OK, I'm developing a feel for these things by now.

They are relatively small, slightly bigger than a waste basket, but their bass response fills the room comfortably. I have not really been overwhelmed by the bass response so much as I have been keyed in on the upper register.

The upper register is what really catches one's ear - it is not the sligh-*test*-('") bit muddy and there is really nice separation that gives all of the overtones that I enjoy in Delta blues their due. It is not bright.

Everything "interesting" is there for my enjoyment. It's just a very comfortable listening experience. Remember these are in our bedroom and I lay there reading while listening. The Cerwin Vegas that I replaced with these can't hold a candle.

The little bookshelf CVs necessitated a pair of three foot stands to allow the highs to reach me. Ergo they are much more stable to boot.

The electronics must be a step or two above what the CV's had too. There is just a, hard to describe, room filling bass and mid range accompanied by highs that reach to my pillow located at the far end of the room. It's just pleasant, if you know what I mean, while still allowing me to enjoy the high register.

OK, the bass and mid tones are coming from "over there," it is not some stupid sub-woofer type of nonsense that is just in the listening environment - but is not coming from "nowhere."

As far as "expanding" the listening environment (as claimed) is concerned? Oh I don't know about all those reflecting tweeters doing that - but the music, in it's totality, does fill the room leaving no really substandard place to listen from while not demanding that ya' sit in the sweet spot.

My wife says: I'm hyper aware. So does this mean I notice little things?

She also says: I can be hyper critical. So does this mean I would tell you of any faults in this little pair of speakers? Y' damn betcha I would.

So they are next to my dresser drawers, about a foot away. They are located on the short wall of a rectangular room. I lay in bed reading while falling asleep while the sound travels the length of the room, not the best auditioning setup. I play them at a low to mid volume and have not really put the juice to them. In that environment...Ya owe it to yourself to pick up a pair if ya' come across a pair.

Yes they really are that good.

I bought them on speculation when I saw the build quality thinking that someone "cared." Yes definitely, somebody cared. The woofers/mid must be something a breed apart the way they simply fill the room with sound. The crossover network must also be the work of someone who knew which frequencies to send to which speaker. These are two-ways that I think send more of the midrange to the big speaker than most.

The tweeters just "project." They do a damn goodjob no matter where in the room you are.

I mean what more could you ask for from a waste basket sized pair of speakers that are not optimally placed in a listening environment that "just is what it is" and I have no intention of improving?

What in the hell happened to this company and more important why hasn't someone stepped into the void and started producing OA 14s today? How many people, who truly enjoy music, are satisfied with a Bose wave system in their bedroom but could have a pair of these powered up by a compact receiver or combo would snatch up a bedroom system with these speakers if available?

Bedrooms are bedrooms and fitting an unobtrusive hifi is a challenge. I am very lucky to have stumbled across these speakers. If you are so lucky, don't pass them by without giving them a listen.

Mine are in perfect condition, most probably need a rebuild. Knowing what I know - would I buy a pair that were going to eat up a hunk of cash refurbishing? Yes I would if I were going to use them as I have. Would I buy them as speakers for my primary system in my listening room? Probably not.

I could cart them down into my library and spend some time with them, but I doubt I ever will. That being said - I have a totally cool Magnavox roll top record changer console in my front room that provides "ambiance" when we have company or host a dinner party. I don't torture casual guests with what are my passions and have a closet full of Time-Life boxed sets that I play at low volume for that purpose. But I'm thinking that for a moderate sized living/listening room they just might be the ticket. Totally unobtrusive.

I cannot comment on anything else from this company, but for my purposes the OA 14 are first order.

as you say, somebody cared .... apparently a very well executed design. i'd love to hear what they can do.

Well that can be arranged.

They really are something to ponder once you hear them. After posting I realized that the reason they are not a "shelf item" is because of the attention to detail, and without that - they would break down.

It is apparent each speaker in this pair is, and was built as, an uncompromising audio delivery unit in every way.

Leave out any one, or compromise on any one facet, and the whole shiteree would collapse.

I have had many people email me regarding what went into them and I can see where leaving out or cutting corners would "break the chain."

They really are something special. They just fill the room with sound while speaking to anyone in any place in the room.

Really funny in that way.

Great review!

I understand the original Sonab company went out of business when the management made some bad investment decisions, but Stig managed to struggle back with a new company called 'Carlsson' that produced the last of the OA series like the model 50 and 51.

But (in the UK at least) they never had an easy ride from the press, who didn't understand what the designs were trying to achieve.

At that time (late 70's - 80's) the mantra was 'source first' and the enthusiast was constantly lectured to spend the bulk of their budget on the turntable with the amp and speakers being mere afterthoughts. I clearly remember one journal advising a system based around a Linn Sondeck turntable, Ittok arm and Troica cart with a relatively puny NAD 3020 amp and tiny Wharfedale Diamond speakers. Over 96% of the budget on the record deck! Man, they were strange times...

According to the UK magazines at that time, 'acceptable' speakers were simple front firing 2-way designs with 8" woofers, placed on stands - or else. It wasn't exactly a conducive selling environment for a relatively expensive speaker with several drivers that fired up at the ceiling!

In addition the few press articles that Sonab did get tended to be dismissive or carried out by reviewers who couldn't RTFM. The speakers were usually badly positioned the wrong way round (woofer out) or away from the wall. In one jaw-droppingly incompetent review they were placed away from the wall, on stands firing forwards like a conventional design.

It's really a wonder Sonab sold any speakers in the UK at all!

But has it not always been thus? Any speaker company whose designs deviate from the accepted norm is in for a rough ride. There are a few still out there plugging away (Shahinian and Duevel come to mind) but they tend to be expensive and hard to find.

Maybe someday a reasonably priced mass-market product will come our way, but in the meantime we have to seek out the vintage designs!

OK, I played everything I have by Mississippi Fred McDowell this past week through them. Actually I am now thinking of taking them to Kent and having them "maxed out" with new Peerless speakers (original replacements) and wiring throughout.

There is something there with these that defies their footprint. It ain't the bass response, not at all - but to hear the slide that Fred plays coming through, after crossing my bed, like it does through my ADS 1290s downstairs ... It's something to behold. Look, I sit in front of my downstairs system and in my bedroom I just kick back reading.

These Sonabs must have a crossover that is spot on for the speakers they have. They have a little thin wire feeding them, a funky connector prevents me dealing w/that. The slide guitar just fills the room and you can hear everything (four tweeters pointed all over the place reflecting the sound into the room?). It must be the cabinets and the placement of the tweeters combined with a spot on crossover. They are small 35 liters and never will be big bass boomers, but the overall sound at low listening levels is something to behold.

I don't ever envision me trying to ramp up the bass response, but I'm thinking the original speakers are getting a little tired. I want to own them forever and since the direct replacements are available...

I would actually like to experience them at their finest. I am going to haul a Hafler DH-200 and DH-101, Sanyo Plus T-35 tuner and an old Arcam Alpha 7SE disk player upstairs and listen to them really critically - the week after next (having a couple rooms retiled right now and am too busy). I'm now using a Sansui 5000x and a Onkyo disk changer to fire them up. I'm curious just how good they really are now.

With what I am driving them with now though, they are good, with a capital G. This $14 purchase has transformed my bedroom into a listening experience all by themselves.