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But, I don't just listen pianissimo. With a transducer bred for dynamic reflexes, reaching for bombast classics as colleague Martin referred to Karajan's Beethoven Ninth in his Peachtree Nova review was - er, reflexive. What did I have in that genre? I settled on Beethoven's Egmont Overture and his Eroica symphony. I must confess that compared to most mainstream pop productions, such classical fare is a cannon blast during a quiet night compared to their steady sinus tones. Good grief! That macrodynamic jumps were rendered so convincingly, nay impressively was clearly due to the Allegro in no short measure. She maintained transparency and intelligibility during sotto voce passages and fired off brisk tutti salvos under full pressure. I've arguably encountered superior soundstage sorting during mayhem peaks elsewhere but the transference of orchestral power and scale here was well beyond ordinary. The Allegro thus graduated dynamic class with high honors. I'm of course familiar with higher sensitivity widebanders from Zu Audio's Druid MkIV which belongs to fairaudio's stable of reviewing tools. Though that one runs no bass horns, it's highly endowed dynamically. I was curious how both models would compare. Would they sound similar? Not. Little surprise perhaps. Most compact two-ways don't sound the same neither. |
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Granted, there was overlap right in the dynamic quarters where the Allegro moved more and faster air in the upper bass while the Zu Druid had more microdynamic finesse. Soundstaging exposed more similarities. Both speakers cast a very generously proportioned wall of sound with rather soft transitions between performers. Neither exemplified ultimate accuracy nor focus lock. But that's where similarities ended. Particularly tonally, both widebanders were carved from different stock. Both were limited at the extremes but there were differences of quality. The Allegro was more at home in the upper octaves where the Druid undoubtedly lacks air. The same could not be said for the Allegro. Inspected close up, one will detect a lack of resolution perhaps but not insufficient amplitude. In the low bass, both speakers capitulated which seems inherent in the general widebander concept. Yet one could rightfully assume the counter position and declare that considering, both were surprisingly bass potent. The Zu Druid tracked bass runs with more contours and definition yet more litheness while the Allegro had the edge in dynamic impact. The Austrian added a further quality which I initially had a hard time defining. My brain suggested 'airy' but since when has bass ever been airy? Perhaps describing how a bass drum was rendered will help. Hifi fiends love to hear the central impact in a spatially clearly defined area rush forward with welly and at high speed. That's always fun and indeed, the Allegro served punch and tempo well. The difference arose in how such events were not concentrated in one point or clearly defined origin. They energized the air in the entire room. Don't assume lack of definition however. If you focused solely on the lack of spatial - er, focus, you'd be correct. Yet rhythm and timing were anything but diffuse or amorphous and one could quickly develop a serious habit for such willingly responding, massively vibrating air masses. |
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I related this special bass character to the bass horn whose virtual membrane aka mouth simply couples more directly to more air than a smaller transducer. What created that notion was a prior encounter, albeit to an even greater extent, with Zu's Presence. That speaker at twice the Allegro's price but without bass horn runs altogether six 10-inchers to strut considerable cone surface. The Presence pulled the same trick of readily responsive wall of bass. Whatever the true technical explanation might be, the Allegro acted accordingly and whether you fancy that is personal. Some will miss spatial accuracy. Others shall counter with "c'mon man, when's the last time you hit your local Jazz cellar to listen to some nice Blues Rock - did you come across any spatial precision there?" Such sentiments often add "artificial hifi sound" for color from whence any discussion quickly turns ribald. |
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Equally a clear matter of taste was the midband's tonal balance. Here the Austrian and American widebanders diverged most strongly. Neither was 100% neutral. Where the Druid emphasized the foundation, the Allegro honed in on the presence region to tickle fans of lively and pronounced mids. Those highly sensitive there might need to look elsewhere. I could envision basic polarization in fact. On one side will be the Allegro fan who blissfully observes whether a singer's tongue contacts the right or left molar. On the other side should sit those who would wish for more restraint, for a bit more chest than throat. To know which side of the fence has your name on it does require application of the Bible's mandate "Ye with ears to hear, hear!" So go listen, dammit. Conclusion Clearly Hornmanufaktur's Allegro won't be everybody's darling. But anyone who follows widebanders with back horns likely buys not into trends and fashions but pursues deeply private moments of musical bliss. That's the perfect approach, listening for oneself while trusting personal responses. This Austrian proposition is highly dynamic and rhythmic and arrives with specific tonal balance traits. Ancillary electronics would well lean to the fuller and though not a must, a valve amp might be a good idea. Both a solid-stage Rega integrated and a Lua valve worked well for me. One should however avoid very wiry, bass-light or outright angular components. Sound character
Facts
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redaktion @ fairaudio.de
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