If music really means anything to you, then you should take a closer look (or rather having an extended listening session with your own favourite recordings) at the Dunlavy Audio Labs (LAB) Aletha speaker. It may perhaps not be the best looking floor-standing speaker that I have come across to date, but its musical credentials are second to none.
Although I was (and still am) rather pleased with the sound of my Swedish concrete speakers, Rauna Leira II, the Dunlavy Aletha takes the music to a complete different dimension.
What makes these speakers so fundamentally different compared to all the other speakers I have listened to to date is the fact that they completely “vanish” when they sing for you. You start to realise that what you have listened to and focused on all these years until now has been your hifi system in its entirety or its separate components. The music came second and was simply a “by-product” in the sense that you only concentrated on how to further improve the sound by changing one or more components. With the Dunlavy Aletha, it suddenly becomes clear to you that you are no longer listening to some speakers, but instead to the music itself. The speakers do not draw any attention to themselves when they play. Instead, they completely dissappear and let you concentrate on what really should matter to you – the music.
The Dunlavy Aletha speakers are extremely musical, liquid and detailed. They have a huge soundstage and perform with such a presence that it is almost as if you sit in the first row at a live concert and can reach out and touch the singer or the instruments played. It’s almost unreal. You can sit for hours and listen to your favourite music without any risk of listening fatigue. The bass is extended and tight.
If I were to decribe these speakers with only one word, it would be “natural”. They do not add or detract anything. You are listening to music in its purest form that has not been coloured by the boxes. The music is played exactly the way it was recorded on the album. Since the speakers are very “honest”, they will immediately reveal flaws in the recording. So, if you have a bad recording, then you will obviously get a bad sound, and will most certainly want to switch off the music after a few seconds only. But, on the other hand, if you have an excellent recording, then you will probably have the experience of your life, and never want to leave your chair…..
I use the Accuphase E-405 as amplifier and the Accuphase DP-70 as CDP, and am very pleased with the overall result that I have achieved to date. The speakers work very well with this combination.
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