Audiophilepure

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“I wrapped up with a track that combines sweeping orchestral work with guitar, mandolin, and male vocals; ‘The Last Goodbye’ performed by Billy Boyd from the soundtrack to The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies [2014 Warner Bros]. Once again vocals were incredibly smooth and natural. Billy was front and centre and sized appropriately. After a strong EDM track, it was fun to hear massed double basses creating powerful bass from string and bow. Mandolin and guitar had great tone and resonance. The sense of scale from the orchestra was sweeping and a true delight. This recording offers a nuanced vocal performance in the midst of orchestral grandeur and the Kanta N°2’s were able to serve it up in as good a presentation as I have heard for this song (I have played it with every pair of speakers I’ve had in the room, some far more expensive than the Focals). That the Kanta No2’s could deliver music as enjoyable as this is a true testament to the skills of the designers and engineers at Focal.”

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“The bass was round and, as I’ve said, deep, but didn’t devolve into muddiness or sloppiness. The midbass wasn’t of the super-tight variety I typically favor, but, like the XT-5s’ soundstaging characteristics, it was a change I could easily appreciate, and made many songs that I enjoy sound more relaxed. The title track of Donald Fagen’s Morph the Cat (16/44.1 FLAC, Reprise/Tidal) didn’t have quite the visceral impact I feel from some other speakers, but the bass was still deep and tuneful, if a bit rounder than what I’ve heard from, say, Magico and YG Acoustics speakers. The Raidhos found their groove in the way they could swing with the rhythm of the music, without locking it down with an iron fist. I could easily imagine the XT-5s overloading a small room — proper matching of speaker to room size will be important, but of course that’s true of any speaker that can produce low bass.”

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“It’s a warm, dense, soft, fast and resolving sound, with the emphasis on the first three. We get a big soundstage, but without a clear depth – we have intimate contact with the performers and the foreground is the most important layer. On the other hand, the stage is spread wide, the sound is not squeezed into narrow space in front of us, it breaths and is unrestricted. They can work with any amplifier, although – I in my opinion – they should perform better when provided with more power. Their motto is: naturalness, naturalness and one more time naturalness. If this product came from some exotic Japanese manufacturer, it would cost twice as much, or more.”

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“The Monitor Audio Silver 300 is an extremely accomplished product that offers a level of sound quality unexpected at this price. I was especially impressed by the fact that the overall design is so well balanced and complete. The speaker doesn’t excel in just one or two areas, but performs admirably across the board. Some similarly priced mini-monitors may have a lusher midband or silkier treble, but they won’t begin to match the Silver 300 in bass articulation, low-frequency extension, and dynamic contrasts. Moreover, the Silver 300 plays far bigger than its cabinet size, driver complement, and price would suggest, with robust dynamic authority. It’s also very easy to drive; the Esoteric F-03A’s 30Wpc was more than enough power.”