THE VARIO'S Angelo
"I love the lonely, different, those who do not meet ever. Those lost, gone, spirited, screwed. Those with the soul on fire."
Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski, a bold thinker, the light that pierces the darkness, showing the depth of diversity, the man who chose to be abnormal.
I wanted to open my review with this quote in order to emphasize that not everybody loves to travel the highways, not everybody bows to the obvious and follows the roads used by others: you can reach the beauty without conforming. It 's true, though, that conformism is convenient, comfortable, reassuring; but it is also true that in order to stand out one requires strength, the courage to be oneself and to be different, to struggle twice as hard to get what is right.
You will say, dear readers, but what has that got to do with the hi-fi? ... It has plenty indeed, especially when you write about and recount of two "abnormal" sound objects as The Vario's Angelo.
I use the adjective ‘abnormal’ to describe the exterior of the speakers. The result of the design and creativity of Camillo di Rocco who, coming from the fashion design industry, has conceived an entire line of speakers, without harnessing his imagination with antiquated and reactionary aesthetic standards such as those of the typical audiophile ‘old fart’. The speakers’ design is ‘extreme’ since it integrates a grand electroacustic project in a cabinet with "human" features, like a cross – breed between a human and a bird, colourful, joyful and certainly not "unmissable’" by anyone!
4-way speakers, unconventional, as reported by the beautiful back plate.
When they were delivered in my studio on 23rd December 2015 (I still remember that date), I had them connected and positioned at eye level and immediately their potential shone through. I kept them for three months and the first impression was only a faint idea of what ultimately I "discovered", as day after day, they were central characters of my listening as well as the inspiration to many different configurations of my studio hi-fi system.
As I hinted, a "sumptuous" electroacoustic project which consists of a 30 cm woofer for low range, housed horizontally within the speaker system with a passband of the 6th sound order, with double reflex with a mechanically adjustable gain by means of modular elements which lengthen the reflex port.
The 120 Hz up to 1800 Hz range is reproduced by a 160 mm speaker with carbon fiber cone, housed in a separate chamber loaded in a bass-reflex, with a double port facing in the rear part of the cabinet.
The frequency range above 1800 Hz is produced by a neodymium tweeter in 28mm soft dome, ferrofluid-cooled, placed in a stand-alone unit with bird-like features and stacked on the "head" of the angels by means of interlocking connections.
Rear emission has a function of "ambience" with tweeter unit 28mm soft dome, ferrofluid-cooled, housed in an independent volume and loaded with a short and asymmetric horn.
Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski, a bold thinker, the light that pierces the darkness, showing the depth of diversity, the man who chose to be abnormal.
I wanted to open my review with this quote in order to emphasize that not everybody loves to travel the highways, not everybody bows to the obvious and follows the roads used by others: you can reach the beauty without conforming. It 's true, though, that conformism is convenient, comfortable, reassuring; but it is also true that in order to stand out one requires strength, the courage to be oneself and to be different, to struggle twice as hard to get what is right.
You will say, dear readers, but what has that got to do with the hi-fi? ... It has plenty indeed, especially when you write about and recount of two "abnormal" sound objects as The Vario's Angelo.
I use the adjective ‘abnormal’ to describe the exterior of the speakers. The result of the design and creativity of Camillo di Rocco who, coming from the fashion design industry, has conceived an entire line of speakers, without harnessing his imagination with antiquated and reactionary aesthetic standards such as those of the typical audiophile ‘old fart’. The speakers’ design is ‘extreme’ since it integrates a grand electroacustic project in a cabinet with "human" features, like a cross – breed between a human and a bird, colourful, joyful and certainly not "unmissable’" by anyone!
4-way speakers, unconventional, as reported by the beautiful back plate.
When they were delivered in my studio on 23rd December 2015 (I still remember that date), I had them connected and positioned at eye level and immediately their potential shone through. I kept them for three months and the first impression was only a faint idea of what ultimately I "discovered", as day after day, they were central characters of my listening as well as the inspiration to many different configurations of my studio hi-fi system.
As I hinted, a "sumptuous" electroacoustic project which consists of a 30 cm woofer for low range, housed horizontally within the speaker system with a passband of the 6th sound order, with double reflex with a mechanically adjustable gain by means of modular elements which lengthen the reflex port.
The 120 Hz up to 1800 Hz range is reproduced by a 160 mm speaker with carbon fiber cone, housed in a separate chamber loaded in a bass-reflex, with a double port facing in the rear part of the cabinet.
The frequency range above 1800 Hz is produced by a neodymium tweeter in 28mm soft dome, ferrofluid-cooled, placed in a stand-alone unit with bird-like features and stacked on the "head" of the angels by means of interlocking connections.
Rear emission has a function of "ambience" with tweeter unit 28mm soft dome, ferrofluid-cooled, housed in an independent volume and loaded with a short and asymmetric horn.
All drivers are manufactured by Morel.
Features:
Low frequency:
Band-pass system of the 6th acoustic order, double reflex mechanical gain adjustment through modular components which extend conduits.
Medium-low frequency:
A frequency range from 120 Hz to 1800 Hz reproduced by a 160 mm speaker with a carbon fibre cone, placed in a separate volume, bass reflex loading, with a double conduit facing the cabinet's backside.
High frequency:
The frequency range beyond 1800 Hz is reproduced by an Acuflex™ soft dome tweeter.
The cabinet is made entirely with the latest CNC machines, using only birch plywood glued in layers, thus giving birth to a piece sculptured externally but shaped in the internal geometries and in the reflex ports. This unique piece can be customized on the sides by choosing either fabric upholstery or fake leather.
The speakers I tested were upholstered with fabric, all for a weight of about 80 kg. each. They are delivered with some accessories, including modular elements for the variation of the length of the reflex ports (especially useful in order to adapt to the environment listening for low frequencies) and a wooden base to stand on.
The optimum positioning of the speakers in the room of my studio, used as a wife proof listening room (although my wife is absolutely not anti audiophilia, she is herself an audiophile, or better, she loves all types of music), has been a labour of love especially taking into account that I moved back into the studio after a refurbishment in the month of October 2015 and I equipped the room with an independent electrical system only in November of the same year. The room is rectangular in size, 6 meters by 5.50 meters, with vaults high about 5 meters.
The optimal position in my studio has been obtained by spacing the speakers from the rear wall of circa 1 meter/1 meter and 20 cm from the side walls, tilted to a 15/20 degrees angle towards the listening point, positioned at about 2 meters and 80.
Of pivotal importance in the search for the optimal positioning have been the modular elements supplied to vary the length of the reflex port located at the base of the speakers, taking into account that the Angels are endowed with a very extensive and important ‘bass’.
The binding posts are designed for bi-wiring, biamping, with four terminals finely crafted fit for any kind of termination, spades, bananas and bare wire.
The listening sessions have seen the participation of my best audiophile friends and also of a varied audience, since, almost every Saturday and Sunday morning, I hold listening sessions in my studio for enthusiasts.
During the long cohabitation with these speakers I've heard a real evolution of the sound reproduced by them: it got gradually more structured, getting better and better, for a variety of reasons. In fact, my system has undergone several transformations and the speakers have been burned in until they achieved maximum performance.
At the beginning, the bass seemed a bit 'too abundant’, but later, thanks to the correct positioning, the burn in, the tuning of the reflex port and the positioning of the studio carpet (actually it is a huge carpet - covering almost completely the floor of the room), first under the speakers and then positioned at a distance of about 1 meter, leaving the speakers in contact with the floor on their wooden base, all made the bass correct, extended, articulate, and dynamic.
The system I used is as follows, in the last configuration:
Source: PC dedicated, Intel i5 quad latest generation core, SSD, Win10 optimized, JRiver 21, 8 Terabite music in high-definition formats, DSD and lossless;
DAC: M2Tech Young DSD with dedicated linear power supply custom made by my dear friend Graziano Pintauro;
USB cable: custom made by dear friend Pino Moschetta on battery powered USB chip;
preamplifier: Classé Audio SIX L
Power amp: NAD 208 (250 + 250 Watt)
For the tests I used a complete set of interconnect cables, speakers cables, and power (on DAC) in aluminum, created by lover DIYer Loris Botteon, as well as my trusted Art Millenium 4000 IC, Analog Research Silver Raincoat (on power amp) and Lapp Ollflex (on PC and preamp) power. The electrical phase has always been carefully checked.
I fed these speakers all sorts of music and all kinds of electronic, making them play, among others, with my Krell KSA 100, with my mono tubes amps Esoteric Audio Research 509, with my tube integrated Raysonic Sp 88, with a preamp Audio Research Sp 9 MKII of Marco Panza, with my tube preamp Tube Technologies the Seer, with preamp and power amp Conrad Johnson Premier 17LSII and MV60 of dear friend Beppe Catapano and other electronics which would be too tedious to mention.
There is a term often used between us audiophiles that I literally abhor, a term also often used by pundits and by the "purists " of the audio out of context when, not knowing what to say about the sound of a system or one of its components, talk grandly by uttering the magic word, i.e. ‘transparency’. I said, I abhor this term because it means nothing or maybe it means too much, but in this case I, too, feel compelled to use it, talking grandly by using the hated adjective.
So, what do the Angels sound like? Transparent, I wrote!.... Shame on me!
Transparent like what, in what sense? Certainly not in the sense commonly used and abused, namely the presumption that some have to know what's etched in our beloved music media, so much that they ‘abuse’ this term to mean that "the tool" they talk about faithfully reproduces the content of the disc, of the music file, of the recording, if not of the fidelity to the actual event.
For the Angelo speakers, however, this term is used differently. They are transparent in the sense they reveal any changes, albeit minimal, of the listening set-up. They are the "Litmus test" to find out and reveal the quality of what is fed to them.
Through the Angel speaker one can identify the sonic characteristics of any component, cable, accessory that has been added or replaced in one’s system. That’s why they are transparent, or better, they are revealing, ruthlessly, without indulging in affectation, without covering the system and its deficiencies. They are, in the most dignified meaning, ruthless speakers and this is the distinguishing feature of their personality, the idea at the base of the project.
Some may argue that this trait can be understood as the lack of any personality, when instead they should be, for those who consider themselves audiophiles, the condensed idea of high fidelity, a full-range speaker that takes nothing away and nothing adds to the musical message delivered by its terminals. The terminal of the famous ideal of the "wire with gain."
That's why, when the Angelo were in my studio, with close friends we held comparative trials of dacs, of cables, of power supplies dedicated for DAC, and even product demos by Merging on January 9th and /10th 2016 with more than fifty guests.
As I was writing before, they are revealing and highlight any gaps of the system upstream. For example, through them I could see what harmful effect it has the deviation of the voltage from the custom 220 Volts, because for me in the afternoon, due to the opening of the stores, the electric tension tends to lower significantly down to 206/207 Volts. In fact it happens that the exciting morning or late evening listening cannot be replicated in the afternoon when all the shop windows, signs and interiors are lit (my office is located, alas, in the main shopping street of my city!). On the occasion of the demo by Merging I had a wakeup call about this problem, especially when, on the Saturday afternoon, I found out that the system sounded much worse than in the morning.
Features:
Low frequency:
Band-pass system of the 6th acoustic order, double reflex mechanical gain adjustment through modular components which extend conduits.
- Woofer Ø 12", 8 Ω
- 5.1" Large Hexatech™ Aluminum voice coil (130 mm)
- Nominal Power Handling (DIN): 800 W
- Transient Power 10 ms: 3000 W
- Uniflow™ Aluminum diecast chassis
- High flux double Ferrite magnet system
- Accucenter™ self centering cone assembly
- PFS™ Progression Field Symmetry
Medium-low frequency:
A frequency range from 120 Hz to 1800 Hz reproduced by a 160 mm speaker with a carbon fibre cone, placed in a separate volume, bass reflex loading, with a double conduit facing the cabinet's backside.
- Woofer Ø 6", 6 Ω
- Voice Coil Diameter: 75 mm
- Nominal Power Handling (DIN): 150 W
- Transient Power 10ms: 1000 W
- Carbon fiber/Rohacell/Carbon fiber composite sandwich cone
- Uniflow™ Aluminum diecast chassis
- Hybrid™ Neodymium/Ferrite magnet
- 3" Large Hexatech™ Aluminum voice coil
High frequency:
The frequency range beyond 1800 Hz is reproduced by an Acuflex™ soft dome tweeter.
- Tweeter Ø 1.63", 8 Ω
- Voice Coil Diameter: 28 mm
- Nominal Power Handling (DIN): 120 W
- Transient Power 10 ms: 1000 W
- 72 mm IDR™ Improved Dispersion Recess aluminum face plate
- Large Hexatech™ aluminum voice coil
- Double Neodymium magnet system
- Ferro fluid cooled
The cabinet is made entirely with the latest CNC machines, using only birch plywood glued in layers, thus giving birth to a piece sculptured externally but shaped in the internal geometries and in the reflex ports. This unique piece can be customized on the sides by choosing either fabric upholstery or fake leather.
The speakers I tested were upholstered with fabric, all for a weight of about 80 kg. each. They are delivered with some accessories, including modular elements for the variation of the length of the reflex ports (especially useful in order to adapt to the environment listening for low frequencies) and a wooden base to stand on.
The optimum positioning of the speakers in the room of my studio, used as a wife proof listening room (although my wife is absolutely not anti audiophilia, she is herself an audiophile, or better, she loves all types of music), has been a labour of love especially taking into account that I moved back into the studio after a refurbishment in the month of October 2015 and I equipped the room with an independent electrical system only in November of the same year. The room is rectangular in size, 6 meters by 5.50 meters, with vaults high about 5 meters.
The optimal position in my studio has been obtained by spacing the speakers from the rear wall of circa 1 meter/1 meter and 20 cm from the side walls, tilted to a 15/20 degrees angle towards the listening point, positioned at about 2 meters and 80.
Of pivotal importance in the search for the optimal positioning have been the modular elements supplied to vary the length of the reflex port located at the base of the speakers, taking into account that the Angels are endowed with a very extensive and important ‘bass’.
The binding posts are designed for bi-wiring, biamping, with four terminals finely crafted fit for any kind of termination, spades, bananas and bare wire.
The listening sessions have seen the participation of my best audiophile friends and also of a varied audience, since, almost every Saturday and Sunday morning, I hold listening sessions in my studio for enthusiasts.
During the long cohabitation with these speakers I've heard a real evolution of the sound reproduced by them: it got gradually more structured, getting better and better, for a variety of reasons. In fact, my system has undergone several transformations and the speakers have been burned in until they achieved maximum performance.
At the beginning, the bass seemed a bit 'too abundant’, but later, thanks to the correct positioning, the burn in, the tuning of the reflex port and the positioning of the studio carpet (actually it is a huge carpet - covering almost completely the floor of the room), first under the speakers and then positioned at a distance of about 1 meter, leaving the speakers in contact with the floor on their wooden base, all made the bass correct, extended, articulate, and dynamic.
The system I used is as follows, in the last configuration:
Source: PC dedicated, Intel i5 quad latest generation core, SSD, Win10 optimized, JRiver 21, 8 Terabite music in high-definition formats, DSD and lossless;
DAC: M2Tech Young DSD with dedicated linear power supply custom made by my dear friend Graziano Pintauro;
USB cable: custom made by dear friend Pino Moschetta on battery powered USB chip;
preamplifier: Classé Audio SIX L
Power amp: NAD 208 (250 + 250 Watt)
For the tests I used a complete set of interconnect cables, speakers cables, and power (on DAC) in aluminum, created by lover DIYer Loris Botteon, as well as my trusted Art Millenium 4000 IC, Analog Research Silver Raincoat (on power amp) and Lapp Ollflex (on PC and preamp) power. The electrical phase has always been carefully checked.
I fed these speakers all sorts of music and all kinds of electronic, making them play, among others, with my Krell KSA 100, with my mono tubes amps Esoteric Audio Research 509, with my tube integrated Raysonic Sp 88, with a preamp Audio Research Sp 9 MKII of Marco Panza, with my tube preamp Tube Technologies the Seer, with preamp and power amp Conrad Johnson Premier 17LSII and MV60 of dear friend Beppe Catapano and other electronics which would be too tedious to mention.
There is a term often used between us audiophiles that I literally abhor, a term also often used by pundits and by the "purists " of the audio out of context when, not knowing what to say about the sound of a system or one of its components, talk grandly by uttering the magic word, i.e. ‘transparency’. I said, I abhor this term because it means nothing or maybe it means too much, but in this case I, too, feel compelled to use it, talking grandly by using the hated adjective.
So, what do the Angels sound like? Transparent, I wrote!.... Shame on me!
Transparent like what, in what sense? Certainly not in the sense commonly used and abused, namely the presumption that some have to know what's etched in our beloved music media, so much that they ‘abuse’ this term to mean that "the tool" they talk about faithfully reproduces the content of the disc, of the music file, of the recording, if not of the fidelity to the actual event.
For the Angelo speakers, however, this term is used differently. They are transparent in the sense they reveal any changes, albeit minimal, of the listening set-up. They are the "Litmus test" to find out and reveal the quality of what is fed to them.
Through the Angel speaker one can identify the sonic characteristics of any component, cable, accessory that has been added or replaced in one’s system. That’s why they are transparent, or better, they are revealing, ruthlessly, without indulging in affectation, without covering the system and its deficiencies. They are, in the most dignified meaning, ruthless speakers and this is the distinguishing feature of their personality, the idea at the base of the project.
Some may argue that this trait can be understood as the lack of any personality, when instead they should be, for those who consider themselves audiophiles, the condensed idea of high fidelity, a full-range speaker that takes nothing away and nothing adds to the musical message delivered by its terminals. The terminal of the famous ideal of the "wire with gain."
That's why, when the Angelo were in my studio, with close friends we held comparative trials of dacs, of cables, of power supplies dedicated for DAC, and even product demos by Merging on January 9th and /10th 2016 with more than fifty guests.
As I was writing before, they are revealing and highlight any gaps of the system upstream. For example, through them I could see what harmful effect it has the deviation of the voltage from the custom 220 Volts, because for me in the afternoon, due to the opening of the stores, the electric tension tends to lower significantly down to 206/207 Volts. In fact it happens that the exciting morning or late evening listening cannot be replicated in the afternoon when all the shop windows, signs and interiors are lit (my office is located, alas, in the main shopping street of my city!). On the occasion of the demo by Merging I had a wakeup call about this problem, especially when, on the Saturday afternoon, I found out that the system sounded much worse than in the morning.
Now, what is surprising about these speakers is the ease with which they raise their performance as the quality of the set-up of the music played is raised; it seems they have no limits in terms of resolution, the absence of texture, extension, consistency, power handling and ability to unravel large amounts of music and environmental information, even when playing the big orchestra at realistic volumes.
The stage, once you find the correct position, is always wide, high and deep and capable of bringing the listener into the place where the recording is made.
Scanning of sound levels, i.e. the spatial placement of instruments and performers in all three dimensions, is always correct credibly representing the virtual stage. This feature is enhanced with rich recordings of environmental information, such as listening to the album by Eduardo Paniagua Group "Danzas Españolas Medievales" published by MA Recordings in 1995 and recorded in an ancient cathedral, or in listening to the song by David Lang and starring Maya Beiser "World to come IV".
The echoes, the reverberation, the harmonic decline of the notes are played in an engaging way thus allowing the listener to ‘be’ in the live event.
The "pedals" of the pipe organ of "My heart's in The Highlands" by Arvo Part are played in a plausible and realistic way without any trouble.
Even with rock and pop, the Angelo do not reveal any discomfort, for example, the Radiohead’s recordings, built with extreme overdubbing effects and voices, are delivered in a better way. As well as the unraveling of the electronic music of the complex sonic textures for the trip-hop, industrial rock and drone music.
All of this, of course, provided that the upstream system (electricity permitting) is up to the task.
With the Jazz and Classical literally they riverberate like in the reproduction of the introduction of Giuseppe Verdi's Macbeth, the one directed by Chailly, which leaves you breathless for consistency, ease and immanence with which they reproduce the full orchestra, the brass, the strings, the woods, the leathers.
Wonderful performance with modern high-definition recordings and DSD, for example, with the renaissance and baroque music proposed by Alia Vox in SACD with the unfading and omnipresent Jordi Savall.
In the interpretation of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Mariss Jansons‘ direction of the famous Mussorgsky "Pictures at an Exhibition", recorded in SACD hybrid by RCO, the lower frequencies are very clear and intelligible and the violins have a realistic tone never heard before not only because of the beautiful recording but also because of the Angelo’s ability to play any audible frequency without any dramatic losses.
Equally on the voices, the Angelo find special nuances that with other speakers remain hidden and maybe are delivered coarsely. Very natural, with realistic size, the piano made in full from the first octave to the last, to the point that every intention of the performer and intensity changes are obvious and clear (Tsuyoshi Yamamoto reveals, for example, his nature of a great "Pummeler"). Realistic are the size of the instruments and the voice of the performer (always for good recordings of course whilst those carried out with the mic "stuck in the throat" of singer still result too coarse).
It’s clear, however, that the best performance is achieved with the best recordings, because as I mentioned before, the Angelos do not forgive anything, do not wink, do not indulge, they are simply transparent (yet again!).
Equally unforgiving are the deficiencies of the electronics at their command. If I were to give advice, I would suggest solid state amplifiers for at least 100 Watts, and with a high damping factor, having to drive a 30 cm big woofer. With this in mind, exciting were the trials with my glorious power amp Krell KSA 100 (a solitary try for half a day - having subtracted the system transistor from home – no mean task indeed!). Such change allowed an exceptional ability to control as well as deliver sweet timbric and very fine sound texture, which I always appreciate.
Even with my underestimated NAD 208 (slew rate greater than 200) Angelo show major performance, only slightly lower than Krell’s in terms of sound texture and bass control.
As far as the valves are concerned, the situation changes substantially. I tried my friend Beppe’s Conrad Johnson solution (CJ). The low-volume listening was pleasant, characterized by tubey warm sound and the consequent pleasure, but when the volume was raised the magic ebbed, losing for the MV60 the ability to control the low frequencies (incidentally, in any case, it should be reported that the power amp was retubed in driving tubes since they had revealed a certain "fatigue").
A surprise was my integrated Raysonic Sp 88, only 35 Watts/channel declared with a push-pull of 7591, which showed greater control capability of the woofer than the CJ, having as a limit a slight "hardening of the medium" high frequencies at high volume, but being more than sufficient in normal service volumes.
With the EAR 509 of Tim de Parravicini it’s again another story, they are tube amplifiers but they behave almost like transistors with very good results in every respect, such as control, power, dynamics, lack of grain and rigorous timbre.
In short, the Angel are universal speakers that can play with many different types of amplifiers provided they are always of quality and with adequate current carrying capacity and damping factor.
They are the ultimate speakers around which and by means of which you can build a definitive audio system. They have no apparent limits of power handling, no timbric problems, never fatiguing; if an Angelo sounds bad then the cause is certain to be found somewhere else; when they "scream", as I have established, it depends on the limits of other components, or the environment, the electrical system, the recording; and so it is when they deteriorate.
If you ‘feed’ them well" (with good electronics and good recordings) and position them properly, they reciprocate the attentions with excellent performance and, above all, they deliver emotions.
In short, the Angelos were up to my expectations, exceeding them by far. Certainly they are not inexpensive, but they are worth every euro, always in my humble opinion, to the point of being even cheaper in relation to their intrinsic quality especially when compared with competitors’ products of equal or greater cost.
As regards the defects, if we can describe them as defects, the only ones I encountered are related to the weight, they weigh too much (because of the no-compromise cabinet in birch plywood) and moving them requires the presence of at least one other person when you want to find the best location where to position them. You can move them sideways on their wooden base by yourself and see the effect that makes to listening. They require medium to large and airy environments, so that I would not recommend placing them in a 4x3m room, for example.
From the aesthetic point of view it is clear they leave no one indifferent. Only audiophile with a non conforming personality like them, while others "reactionary" prefer to plough through the usual streets, maybe being lured by the usual suspects that offer, even at extortionate prices, lacquers and wood species in common-like boxes.
The stage, once you find the correct position, is always wide, high and deep and capable of bringing the listener into the place where the recording is made.
Scanning of sound levels, i.e. the spatial placement of instruments and performers in all three dimensions, is always correct credibly representing the virtual stage. This feature is enhanced with rich recordings of environmental information, such as listening to the album by Eduardo Paniagua Group "Danzas Españolas Medievales" published by MA Recordings in 1995 and recorded in an ancient cathedral, or in listening to the song by David Lang and starring Maya Beiser "World to come IV".
The echoes, the reverberation, the harmonic decline of the notes are played in an engaging way thus allowing the listener to ‘be’ in the live event.
The "pedals" of the pipe organ of "My heart's in The Highlands" by Arvo Part are played in a plausible and realistic way without any trouble.
Even with rock and pop, the Angelo do not reveal any discomfort, for example, the Radiohead’s recordings, built with extreme overdubbing effects and voices, are delivered in a better way. As well as the unraveling of the electronic music of the complex sonic textures for the trip-hop, industrial rock and drone music.
All of this, of course, provided that the upstream system (electricity permitting) is up to the task.
With the Jazz and Classical literally they riverberate like in the reproduction of the introduction of Giuseppe Verdi's Macbeth, the one directed by Chailly, which leaves you breathless for consistency, ease and immanence with which they reproduce the full orchestra, the brass, the strings, the woods, the leathers.
Wonderful performance with modern high-definition recordings and DSD, for example, with the renaissance and baroque music proposed by Alia Vox in SACD with the unfading and omnipresent Jordi Savall.
In the interpretation of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Mariss Jansons‘ direction of the famous Mussorgsky "Pictures at an Exhibition", recorded in SACD hybrid by RCO, the lower frequencies are very clear and intelligible and the violins have a realistic tone never heard before not only because of the beautiful recording but also because of the Angelo’s ability to play any audible frequency without any dramatic losses.
Equally on the voices, the Angelo find special nuances that with other speakers remain hidden and maybe are delivered coarsely. Very natural, with realistic size, the piano made in full from the first octave to the last, to the point that every intention of the performer and intensity changes are obvious and clear (Tsuyoshi Yamamoto reveals, for example, his nature of a great "Pummeler"). Realistic are the size of the instruments and the voice of the performer (always for good recordings of course whilst those carried out with the mic "stuck in the throat" of singer still result too coarse).
It’s clear, however, that the best performance is achieved with the best recordings, because as I mentioned before, the Angelos do not forgive anything, do not wink, do not indulge, they are simply transparent (yet again!).
Equally unforgiving are the deficiencies of the electronics at their command. If I were to give advice, I would suggest solid state amplifiers for at least 100 Watts, and with a high damping factor, having to drive a 30 cm big woofer. With this in mind, exciting were the trials with my glorious power amp Krell KSA 100 (a solitary try for half a day - having subtracted the system transistor from home – no mean task indeed!). Such change allowed an exceptional ability to control as well as deliver sweet timbric and very fine sound texture, which I always appreciate.
Even with my underestimated NAD 208 (slew rate greater than 200) Angelo show major performance, only slightly lower than Krell’s in terms of sound texture and bass control.
As far as the valves are concerned, the situation changes substantially. I tried my friend Beppe’s Conrad Johnson solution (CJ). The low-volume listening was pleasant, characterized by tubey warm sound and the consequent pleasure, but when the volume was raised the magic ebbed, losing for the MV60 the ability to control the low frequencies (incidentally, in any case, it should be reported that the power amp was retubed in driving tubes since they had revealed a certain "fatigue").
A surprise was my integrated Raysonic Sp 88, only 35 Watts/channel declared with a push-pull of 7591, which showed greater control capability of the woofer than the CJ, having as a limit a slight "hardening of the medium" high frequencies at high volume, but being more than sufficient in normal service volumes.
With the EAR 509 of Tim de Parravicini it’s again another story, they are tube amplifiers but they behave almost like transistors with very good results in every respect, such as control, power, dynamics, lack of grain and rigorous timbre.
In short, the Angel are universal speakers that can play with many different types of amplifiers provided they are always of quality and with adequate current carrying capacity and damping factor.
They are the ultimate speakers around which and by means of which you can build a definitive audio system. They have no apparent limits of power handling, no timbric problems, never fatiguing; if an Angelo sounds bad then the cause is certain to be found somewhere else; when they "scream", as I have established, it depends on the limits of other components, or the environment, the electrical system, the recording; and so it is when they deteriorate.
If you ‘feed’ them well" (with good electronics and good recordings) and position them properly, they reciprocate the attentions with excellent performance and, above all, they deliver emotions.
In short, the Angelos were up to my expectations, exceeding them by far. Certainly they are not inexpensive, but they are worth every euro, always in my humble opinion, to the point of being even cheaper in relation to their intrinsic quality especially when compared with competitors’ products of equal or greater cost.
As regards the defects, if we can describe them as defects, the only ones I encountered are related to the weight, they weigh too much (because of the no-compromise cabinet in birch plywood) and moving them requires the presence of at least one other person when you want to find the best location where to position them. You can move them sideways on their wooden base by yourself and see the effect that makes to listening. They require medium to large and airy environments, so that I would not recommend placing them in a 4x3m room, for example.
From the aesthetic point of view it is clear they leave no one indifferent. Only audiophile with a non conforming personality like them, while others "reactionary" prefer to plough through the usual streets, maybe being lured by the usual suspects that offer, even at extortionate prices, lacquers and wood species in common-like boxes.
Women love them regardless of their acoustic performance. I happened to host some of my female friends and colleagues and they are in love for their originality and for their innovative design, some even thought they were sculptures.
So the Angelos, given their performance, could be squaring the circle for the much feared (by us audiophiles) Wife Acceptance Factor, the well-known WAF, especially if placed in a modern and stylish home environment.
If you are about to buy new speakers in that price range, you should at least listen to Angelo: they will give you the yardstick with which to compare every alternative available and, moreover, they are made in Italy, which is always a plus .
Enjoy.
Vince Genovese
Manufacturer: THE VARIO'S
Retail price in Italy: € 7.948,30 euro
So the Angelos, given their performance, could be squaring the circle for the much feared (by us audiophiles) Wife Acceptance Factor, the well-known WAF, especially if placed in a modern and stylish home environment.
If you are about to buy new speakers in that price range, you should at least listen to Angelo: they will give you the yardstick with which to compare every alternative available and, moreover, they are made in Italy, which is always a plus .
Enjoy.
Vince Genovese
Manufacturer: THE VARIO'S
Retail price in Italy: € 7.948,30 euro