Audiophilepure

https://www.hifinews.com/content/yg-acoustics-cairn-loudspeaker

In every way small but beautifully formed, the Cairns show all the benefits of their manufacturer’s integration of extensive analysis and modelling in the design and manufacturing processes. They’re precise without ever being clinical or sterile, and have a weight, depth and finesse that belies their compact dimensions. Few small standmounts will fill modestly proportioned rooms with such authority. They are little crackers!

https://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-specialties-alexia-v-loudspeaker

It’s been quite the six months in Serinusland. First the Stromtank, then the Nordost QNet and QSource, and then one of the finest DACs I’ve been privileged to enjoy, the dCS Rossini Apex. I never fully appreciated how good each of those components is until Wilson Audio’s new Alexia V loudspeaker let me hear so much more of what they can deliver.

All these changes and improvements can be summarized in one sentence: Assisted by first-rate amplification and source components, the Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia V presented the entirety of the musical argument more completely and satisfyingly than its predecessor did. And its predecessor was very fine.

The notion that the loudspeaker is the most important component in an audio system is hogwash, although that conversation may be more semantic than substantial. What’s the point of being able to hear more of what your system can deliver if all you hear is more distortion or mediocrity?

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

The (Le) Concert Spirituel recording of Handel’s ‘The King Shall Rejoice’ [Coronation Anthems; Alpha ALPHA868] sounded magnificent, complete with powerful drums and a fine unforced sense of live performance. There was nothing artificial or studio-y here, but instead a real impression of experiencing the music in a live space. It was a big, exuberant sound, but one with bags of detail to back it up, and those very ‘Handel’ vocal flourishes had a glorious ringing quality.

With the unusual instrumentation of Sachse’s ‘Concerto In F major’ from Clare Farr’s Loudmouthed Beauty recital [Lawo LWC1242, see p94] – bass trombone accompanied by church organ – the AVID Reference Threes delivered a persuasive impression of the two instruments in a church acoustic. Both the low-frequency power and harmonic richness of each was evoked, their notes ringing through the space. In the theme and variations of the third movement the effect was even more striking, with the extraordinary power of Farr’s instrument holding its own against the mighty organ.

KEF Reference 5 Meta

Back with solid state power and the Weather Station’s mumblings on ‘Marsh’ and other tracks where it’s not clear what is exactly being said but the feelings behind it are transparent in the hands of these KEFs. With an older favourite in Talk Talk’s New Grass where the vocals are quiet but easy to follow and the nuances of the performance are clear thanks to the transparency on offer. These speakers are borderline explicit when it comes to detail resolution, they really drill down into whatever you put through them and deliver the musical treasure that other speakers fail to expose. It gets the micro dynamics, the differences between the volume of notes, spot on and this brings a variety and colour to subtle pieces that often gets lost. It does the macro too of course and I thoroughly enjoyed Led Zeppelin’s ‘Killing Floor’ where they managed to give the bass a thickness that Metallica would have killed for, and  were clearly attempting to emulate on the Black album