Lenahan ML1 (or Sunday Morning Tease)

[bpape]

Sounds like a great get together. I'd love to hear the little Lenehans sometime.

Bryan

[richidoo]

Nice pics!! Compliments to the decorator Evan, you have a beautiful house.

[evan1]

Nice pics!! Compliments to the decorator Evan, you have a beautiful house.

Thanks

I'll Tell my wife

It's a 1600 sq ft Townehouse a little small for big raves . But being it's just me and the misses we don't need anything larger

[mfsoa]

Evan, Thanks very much for having a small handful over to hear the Lenehans.

Not much to add onto what others said re the Lenehans - Clear, clean, pure, open, yet for me absolutely subwoofer is a must. Gorgeous cabinetry on the outside and very heavy for their size. A very revealing speaker that in the right hands will sound otherworldly good, but also has the potential to be too revealing of a bad source. I would not want to listen to bad cd through bad SS gear. It's a small tribute to the Digital Amp Co Cherry JR that even though it's a Class D amp, the Lenehans sounded glorious with it, when the right source (EE DAC but to a greater extent Carl's DAC) and pre (Carl again - see a pattern here?).

Thanks to Mr. Lenehan for the chance to hear and see his fine speaker.

The Fritz Carbons, as already said, were at the opposite end of the detail/forgiveness spectrum, glossing over detail that the Lenehans handled with grace and control. Better to gloss over it than to get it wrong, no? But the Carbons were a very pleasant listen, for sure, but might want a different source to sound their best. But isn't that always the case...  Thanks to Mr. Fritz (??) for making this pair available.

I brought my little Episode 700 monitors so I'm biased, but dayum if they don't punch above their weight. They manage to have an engaging presence without being exaggerated in any narrow, obvious area. I'm glad others liked this speaker's performance/price ratio - It's good to be agreed with sometimes!

One last thank you to Audio Video Synergy for the loan of the speaker stands. Yup, a shameless plug for my brother's shop but hey, any dealer that loans gear for these events deserves a legitimate, public thank-you, relative or not.

Only 55 minutes back to my place, at a pretty mellow pace, after raving for 11 hours (1PM to midnight  )

All in all a good day!

-Mike

[shadowlight]

Thanks Evan.

[lonewolfny42]

Thank you Evan for hosting yesterdays speaker comparison (mini rave) and the photos......
....I had a great time.

And that cake ....it was very good....

Once again ....I was stuffed on July 3rd.....



As has been mentioned by the Ravers posts....a variety of speakers...monitors all....different price points.....different features....depends which "sound" your looking for.....and what equipment your using.

All performed well....but...I did miss the Clements bookshelf speakers....they were gone in a flash...

Carl's DAC and preamp ....nice stuff....really turned things up a notch.

And it was good to hear Mike's EE DAC again.....and thank your brother for the stands and the Episode 700 monitors...

Good power from the Cherry amp....and a nice time listening late night in Evan's mancave/audio room.

Not much (road) traffic after midnight.....home in a flash.

Thanks again guys......good to see you all....

[hogg]

Did anyone compare the ML1's to Evan's Aether audio monitors or my ATC's that are living at Joe's for the present?

                                                    Jim

[bhobba]

Hi Guys

First I want to thank Evan for making his home available to hear all the fine speakers available that day.  And indeed Chris is correct - there is no winner in such comparisons.  And, although it has been mentioned before a special thanks to Chris for lugging these heavy beasts around.  Chris, my friend, you are a very special person and an adornment to the audiophile fraternity.

And, as everyone has said, while they produce excellent bass for their size, since they only go down to 50hz or so, a subwoffer will obviously be the go to hear the lower notes.

Lenehan Audio is a small outfit and don't spend much on advertising, going to trade shows like RMAF etc.  They rely on enthusiats like me and you guys to spread the word - which is why I sent my pair over.  Fortunately though, similar to the ML1's, both of their bigger brothers, the ML2's and ML3's, are on the way over anyway to Eric for his in house reference system.  They are my speakers but Eric has indicated he wanted to check them out for his reference system.  Normally that would not be possible due to the horrendous shipping cost of such heavy speakers but after a bit of investigation Mike has found a much cheaper way of transporting them - so cheap in fact it will cost virtually nothing to get them to the US - so over to Eric they will be going.  But because of this, similar to the ML1's, I will get them to make a stopover so you guys can hear both these speakers.  They will solve the bass issue - the ML2's are flat to 30hz - the ML3's are flat to 25hz.

Oh and Rollo is correct - the dedicated stands make a significant difference.  I am thinking of doing a separate post about it but the skinny is they have a pendulum like the pendulum in a tower to damp resonances.  It is virtually night and day the difference between when they are disengaged by putting some blocks of wood under them and when it is removed.  Everything improves - bass, imaging, midrange - I really can't think of what does not improve.  Normally they would also be too heavy to transport at a reasonable price, but now that has been solved they will be on the way over as well.

I am heading on down to Lenehan Audio today for another reason and I am sure Mike will be chuffed with what you found and it is quite probable he will chime in as well.

Thanks
Bill

[bhobba]

Did anyone compare the ML1's to Evan's Aether audio monitors or my ATC's that are living at Joe's for the present?

If no one compared them to his AA speakers don't worry.  I have a pair on their way over here in Aus and they will be compared to all the Lenehan gear.  I know Mike, like me, is impressed with what Bob Smith does and is really looking forward to hearing them and how they compare to his gear.

Thanks
Bill

[lonewolfny42]

Did anyone compare the ML1's to Evan's Aether audio monitors or my ATC's that are living at Joe's for the present?

                                                    Jim

Jim...

We did a brief comparison (upstairs)....Evan will be doing a comparison this week in his audio room with the ML-1's and his Aether Audio Spirit 1's.

And Joe might check them out in his system...

[goldlizsts]

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsGTdFeBYiU&feature=related

Just saw it, Chris.  Is that how to brew coffee?  No wonder my coffee has been lousy over the years.  You don't even need hot water.  You sure learn something every day.

[Barry (NJ)]

I was impressed with the ML1s. They offered a very transparent sound with great spacial ambiance and dimension, without presenting laser etched imaging which I find fake and distracting. I felt they had adequate bass in Evan's down stairs listening room where they took good advantage of the boundary reinforcement, but up stairs in his larger living space some low frequency augmentation would have been nice.

[evan1]

  Normally that would not be possible due to the horrendous shipping cost of such heavy speakers but after a bit of investigation Mike has found a much cheaper way of transporting them - so cheap in fact it will cost virtually nothing to get them to the US - so over to Eric they will be going. 

Bill
I love it. Speaker Mules. Customs will never think of it.Bit hard to swallow but I think you on to something

[bhobba]

Some Lenehan Audio Pictures
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=gallery;sa=album;id=7353

Note in the crossovers all coils are hand wound air coils - no PCB's are used - everything is cold welded.  Mike is the only manufacturer that uses Duelund capacitors at that price point.

Thanks
Bill

[evan1]

Did anyone compare the ML1's to Evan's Aether audio monitors or my ATC's that are living at Joe's for the present?

                                                   Jim

Didn't know the ATC's were living at Joe's. I guess the guy doesn't like to share.

 Right now I am listening to a demo disc that Bob had given me. It's track 2 and I believe I am listening to a clarinet. They come to eat, drink and listen and I can't even get a track listing  I am going back and forth between the ML1's and the Spirit 1's and I would say that the ML1 has more detail but lacking the ability to give the lower bass regions that the Spirit 1 can deliver. I can hear the musician breath
into the reed and hear the vibration on both but the Spirit 1 handles it with more meat on the bone. The ML1's high end seems to sparkle more than the Spirit 1.
  Like Bill mentioned in a previous post, there is no winners here just two different presentations. I like them both. Now if the ML2 has the combination of both then put me down for a pair