Here is a more detailed version of the day
So I finally got to listen to the Fynes today. I drove 2 hours each way in downpouring rain. Oddly, the business was in a private home in a nice new development. By appointment only is how they get away with it. There were several rooms setup with different levels of gear. Of course the larger speakers were on the first floor. Fyne 700 series, Legacy, Joseph and more. We went upstairs to a somewhat treated bedroom with Rogue gear for electronics.
I listened via a Pharaoh with a Bel Canto CDP and a Chord DAC. I originally set out to demo the plain F502s so that was what was setup. Yesterday when I confirmed my appointment, I said I would not mind hearing the F502SPs just for a reference point. He said no problem as they were in the same room.
My wife and I listened to a range of music we brought and had just listened to at home to be familiar with our existing sound. I have had Silk Tweeters or other fabric for 30 years and was concerned about the metal tweeter in the 502. In the end my fears were confirmed. Now that said, for a $2500 speaker, they kicked some serious butt. The room may have been a factor as well as never hearing any Rogue products.
Impressions of the F502 were that they were a little shouty at normal and higher levels. The vocals and some mids were out in the middle of the room while the bass was in the back corner and not as controlled as I had hoped. At low levels they lost all dynamics. Some of my music was recorded better than others and when we got to Keb Mo - More Than One Way Home, we got a little excited but by the end of an hour, we both were not as thrilled as we had hoped.
We all talked about the differences between the plains and the SPs which are the Drivers from the F702s and the Xovers put in the 502 cabinet with only the high gloss finish, black-white-walnut. Also a different plinth. Aluminum plates as opposed to an MDF slab. The SPs also had a set of Isoacoustics Gia 3 footers which the guy was convinced of the improvement, as well as many others that have used them. They add $400 to the List $4995.
We took a break while he swapped out the 2 pairs. We went back in and played the same tracks in reverse order. From the first few notes we smiled under our masks. Everything that was wrong with the 502s was gone plus all those same areas of complaint were improved upon. The tweeter is different, Magnesium vs Titanium. The difference was night and day when it came to fatigue. The Bass was all tightened up, more of it and it was in the right place and mix with other instruments and vocals. The vocals were incredible as were all the mids.
The sound of the SPs is what I was looking for. The Bass I get from my Dyns and the Midrange I get from my Clearfields. By the time we were done, my wife had already decided we were going to get the SPs and agreed we did not like the 502s. She also wants me to get the Isoacoustic footers but we won't splurge for the gorgeous high gloss walnut. We will go with the black.
The guy said he has yet to sell a pair of plain 502s because once anyone listens to the SPs afterwards, they buy them. These may just be the best $5K speaker and starting with the SPs and up, they are made in UK and not China.
The Rogue Pharaoh lists for about what I got my Luxman for. I am thinking my Lux will have more control from the experience I have with it now. The Rogue is a nice hybrid Int, tube in SS out but I don't think in the same class as the Lux.
Before we left we went to another room and listed to the F1.8 Standmount speaker on it's dedicated Fyne stand. Really cool looking speaker. It was detailed and refined but lacked the slam and fullness of the floorstanders, not even the 502SPs a few series down. Electronics were Jeff Rowland Capri S2 and 125 class D amp. Also a higher end Chord dac and some streamer.
I did not get to hear the 704s but they were there in the HG Walnut and were absolutely stunning.
Before driving all the way home, we side tracked to an Iron Hill Brewery and had a flight and lunch. All in all a great day and so glad my wife came along because I would never have been able to explain the 2X price difference and why they sounded so good. It's a plus she loves good audio.
I have a potential sale of my Clearfields on Saturday so as long as that goes thru, I am about ready to say Merry Xmas to myself. It will be bittersweet when the CFs go since they have been my goto speakers for the last 12 years. My Dyns are 20 y/o now but look like they just came out of the box. It's time to mate something more worthy of the Luxman
