Hi, I think it could be helpful, I needed 2 days to find out which Version I own, so have a look at the following post if you are interested in Vienna Acoustics Mozart and think about the review in Audiophile.
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Answers from Sumiko on Vienna Acoustics Mozart Versions
204.217.246.87
Posted by LenQ on February 10, 2000 at 16:02:50
I spoke with Terry at Sumiko today and he kindly went through a brief development history of the Mozart in the U.S. and abroad. Hopefully, this will clear up some of the confusion that has been flying about concerning the wiring, tweeter type, etc. of this speaker.
There have been three versions of the Mozart released in various markets.
Version 1 was bi-wirable and utilized a SEAS tweeter (back to that later). Few of these ever ended up in the U.S., although apparently the pair which went to Stereophile for their review was either this or the v2, below.
The designer of the Mozart, Peter Gansterer does not believe in bi-wiring (or bi-amping, presumably), but it was at the insistence of distributors in areas of the world serviced by the British audio press which has traditionally favored this arrangement for speakers, that the Mozart was offered in these areas as a bi-wirable speaker. (Terry noted that Franco Servlin at Sonus Faber, also distributed by Sumiko, similarly does not believe in bi-wiring.)
Version 2 was also bi-wirable, but rather than using wire jumpers or the typical jumper bar arrangement externally between the two sets of binding posts, version 2 had a high-quality, internal jumper. Meaning, if you wanted to bi-wire, you had to remove the crossover plate and hack through what was described to me as a very substantial piece of metal.
Version 3, now available for about 1-1/2 to 2 years in the U.S. has a single set of speaker terminals--no biwiring. This version also uses a Scan-Speak tweeter in place of the earlier SEAS tweeter. Sumiko convinced Vienna that in the U.S., a non-bi-wirable speaker would be acceptable and also felt the product improved by the Scan-Speak tweeter (they didn't like the SEAS tweeter with the product).
Apparently, one can still get the Mozart outside the U.S. with the SEAS tweeter. With the Scan-Speak tweeter this is referred to as the "Signature" version.
I also asked Peter about amp and cable suggestions.
He noted that they have found the best match to be the Thule gear they now distribute out of Sweden. However, he was candid that he felt the Vienna line was aptly paired with a wide variety of electronics and mentioned Plinius, Classe, and others as good matches. As for tubes, he did note (which concurs with my experience) that the Mozarts in particular require an amp with good bass control. While he noted that some people love the Mozarts with 300b SETs, he concurred that a push-pull amp is probably the better choice. Here, again, I would agree as I've found they generally keep sounding better the more expensive the amp I pair mine with.
As for cable, he specifically mentioned that they have had great results with Kimber Select (I'd hope so for that $$$), Kimber Monocle XL for speakers, Nordost, the new Audioquest stuff, and Straightwire (for darker systems generally). I asked about OCOS speaker cable (which they import and I have tried with excellent results) and he was again candid in saying that while excellent, many times a complete cable match from source to amp to speaker was the better option--an option which is not currently available with OCOS (although apparently OCOS is working on an interconnect).
A few other tidbits:
Vienna is working on a Website. I told him to keep nagging Vienna about it.
Some notes on the new version (3.2) of the Beethoven. The main differences are an increase in size. The main reasons were two-fold: 1) To get the woofers off the floor a bit, and 2) to increase volume and give the woofers some breathing room. He notes that the result is a more dynamic, open-sounding speaker. I have yet to hear the new Beethoven, but when I was auditioning the Mozarts, my complaint with the Beethoven was that they were a bit congested and, at least subjectively, less dynamic than the Mozart.
Hope this clears up some of the confusion out there. I still have my notes and Terry said he would drop in to the Asylum and take a look, so please let me know if there's something I haven't addressed here.
I have posted this message to the original thread and as a new thread.
Ciao,
--Len
The following post is copied from:
Audio Asylum Thread Printer
Answers from Sumiko on Vienna Acoustics Mozart Versions
204.217.246.87
Posted by LenQ on February 10, 2000 at 16:02:50
I spoke with Terry at Sumiko today and he kindly went through a brief development history of the Mozart in the U.S. and abroad. Hopefully, this will clear up some of the confusion that has been flying about concerning the wiring, tweeter type, etc. of this speaker.
There have been three versions of the Mozart released in various markets.
Version 1 was bi-wirable and utilized a SEAS tweeter (back to that later). Few of these ever ended up in the U.S., although apparently the pair which went to Stereophile for their review was either this or the v2, below.
The designer of the Mozart, Peter Gansterer does not believe in bi-wiring (or bi-amping, presumably), but it was at the insistence of distributors in areas of the world serviced by the British audio press which has traditionally favored this arrangement for speakers, that the Mozart was offered in these areas as a bi-wirable speaker. (Terry noted that Franco Servlin at Sonus Faber, also distributed by Sumiko, similarly does not believe in bi-wiring.)
Version 2 was also bi-wirable, but rather than using wire jumpers or the typical jumper bar arrangement externally between the two sets of binding posts, version 2 had a high-quality, internal jumper. Meaning, if you wanted to bi-wire, you had to remove the crossover plate and hack through what was described to me as a very substantial piece of metal.
Version 3, now available for about 1-1/2 to 2 years in the U.S. has a single set of speaker terminals--no biwiring. This version also uses a Scan-Speak tweeter in place of the earlier SEAS tweeter. Sumiko convinced Vienna that in the U.S., a non-bi-wirable speaker would be acceptable and also felt the product improved by the Scan-Speak tweeter (they didn't like the SEAS tweeter with the product).
Apparently, one can still get the Mozart outside the U.S. with the SEAS tweeter. With the Scan-Speak tweeter this is referred to as the "Signature" version.
I also asked Peter about amp and cable suggestions.
He noted that they have found the best match to be the Thule gear they now distribute out of Sweden. However, he was candid that he felt the Vienna line was aptly paired with a wide variety of electronics and mentioned Plinius, Classe, and others as good matches. As for tubes, he did note (which concurs with my experience) that the Mozarts in particular require an amp with good bass control. While he noted that some people love the Mozarts with 300b SETs, he concurred that a push-pull amp is probably the better choice. Here, again, I would agree as I've found they generally keep sounding better the more expensive the amp I pair mine with.
As for cable, he specifically mentioned that they have had great results with Kimber Select (I'd hope so for that $$$), Kimber Monocle XL for speakers, Nordost, the new Audioquest stuff, and Straightwire (for darker systems generally). I asked about OCOS speaker cable (which they import and I have tried with excellent results) and he was again candid in saying that while excellent, many times a complete cable match from source to amp to speaker was the better option--an option which is not currently available with OCOS (although apparently OCOS is working on an interconnect).
A few other tidbits:
Vienna is working on a Website. I told him to keep nagging Vienna about it.
Some notes on the new version (3.2) of the Beethoven. The main differences are an increase in size. The main reasons were two-fold: 1) To get the woofers off the floor a bit, and 2) to increase volume and give the woofers some breathing room. He notes that the result is a more dynamic, open-sounding speaker. I have yet to hear the new Beethoven, but when I was auditioning the Mozarts, my complaint with the Beethoven was that they were a bit congested and, at least subjectively, less dynamic than the Mozart.
Hope this clears up some of the confusion out there. I still have my notes and Terry said he would drop in to the Asylum and take a look, so please let me know if there's something I haven't addressed here.
I have posted this message to the original thread and as a new thread.
Ciao,
--Len
Hi again,
more than 100 klicks to this means to me, there is some interest in this information.
If anybody opend or changed the xover of the Mozart, please tell us (me) what and how you did it. I'm looking for a plan or circuit and photos of the xover. It would be great to get all the information for the Mozart Signature. I don't really know if the measurements in the following article are close to the signature:
Vienna Acoustics Mozart loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com
Of course there is a little notch between 1- 6 khz but not 18 dB?. I plan to flatten this with about 3-5 dB. So before I do so I need all Information I can get.
Thanks Neonus
more than 100 klicks to this means to me, there is some interest in this information.
If anybody opend or changed the xover of the Mozart, please tell us (me) what and how you did it. I'm looking for a plan or circuit and photos of the xover. It would be great to get all the information for the Mozart Signature. I don't really know if the measurements in the following article are close to the signature:
Vienna Acoustics Mozart loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com
Of course there is a little notch between 1- 6 khz but not 18 dB?. I plan to flatten this with about 3-5 dB. So before I do so I need all Information I can get.
Thanks Neonus
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