Jonathan
- Jun 1, 2021
- 4 min read

Heavenly Soundworks Newsletter - June 2021

THE LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE HEAVENLY SOUNDWORKS TEAM.

Reviews | Insights | Upcoming News

Reviews

Brett Rudolph's review of the FIVE17 Loudspeaker system was published at EnjoyTheMusic this month. See some of the highlights below!

A few notable quotes are captured here, for the full review click the link below!

"The first thing I did once the FIVE17s were ready was start-up Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here [Capitol 16-bit/24kHz FLAC] on Roon. The first track, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond One," opens with a bit of instrumental and guitar, the perfect way to begin the digital adventure in my mind. The music, clear and almost eerie, flows gently from the speakers as they accurately transform the hi-resolution FLAC file into something more significant. The guitar builds in volume above the instruments, and the separation between the instruments is immediately evident. There is no loss of control as the music becomes more complex throughout the track, even when the vocals appear later."

"Another thing that caught my attention during the first selection was the amount of bass coming from this relatively tiny enclosure. Mini monitors tend to be somewhat anemic when it comes to bass, even ones with a woofer. There is absolutely no shortage of controlled, effortless harmonics that begin well below hearing and extend seamlessly into the midrange. It is a testament to the ability that is bestowed to the system by the DSP. The Couches should be commended for their efforts because it is one of the most successful efforts that I've encountered in quite some time."

"When you close your eyes, thanks to the speakers' ability to separate the channels and build a lifelike sound stage, the room disappears, replaced by a different world. A world the artist intended you to experience."

"Days went by, and the number of albums continued to increase. Each one seemed to bring with it a different experience. The next notable one was Arne Domnerus's Jazz at the Pawnshop [FIM SACD M 034]. This live album has all the elements that make jazz tremendous and so hard to reproduce. The instrumentals are challenging to capture. Their sounds tend to lose their lifelike quality. It quickly collapses into the meaningless morass of sound on many systems. Luckily the FIVE17 does not suffer from the same fault as these systems. They can handle the difficult transitions and separations."

"One of my favorite tracks, "Barbados," has a little bit of all the instruments. It does a beautiful job of highlighting the speakers' ability to create an open soundstage and fill it with sound as well. The music is perfectly balanced, and the instruments are detailed enough to hear their attack and decay with ease."

"One of the most exciting features included with these speakers is three loudness presets. I usually do not get excited about features that change the way music sounds. Any change to the sound is an invasion in my mind. However, the purpose of the presets is to level out the loudness curve and provide a better listening experience. Indeed, when you are critically listening to the correct levels, these curves are likely not necessary. Still, if you are like many people, you are listening to your sources at a level either too high or too low, and these can help balance them out."

"The second preset is intended to be used at volume levels between the mid-70s and low 80s. That is primarily where most people are supposedly listening to their music. When first engaged, the change is almost instantaneous, meaning that you can hear the difference without even trying. Things become more apparent and more pronounced in the lower mid-range to upper bass. Everything is slightly richer and casts less of a shadow over everything else."

"The third preset, like the second, is also specifically designed for use between certain volume levels. This one is for lower volumes up to the mid-70 dBs. Again, like the second one, it does something similar and brings out the lower mid-range and upper bass. It allows the listener to enjoy selections such as orchestral music at lower volumes without sacrifice, which is a plus considering the wide range of this type of music."

"The presets were impressive, and the ability to listen to the material at lower levels was a nice fundamental feature."

"Their ability to reproduce bass, especially in a mini-monitor, is beyond impressive. Heavenly Soundworks did a great job of combining a DSP, DAC, and digital amplifier into a tiny package and making it both visually appealing and functionally sound. The stands are another example of their ability to create a beautiful speaker that is equally form and function."

"The bottom line the Heavenly Soundworks FIVE17 speakers are very unique. If you can afford them, you should certainly give them a listen. Their special features and functions might be just the ones you needed. The performance in the right environment, especially with higher resolution material, is the best this reviewer has heard to date. You will not be disappointed."

Check out the full review over at EnjoyTheMusic!

http://enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0621/Heavenly_Soundworks_FIVE17_Loudspeaker_Review.htm

Insights

Heavenly Soundworks to officially debut the FIVE17 Loudspeaker System at T.H.E. Show 2021!

We are excited to announce that our FIVE17 Loudspeaker System will make its trade show debut at T.H.E. Show, 11-13 June, at the Hilton Long Beach Hotel, Long Beach, CA. We will be exhibiting on the third floor unveiling this innovative new loudspeaker in room 308. Kevin and Jonathan Couch, co-founders of Heavenly Soundworks, will be on hand to demonstrate the product and answer questions.

“We have been hard at work perfecting our systems and are looking forward to the opportunity to share them with the audiophile community at T.H.E. Show!”

Show special pricing will be available to attendees!

Full-Range performance from a bookshelf speaker may sound like a tall task… we welcome you to join us in room 308 to experience it for yourself.

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