Kochi
JACOB GEORGE RESIDENCE | Kakkanad, Kochi,This house was designed to illustrate several design ideas that Jacob George has long held, but never been able to implement. It is designed to be totally modular, with comfort and ease of maintenance (apart from the usual architectural niceties) being...
www.meta-space.in
No fans in the final design
I got a chance to hear these speakers at Kochi. As always, Jacob was a great host. Besides the Aarka, also spent some time with the Saadhanas.
Before that, some background on my experience with Rethm speakers. I owned the older, Lowther based Sadhanas many years back. This was when I was living in Mumbai. Absolutely loved the speakers, paired with the Gaanam amp. After moving to Bangalore, I never had the right room for them. When I moved to my own home here, the room I identified as the music space was too small to accommodate them. I've been using other speakers for the past few years. When I saw the Aarkas, it piqued my interest.
The Aarkas I heard are with the original amp design sent for review to 6moons. The internal amp has since been upgraded for higher transparency, although tonality apparently remains similar to the older version. The new version is included in the batch currently being produced. I also tried the speaker with the Rethm tube amplifier. A quick note on the differences I noted between the two amps. First, resolution was a shade better with the external amp – noticeable if you are listening for it. However, even with the internal amps, resolution was pretty good. Second, the internal amps were better at making the speakers disappear. With those playing, I couldn’t tell which speaker was playing from the listening position. I had to walk up to them to confirm. With the external amp, I could make out – maybe it just had to do with the visible speaker cables.
My impressions of the Aarka speakers and some basic comparisons:
Before that, some background on my experience with Rethm speakers. I owned the older, Lowther based Sadhanas many years back. This was when I was living in Mumbai. Absolutely loved the speakers, paired with the Gaanam amp. After moving to Bangalore, I never had the right room for them. When I moved to my own home here, the room I identified as the music space was too small to accommodate them. I've been using other speakers for the past few years. When I saw the Aarkas, it piqued my interest.
The Aarkas I heard are with the original amp design sent for review to 6moons. The internal amp has since been upgraded for higher transparency, although tonality apparently remains similar to the older version. The new version is included in the batch currently being produced. I also tried the speaker with the Rethm tube amplifier. A quick note on the differences I noted between the two amps. First, resolution was a shade better with the external amp – noticeable if you are listening for it. However, even with the internal amps, resolution was pretty good. Second, the internal amps were better at making the speakers disappear. With those playing, I couldn’t tell which speaker was playing from the listening position. I had to walk up to them to confirm. With the external amp, I could make out – maybe it just had to do with the visible speaker cables.
My impressions of the Aarka speakers and some basic comparisons:
- Great tonality. Voices and instruments sound real. To me this was the defining trait of the speakers – they pull you into the music. I guess it’s a single driver thing – every single driver speaker I’ve had over the years does this well.
- They are exceptional at the disappearing act. As mentioned earlier, I couldn’t tell which speakers were playing without walking up to them!
- Resolution is very good – I would put them at par with my existing PMC 25.24 speakers on this front
- One of my bugbears with the original Rethms I had was that they didn’t do well with very exciting music (hard rock, metal etc). These don’t have that problem. They can rock!
- The bass drivers are rear firing so room placement would matter a lot. However, the easy to tune bass controls should make this easy. Even six plus feet from the back wall and bass level at about 35%, there was enough extension to be had. Bass character reminded me of the PMCs – extended, resolved but not impactful the way ported speakers are.
- Subjectively I would place the speakers at a similar level to my old Sadhanas but given how long it has been, hard to have conviction on that statement
- The current Saadhanas are a few notches up on resolution. From what I understand, that’s a trait the larger Rethm speakers share (Maarga / Trishna). They are exceptional on good recordings but you tend to notice the flaws in the bad ones. I suspect for someone who has good quality recordings and a suitable room, the larger Rethm speakers would make a lot of sense.
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The same speaker can be switched from active to passive with a switch
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