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To return to the time domain, take a gander at the Myro-sourced upper impulse response of the Whisky. It indeed shows a text-book-correct positive-going attack with fast decay and minimal ringing. Weidlich is pedantic about clean step response for each driver and pays extreme attention to proper acoustic phase. But he is averse to calling it time coherence. He is simply after the very basic matter of having his speakers output, as cleanly as possible, what they’re fed. "The abstract term time coherence does not relate to any audible event. I prefer signal precision. Speakers convert electrical input signal into equivalent pressure waves. Since all we hear are these pressure waves, a speaker has to correctly translate the input signal."


Put differently, the right amplitude at the wrong moment is nothing but the wrong amplitude at the right moment. That runs into issues the moment individual signals add up to compound results. In the end it’s not a time or even luxurious problem but plain and simple signal distortion. If one proceeds with this view, one would grant Weidlich that such distortion will bleed into the tonal qualities of loudspeakers:


"Audible hardness isn’t merely due to excess treble amplitude or undamped resonances. In my view, a hard aggressive reproduction is mostly the result of signal conversion errors. The second impulse response graph shows typical high-frequency pre ringing. Such speaker-generated artificial sharpness causes perceived hardness of the sound… This is key also to understanding tonal differences that cannot be traced back to frequency domain measurements."


Among other things, such errors also affect the sensitivity behavior of a speaker which explains why speakers with identical voltage sensitivity will diverge in perceived loudness over specific bands. This makes sense. Drivers of a non-aligned ‘asynchronous’ speaker reach their peak excursion points at different times which adds up to compound max values—the sum of the driver outputs—which are lower than with a phase-coherent design. But enough of theory. Into the listening room with these apparently ultra-accurate speaker samples.

Audition: It’s hoary fairaudio tradition to pre-sample each potential test candidate in our facilities before we formally commit. Occasionally a manufacturer or importer will deliver the goods and hang around while we take the qualifying measures.  This is okay—our review conditions are hardly secretive—but can get uncomfortable in the presence of a third (loud) speaker who doesn’t play music but serves up suggestions. We’ve grown a thick skin for the occasional occasion.


Weidlich too came in tow with his babies about which two things were noteworthy. The first audition rounds remained focused and factual and at no time were there more than two sound sources active. And, I was surprised that the qualifying sessions didn’t want to end. This wasn’t due to unnatural stamina on part of Herr Weidlich who didn’t overstay but left when appropriate. I had meant to work through some administrative paper work then and finish off with my obligatory jogging round despite clammy July weather. Alas—and this indeed happens rarely—I defaulted on both and got stuck with the new arrival which very quickly roused my curiosity.



Software for the occasion was among others Chicago formation Shellac’s millennia release 1000 Hurts, squarely challenging confrontational edgily composed music that’s filled with angular time changes and recorded deliberately gruff and direct. Perhaps producer Steve Albini’s name and mastering philosophy—he also sat in on guitar for this Shellac project—will ring a bell with certain readers. Angular music plus edgy recording quality quickly go doodoo over imbalanced systems. The Whisky meanwhile was so extraordinary on this album (not regular test fare by the way) that I spontaneously reached for the note book. To be sure, nothing was softened or de-roughed over the usual, which really would have taken away from this music’s intrinsic character.


No, the Myro Whisky departed not from the honest center line as a sound designer. Au contraire. "Neutral, rhythmically articulate, extraordinarily nuanced and transparent" is how my very first spontaneous notes read. "Superlative diction and vocal reproduction" was next. I noted that with the unusual spoken intro of the first track where certain aspects of the level diction were exceptional. Despite all its accuracy and honesty and which turned out to be one of the reasons why I got stuck on the Myro that afternoon, the Shellac songs were unusually easy to digest. Somehow they sounded naturally and pleasantly raw and rough rather than reek of questionable recording quality; quite  as though the signature and original intention of the producer became more transparent than usual (which admittedly reads a bit fairy). So much for initial impressions. They telegraphed much about the speaker’s qualities which would find subsequent confirmation as well as see themselves honed, augmented and completed over time.



In resolution of the mid and upper bands, today’s tester edged out the Thiel CS3.7 which in my opinion is superlative already (and unconditionally long-term suitable which was not always the case with my late CS2.4). Apparently tertiary stuff like the snare of Kasabian’s "Where Did All The Love Go?" [The West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, 2009] was easier and clearer to identify as snare and more differentiated versus a tom; and violin and voice of Sol Invictus’ dramatic Michael became more finely nuanced and informatively textured.

The small Myro is unbelievably accomplished with micro flutters and worlds removed from unpleasant vivisection. To avoid misunderstanding, I’ll reiterate that precision is not the nemesis of ‘musicality’. The problem is that the former is often faked to become unsatisfying over the long haul. Here the Myro Whisky booked additional points for long-term happiness with extra involvement. You might find these somewhat amorphous qualities mutually exclusive and I admit to difficulties expressing precisely what I wish to convey. How about the aspect of realistic staging perhaps?