Does anybody have any experience on CEntrance MasterClass 2504 near field reference monitors? I live in Europe and am not able to try them out myself at the moment --- but the reviews are good.

http://centrance.com/products/masterclass/

I like the idea of coaxial drivers... the stereo imaging they provide is remarkable and refreshing. It's simple physics and the effect is very easy to hear and appreciate. No matter how fancy your fancy speakers are... a pair of coaxials will make the stereo sound stage pop to life in comparison.

A 4" driver can't do too much... but I'd expect it to be a real surprise at how good it sounds for what it is.

There will be lots of stuff missing that you will wish you could hear... but the sense of superior imaging will seem novel and attractive.


best regards,
mike

What follows is just speculation, as I have not heard those speakers myself. But...

If I lived in Europe, I'd first check out all the great European manufacturers: ADAM, Focal, Dynaudio, Genelec and others. When comparing prices, keep in mind that most of those are powered monitors that you won't need to buy an amplifier for, and which employ active crossovers, which most people prefer for reference monitors. 
 
I'm always su****ious wary when manufacturers make big claims that smell of hyperbole. CEntrance uses the phrase "mastering quality sound". Mastering engineers don't use 4" speakers (most would consider 8" speakers too small).

Mike's probably right about the concentric-driver concept. At least, it sounds reasonable on paper. But the only speakers I've actually heard with that design were Tannoys, and they're nothing special, so I remain unconvinced. 

As I warned above, this is speculation on my part. But if I was doing the research for myself, I'd say hearing these speakers would be an absolute prerequisite before buying.



EDIT: I keep forgetting that "s u s p i c i o u s" is a banned word here.

I'm gonna build a pair of boxes based on Seas Coaxials this season. I finally decided on a box design.

I've got the itch.


My real interest is with full range drivers rather than Coax but there seems to be a spurt of interest i coax at the moment.

The Equator Audio designs were what got my interest reinvigorated as it has piggy backed with my interest in full range drivers.


best regards,
mike

Hey Dave,
 Check this out:











"Custom Crossover Network
 
The crossover circuit is at the heart of any dual-driver loudspeaker. It splits the audio signal into dual frequency bands that can be separately routed to the woofer and tweeter drivers. CEntrance developed a custom passive design to minimize phase shift, frequency non-linearity and resulting distortion. The audio-grade caps, oxygen-free copper in the custom-designed, core-less coil and custom low-leakage PCB make our crossover the reason MasterClass™ 2504 speakers sound so good."





It's missing parts and they say it's part of the design! :-)


Good Times.




I just checked out the price: $499.... I'd say that's crazy talk when Equator is doing a similar design that are active at $299.


best regards,
mike

Wait a minute...5 bills for a passive crossover?

The last ones I bought were 30 bucks apiece. And those were subwoofer xovers with pretty substantial coils in them. 

It's more like 5 bills for a pair of speakers with some funky bare bones crossovers thrown in for free.

Those are the cross overs used in the speakers the OP inquired about.


:-)


best,
mike

Maybe they're trying to fill the void left by Auratone?
(like Behritone is doing)