Issue 120 / October-November 1999
T H E S O U N D
Bookshelf Speakers II:
Acarian Systems Alón Petite
BY PETER BRAVERMAN
Bookshelf Speakers II:
Acarian Systems Alón Petite
BY PETER BRAVERMAN
Herewith the second installment of our journey through the forest of small speakers. (In Issue 118, we covered the Aerial 5 and the Spendor 3/1P)
The designs of Acarian Systems' jefe, Carl Marchisotto, embrace
the concept of balance rather than audio spectacular. From the
smaller floor-standers to the gigantic Poseidon subwoofer,
Alón's components have always stressed steak over sizzle.1 The Petite is aptly named - it can be
carried in one hand - and sports a small rear port. Even at the
rather reasonable price of $995 per pair, review samples boasted a
handsome Brazilian santos rosewood finish. They also carry
standard dual binding posts for bi-wiring (Marchisotto recommends his
own Black Orpheus cable, $400 per ten-foot pair, which he supplied for
review), and jumpers, should you decide on one cable per side. I
mounted 'em on Target stands and was off.
As we discovered in the last installment, a vanishing act is the least one can ask of the mini-speaker breed, and here the Petites do not disappoint. I began with a British 12-inch 45-rpm of Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" [Geffen 20535-0] and wrote in my notes: "H-U-G-E stage. Alóns vanish." This is perhaps the chief virtue of these speakers, even in comparison to others in the class. Illinois Jacquet's self-titled Epic release [Epic/Classic BA 17033] revealed an irony: small speakers generally, and the Petites specifically, can seem impossibly big: big instruments, big stage, big sound. Jo (Don't call me "Philly Joe") Jones' drums were many feet behind the piano, Jacquet's Sax front and right.
This sense of space clunked me between the eyes on every recording. Dan Bern's travelog dirge, "Rome," from his self-titled 1996 CD [Sony/Work 67644] evoked all three dimensions of the singer, almost obscuring the superior tonal reproduction (about which, more later). "Wasteland," from the last same disc, prompted me to write, "Terrific vocal presence!" On Coltrane Plays the Blues [Atlantic SD 1382], Elvin Jones' drums have a real three-dimensional Danish quality. Even a recording of common quality, like John Lennon's "Oh Yoko" from the Rushmore soundtrack [London 314-556-074], maintains its focus and its center.
Yet another pop recording, Janis Ian's Breaking Silence [Analogue Productions APP 027] serves as an object lesson in the difference between image and soundstage: the issue of precise placement of any given instrument or vocal and the entirety of the space in which everything was recorded. While the Petites are good at the latter, they are world-class at the former, and each player is precisely lit on each recording.
On Classic's Balalaika Favorites [Mercury/Classic SR 90310], the Petites track the hand percussion extremely well and prevent what could easily be a dynamic mush. Janis Ian's Breaking Silence also emphasizes the strength of Alón's tweeter, though it does so by, among other things, calling attention to the slight sibilance of the recording. This is the case with John Hiatt's Slow Turning [A&M SP 5206], as well.
It will surprise nobody that the bottom octave and-a-half is missing in action on these speakers. And the otherwise superb Alón tweeter has an up-tilted frequency response. Listen to Dan Bern's "Estelle," as well as the Janis Ian LP.
The tweeter is also responsible for much of the image height illusion generated by the Petites. Lose highs by sitting off-axis (a reviewer slumped in his chair, for example), and the height of the space and images will shrink considerably.
Within their range, the Petites are about as tonally honest as one could ask. On Ives'Symphony No. 3 [Mercury SR 90149], string tone is quite good, inaccurate only insofar as the slight uptilting affects the celli. Dynamics in the upper midrange remain convincing, suggesting that whatever work Marchisotto did toward driver integration was worthwhile. In the lower registers, strings are suggested but not quite actualized; the dynamic tracking in the upper bass, as throughout the frequency range, is rather good, and can help to alleviate the non-illusion of the basement octave and then some.
This will, of course, be true of any recordings with significant frequency content below about 60 Hz. On Volume 5 of Marcel Dupré's organ records at St. Sulpice [Mercury SR 90231], one can depend on the organ's overtones to locate it precisely, but low notes are submerged below the Petites' woofers. On Batalaika Favorites, the deeper strings are natural, but their appeal is intellectual rather than visceral. It's pleasing, since the Petites resolve instrumental lines well, but if you want your foundation shaken, the Petites (or any other speaker this size) will not rattle all by themselves.
The little Alóns will, however, play rather loud. On the sublime Bruno Walter reading of the Beethoven Pastorale [CBS/Sony Japan 35 DC 79], orchestral swells are inspirational. When volume approaches serious levels, the Petites tend, as most small speakers do, to compress image and especially the sense of air in the orchestra. But even at these times, the soundstage declines to merely very good. With Coltrane Plays the Blues and other small-scale works, the Petites can be pushed fairly hard, perhaps because Marchisotto does not ask the midrange driver to do what it cannot.
Woofer and tweeter performance can be brought somewhat closer to parity by judicious choice of amplification; I found that tubes were a superior match. With my Quicksilver mono amps, hardly the last word in speed (but exceptional in midrange tonality), Balalaika Favorites sounded surprisingly more up-front than with the 250-watt Proceed Amp 2. The bells in Soloviev-Sodoy's "Midnight in Moscow" emerged rounder when driven by tubes, a presentation I preferred despite the slightly dulled string attack. Alón offers a matching subwoofer for the Petites, which effectively doubles the price of admission. I did not audition it with its mates, but surmise that it would be a worthwhile addition. Even a tightly controlled amp like the Proceed does not do for the Petites' bass what physics prohibits, and given the salutary effects I have noted with tube amps, a self-powered sub may be the winning ticket.
The Petites do no damage to Carl Marchisotto's reputation for choosing sensible compromises at all price ranges, rather than shooting for the stars and crashing into the moon. They claim a stupendous sense of image, very well-defined space, a top end at or near the head of its class, and a delectable veneer. They can be driven confidently by 25 watts or 250, and they can be upgraded by adding the matching sub. The Petites are at least as good as most of the $1,500 competition, a satisfying small speaker if you re just entering the High End, or an excellent choice for a second system. Enthusiastically recommended.
MANUFACTURER INFORMATION
Alón Petite
Acarian Systems
181 Smithtown Blvd., Suite 104
Nesconset, New York 11767
Phone: (516) 265-9577; Fax: (516) 265-9560
www.alonbyacarian.com
Price: $995 in walnut or black ash $1195 in rosewood
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT:
VPI Aries turntable with VPI Synchronous Drive System, VPI JMW tonearm, Grado Reference Platinum and Benz Glider phono cartridges, Micromega Drive I CD transport, Analog Research Segue D/A converter, Audible Illusions Modulus 3A preamplifier, Proceed Amp 2 and Quicksilver Silver Mono amplifiers, Synergistic and Audioquest cabling.
1A decent guide to owner satisfaction
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