Audiophilepure

I’m mindful here that this could sound like an ‘all detail, no fun’ loudspeaker. There are some high-end loudspeaker designs that make music a sterile, if detailed, event. There are others that go for the sense of occasion, at the expense of transparency, clarity and detail. Few manage to have feet in both camps, and the BC150 is one of those rare exceptions that are both musically communicative and musically analytical at the same time. That’s a heady mix, but might require some sensory readjustment on the part of the listener; we are used to having to make a choice in this trade-off, and the first time you get to experience both the detail and the musical intention that underpins that detail, it can be a daunting experience. Don’t be surprised if that doubles your listening energies at first, but you soon get past this and will find the sound just beguiling and inviting you to play further.

A sonic reevaluation could be short-hand for ‘it sounds so bright, you need to wait a little for your ears to be reprofiled’ in some cases, but not the BC150. This is a loudspeaker of great balance, remember. The BC150 is not bright, or boomy… it’s extremely neutral. There’s just so much neutrality on offer, it takes some time to process at first. Once you get over that hurdle, there’s no real going back however. It’s that good a loudspeaker.

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/aperion-audio-super-tweeters

I wasn’t a big fan of the pricier dual ribbon model. By measurement it actually began rolling off closer to 15kHz than to the 20kHz plus of the other two. But few of us are likely to be very sensitive above 15kHz, and there’s not a lot of source material that goes significantly higher (sorry, high-res fans). Nor did its rear-reflection capability add any audible benefits for me. But that might be different in another setup in a different room.

One issue I did find, particularly on the Aluminum Ribbon, is that the tweeters weren’t all that well matched. Each required different crossover and level settings for identical measurements. (I did swap them left and right to insure that the measured differences weren’t room or position related; they weren’t). This suggests that the ribbons themselves might not be tightly matched. The different settings available did ultimately result in a good match, however, and even in the same settings, without the benefit of measurement-matching, the differences were unlikely to be audibly obvious.

Sonus faber Lumina II Speakers

Although the bass produced by the Lumina II speakers was sufficient for most of my music listening, it could be improved with the addition of a good subwoofer. In the later part of my review, I used my Rythmik F12SE subwoofer, which is capable to extend the bass to well below 20 Hz, to augment the Lumina II pair and achieved an excellent result. In the setup, I let the Lumina II run full range and crossed over the Rythmik subwoofer at around 55 Hz. The combination turned out to be a potent one, improving the bass presence and adding more weight to the foundation of the overall musical presentation. Combining these bookshelf speakers with a good subwoofer in a 2.1 configuration like this made the whole musical reproduction more complete and would be my method of choice to gain the best sonic advantage of the Lumina II based speaker setup.

Nevertheless, I should attempt to draw up a brief description of the sonic outcome. Only the Goebel Aeon, whose bending wave driver reproduces the range from 160 to over 30,000 Hertz, had previously played so homogeneously and seamlessly in my listening room. The 05 SSEs definitely stand up to these also in terms of transient reproduction and speed. In addition, the Børresen flooded the room with perfectly proportioned low-frequency energy. And that is by no means a matter of course in my room: The upper bass range always seemed a bit too light, no matter on which high level the speakers performed in other disciplines. Already with the LumenWhite DiamondLight I longed for a bit more warmth in this frequency band, while the Goebels could do a touch better here as well. I don’t know what the reason is, but with the Børresens there are no disturbing first reflections in spite of their placement close to the side walls, and they also compensate for the room-related frequency dip quite naturally. They seem to be largely immune to the influences of their surroundings. But all this is far surpassed by the large, precise and three-dimensional sonic image the 05 SSE is capable to display: This is absolutely amazing!

 Hyperion speakers are the new penultimate speaker from Acapella – styled like the Apollon, but with four 15 inch woofers per speaker, instead of four 10 inch drivers (Apollon also has two 10 inch isobaric drivers per speaker). I think they took some lessons learned from the 18 inch woofer in the flagship Sphaeron speakers and reportedly the efficiency (and immediacy)  of the Hyperion is also quite high (nearly as high, as the Sphaeron).

There is a “review” of the new Hyperion speakers on a Chinese website (if you need to translate it, use chrome and select the ‘translate’ icon in the right side of the chrome address bar).

It is not really an in-depth of the Hyperion speaker’s sound, however, mostly a technical overview of Acapella in general and some good technical details of the Hyperion, with photos!

Hyperion Acapella Hyperion speaker in-depth evaluation (full)

The couple who owns our rental in Palo Alto has decided to sell [and, no, we can’t afford to purchase this nice little $3.8M Eichler ranch home] so we are moving. Since we have to crate our Apollon speakers anyway…. it’s a good time for someone to make us an offer so we will then have space for the Hyperion

https://www.stereophile.com/content/jbl-4367-studio-monitor-loudspeaker

Yet the 4367s deliver more of what I love about the Altecs than more conventional designs do. They don’t deliver it all, but they deliver what they do with fewer sonic tradeoffs. And even more than the Altecs, they largely free the listener from the mental calculus of deciding which types of recordings will sound good on their hi-fi: Unlike most contemporary audiophile speakers, the JBLs are at home with anything from solo harpsichord to the loudest EDM single. When called upon to do so, they can play back music at sound levels that rival a live performance. Besides their imposing size and appearance there’s not much you have to give up for these abilities. Sure, the 4367s will not sound quite as airy and holographic as some rivals, but, at least for me, the tradeoff is more than fair.

The JBL 4367 Studio Monitors provide a lot for your $16,500. They effortlessly fill the largest living spaces with loud music, don’t require mammoth amps (though at least 50W is recommended for all but the smallest spaces), and most importantly will play your whole record collection well. For listeners who want to hear every detail on their favorite recordings at lifelike volumes, these may be just right.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/avid-reference-four-loudspeaker

Staying with events in that county, the Fours do a fine job with the 2020 Bergen Philharmonic/Edward Gardner recording of Britten’s Aldeburgh-set Peter Grimes [Chandos CHSA 5250; DSD 64]. Yes, in absolute terms I could have done with a little more bass growl and weight for that celebrated ‘Storm’ interlude, but for speakers so small what’s on offer is still mighty impressive. In the context of an unfolding drama whose every nuance and twist is illuminated by the levels of insight these loudspeakers deliver, the loss of that last iota of room-shaking ability is a very minor concession.

In practice, those crashing, wind-tossed waves are certainly tumultuous enough considering the diminutive size of the speakers unleashing them, as is the way the Reference Fours portray the unearthly nature of the despairing conclusion to the piece. These are speakers to grab the listener and command attention, and they do that regardless of the musical genre being played.