GTT Audio Visit: A Progression of Performance

When Bill Parish of GTT Audio redecorates his showrooms, he doesn’t change sofa and ottoman fabric, he swaps out his tried-and-true YG lineup (which is not going far, just to the side of the room for this event) for some new decorating trinkets, the full line of Vivid Audio speakers. And I have never heard decor sound so good.

GTT Audio is located in Long Valley, NJ, an hour to hour-and-a-half drive from NYC, but a 25-minute drive from my home. One of my favorite bike paths is an old, decommissioned train line through the gentle hills of Long Valley and beyond. And I have to say there are some great restaurants and pubs in the vicinity. That is to imply that, while it sounds remote, there are several reasons to head out Bill’s way.

Now comes the part where I have to be honest. I have never been a fan of Vivid speakers. So, I went in a skeptic. I have always appreciated their looks, their build-quality, their engineering, and their driver technology. But I have just never been blown away by their demos at shows. I have colleagues and friends who think highly of Vivid; so, I knew I was never getting what they could really do. But the opportunity has not presented itself to hear them in a proper environment with proper equipment. Until now.

This is a visit write-up and not an equipment review, so we are talking impressions and emotions here, along with a summary of what the model lineup encompasses. The visit was broken up into four rooms. I was carried on a palanquin from room to room, while being fed caberlot grapes and gently kept cooled by the wafting of a feather from a phoenix. Well, not really. But I certainly felt like royalty as I was escorted around, tasting Vivid delicacies with a hint of Mola Mola, a splash of Kubala Sosna, and an occasional side order of True Life Audio. At one point, I was teased with a fabulous platter of Mola Mola’s new Lupe phonostage and a Kronos analog rig. It was quite delicious.

Vivid speakers come in the Kaya variant and the Giya variant. The Kaya lineup starts below $10k with the S12 bookshelf and ends with the K90 in the $28k range. The Kayas are fitted with a combination of an alloy 26mm tube-loaded dome tweeter (think B&W Nautilus infinite-tube-loaded driver design, since Vivid’s Laurence Dickie also designed that speaker) along with a 125mm and/or 100mm alloy-cone low-frequency and mid-frequency units in various combinations. The cabinet design resembles the Shmoo, for those Al Capp fans out there, and feels very organic. The entire Vivid lineup is visually inoffensive and should have a higher-than-usual spouse-approval factor, but I found the Kaya line especially attractive in an unobtrusive, sculptural way.

Speakers in the Giya series are all identical in shape and range in size from adorable to impressive. Half of my time listening, they looked to me like a well-twisted, soft-serve ice cream cone, where the tip falls back on itself, and the other half like a garden gnome. They are attractive but make much more of a visual statement than the Kayas do. The Giya drivers vary more in size, but all are arranged in a 4-way, 5-driver system, including a three-driver complement upfront and two side-firing woofers with a unique rear-facing, side-venting port, clearly designed to eliminate buffeting and chaffing. The Giya line is a much more familiar design if compared to the Nautilus; you can see the genetic connection easily.

To avoid going through a detailed and maybe not so involving description of each room and each combination, since there were many, let’s speak in terms of oohs and ahs. I was, at once, taken by the performance of the first speaker I heard, the voluptuous little K25 floorstander. Its appearance and performance caught me off guard to be honest. Bill offered to hand me the iPad to select my favorite review tunes, but in a moment of submission I let Bill take the DJ reigns and wow me. We listened to the same tracks in each room and with each system, so the differences in presentation were easily identifiable.  The listening list included

“The Curse” with Agnes Obel, “Celestial Echo” with Malia and Boris Blank, “These Days with Ane Brun, “Hey Now” from London Grammar, “Limit to Your Love” by James Blake, and the Jaws Theme from John Williams.

The little K25’s offered a sense of textural presence and expansive stage volume (the measurement of capacity, not amplitude) that was very satisfying. Yes, they lack deep low-frequency extension, but I didn’t miss it. The speaker sounded unconstrained, as if the music were flowing from nowhere into everythingness. Yes, I said everythingness!  I really liked this speaker and instantly pictured it in my office, next to my little Maggies. As we moved up the Kaya lineup, what I got what was I expected to get—more dynamics, more headroom, more depth, more refinement. If you like what the Kayas offer, then pick what you can afford and go as high up the line as you can financially manage. I will admit in the $18–20k price range, there is some stiff competition.

The Giya line was superior in every way. It should be. It’s better engineered, better reinforced, better designed, and mo’ money. At $30k and truly pint-sized, the G4 was not shown, though I would like to hear a pair. I think the aesthetic design suits a smaller form factor, and I can see the G4 doing for the Giyas what the K25 did for the Kayas—leaving you involved, intrigued, and eager to hear more. The G3 shared the soul and signature of the Kaya but kicked things up a notch. The 4-way design provided subtlety and refinement that not only confirmed a more complex cabinet design and driver complement but a better crossover and internal wiring. It struck me that this cabinet design would benefit from isolation. I was thinking a set of isoAcoustic footers might be a nice match and raise the driver height a touch, as well.

I liked every speaker I heard. Finally! I now get what my reviewing colleagues were praising and enjoying. As we moved from room to room and varied source equipment, the speakers (like their little brothers) increased in performance as expected. The room became more a part of the equation, and the music became more a part of the room. In-room bass response never came close to what I am used to with my Wilsons, but I was never disappointed. As the prices escalated above $40k, then to mid $50s and finally to $95k, the improvements became subtler but more obvious at the same time. I found that the Mola Mola/Kaya and Audionet Scientist Series/Giya synergized, to my taste, more engagingly than the combo of TLA (True Life Audio) and Giya. The big G1 Sprint in Bill’s reference room powered by a statement-level combination of Audionet Scientist names and Mola Mola components left me awestruck. I have been in that room several times with the big YGs, and I preferred what the Sprints were doing. Yes, I would want subs, and no, the Vivids did not have the overall impact and presence of YG’s massive multi-tower system. But they grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. The G1 was fast paced and effortless. It presented what was on the recording, gently stepping out of the way. I appreciated the subtlety and maturity of what was going on and just wanted to keep going and going. And that’s what it’s all about.

Vivid is clearly worth considering. Its speakers have a unique aesthetic appeal that will need to be your thing. But if it is, then find somewhere Vivids are well presented, plunk your butt in a chair, close your eyes, open your ears, and listen. You may be glad you did. I was.