Recently got posted to Afghanistan. So had to pack my beloved Betsy’s and send them to Turkey. Which would give me a couple of weeks without an audio setup.

So I decided to use those couple of weeks to demo some other highly praised speakers to compare them against the Betsy’s. Obviously had to rely on memory and notes and very short break-in. But here is my thoughts for whatever they might be worth.

First match-up: KLH Model 5s.   Or should I say, first victim? After a couple of days of positioning, and demoing with different tweeter settings, it was really difficult for me to understand why these got so many positive reviews. Sound is compressed, vocals recessed, no coherence. Really boxed in type of sound. Never thought I would hear the limitations of a box so clearly. And where is that fast bass and lively tweeter? These would never make you want to go back home as soon as you can. Maybe it’s my custom Fleawatt amp that sounded so well with Betsy’s did not offer a good match for the Model 5s. But these were also supposed to be easy to drive. Major disappointment for the price.

Second attempt: Triangle BR03, also known as Bros. Well these pretend they have more detail. They have more high frequency emphasis. But they sound thin and tizzy. Almost no depth. That high frequency response is just there to give you a sense of detail. And that’s about it. I could say these try to sound like Focals. But all they could achieve is to pretend.

Third attempt: Focal Chora 806s. I have the Focal Chorus 807Ws. Before I met Betsy’s, I was in love with those. They use the W sandwich cone from the Utopia line, which are better that the Flax cones used in the Aria line. Great 7” cone size and famous tweeter performance. But stil haven’t had a chance to compare them against Betsy’s. Anyway, Focal discontinued the W line (out of fear that they would expose Arias?), and tried to come up with this new cone design with the Chora series. Good attempt, audibly better than the previous entry level V cones, but not close to W performance. And against Betsy’s, they also sounded less coherent. Not as much as KLHs, but they did nonetheless. They had some depth, but not much. Again, the sound is almost begging to be unleashed. They are still better than KLHs and Bros. But Betsy’s are on a different level. Especially with good recordings, Betsy’s simply sing. Though I stuck with the Focals till I left the US as they were the better choice out of the three challengers, they could only offer some consolation in the absence of Betsy’s.

Next stop? Well, some highly affordable DIY open baffles here in Kabul as the Betsy’s wait for me in Ankara. Ordered Visaton BG20s, and see how our carpenter and I will be able to work them out.

Hi Emre,

Many thanks for the kind words .....

The Betsy baffles are not intended to impress "audiophiles" .... they are designed for music lovers, and they pass that test with flying colors.

Caintuck Audio started out as my "retirement hobby / business" and as of today I have shipped 600+ pairs of Betsy baffles and baffles for Lii Audio drivers to customers in 49 states and a dozen international locations.

I'm busier now than I was when I worked in the IT industry .....

Best wishes and happy listening,
Randy