Audiophilepure

https://www.stereophile.com/content/stenheim-alumine-twofive-loudspeaker

I could just hear the 32Hz tone, which was boosted by my room’s lowest-frequency mode, but I couldn’t hear the 25Hz and 20Hz tones. The half-step–spaced tonebursts on Editor’s Choice spoke cleanly and evenly down to 63Hz, though there was some emphasis between 2kHz and 4kHz. I heard no audible wind noise from the port with the lowest-frequency tones, and the tonebursts and warble tones sounded clean, with no “doubling” (second-harmonic distortion). With the Stenheim speakers toed in to the listening position and the tweeters just below the height of my ears at 36″ from the floor, the dual-mono pink noise track on Editor’s Choice was reproduced as a stable central image. The high frequencies sounded smooth and the midrange uncolored. The noise sounded hollow if I stood up. Moving my head from side to side, I heard very little comb filtering.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/dynaudio-contour-20-be-standmount-speaker

With spring in the air, it was strange to hear the Christmas vibes of ‘Goose Snow Cone’, but Mann’s voice was portrayed so beautifully by the Contour 20 BEs it was worth a bit of cognitive dissonance. As a whole this song came together very organically, without a trace of stress. Moreover, the intimate nature of the album, which despite the title doesn’t feel depressing at all, was successfully conveyed.

English-born but residing in Gambia, Sona Jobarteh is not (yet) as well-known as her cousin, the late Toumani Diabaté. But as the first female kora player from a griot or djali family (the clans of West African musicians and storytellers which play an important social role), she’s been turning heads during a recent European tour. Her 2022 release Badinyaa Kumoo [AGBK22-2] sounded atmospheric and lively through the Contour 20 Black Editions, which not only evoked the richness of the five-stringed kora, but also Jobarteh’s breathtakingly dexterous playing on tracks like ‘Musolou’ or ‘Ballaké’.