They do it all and then some! The speakers are two-way and bi-amped, with a 48 watt dedicated amplifier for each 4 inch aluminum woofer and 1 inch soft dome tweeter. Based on my experience over the years, these sound as good a speakers costing 3-4 times. I have put it through its paces with favorite arias (e.g. When you get them, tweak the levels to your preference then prepare to get pulled into the experience like a tractor beam from the Death StarDeath by Vanatoos? Clearly the designers /engineers put some real thought and care into making these bonkers little monsters sound the best they can for their size. Bottonline: Well though-out compact speakers. I can honestly say the T0s defy logic. for each 4 inch aluminum woofer and 1 inch soft dome tweeter. you hear the voice as if the singer was in front of you and the instruments as they were recorded. I have owned some decent desktop speakers but these are clearly the best and a pleasure to use. No more amp.No more pre-amp .No more cd player.No more squeeze box.No more cluster of wires.. Not missed. Just in case you are new here, this is not the normal mode of operation. That is never over-bearing, muffled, or lacking in tone. Dyspersja jest znakomita, kady utwr brzmi inaczej tak jak zamyli sobie artysta, dwik jest syszalny prawie z kadej strony, a suchajc ich z 1 metra brzmi jak monitory studyjne ( np. The spider looks nice, and the lead wires are quality braided copper. However, this is not where I spend my time working and I am not about to try to duplicate this. This passive radiator really adds weight and authority to all the percussive sound and I can tell you from my 15 years of playing drums, the bass and drum sound are pretty convincing. After attending Axpona 2017 and listening to the folks at Vanatoo and their then newly announced Transparent Zeros, I knew I had found the answer to my biggest challenge, how to achieve quality stereo audio in a reasonable to go package. They are very loud, and do not distort, but their small size cant be overcome completely by the tech packed into them. still wanted sound I wouldnt grow tired of for music and watching movies as well as YouTube lectures and quality documentaries. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Yes, spending over $300 on a pair of speakers is insane. My recent experience with ELAC's B5 speaker and its silly large vented pole piece leaking sound through the dust cap gives credence to this decision. My main system is a B&K amp paired to a set of Vandersteen 1cs. I own a lot of high end equipment including a Linn Turntable and Exposure Amp. I firmly believe these guys have the chops to do that if they wanted. Really very capable little units that wont take over your desk and will provide a good quality soundtrack to my work days! Thank you for your comments, Curt. We are happy that you are enjoying your new T0s. They can, however, be used for some light mixing. Since working from home my desktop speakers are getting a lot more use than my Sennheiser PXC550 cans. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. How about a stack of JBLs and maybe an old Kenwood. I sat and listened for a while and was blown away. These things are unbelievably good. I love the suggestions. Transparent Zero Kanto is well known for its affordable active loudspeakers, and the TUK might just be its best. But I would say these are too big and heavy for desk use. As someone who is normally budget oriented I am so happy I decided to spend just a little bit more and pick up these beauties and I hope you do too. sound of the USB was great but I did perceive noticeable improvement in sound quality when paired with a dac, the Fiio E18 and Topping E30 gave a cleaner sound but I again preferred the Zen Dac for the truebass button to give an extra push in low frequencies when im listening at low volume (around 55-60 db). It is clear, controlled, and smooth. Sound quality is very subjective, , but there is just something special and magical when listening to my music with these Vanatoos. I am not an audiophile, I did not know what to expect, but I do know when it sounds right. Neal S. Oglnie jako fantastyczna. I cannot speak highly enough of these. You can choose to hook them up through an optical cable, coaxial cable, or just USB. I wasnt as picky about the quality of sub that was necessary to match the Vanatoos, so I got the Polk Audio PSW10choosing value over performance in that department. The 4-inch aluminum woofer, 4-inch passive radiator, and 1-inch soft dome tweeter offer a full-range presentation with surprisingly deep bass response considering the size of the cabinet. If you want more thanks to the sub out and DSP magic these pair very well with even inexpensive 8 subs. If anyone has got some suggestions it would be highly appreciated. Do use better cables for your sound source. Sounds worst: Right on top of the wall, on a solid bit of furniture, on the other side of the room, with no sub. I felt like Ralphie in A Christmas Story getting a Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle! Having seen the reviews I was anticipating something decent. The sound is clear and open, providing an excellent representation of the music youre putting through it. Nothing sounds muddy here. When the box came I opened it and starting with the packaging I was impressed. I needed a smaller speaker and looked at companies like Kanto and Audioengine before seeing that Vanatoo kept showing up in comments (Reddit mostly). I first came across these at the Axpona audio convention years ago. Dakota T. Anthony K. The only thing thats been a problem for my setup is 5.1 and 7.1 input from movies, which comes through significantly too quiet, especially on digital in, which suggests (to me) something somewhere isnt doing an ideal job of downmixing, though not sure which piece in the chain to blame. Aside Okay, so I occasionally visit my eastern-influenced chiropractor (acupuncture/gentle chiropractic). Id also love it if Vanatoo incorporated a way to get some kind of feed back on the current settings of the speaker (sleep mode, DSP, bass, treble, etc.). I think a better option would have been to coat the bottom surface of the speaker in a heavier rubber, and do the same with the kickstand which is just a hard ABS plastic. Be aware though that you will incur import taxes depending on your country and also additional costs if you have to send your units back. Theyre notoriously powerful, so maybe not great for small rooms, and theyre more expensive thanks to there being more components inside each speaker. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The sound will improve dramatically by using good analog and digital interconnect cables. I had a pair of JBL Studio Monitors and they were taking up my entire desk, and I also needed an audio interface for them. The $300 bookshelf speakers have a built-in 120-watt amplifier and support a number of different connections, including RCA, Optical and USB. The speakers excel at bass response, big soundstage and clean volume. The personal sales support from the top guys at Vanatoo make these a hidden gem I wish I found years ago. The bookshelf woofers stop playing frequencies below 80 Hz if I add a sub, such that they play cleaner. Gary answered all of my dozens of questions, ran simulations in Mathcad for the ground plane section of the review, and best of all put me first in line to get this product. If youre debating, stop. Released in mid-2022, the KEF LSX II is the second generation of the company's insanely popular LSX active speaker system. Truthfully, the Transparent Ones quickly became my go to equipment. I hope this review helps others find these fantastic speakers! Additionally, you can tell that Rick and Gary put a lot of hard work and love into these things. Overall fantastic quality. The Vanatoo Transparent Zero, however, is merely mediocre at its $399 asking price, when compared to similarly priced products, and won't satisfy the needs of most people. The Full Pro Tools vs Ableton Comparison- Which to Get? Because they lean back, my ears are right in the sweet spot. You might want to take a look at the Transparent One Encore for your living room needs. Although I do not consider myself an audiophile,just someone who enjoys quality sound reproduction. Not sure if the vibration is from the orientation of the passive radiator, or the speakers just being so solid that it's transferring the vibrations instead of absorbing them. I have owned some decent desktop speakers but these are clearly the best and a pleasure to use. Obviously, the price and look of these speakers might not be for everybody, but if you're looking for the best of the best in active speakers, these are certainly up there. Grills are magnetic and clear from any interference with the drivers. We do hope some day to be able to make it easier for our friends outside the US to purchase Vanatoo products. I added a Klipsch R-100 sub (10 woofer and 150/300w amp) and the combo is flat out killer. Recently purchased the Vanatoo Transparent Zeros. Outputs are limited to Subwoofer, and a RJ50 connector to get sound from the powered speaker to the passive speaker. Be aware though that you will incur import taxes depending on your country and also additional costs if you have to send your units back. Cant say enough good things about Vanatoo and their speakers. r . I plan to do what you are supposed to do with great music and that is sit back, listen and enjoy. Thanks for all the kind words. If I can only describe how great they sound right now playing Spanish instrumental guitar, I would. I emailed it to Gary as a tip of the hat. I get perfect stereo imaging without any veiling. Instead they did something harder, which is to make a smaller and cheaper speaker that sounds as good as the Transparent One. I would not say I am an audiophile, but to my ears, these speakers sound incredible. It's never going to 100% sound right with a speaker this close to a surface, but I think this as close as it will ever get. I like bass (but not obscene amounts), and while these things are decent for their size, I think they need sub. Audioengines A5+ Wireless speakers are exactly the same as the company's A5+ speakers, only they have built-in Bluetooth and a 24-bit DAC, so you can stream high-resolution audio (Bluetooth aptX, SBC and AAC). The room my TV is in is a quite large space, and the listening chairs are about 6 feet away from the TV. Active speakers combine all of the traditional components of a stereo system into a pair of speakers. I was ok with the price for all the features the unit comes packed with. This is a way of using the T0s that I didnt think I would care about. I use all of them on a regular basis and rarely have to manually change them. Inside the white carton was form fitting foam protection, with cutouts on top of the foam right under the lid of the white carton for holding a plethora of interface cables, the quick start guide, a small Allen wrench to remove the screws securing the handle on each speaker (so as to allow moving the handle to the opposite side if desired for mounting/desktop usage with the front of the speaker aimed directly at the listener). Downsides are all easy to work around or live with. This is a modern feature, of course, but one that is accompanied by quite a few others. The woofer is a fancy custom aluminum 4 inch driver using an underhung voicecoil. I absolutely love and highly recommend them! T0 beautiful sound quality in an inexpensive and tiny package. iLoud, Genelec or Vanatoo would be perfect if not for the price. I dont like clutter, Im a minimalist, so I went looking for something better and landed on these. The two biggest audio magazines in the United States both love Vanatoo systems! I found a RJ50 coupler and a larger extension. Despite the size, too, you actually get a pretty good bass response. If you prefer your sound colored, these might not be the speakers for you. Truly amazing performance will greet you. Caveats: -I did not configure them for different inputs. These also really seem to love it when you give them the beans. Essentially, active speakers generally sound superior to traditional Wi-Fi speakers, and theyre just as simple and easy to control (there are a few active speakers, however, that dont support wireless streaming). I hope someone reads this and it ends their search because for the size of these speakers youre not going to do better anywhere. They dont need a sub, but I want to see how good these sound with a sub, so I ordered one. Ill also mention that every detail of these speakers has been thought out to the gnats ass, from the packaging to all the included cables and allen wrench for the handles to the way the speaker covers attach (magnets! The pads make a difference in eliminating the resonance compared to putting the speakers on the glass. Crystal clear sound reproduction. Music seems to float, with excellent instrument and vocal placement. This is a more than acceptable solution for people that do not want to use stands. The T0s were able to play as loud as we wanted to listen with no sense of stress (to be fair we were not listening at lease shattering levels, but at volumes that were more than loud enough, certainly not at THX reference level, but for an average home and circumstance more than loud enough and I never attempted to see what the maximum volume was, it was satisfying loud enough below maximum). good sounding speakers, stop looking now. The listening experience is excellent, with plenty of options to tweak the speakers to fit your needs. Using professional-level monitors for home computers is becoming an increasingly popular setup. and our So, let us see the experiences, in question / answer form: 1. Theyre powered speakers, meaning they do require a power source and arent portable. Im using this as my desktop setup and its excellent choice as it contains all the inputs you could possibly want and not clutter the desk with any separate amp/dac. The build on T0s is top-notch; the quality of these units is as evident in the fingers as it is in the ears. The AudioEngine A5+s is a feature-rich set of speakers, that looks great, but above all else, a pair of speakers that sounds absolutely great for the price. Both the Vanatoo Transparent One and AudioEngine A5+ provide excellent audio quality, with quick set up and a small footprint. Typically I dont use the on board DAC unless I am using Bluetooth and it does sound fine my stand alone just sounds like it has slightly more detailed then the on board over USB or bluetooth. God, they sound so much better with a sub. Having the external volume control also on the back of the speaker was initially off putting, then easy to reach by feel after a few uses, also nice aesthetically. Now, no speaker this size is going to kill larger hi-fi, but the engineering needed to work within the size constraints is thoroughly impressive and the T0s set the new standard as to what is possible in a super small cabinet. I just played Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones I didnt believe I was listening to two little speakers and a very modest priced Subwoofer I was sure somebody had slipped a big tower speaker into the room instead. Thank you Marco for your feedback. They remark on the quality of the sound, at very moderate sound levels, without seeing the speakers etc. The quality of the bass is simply stunning for such a small speaker. They sound great at low volume, but they REALLY seem to open up when you crank em a bitlike theyre just edging for more. You just cant go wrong. Another potential annoyance, if in a bedroom, is the bright blue light on the back. 72.47.239.52 The first question when hearing the Transparent Zero is Howd they do that?. I opt to keep the sub now that I have it because I do get the added pleasure of getting more highs out of my t0s. Like to use the Hugo 2 through Zero. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. My only slightly negative comment is that changing settings on the speakers themselves is kind of a learning curve but its not too bad with the supplied documentation. I searched the net and read and watched many reviews eventually taking the plunge for the Transparency T 0. You wont be disappointed. It seems clear that the T0 are the best speakers overall but I feel like it may be overkill for my use case. But that is seriously nit-picky. : The word Transparent reflects the sound of the speakers quite well. All we ask is that you pay for the return shipping. I decided to look for a pair of powered speakers with a built-in DAC. Flexible for use with computer, receiver, iPhone, etc. i havent listened enough to notice a difference between the two types of connections. It shimmers just a bit, with reminders of old Yamaha white-cone speakers in mind. The acoustics from Nils Lofgren Acoustic Live album, Keith Dont Go is absolute ear ecstasy. It is truly magic and I am enjoying these more and more every single day. I purchased mine as soon as they became available so I have had them for 8 months or so. set up. I host dance parties and I relax and enjoy the sound in this space. The Morricone Duel, is like sitting front and center in the balcony. 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