Audiophilepure

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.

https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/proac-k1

While no one will see the plinth’s bottom surface once the speakers are on stands, it’s a shame that ProAc didn’t cover the base with veneer or give it some other treatment to make it look smarter. Currently, it looks a little unfinished with the plain wooden panel visible. This feels like cost-cutting that has no place in a product such as this. The way the plinth’s metal front plate is attached looks a little messy from underneath, too. Neither of these things are major issues, but at this price level, such small details matter.

ProAc makes 50cm-tall dedicated stands for the K1 that cost £995 ($1995). They require assembling and are held together by an oddly varied collection of screws and bolts. There are four columns in total for each stand and, thanks to pretty clear instructions, it doesn’t take long to put them together. The silver one in the front is solid aluminium (matching a similar piece on the front of the speaker), while the remaining three (all painted black) are hollow steel tubes. Once assembled, the stands are quite resonant, so a bit of mass-loading with sand or similar would help.

And, most delightfully, the 4349’s woofers don’t lose pitch definition or speed despite their size and weight. But as good as the bass is, it is NOT their best feature – that would be the midrange and treble! JBL’s horns put out a dynamic, clear, open, and extended midrange and treble. Again, I was highly skeptical about the 38mm horn driver – surely it couldn’t have the high-end sparkle and extension of a smaller driver of lighter mass? But from the first listen, the squinched-up-looking horn and its driver just astounded me. Not only did it disappear as being a discreet sound source, but the dispersion provided a holographic-sounding image with more clarity than I’d heard in my room before.