On Ali express any of the drivers that say lii audio are the original manufacturers. All others will say lii song. They have to say lii song because lii audio owns the name lii audio in China.
Lii song (different company different manufacturing different quality) uses lii audio around the rest of the world because after leaving the company he secured the website and the international rights to the name lii audio. I will never buy from them because he could have just called his company lii song and avoided the international confusion, instead he chose to use the lii audio name.
So anything that says lii audio on ali express is the original company otherwise it says lii song. This goes only for Chinese websites. I wish it was like this in the rest of the world.
I really have no interest in which you purchase i just want shed some light on what's what as best as i understand it because lii song sure has done a good job of mudding up the waters in respect to that and that's a shame.
Thanks for the clarification re vendors. Agree on the Lii Song train wreck. So "Lii Audio" doesn't sell direct on Aiexpress but they do have authorised dealers. If the Decware forum is credible counterfeits are common and non-stocking unauthorised vendors advertise product then go to market to fill orders as they arrive. Any way to tell?
I wouldn't have any idea how many imported from China are Lii Audio vs Lii Song vs counterfeits of either. As of today Decware does appear to have standardised on Lii Song. For good or bad, buying a Lii Song direct from the Lii Song web site presumably assures you're getting an 'authentic' Lii Song. Business must be very good for Lii Audio that they haven't yet found a web sales portal as necessary.
I think this thread has gotten a bit silly. I had asked about a comparison between F-15 and Fast-15 intending to hear of opinions from folks who had them both.. I also assumed, probably foolishly, the drivers would be from lii-audio.com. I’d still like to hear of that comparison; sadly, I can’t afford the 15” Tannoy divers I really want..
Examples of confirmed Lii Audio dealers would arguably still help with buyer hesitancy. Some of the dealers listing Lii Audio drivers carrying both those markings also sell knock-off speakers that look like below, though admittedly in this case not with B&W labels. The willingness to wholesale copy doesn't inspire confidence.
Not a bad thought. I may end up just building cabinets for my Tannoy 12" Gold alnicos instead.
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Hawthorne Silver Iris 15" OB drivers on the used market are an option.
for Tannoy you need a coax driver not fullrange and forget his sound ..... btw used driver can be find
Yes, thank you. I know well what type of speaker a Tannoy made - and didn’t intend to turn this into a Tannoy thread my merely mentioning the brand name.
Looks like the only way to find out about differences in the drivers I’d asked about it to buy them both and compare myself.
Please do 🙂
I haven't compared them either, but I think the Decware website has some of the best info (both measurements and listening impressions by Steve Deckert).
-> The F15 they use seem to be the 'authentic' ones (wooden phase plug, red/green/gold sticker) and do not have a treble peak; https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1561942815/965#965 . I don't know if and where you can still find them.
-> The Fast 15 from liiaudio.com seems to have the best low-end. Use a notch if the peak bothers you: https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1658916276/162#162
-> I have the F15 from liiaudio.com. Very little bass in big OB (I use subs from 80hz), 5-6khz peak needs a notch to my ears. I added a front-firing tweeter >12khz and a rear-firing tweeter >3khz. Huge soundstage, lovely low-midrange, nice balance, they do something right...
Awesome. You may want to inquire about the new lii audio fast 15.its a 2022 model. I inquired about it on the store called "lii audio flagship store" on ali express and they said they can get this and will be listing it soon. It's supposed to be an improvement of the old fast 15 in every way. Just a heads up if you sre going to purchase.
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Lately I asked a Chinese audio friend and he knows both brands.
From what I hear it seems that the "authentic Lii Audio", or "Xizi Morning Glory", made lots of accusations against Lii Song. From Xizi's narrative, Lii Song is created by a "wanted man", out of pity Xizi offered this "wanted man" a post of sales person but he ended up stealing the modules, the website and the market outside China.
And when he asked Lii Song, they just mildly told him that they were partners and then go separate ways.
Both have shop on Taobao and hilariously, Lii Song is more expensive but sells better than Xizi.
I guess the owner of "authentic Lii Audio" doesn't have language problem within China, does he?
My friend bought from Xizi before, now he bought Lii Song's new flagship, PT-15, and is happy with it.
From what I hear it seems that the "authentic Lii Audio", or "Xizi Morning Glory", made lots of accusations against Lii Song. From Xizi's narrative, Lii Song is created by a "wanted man", out of pity Xizi offered this "wanted man" a post of sales person but he ended up stealing the modules, the website and the market outside China.
And when he asked Lii Song, they just mildly told him that they were partners and then go separate ways.
Both have shop on Taobao and hilariously, Lii Song is more expensive but sells better than Xizi.
I guess the owner of "authentic Lii Audio" doesn't have language problem within China, does he?
My friend bought from Xizi before, now he bought Lii Song's new flagship, PT-15, and is happy with it.
Multiple searches using various iterations of Lii Audio, Lii speakers, Lii 15", etc. on Aliexpress don't return this site for me, even in full quotes. Only Google returns it properly: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/912608241 A disadvantage for NA customers is shipping is a significant portion of the driver cost.
The 'wanted man' angle is a novel twist. The Lii saga is a gift that keeps on giving.
No doubt. At that price there are LOTS of alternatives. They must be trying to go for the Lowther type of mystique... ie, the "it's expensive so it must be good " thing 😉 haha