Audiophilepure

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“Gordon concluded his review by saying that he “Enthusiastically recommended” the Shape 65. But that’s not where our experiences with this speaker ended — Jay Lee, our YouTube reviewer, performed a follow-up review for a SoundStage! Take 2 episode. He briefly used the Shape 65s on a desktop, as Gordon had, but did most of his listening with a two-channel system with the Focals perched on 24”H stands and driven by the single-ended (RCA) preamplifier outputs of his Hegel H190 integrated amplifier-DAC. In Jay’s small listening room, the Shape 65 sounded so much “like a floorstanding speaker . . . a properly full-sized one” that he had to reduce the speakers’ bass output by 2dB. He didn’t need a subwoofer — unlike with the other small speakers he has.

Playing all his favorite demo tracks, Jay was impressed by everything he heard through the Shape 65s. And when he played Sara K.’s “All Your Love (Turned to Passion),” he was “left in disbelief that this type of sound was coming out from two active monitors that were meant for nearfield [listening].” In fact, Jay was so taken by the Shape 65s’ sound that he wanted to extend the listening period of his review to “play around with the speakers even longer.” He concluded his video by saying that the Focal Shape 65 isn’t great only for studio professionals — it’s also great for audiophiles who “want a kick-ass speaker in their living room, listening room, or for a small, simple system.”

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“That said, this System Audio pairing has the knack of sounding bigger than you might imagine, and can image precise details as well as creating a fluid, forward-feeling wall of sound. AC/DC’s ‘Hell’s Bells’ [Back In Black; Columbia 510765 2] sits in the former camp, with a relatively sparse mix that places its twin guitars left and right, cymbal crashes mid-right and a kick-drum emanating dead centre. Brian Johnson’s tobacco-torn vocal then pushes through from behind. However, with the double whammy of Pink Floyd’s ‘Breathe (In The Air)’ and ‘On The Run’ [Dark Side Of The Moon; Tidal Master], the Legend 40s have to become more involved to capture the dreamy nature of the first recording, sending flange guitars soaring and giving body to organ notes, and then integrate seamlessly to hold ‘On The Run’s signature stereo pans in check. It’s a thrillingly evocative performance.”

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“What these speakers deliver is all the scale and power of the music – as much as that CD-quality limitation on the USB input will allow. Playing the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s recording of the overture to Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte [from Linn Records CKD 460], the Pranas’ rhythmic ability certainly sweeps the listener along with the music, while there’s entirely appropriate weight and scale to the sound.

Yet for the diehard audiophile, the Pranas may be found to lack that vital blend of musical force and window into the event that’s the hallmark of many a fine, if conventional and less convenient, set-up of amp and speakers.”

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“Each instrument occupies a defined space with the front soundstage. As the piece continues, the music slowly fades until we only the organ playing pianissimo remains. Soprano Nancy Keith’s comes in, and her voice helps fill the space. Once the men’s and women’s choirs join her, we get an accurate picture of the size of the hall’s immersive sound. As the choruses and the organ swell, the music expands and gloriously fills the chamber. The Otello’s presented an immersive listening experience that wrapped around the speakers and broadened into my room, giving me the impression that I was seated orchestra center in Meyerson Hall.

While the upper frequencies were airy and extended, they were also sweet and delicate. On the Analog Productions 45rpm reissue of Bill Evans’ Sunday At The Village Vanguard [Analog Productions/Riverside Records, AJAZ 9376], Evans’ playing was quick and light but did not give up any body. I also loved how the Otello’s treated cymbals. The cymbals on Buddy Rich’s Buddy Rich And His Sextet – Blues Caravan [Verve, V6-8425] have the right amount of sheen and extension without sounding metallic, clangy or glassy. They got them just right.”

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“My listening notes abound with specific examples addressing the rest of what TAS reviewer Anthony Cordesman has called “The Sonic Checklist,” but just one recording will suffice to underscore how consistently the Acora SRC-1s deliver more than a taste of the real thing. For several years now, Bernard Haitink’s 2010 recording of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15 with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, specifically the first movement Allegretto, has been among the first selections I put on when I’m at the critical listening stage with a component. The Acoras met all the challenges this recording presented. The glockenspiel notes that open the piece were focused and precisely localized. Solo woodwinds were correctly scaled and timbrally believable. Each note of the two trumpets’ unison triple-tongued triplets registered with clarity, and the ominous-sounding bass drum thuds underlying nervously chattering strings were presented with a sense of the instrument’s volume and the kind of mallet used to strike it. The full orchestra climax five minutes into the movement crested majestically, and there was a superb sense of the Amsterdam hall, one of the finest places on earth to make a recording or, better yet, hear a performance. The Acoras did all that, without exaggeration or artifice.”

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“Downsides? Very few if any really. Entry into this game is no small chunk of change. The lack of truly protective grills will cause some to hesitate, especially if they have animals and little humans around. Needing help to set them up could be seen as a concern, but once they are set minor adjustments are not difficult and who doesn’t have a friend that can give you a hand? I have truly enjoyed the speakers during their stay here. If and when I am in the market for a new set of speakers these will be on a very, very short list of candidates. (That list is no more than five so that is saying quite a bit). I would opt for the wenge finish, but that is just a visual issue and has nothing to do with the overall elegance and beauty. I could live just as well with these walnut ones. Perhaps one day the speaker fairy will drop a set in my audio room.”