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Need a sample? On the 2004 release Blovdy Tenent, Trvth and Peace our cheery first-person narrator of "This is how we do things in the country" first murders his high-school sweetheart, then manipulates all the tools in her digs to put all the houses at a skewed angle save for her grave whose walls alone remain upright. Gulp. This songwriter's psychiatrist should have a field day. Even so the cut was loads of fun. I could really envision it live.
The production was mostly punk too: raw, direct and a bit grainy. It's supposed to pounce on the listener and grip him by the throat. Which the Altan managed well. Directly on axis your non-Punk scribe heard a bit too much production roughness but fired straight out this improved a lot to be easier to take. Designer Reckert confirmed that certain folks will react accordingly to this tweeter – but only when toed in face on to subtract from sight either side of the box.
To compare this speaker to others I've written up for fairaudio is tougher than usual since I recently moved. The Altan was my first speaker assignment in the new space. The only eligible A/Bs I had were those speakers which came with. My JBL LSR6322—about €4.000/pr when new—had an evenness advantage of horizontal and vertical dispersion. Its 30cm woofer could also energize my room with greater conviction. That said the JLB begins to nose dive around 70Hz. The active Altan went noticeably lower. I hesitate to hand out a precise F3 value since it's impacted by the bass adjustments but if forced I'd call it about 40 cycles. And one can't overlook that despite its built-in electronics the Quadral pair was considerably more affordable.
Conclusion. With the Altan aktiv Quadral Aurum deliver an impressive debut in the compact active speaker category. With its three-stage bass roll-off, assignable notch filter and treble trim the featurization is real-world practical and the sound relative to price and size is a real hammer. Meanwhile the lot is elegantly packaged and finished flawlessly. I'd be surprised if this model wasn't a success to prompt further active offspring from this Hannover firm.
Psych profile of Quadral Aurum's Altan aktiv:
• sounds surprisingly big and complete. Good bass extension. Handles close wall proximity because bass remains clean and additionally can be tuned down with the roll-off option.
• very good broadband resolution with clean stable recovery of recorded acoustics.
• micro and macro dynamics work on a very high plateau though max levels are obviously smaller than bigger speakers with more cone surface manage. The laws of Physics remain intact.
• is fundamentally highly neutral and uncolored to serve happy double duty as a premium studio monitor. The treble contour allows shifting between fresh/bright and soft/dark depending on taste, system and room.
• voices are rendered with urgency and emotional intimacy.
• does a great job on rhythm and timing. The music never feels restrained but moves forward. Even slow numbers get their due.
• exhibits mild treble hardness directly on axis which is eliminated by less severe toe-in.
• excellent price/performance ratio.
Facts:
Concept: active 2-way bass-reflex monitor with two mono amps per box (class A/B and class D)
Finish: High-gloss black or white, wood veneer
Dimensions & weight: 40.5 x 22.2 x 34.55cm HxWxD, 14.7kg/ea.
Other: 5-year warranty with returned registration card Website
