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Switching 300B amplifiers, the Grand Crescendo proved fully capable of displaying the nuances their different approaches brought to the music. Because such tube amps can hardly be called neutral, they demonstrated very specific aromas. In case of the WE 300B-based AN amplifier the signature lighter tone matched beautiful with the Dutch/French speaker combination. When the Tron Seven/Discovery combo set to work, their greater low-end potential lacked in presence where other speakers in our collection had already demonstrated how this British valve amplifier is far more capable across this frequency range. Leaving tube gear behind and hooking up the all-in-one Devialet D-Premier, the soundscape changed a lot. Where tubes added a forgiving cloak, the hybrid class A/D Premier was merciless and revealed that the cabinet was present at certain frequencies. Around 80Hz there was a distinct peak and higher up there were points where it seemed as though something knocked on wood. When we went back to a tube amp setup with the same musical source, these artifacts disappeared and we enjoyed many intimate recordings of guitar, oud and other acoustic ensembles.
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In conclusion the passions of Bernard Salabert and Hans Kortenbach have culminated in the Grand Crescendo in a very forthcoming and pleasant way. That said, these speakers are not for everyone. For lovers of small ensembles and acoustical music in combination with a fine SET these loudspeakers can and will be magic. It takes some time to set them up correctly but then the hardware can be forgotten and what remains is only the joy of listening. For those who seek more freedom of exposure to include large orchestral works, opera or electronic workouts, the Grand Crescendo will not be fully satisfying.
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Postscript. After the formal review was concluded, we had the urge to see what more these loudspeakers might do. Somewhere in the back of our heads a little voice kept on suggesting to alter a few things and unleash the full potential of these speakers. A large cone like the 12-inch PHY should be able to produce more punch and low-end extension. As an analogy the playing of an acoustic string instrument arose. If you hold such an instrument by the neck and tap its body, there is a certain light-ish sound which reverbs. Now put the guitar on your thigh while sitting or strap it around your neck; clamp the violin between your chin and shoulder; cradle the cello between your legs – or fill in other stringed instruments and their respective playing positions. In all case, the originally observed reverb has changed. The sound has become more dampened and—mind this—fuller. What if we did something equivalent with the Grand Crescendo?
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No, not by hugging the cabinet. That would be impractical. But how about damping the break-up points? Running a finger across the cabinet while music played made clear that the cabinet was resonating. Fair enough. That’s what it was designed to do. But - there were a few actual nodes. What if we put an ASI Sugar Cube on each of those? You stick such a 1 cubic centimeter rosewood block to whatever you like via a tiny bit of Bluetack. We put two Sugar Cubes on each front baffle at 1/3 and 1/2 of the cabinets’ height and had a listen. Bass and impact had changed and not in a subtle way. In combination with the Devialet all previously audible breakup had gone and a little repositioning of the Cubes made the response of the Grand Crescendo smoother across the full frequency band.
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Encouraged by this we added a 1cm thick 10 x 25cm felt pad halfway under the loudspeakers so that about 12cm stuck out in front of the baffle like a tongue. Here we must add that the speakers in our space sat on a wooden floor. On a carpeted floor we’d expect different results. This treatment added even more low-end extension and the Grand Crescendo was finally able to excite the chairs we sat in. When Hans came to pick up the speakers we had a listen together and the Dutch maker went home with new ideas on how to make his babies more all-around performers.
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Quality of packing: N/A – loudspeakers were hand-delivered ‘naked’.
Condition of component received: Perfect.
Quality of owner's manual: N/A.
Website comments: Decent and informative.
Pricing: Fair for so much hand labor.
Human interactions: Great.
Remark: With the source for the drivers dried up at present, only a limited number of Grand Crescendos remain available.
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Musical Affairs responds: I offered our Grand Crescendo loudspeakers for a review as a 'Tribute to Bernard Salabert' who sadly passed away in May this year because he was a dear friend. I will never forget when we listened together for the first time to these particular loudspeakers with so much joy and pleasure.
Set up
Set up and placement is critical no matter what the loudspeaker is and I note in the reviewers’ listening room there were no carpets or soft furnishings as you would normally expect to find in an average listening room. There were lots of hard surfaces plus a large wood floor and a vast glass window area with no curtains. My experience over the years is that these 'bare' rooms are much more difficult to integrate loudspeakers into than the average domestic lounge or listening room, which is either carpeted or has rugs and other soft furnishings etc. These bare rooms do present a number of challenges to obtaining good sound and the bass is one area that is particularly affected often causing a suck-out at certain frequencies normally below 150Hz.
Bass performance
The bass on the Grand Crescendo certainly goes down well below 50Hz so I can only assume it was the listening room and room reflections that caused the comment about the lack of deep bass. One of the Grand Crescendos fortes is the quality and tone of the bass. It certainly goes deep enough so as not to feel anything is missing, but the tonality, the texture, the speed and dynamics of the bass, which are the important bits, are preserved for all to hear.
Music suitability
The Grand Crescendo plays all types of music and musical genre very well but they excel on acoustic recordings and live performances. Chamber music is played with emotion and atmosphere. Human voice is reproduced with a naturalness seldom heard with conventional loudspeakers. Grand Crescendo owners have told me that they have rarely heard such lifelike sound from a loudspeaker.
Ongoing availability
Musical Affairs have the total world’s supply of PHY-HP drive units in stock and have enough drive units for at least 3-5 years production. I would like to thank Marja and Henk for reviewing this tribute loudspeaker. However, I felt the review, although positive, didn’t fully clarify or highlight what the Grand Crescendos do really well. Their design concept gives a liveliness and synergy with the real musical instruments which were the inspiration behind the cabinet design. This separates the design from other loudspeaker designs and has made it very popular with lovers of music around the world.
Hans Kortenbach (Musical Affairs)
The publisher responds: As Mr. Kortenbach delivered the speakers personally, he was well appraised of the place they would find themselves in and actually heard them there. Had he felt the space to be unsuitable or non-representational of how his speakers normally perform, he could have readily taken them away right then and there. Marja & Henk's reviews all are conducted in this space and they've reported at length about the need for and their use of acoustic room treatments by Franck Tchang of Acoustic System International. The above postscript in tenor and length was a deliberately 'gentle' commentary which went well beyond the usual call of duty. It is not the task of reviewers to attempt and improve obvious shortcomings (here pronounced cabinet nodes) but simply assess a product as delivered. Because Mr. Kortenbach was present during the end of the 'improved' audition as well, he is well aware of the need for improvements and how to pursue them. As Marja & Henk put it to me in a private email about this session, Mr. Kortenbach actually left 'embarrassed'. Needless to say his response above does not credit my writers for their gracious help of investigating and then demonstrating to him how to make his speakers even better.
Srajan Ebaen
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