Tobian 12FH speaker

Michaels HiFi

Michaels HiFi

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I jumped at the chance to get a pair of Tobain 12FH speakers when Mike announced he was going to carry them. My hifi friends overseas have been raving about them for years.

Although I LOVED the sound of the Clarysis speakers I heard at the shows, at 7' tall they were a bit big to be wife-approved. Plus I've been wanting to get back into horn speakers - though easy to design them wrong, when done right it's a sound I love.

I looked at the higher end JBL horns and IMO their studio-monitor roots shown through and they didn't have the emotion I was looking for.

How do the Tobian's sound after 325 hours of burn in?

Partnered with VAC gear these 12FH's are absolutely amazing, and easily the best sound I've ever had in my house - at any price.

First minor change in sound was 25 hours when they started to gain some bass, then again at 125 hours, with the real potential reached at 325 hours. Note the difference between 125 and 325 hours was greater than zero hours to 125 hours.

So while there are other designs and speakers that sound fantastic also and I still like their sound very much, the Tobians have my heart and soul.

Bravo Tobian, Bravo.
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I can say it's kind of easy for me to relate with Your love towards those speakers as I've got my pair of 12FH SE like two months ago. They are really beautifully made (mine are with some NOS veneer from '60s :D) which is important related to the WAF. In sense of musical delivery, they deliver in spades - super musical, detailed, non-fatiguing, coherent so overall I could not be happier.
Also they matched perfectly with my all DHT based electronics (except Lampi Horizon being non DHT intruder:rolleyes:) but would love to try them at my place with some low powered SET amps which Gunter is making.
I mean I heard them at his demo room with his SC12, SC8 preamps and MA100/MA200 mono blocks with 300b and 46 tubes and it was magical, but these are a "bit" out of my price range.
 
Golum said:
I can say it's kind of easy for me to relate with Your love towards those speakers as I've got my pair of 12FH SE like two months ago. They are really beautifully made (mine are with some NOS veneer from '60s :D) which is important related to the WAF. In sense of musical delivery, they deliver in spades - super musical, detailed, non-fatiguing, coherent so overall I could not be happier.
Also they matched perfectly with my all DHT based electronics (except Lampi Horizon being non DHT intruder:rolleyes:) but would love to try them at my place with some low powered SET amps which Gunter is making.
I mean I heard them at his demo room with his SC12, SC8 preamps and MA100/MA200 mono blocks with 300b and 46 tubes and it was magical, but these are a "bit" out of the price range.
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What I find amazing is not only how musical they are, but that they reveal so much insight into the music without sounding analytical or hifi. These are music first speakers that still give me the detail. I listened for almost 6 hours the other night and never got tired of them. I've never had that with a speaker before.

Am I saying these are the best in the world? I can't say that. I am saying up till now these are the best speakers for my personal taste I have heard to date.

I'm running a VAC amp and Aqua tube based DAC with sounds great with them.

I think you are right - the Tobian tube amps would make everything else sound "broken" in comparison. ;)

I do wish I could get my hands on one of his DAC's he used to make.
 
MichaelsMinute said:
What I find amazing is not only how musical they are, but that they reveal so much insight into the music without sounding analytical or hifi. These are music first speakers that still give me the detail. I listened for almost 6 hours the other night and never got tired of them. I've never had that with a speaker before.

Am I saying these are the best in the world? I can't say that. I am saying up till now these are the best speakers for my personal taste I have heard to date.

I'm running a VAC amp and Aqua tube based DAC with sounds great with them.

I think you are right - the Tobian tube amps would make everything else sound "broken" in comparison. ;)

I do wish I could get my hands on one of his DAC's he used to make.
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I love Your description regarding how musical they are as this is something I love about them. I'm not chasing anything specific like crazy bass, pinpoint imaging or whatever else might pop into mind (they deliver also on these parameters) but I rather chase or look into what You rightly said "musicality" - and these excel in this regard. You press "play" and You are in heaven :-).
I'm happy as I have his DHT preamp SC12 which i simply adore but you kind of need to carefully build the system around it as its single stage low gain pre with 10Y/801/VT25 tubes.
I've heard several of his DACs (can't remember the model numbers) and indeed they were/are magnificent as well - but I know Gunter told me he won't make them anymore due to parts constrains...
 
Golum said:
I've heard several of his DACs (can't remember the model numbers) and indeed they were/are magnificent as well - but I know Gunter told me he won't make them anymore due to parts constrains...
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Maybe someday he will open a closet in his office and find an old DAC laying around he forgot he had he'd be willing to sell..... ;)

Please share a pic of your with their NOS veneer - I would love to see them.
 
Golum said:
No no - never had 12FH at home...
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I think out of his entire line of speakers the 12FH's are the "sweet spot" in his offerings. Easy to move, wife approved size, easy placement close to rear wall, and fantastic sound.

If I could change anything about them - and this is trivial - I wish they were a bit more efficient, like 100db+ as I often review 45 and 2A3 amps. With 300B's they are plenty loud.
 
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