Recommended High Efficiency Speaker!

I recently had these speakers made. After owning them since late November I believe I can strongly recommend them.

The speakers are Parker Audio Model 95 Signatures.

Parker Audio came about with one mans obsession to find the perfect speakers for what he considers the perfect amp, a Decware SE84C-Select which is a very simple single ended triode utilizing EL84 power tubes. The man is Dave Dutill (http://www.ParkerAudio.net).

The Model 95’s use two 5.25 inch woofers in an MTM configuration with either dome tweeters (MKII’s) or an ultra light pure aluminum ribbon tweeters (Signatures) with a single capacitor as a crossover, nothing more! Speaker efficiency is rated at 95db 1w/1m at 2 ohms but out-perform my 8 ohm Klipsch’s rated at 97db 1w/1m easily!

These speakers are sold as kits without a cabinet for the enthusiast/DIY’er. If you call Dave Dutill he will encourage you to build them yourself or will help you find someone competent enough to build them for you. I found my cabinet maker on my own. The maker I found was Bob Ziegler ([email protected]) of Arizona Woodworkers (http://members.cox.net/adobewood/index.htm) whom has been designing and building professional speakers for many years as well as prototypes for many very well know speaker companies, he knows his craft and listens carefully. He’s a genuine audiophile too!

Mine were the first ‘Signature’ models made other then prototypes that where auditioned here and there by Dave. Since each speaker is basically custom crafted, mine were made like this:

• 1 ½” MDF front baffle with ¾” else where.
• Natural Cherry veneer sides and top
• 18 coats of black lacquer front and back
• Internal wiring is a custom made ribbon copper in a polly jacket
• Copper binding posts
• Internal dampening and port tuning was done very well.
• Solid brass cone feet.
They weight about 40 lbs each.

I also had a short black pedestal made for use behind my desk.

Kits - $550
Cabinets - $600 approx.
Shipping - $75 (+$60 shipping box and foam)

These photos are at my office:
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These photos are at my home office:
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BTW: I have NO affiliation with Parker Audio or the cabinet maker. I can care less if anyone buys a set or not, I’m just so impressed with them and for low powered amp owners it’s a MUST consider.

 

How do they sound?

As the weeks roll by and I get through more and more of my music collection, I am continuously amazed at just how good these Parker 95 signature speakers are. My amplifier (a single ended triode) just loves these speakers. The level of detail is extraordinary in near-field listening, which is how I listen to these speakers. I listen between four and eight feet and at desk height in a well treated room. I’ve used a variety of studio monitors (KRK, JBL, Roland, M-Audio) both passive and active in my listening room. My prior system relied on a pair of high efficient Klipsch speakers driven by the very same Decware SE84CS amp. The difference was like lifting a burlap sack off the speakers! The Parkers were highly recommended by many low powered tube amp listeners. I had the Parkers made by a professional speaker cabinet maker, assembled and shipped to my house for a fraction of the cost of a commercial speaker. I had auditioned a number of efficient speakers both finished and in kit form, utilizing both multi and single driver designs. The build quality of these speakers and design is hard to beat.

How do they sound? The soundstage on the Parkers is very large in all directions. The speakers commonly vanish and the stage reaches well beyond the speakers boundaries. Focus is very tight, individual instrument placement is very precise with lots of air around and in-between. Vocals are certainly the speakers specialty, they are lush and alluring, NOT overly present or front row. The SET amp just singes so well through these speakers, I can’t imagine listening without this level of midrange ever again. The top end control from the Ribbons is this speakers second best quality. I also can’t imagine listening without a Ribbon tweeter ever again. They are detailed and very extended without ever being bright or edgy yet smooth without being rolled off. The added ambiance and feeling of realism the ribbons offer is unmistaken and never fatiguing. Bass response is good and tight, since I use a high quality music sub I was not concerned with bass response however, I found that these speakers produce a substantial amount of deep bass all on their own making it easier for the sub to vanish in the room.

The speakers are also fast and dynamic. Snare drums are present and real, standup bass fingering is very apparent. They allow an acoustic guitar to easily be in the room with you along with a piano or violin. Recordings that I am very familiar with are showing layers of music I never heard so clearly before. My music tastes are very broad and I have found them equally enjoyable for all so far. From simple folk rock to Mozart concertos, the Parkers remain extremely revealing but always musical, a lot of that has to do with the SET amp which again is performing better then it ever has. The Decware Select excels with the 2-ohm load and with the absence of a crossover, the 95 db ratting is an understatement.

I got the opportunity to listen to them on a friends high powered HiFi solid state system (mostly Conrad Johnson) in a more traditional listening room. They performed better then most(all) speakers he had been auditioning around $3000, although the low powered SET was sweater and more musical, these speakers are not limited to such.