Theophany Loudspeakers Owners & Discussion Thread

[Guest Karl Rand]

A brief listen to a pair of Theophony Loudspeakers ‘Rhapsody' ( where do they get these names? Reads like a new religion) in Auckland convinced me these are something very special.

A web search reveals Carlton Audio Video is selling them. Has anyone heard any of the range? I’d like to know if it’s worth flying over to Melbourne to audition them as apparently they can’t be purchased in Tasmania. Not surprising as Tasmania is a strange place where audiophiles are a very, very rare species and dedicated retailers number two for the entire island. 

 

https://www.theophanyloudspeakers.com

Edited August 7, 2019 by Karl Rand

[rodders3]

No idea about those speakers Karl but interested about hifi dealers in Tassie. I purchased my first "good stuff" from Quantum in 1990. They are still around I believe. Who is the other retailer?

[Guest Karl Rand]

8 minutes ago, rodders3 said:

No idea about those speakers Karl but interested about hifi dealers in Tassie. I purchased my first "good stuff" from Quantum in 1990. They are still around I believe. Who is the other retailer?

The only other shopfront retailer I’ve found is Classic Sounds in Launceston. I’ve no idea what they’re like. Their range is very small so I’ve never had a reason to buy from them.  

Legend Speakers http://www.legendspeakers.com.au have a rep in Hobart who demonstrates from his own home apparently. Sorry, but that’s all I've come up with. 

 

 

Edited August 7, 2019 by Karl Rand

[DJGopal]

The owner/designer is somewhat of a cult like figure who claims to have invented them in a dream and who make such ridiculous statements as "our revolutionary cabinet design removes all distortion"

1.  Their cabinets are not a new or unusual design, braced, round backed cabinets have been around for decades

2.  He doesn't publish any technical specs to backup his claim regarding distortion.

However, many people in the industry have been impressed by their sound...

So, buyer beware and take anything that the company says with a MASSIVE pinch of salt, however don't discount them until you've heard them.

P.S.  Harvey Norman stocks them in NZ, might do in Aus too...

Edited August 7, 2019 by DJGopal

[Guest Karl Rand]

HM.I thought the company name sounded suspicious. However, the pair I heard breifly in NZ impressed me. Driven by an all Perreaux pre-amp/ power amp pair of high power to my ears they sounded very ‘musical’. The room was properly treated with acoustic damping.

Not enough time though to make a certain judgement even though I was sober.  

On the other hand they wouldn’t be the first audio company to prattle on with a load of ridiculous statements. Remember the rubbish Mr  Teifenbum dished up about the original Linn turntable?

[DJGopal]

I'd rather buy a set of B&Ws which are designed using all the same principals but were done with legitimate R&D and publish actual technical specs.

Every single thing he tries to make out like he invented is copied from B&W

[sir sanders zingmore]

44 minutes ago, Karl Rand said:

Reads like a new religion

very much so:

"Our audio odyssey all started with a divinely inspired dream…"

[rantan]

 

 

 

Edit:  I have edited my post after some due consideration, as I realise that start up speaker companies should be encouraged and not disparaged on an enthusiast forum

My main and only issue was on somewhat lurid descriptions of designs appearing in dreams and being unique, but as always, one should refrain from comments being made in advance of actually auditioning the product, which I hope to do this year.

 

 

Edited August 7, 2019 by rantan

[rodders3]

1 hour ago, Karl Rand said:

The only other shopfront retailer I’ve found is Classic Sounds in Launceston. I’ve no idea what they’re like. Their range is very small so I’ve never had a reason to buy from them.  

Legend Speakers http://www.legendspeakers.com.au have a rep in Hobart who demonstrates from his own home apparently. Sorry, but that’s all I've come up with. 

 

 

Actually purchased some B&W 602's from them in mid 90's  when living in Lonny - forgot all about them.

[allthumbs]

https://www.stereo.net.au/features/stereonet-visits-new-zealands-theophany-loudspeakers

[andyr]

2 hours ago, Karl Rand said:

Not surprising as Tasmania is a strange place ...

 

Truer words were never spoken! 

 

1 hour ago, Karl Rand said:

On the other hand they wouldn’t be the first audio company to prattle on with a load of ridiculous statements. Remember the rubbish Mr Teifenbum dished up about the original Linn turntable?

 

Wash yore mouth out, KR!  Ivor is up there with Mohammed, Buddha and JC, AFAIAC.    Only truths flow from his gob.

 

Andy

 

[rantan]

18 minutes ago, andyr said:

 

  Ivor is up there with Mohammed, Buddha and JC, AFAIAC.    Only truths flow from his gob.

 

 

 

Of course Andy.

 

 

Edited August 7, 2019 by rantan

[Marc]

For anyone genuinely interested in hearing them and unable to get to Carlton Audio Visual in the meantime, Theophany will also be exhibiting at this year's StereoNET show in October.

[n0bleINtP]

I have no problem with excellent loudspeaker implementations crafted locally by small firms. It is often an economic win for all concerned. Many good examples follow this pattern in Australia for instance.

edit: comment withdrawn

Edited August 7, 2019 by n0bleINtP

[sir sanders zingmore]

Would be nice to actually listen to these. 

@Marc do you know if they plan on sending any across the ditch?

[Marc]

5 minutes ago, Sir Sanders Zingmore said:

Would be nice to actually listen to these. 

@Marc do you know if they plan on sending any across the ditch?

Already here and able to be auditioned at Carlton Audio Visual (and exhibiting in October).

[Guest Karl Rand]

2 hours ago, DJGopal said:

I'd rather buy a set of B&Ws which are designed using all the same principals but were done with legitimate R&D and publish actual technical specs.

Every single thing he tries to make out like he invented is copied from B&W

A common problem with Australian & NZ speaker manufactures. How can these boutique firms afford to duplicate the anechoic chambers etc let alone write the necessary test software for functions such as Fourier analysis when starting out? 

If I remember correctly Colin Whatmough used a large anechoic chamber in China for testing prototypes. Some exceptions are Legend whose owner, Rod Crawford, worked designing speakers for Linn very successfully but how he manages to match Linn’s test facilities down under I don’t know. The results I’ve heard suggest, paradoxically. he’s consistently bettered Linn’s line. 

As to copying from B & W a significant percentage of their latest work is well hidden and thoroughly patented. Instance the material on the 800 series mid-range drivers. From another perspective though the laws of physics are the same for everyone. You just have to figure out which ones work for speakers. 

The equation that interests me is do you acquire enough ‘musicality’ with some local designs at a significant enough reduction in price to compensate for the resources  used in designing something like   B & W’s models? I’ve heard a few local designs ,such as the top Equinox models, that to my ears more than compensated for sonic differences by selling at 1/3 the price of European models. 

Anyhow, the mixture of pseudo-mystical gobbledegook pushed by audio firms  is nothing new, Anyone remember Peter Belt and his little stick on doo-hickies? 

Edited August 7, 2019 by Karl Rand

[Guest Karl Rand]

26 minutes ago, Sir Sanders Zingmore said:

Would be nice to actually listen to these. 

@Marc do you know if they plan on sending any across the ditch?

Aparently they can be heard at Carlton Audio in Melbourne. 

[Guest Karl Rand]

One aspect of the speaker and audio electronics game I find very annoying is manufactures buying in parts of varying quality yet removing the brand name of the manufactures and never mentioning what they’re actually using . Looking at the speakers on Theophony’s site they appear to be a fairly standard range of Chinese sourced drivers but we can’t be sure. 

The other side of this silly game can be seen on something like Spendor's crossovers where commonly available parts are re-labelled ‘Spendor’. Maybe though these are stardard parts but manufactured to a higher specification? There’s really no way for us suckers to find out and the audioporn press aren’t saying. 

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Just stumbled across this which does alleviate some of my doubts. 

https://www.stereo.net.au/features/stereonet-visits-new-zealands-theophany-loudspeakers

"In the early days Garth sourced drivers from fellow Christchurch based company Arvus Loudspeakers, but these days Theophany designs every component (even the screws holding the drivers into each cabinet). 

Bass/midrange, tweeters, and enclosures are all either fabricated in-house or sourced from quality suppliers to Theophany's exacting specifications.

The crossovers are all made with Air Core inductors, wire wound resistors and polypropylene capacitors for Theophany, ensuring consistency and ultimately, quality control over the finished product. "

 

They design their own screws? Has me wondering what’s so unique about them. Trade secret no doubt.

Anyhow, all this has given me an itch to fly to Melbourne to hear the damned things. Maybe they really are something special. Due to divine intervention?

Edited August 7, 2019 by Karl Rand

[maximus]

CAV have a number of pairs including stand mounts, Nick regards them highly and was very involved in getting them here.

[Guest Karl Rand]

1 hour ago, rantan said:

 

 

 

Edit:  I have edited my post after some due consideration, as I realise that start up speaker companies should be encouraged and not disparaged on an enthusiast forum

My main and only issue was on somewhat lurid descriptions of designs appearing in dreams and being unique, but as always, one should refrain from comments being made in advance of actually auditioning the product, which I hope to do this year.

 

 

I understand your caution BUT one reason the Hi-Fi industry has fallen on tough times is the mystical rubbish pushed by manufacturers and audiophiles at the ‘uninitiated’ . Is it any wonder we’re regarded as a bunch of obsessive lunatics? 

[Guest Karl Rand]

27 minutes ago, maximus said:

CAV have a number of pairs including stand mounts, Nick regards them highly and was very involved in getting them here.

If you mean Nick Familari then we’d all better pay attention. However he needs to  watch his back given he’s apparently the importer into OZ and Theophony sells through Hardly Normal in NZ. What’s going to stop them flogging their gear through Hardly Normal in Oz? 

 

Edited August 7, 2019 by Karl Rand

[Marc]

They no longer sell through HN in NZ and haven't for some time now.

Stated here: https://www.stereo.net.au/features/stereonet-visits-new-zealands-theophany-loudspeakers

[Marc]

7 minutes ago, Karl Rand said:

What’s going to stop them flogging their gear through Hardly Normal in Oz?

Never going to happen. They barely sell anything considered Hi-Fi as it is.

Hi-Fi is getting less and less floor space in HN and JB, and personally, I think that's a good thing.

Soundbars are where it's at for the box movers now. Nothing wrong with that either - I have the Senny AMBEO for our general living area and it ticks a lot boxes.

 

/sorry - off topic I guess.

[rantan]

2 minutes ago, Marc said:

They no longer sell through HN in NZ and haven't for some time now.

Stated here: https://www.stereo.net.au/features/stereonet-visits-new-zealands-theophany-loudspeakers

Thank goodness for that.

The worst possible scenario for a start up speaker company would be to place it in HN where the speakers might be demonstrated and if so, it would be for 90 seconds with a crappy HT receiver.