Hi RATs,

yesterday I carried the EL34 SET amp to the largest
hifi dealer in town to choose a pair of speakers to
complete that gift.

Some criteria we Not more than 600 Euros/pair,
slick/tall system not higher than a meter.

All speakers were leveled in via the computerized
switching/preamp and output/speaker combo of their
listening room. The appropiate OPT taps of the amp
were used to give a reflected 10k ohms impedance
(according to speaker impedances given by the speaker
manufacturers), which were the same at least in
the last round.

Only classic music was used for listening, since
that is what the resulting combo will be used with
nearly exclusively.

In the first round only certain passages of recordings
of Italian opera female and male solo voices and choirs
were used.

After an hour or so, the candidates were reduced to:

- Infinity Alpha 40
- Klipsch SF-1
- JMLabs/Focal Chorus "S" 714
- A Quadral pair which model name I don't remember

After that first round the shootout was continued
using only one excellent recording of the
overture to The Magic Flute which sports great
dynamics and a wide soundstage with very good and
precise instrument position resolution. The whole
overture was listened thru with each speaker pair
without switching among them.

The Quadral left first; it sounded so over-analytic
that it became annoying after some minutes (I found
myself listening to the effects of that speaker,
and not to the music anymore).

The Klipsch left next; the highs were a little bit
overdone, but not as much like the Quadral speakers.
The bass was a little bit too tall (although very
dry and controlled). I understand that this Klipsch
primarily is intended for home theatre systems and
usually will be supported by a subwoofer, but obviously
it works quite well for classic music standalone,
considering the price.

The remaining two candidates, Infinity Alpha 40 and
the Focal 714 "S", were compared with abovementioned
Magic Flute overture, but switching between them
at certain passages of that overture.

All in all, the Infinity gave a better overall performance
over the complete frequency range, never sounding
annoying or distracting from the music. The JMLab/Focal
was nearby in all disciplines, but did a little less, but
notable, well in the lower middles and bass. This effect
was verified by going back to human voices, notably baritons.
But all in all the JMLab/Focals distracted from the music
even less than the Infinity.

At that point I shrugged my shoulders when being asked,
since differences were so small, and both candidates were
realy good considering their quite low price (both ~540 Euros
per pair).

That was the moment the women took over the decision making
process and the JMLab/Focal pair was preferred and chosen
in probably less than a few nanoseconds, since it looks
much more elegant in its clear alder / brushed aluminium
"style" finish than the Inifinity Alpha 40 with its somewhat
larger dimensions. (And yes, I agree.)

Winding down and considering all of the four canditates,
I am quite astonished at the quality one gets today at so
small a budget if one settles exclusively for a certain
music type/style.

I can't say a single word about how well or poor all these
four mentioned speakers will do with other music than small
and full orchestra, human voices and choirs in operas, and
maybe chamber music.

So, if you decide to buy speakers with such a low budget,
I would strongly recommend to go and settle with your
favourite music style when doing listening comparisions,
since you probably won't find a good overall performer
for different music styles in that price range.

Tom "YMMV, of course"

--
The large print giveth, the small print taketh away.
- Tom Waits