Vivid Audio Giya G1 Speaker Review

Rock-solid Image and Soundstage

I like to play music at “realistic” levels, which in my case usually means “loud.” I have not encountered any speaker that sounds so natural and effortless at such high volumes as the Vivid Giya G1. No matter how loudly I played the music, the instruments remained separated and articulate, while maintaining the music’s coherence, performer placement and overall soundstaging. Absolutely rock-solid imaging and soundstaging at any volume level with any kind of music is a fundamental characteristic of the Vivid G1.

This excellent soundstage was enhanced by the G1’s ability to disappear. I don’t know if this is due to its narrow front face, the depressions around the tweeters and midrange which cause those drivers to protrude from the speakers face, or the wide radiating pattern of those drivers. Most likely it’s a combination of all of those features. Either way, the Vivid G1’s are in the top echelon of large full-range speakers that sonically “disappear.” This disappearing act even worked when I sat way off-axis, either left or right, or stood up or sat in the seat. This characteristic also created a large sweet spot from the G1 – significantly bigger than the B&W 800D and virtually every other full range speaker I’ve had in my system. Very impressive.

Low Level Resolution

Lest you think that I don’t listen to quiet music or pay attention to background details, I also want to talk about the Vivid Giya G1’s low-level resolution. Sometimes I run into speakers that are extremely detailed – so extremely detailed that they don’t sound natural to me. Don’t get me wrong, I demand a high level of detail in my music listening. However, I don’t want the detail to dominate the presentation as a whole unless that’s what the artist intended. In my opinion, the G1 gets this just right. Even when using them with highly detailed components, such as the Pass Labs XP-20 or XP-30 preamps, the detail never overwhelmed the overall presentation. The supreme coherence of the G1 always remained dominant.

Speed and Dynamics

I often separate evaluation of dynamics from the discussion of speed. “Speed” is a combination of pace, rhythm and timing (PRaT), while dynamics usually refers to the ability to rapidly and realistically move from low to high volumes, and vice versa. When a speaker is both fast and dynamic it can imbue the music with a very live feel, thus increasing the sense of realism in the presentation. Speed and dynamics are strong traits of the B&W 800Ds. The Vivid G1s are even better, combining incredible dynamics and speed with unshakeable coherence resulted in my first, and not last, “Oh My God!” experience with them. I played four tracks I regularly use to evaluate PRaT, speed and dynamics: Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” from Graceland; Perez Prado’s “Mambo Jambo” from The Best of Mambo; Talking Heads’ “(Nothing But) Flowers” from Naked; and Rusted Root’s “Ecstacy” from When I Woke. I loaded those four in that sequence and let them play consecutively nonstop. When Rusted Root’s last drum whack ended I sat there stunned with a stupid grin on my face for at least thirty seconds, then literally blurted out “Yeah!” in such an excited tone of voice that my dog came charging into the room, barking furiously.

Conclusion

I could definitely go on about the superior virtues of the Vivid Giya G1, but I’d really just be repeating myself. The G1s are uncolored, dynamic, lively, expressive and coherent. They have finesse and power – the iron fist in the velvet glove. They have imaging that at times seemed to reach the “fool me” level of the MBL 101. Driven by the huge power reserves of the Electrocompaniet Nemos (bass amplification) and Nadas (mid and treble) the G1s made everything seem effortless. Visitors who came to listen unanimously preferred the Vivid G1 to everything else I had in the house, and from sonic memory preferred the G1s to other high end speakers that they previously heard in my home system.There was nothing of a euphonic nature, nor anything of an analytical nature coming from the Vivid Giya. In the parlance of the tennis world: game, set and match, as well as tournament and Grand Slam. The Vivid Giya G1s are definitely my new reference.

In case that’s not clear enough, I bought the Vivid Giya G1 when this review was completed.