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Paul S wrote:

I recieved and accepted an invitation to hear an earlier version of the Cogent speakers, and I was subsequently asked for a considered opinion of the sound.  I guess the designers had read from my posts various criticisms of horns in general and they liked the idea of getting an "outsider" opinion so as to not get too cozily hunkered down in their own bullshit. Anyway, the system was so flawed that I am loath to try to get it all out.  However, it did one thing in one small (un-"loaded") portion of the midrange that is as good a rendition as I have ever heard, and that is the "ragged edges" of music.  That was simply uncanny.  Everything else was all over the place, from absurd scale to bass trombone dynamics, to combing, etc., etc.  As I recall they were using 300B amps (of course...), but pretty good, for all that. The thing that struck me, though, was that they were simply committed to their method and direction, and NOTHING was going to make them go back past a certain point of no return to re-evaluate and try something else. FWIW, I have NEVER heard big plywood horns I thought were worth a crap, so if you love those, these Cogents may be just what you are dreaming of.  But get in line.  People are beating the doors down for the old stuff, especially the properly pre-hyped old stuff.

I do not think that the “system was so flawed” or “everything … was over the place” is a last judgment about the Cogent loudspeakers. I herd them only once at CES, where the entire installation did quite poorly, adding to your description probably large trunk-bass sound as it was coming from a sewer pipe. However, a deferential snapshot of poor Sound has little meaning and it is more important the objectives of the system builders instead of the semi-accidental results that there got. The “objectives” is exactly where I do not get what Cogent guys do.

Cogent guys are fixated and obsessed with idea of electromagnetic drivers. Electromagnetic might be fine, though my personal evolution on the subject does not necessary suggest that the electro-magnets is undoubtedly winning direction to go.

http://www.goodsoundclub.com/TreeItem.aspx?postID=1929#1929

The RCA suspension-type is another major advance in the Cogent drivers. I never used RCA suspension and I can’t say. However, as far Cogent guys took serious and far-going in their evolvement into making own drivers as much shallow they are in any other aspect of playback installation, at least it was what I seen, and what I head from them. This way, my major complain about Cogent would not be the Sound that they got but rather the very primitive level of efforts at which they have chosen to operate. Within those generally-low demands the Cogent’s  really serious efforts (drivers) could not be exposed and could not be really assessed. 

I think Cogent need time to learn what they do. It takes personal evolution to underused sound and to teach own awareness to react to reproduced sound adequately. So, far the Cogent guys operate withing a framework of concepts but not within a framework of Sound – they make driver but they do not feel ownership over the sound that they accomplish in room. It is exactly where they are and it is completely upon them how serious chose to be.

The only negative thing that I can see in what Cogent do now is in the very cheap and very idiotic positive publicity that they are getting from the typical Internet Audio Morons. Years after years the primitivism of customers was destroying Bruce Edgar’s ability to make seriously sounding horn installations. Bruce is brilliant and very able guy but look at his clientele – 99% of them are idiots –this fact, I am sure, does not inspired Bruce to do anything more serious then just satisfying the primitive interests of his typically-idiotic, low demands customers. I afraid that the very same might happen with Cogent in future. I have seen a large amount of absolute cretins who passed their glorious observations about Cogent’s sound and it makes me very scare. Cogent also have “almost in staff” that Jonathan Weiss from Oswald’s Mill – a brainless, fealty, lie-spreading whore that defiantly does not adds values to the Cogent operation or to Cogent publicity. Form a different perspective Cogent’s Rich and Steve do not promote anything as “done and available to ship” and they are keep working – so far I fine it commendable. As I said before, if the Cogent’s boys start to pressure Sound then they very much could end up with something very much worth very serious attention.

So, so far I feel, Cogent demonstrate promising, controversial but non-interpretable result. I do not see Rich and Steve have problems with methods of knowledge and it is completely up to them what level of sound they would like to accomplish. They my stay pleasing the AA-level Morons ™ and it would be fine – I wish them to become successful in this and wish them a lot of driver with Harry Olson autographs to sell to many Morons around the world. Or they might try to push an envelop and to go for an eximious Sound for the given topology. It will be interesting to watch where Cogent will be landing….

Rgs,
Romy the Cat

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