The Sound
Contents
After just a few notes, something strikes us: this is much better than we expected! What an incredibly fine midrange we hear! Very “stressless,” open, insightful… grain-free. This is very different from what you would think when you see this speaker. Prejudice: very dangerous!
Complete and balanced
So… now that that’s out, we can move on into the details. Although we don’t want to go endlessly listing all the tracks and explaining how that sounded. That makes no sense: you don’t know the room and you probably don’t know the music.
Let’s sum it up as: this speaker feels tremendously well balanced. There are no crazy peaks or dips in the presentation. Especially the naturalness of the voices is striking. This is really a speaker for those who like very clean midrange. And that is where voices are present.
What also stands out is that the stereo image is very pleasant. It is more spacious than we expected and much more in focus than many “retro speakers” are capable of. This must be due to the solid phase behavior of this speaker. The crossover is very high so there is extremely little going out of phase in that crucial area. That can have an impact on imaging. Very nicely done.
Detail!
But it doesn’t stop here. We have done several tests using this Graham. Two tests done recently is a test with interlinks; we had to do some preparation for the live stream. This LS8/1 flawlessly shows the minute differences in cables. Very impressive, because that is where imaging and small differences in sound often come into play.
The MSB also ran for a while over these Grahams. Now we do have to admit that the limit for this speaker has been reached. While the differences between the Pasithea and the MSB are audible; they are not big enough with the Graham LS8/1. For that you have to look a little higher up. But still: it is impressive!
Overall
We can safely say that the Graham LS8/1 is a particularly fine and musical companion for those seeking a neutral and balanced reproduction. Don’t expect roaring b ass and loads of warmth. This Graham simply doesn’t do that. This is very refined, smooth and remarkably open and fast!
Hi All.
Quick request if I may, I’m having a reshuffle with my kit.
I will end up with
Mola mola Perca
Lumin p1 pre, dac, streamer
And a choice of Tad E2 or Graham LS8/1 monitor.
I acknowledge the class price/difference etc . Will I miss much If I saved some money with the Grahams for my domestic front room setting.
The Tad I could get are ex demo so nowhere near full price.
I’ve not heard either but read, watched your reviews . Can you add some thoughts please.
Regards all.
Good evening Jaap,
I have a pair of Graham LS5/5 speakers and I agree with your sound description.
I am searching a dac that can be the ideal partner in a very neutral system. The big advantage of the Graham is that thei deliver a very transparent sound without being aseptic…they are very natural sounding indeed, with a great sense of realism and timbral accuracy.
I would like to add a source that can have the same qualities and peculiarities in order to listen every recording in a different way.
I don’t want a source that makes every recording sound the same…
Do you think that a Sonnet Pasithea could have these features and can be a good matching with them?
thank you
David
Yes… Pasithea will do that.
Met interesse heb ik kennis genomen van de Graham BBC retro monitor speaker. Uiterlijk lijkt deze speaker veel op de Spendor BC2 die ik al jaren (vanaf 1977) in mijn bezit heb en al die jaren koester. Door persoonlijke omstandigheden en ruimtegebrek zijn deze speakers al een tijdje niet meer aangesloten en dus niet meer actief. Ik heb ze met trots al die tijd onderhouden en gekoesterd. Maar ik sta nu op een punt waarop ik mij afvraag wat met deze “beauty’s” te doen. Ben ook heel benieuwd hoe ze op verschillende bronnen klinken. Weet iemand in dit forum meer van deze speakers??? Ben benieuwd.
Beste Willem,
Ik raad je aan om deze reactie even onder de Nederlandse versie van het artikel te plaatsen. Je kan de taal wisselen via het menu (vlaggetje en dan kiezen voor Nederlands).