Michelle R "Nemesis"

Verified Purchase

November 12, 2014

About two weeks ago I began a search for floor speakers with a narrow footprint and an affordable price. I have a pair of Pioneer SP-FS51-LR speakers that I have been very happy with but was having problems with their footprint and placing them properly in a new narrow-lot house that we moved into last January. So, I began searching the internet for floor speakers with a smaller footprint than the Pioneer FS51's have and that I could reasonably afford. When my searches kept turning up dead end after dead end, I tweaked my search parameters one more time and I landed on a pair of speakers by a manufacturer of which I had never heard: Sound Sommeliers Quarter Wave Loudspeakers by Kvart & Bolge.

I checked out their website (http://www.kvart-bolge.com) and also their listing on Amazon for more specifics on these speakers. I have always had a fondness for the vintage 70's EPI and Advent speakers with limited crossover and limited coloration. And, my curiosity has always been piqued by the concept of omnidirectional sound. In my 5th year of college--switched majors--in 1974, the guys in the apartment next to mine purchased a pair of EPI 1000's, which were seven foot behemoths that could shake the foundation, and yet I could stand in front of one and still be uncertain of the origin of the sounds coming from these giants.

From what I read, it seemed as if Kvart & Bolge might be embracing the concept of omnidirectional sound, and that they eschewed crossovers and coloration. I was also intrigued by their quarter wave concept and wondering how these speakers could produce much in the way of bass response with only a port at the bottom. or much else through that tiny speaker at the top. Nevertheless, the price was right and the footprint was perfect for my needs.

Spurred on by both necessity and curiosity, on October 28th I placed an order for these speakers in Wenge wood. During this process, I exchanged a couple of emails with Arved at Kvart & Bolge regarding my order and the arrival date of these speakers to which he always promptly, professionally and courteously responded. And, on Monday morning, November 10th the USPS delivered my speakers. The package was less than half the size of that of the Pioneer floor speakers and much lighter.

I wasted no time in opening the package and inspecting them for damage or defects. I moved them to their planned placements in the living room where they fit perfectly and looked great in their minimalist Wenge wood casing with black trim. Both of the Sound Sommeliers fit inside the footprint of a single SP-FS51LR with room to spare, and they felt stable and solidly placed. I connected them with banana plugs to the Onkyo TX-8211 receiver in the living room and powered on the amp.

The tuner was tuned to the local classical music station and I turned volume about 1/3rd of the way up. What I heard was something totally unlike the Pioneers; not unlike in a disappointing sense, but unlike as in unique and understated. So, I sat in an armchair, about six feet away from and in front of the left speaker, and listened. The sound was crisp and clear and the French horn appropriately brassy, yet mournful and mellow at the same time. I could hear all of the notes of the orchestra in a familiar yet hauntingly undefinable way. Yet, even when sitting six feet directly in front of the left speaker, the source of the music was still in question. It seemed to be coming from all over.

I surfed through the preset stations for jazz, classic rock, easy listening, new wave, and alternative rock and began listening and trying to put my finger on what was so familiar yet so foreign about the sound. I took a break and watched some TV for a while.

When I turned the receiver back on, Van Halen was playing their cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me." And, that was where my finger finally landed and I knew what I was hearing was that the music sounded live. It sounded aesthetically as if I were listening to the music live. I could close my eyes and listen, and I was no longer listening to Van Halen on the radio, I was listening to Van Halen.

Van Halen is hardly one of my favorites, but what I was hearing was clean, clear and fresh, and they sounded great. I proceeded to listen through Tom Petty, Supertramp and U2. I then switched to a Marantz CD changer and sampled Etta James and Nancy Wilson, and the music still had that ring of purity and authenticity. Lastly I went to a Kenwood semi-automatic belt -rive turntable.

I started out with James Taylor's "Gorilla" and its opening track of "Mexcio" with its acoustic introduction, high harmonies, and resonant marimba. It just got better from song to song. I threw on "Deep Purple's "Fireball" with its dissonant and cacophonous beginning. "Fireball" for some odd reason has always been one of the songs I use to test the sound of a new piece of equipment, and the Sound Sommeliers passed with flying colors. Next up, Fleetwood Mac's "Heroes Are Hard To Find" with its brassy horns, solid percussion and bass, and Christine McVie's beautiful voice. I finished with Grieg's "Peer Gynt" - Suites 1 & 2, and again closed my eyes and imagined I was in a concert hall listening to sounds that seemed live to me.

The ceilings in my living room are 9' high and are made of drywall, like the walls, the floors are hardwood veneer, and there are area rugs, a sofa, three armchairs, and cocktail and end tables to reflect or absorb the sound. My house is over 1500 square feet and two stories, the stairs and the upstairs hallway and three bedrooms are all carpeted. I never turned my amp up over 40 percent, and when I hit that volume my spouse was upstairs at the other end of the house and complained about the loudness. I never once experienced any hint of distortion.

I have been listening to music over a span of seven decades and collecting music for six of those decades. I have a nice collection of vinyl, but I also have CD's, cassettes, and even 8-tracks--I still have a 40 year old RCA 8-track player. I have audio equipment from Pioneer, Kenwood, Bose, Marantz, Panasonic, Onkyo, Sony, Aiwa, and Denon.

My spouse and I both love music, and regularly go to symphonies and opera. I was a new-editorial journalism major in college and I did arts criticisms and reviews of live concerts in the early to mid-seventies. I had a lot of friends in bands in an age of live bands and I have a good sense of how what a note or instrument sounds like live. None of the aforementioned things make me an expert regarding audio equipment. I am only someone that loves music and wants it to sound as good as my budget will allow when listening at home.

I have only related the story of how I came to purchase these speakers as an explanation of why I took a risk on a product that has never been reviewed and a manufacturer that I believe is new to the industry. I found these speakers through perseverance, dumb luck and an act of pure serendipity. I still don't understand how they managed to get so much out of so little, but they do.
To describe the Sound Sommeliers in a few words, I would say clean, true, pure, bright, versatile, and eminently listenable. I have run them through a fairly wide range of music and media, and the more I listen to them, the more I like them. The highs and mid-range notes are delightfully uncomplicated and lifelike, and the bass notes have are wonderfully realistic, both heavy and subtle. I have a lot more music to run through them and an old JVC Super-A R-S77 upstairs that I want to try these on.

Stein wrote, "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose." And, beauty is in the eye--and the ear--of the beholder. If you like music, but don't have deep pockets these speakers are to me a great find, and one could do a lot worse but not much better I suspect. Or if you don't want to turn your living room into man cave or frat house, and are looking for refined sound that is determined by the quality sound and unobtrusive appearance, and not the size of the speaker or woofer, then you might want to give these speakers solid consideration.

I have never written a review of any product before, but I think that Kvart & Bolge are onto something good. I really, really like these speakers, and I cannot wait for Kvart & Bolge to turn their efforts to bookshelf speakers. I will be the first in line. I mean, a speaker that can make Ozzy Osbourne's "Flying High Again" appealing, clearly has potential and deserves an audience.