Audiophilepure

Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature floorstanding loudspeaker

This source proved highly engaging with a variety of records, the less smooth among them were not masked but neither were their shortcomings emphasised. For a contrast I swapped amplifiers for a Rega Elex-R integrated, a musically inspiring few days ensued with what turned out to be a surprisingly well-matched combination. The bass wasn’t as solid but it still went down low with adequate control and the mid and treble provided a spark that was hard to put down. It proved to be highly enjoyable with everything from Nick Drake to Blind Faith (the live version of ‘Can’t Find My Way Home’ is a blinder) and Terry Callier to name a few. All had three dimensionality, pace and good projection when the recordings allowed it.

Magnepan LRS planar quasi-ribbon-type dipole loudspeaker

The LRS’s articulacy and dynamic agility are outstanding, too. To appreciate what I mean by this, try Rodrigo y Gabriela’s rendition of ‘Stairway to Heaven’ from their album of the same name [Universal Imports, 16/44.1]. Folklore has it that this song has been so over-played that it has been banned in most every music store in the known world, but Rodrigo y Gabriela’s flamenco guitar interpretation is so energetic, expressive, and finely crafted that one can’t help but stop and listen. Happily, the LRS’s do their part to bring the music alive. First, they capture the sharp transient attacks and the fiery but also warmly rounded timbres of the guitars in a highly realistic way. Next, the speakers effortlessly keep pace with the performers’ often fleet-fingered runs of notes while also making it easy to appreciate differences between the guitarists’ playing styles. Most importantly, though, the LRS’s show this guitar duet is truly a conversation between two world-class musicians who both have a lot to say.

Audiovector R6 Arreté floorstanding loudspeaker

So, I come back to my opening gambit. The Audiovector R6 Arreté deserves to be better known. It’s part of a new shape to high-end audio; a distinctly European approach that meets the demands of smaller rooms and listeners without man-caves. It’s a younger, possibly more chic approach that recognises the importance of sonic performance and domestic styling. It’s also a distinctly Continental sound too, with a performance that doesn’t just maximise a single quality but goes for a more well-rounded approach. The fact it does that with a new ‘compound bass’ isobaric loading system making good, deep, fast bass a realistic goal moves this speaker into the ‘must hear’ stakes. As a result, it’s galling not to see this fine loudspeaker rubbing shoulders with the biggest names in high-end audio. In terms of sonic appeal, build quality and looks, it more than deserves its place at the top table. Partner this with good electronics (not simply good Danish electronics, but that aforementioned Gryphon does make a lot of sense) and you have a system that can take on all comers from around the world. And

The Spendor A4s have a lot of positive aspects. They do not overtly attempt to redefine basic concepts of speaker design, the way the Gradient 1.4s do, for example. But they are small and elegant looking; they will play quite loudly with surprisingly good bass extension; they are easy to drive with no impedance glitches, although they are only medium in sensitivity; and they have a smooth and natural-sounding top end. Above 1kHz there is little to object to about them although there is a bit of excess energy around 7kHz and there is a (harmless and perhaps even advantageous) dip at 3kHz. But they have an unusual overall balance that is not really correct, and not really consistent with the sound of live music, unless the balance is corrected somehow. However, their smoothness makes such correction easy, and, fixed up properly, the A4s sound very good indeed, and very true to the source material. Smoothness counts, if it is balanced right.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/focal-aria-k2-936-loudspeaker

It is, as well, a speaker of paradoxes. Like those mighty Grand Utopias that sang like nightingales at that Montreal audio show, the K2 936 combines qualities that would seem to work against each other, but here they work together: smooth and dynamic. Power with finesse. Rich and detailed; warm and transparent. The K2 936 played all genres of music in a way that made them engaging to listen to. The Focals breathed the music in and out. They sucked me in with their whispers and pushed me back with their force.

I can’t imagine the average audiophile, or music lover, not liking the K2 936. That’s not to say it’s for everyone; it might not be the best choice for, say, a small, square room, or if it has to be placed against walls or fed by overly rich-sounding electronics. But in the right room, dialed in just so, the Arias offer the whole package: smooth highs, warm and detailed mids, bass you can feel and that can carry a tune.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/sonus-faber-maxima-amator-loudspeaker-page-2

And that seems to be the story with these speakers: playing the McGarrigles’ Dancer With Bruised Knees [Warner 7599-25958-2] the harmonies on, for example, ‘Perrine Était Servante’ are wonderfully delicate and breathy, with great body to the accompanying instruments. The same goes for folk group The Unthanks’ ‘Hawthorn’ from their Mount The Air album [Rabble Rouser Music RRM013] where the Maxima Amators ensure these voices just hang in space in an entirely captivating manner.

Then, turning to a real demo warhorse, Antonio Forcione and Sabina Sciubba’s Meet Me In London [Naim CD021], sees the duo’s take on ‘Why Can’t We Live Together?’ revealed here as notable not only for the power and scope of the voice as for Forcione’s guitar stylings and whipcrack fretboard taps. You’d almost think it was an Italian thing!

https://www.stereophile.com/content/marten-parker-trio-diamond-edition-loudspeaker

I had been invited by the late Peter J. Walker of Quad to record this performance by his local orchestra accompanying no fewer than 200 singers in England’s Ely Cathedral, in a performance celebrating the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death. I was eagerly anticipating making the recording in the cathedral’s superbly supportive acoustic and had scoped out what I felt would be the optimal position for Calrec’s then-new Soundfield single-point microphone. Using the controller for the microphone’s four capsules, I was able to synthesize a crossed, coincident pair of figure-8 microphones to make the stereo recording. However, when I arrived to set up my gear, the cathedral staff insisted that I had to place the microphone 12′ above conductor Christopher Brown’s head.