As Antoine put it, "Alain's 30+ years of experience includes testing the majority of existing tweeters to market. This helped him develop his own which addressed specific shortcomings. His filter development goes well beyond basic software calculations. Those only give approximate results. Additional more precise methods are needed. Our custom tweeter is fast, dynamic and of wide flat bandwidth, has highly controlled directivity and up to 96dB sensitivity. We use this tweeter exclusively across our range where it is mated to different quality transducers from primarily the catalogues of Accuton, AudioTechnology and Supravox. We offer a unique listening experience that will leave its mark on your memory."
Previously reviewed M3 bracketed by M1 for size reference.
Alain: "If we compare M3 and M1, let's start with commonalities. They share the same tweeter because HF quality is crucial to the realization of any speaker. The quality of the Accuton mid/woofers is the same. There's no difference in tone or sound color level. The quality of the filters is the same, too. The only physical difference is cubic volume and driver size. An 8" versus 6½" driver is a different story with more gravitas. That said, my aim is to always offer the same basic quality in all my designs. I don't work with any marketing considerations. I don't manipulate positioning. I don't dumb down a smaller model to give the next one up a bigger lead. So the M1 is simply a M3 which has matured from a girl in bloom into a real woman."
About any differences in midrange density and presence-region clarity between the two German drivers, "I worked a lot with Accuton on this exact topic. The 8-incher has no damper but more cone surface and mass, therefore higher internal damping. It doesn't need the shock absorbers which cancel the resonances of the smaller driver. So I had Accuton build me their 8" driver with 2dB stronger magnetic force in its gap than their classic version. You see, over my long career I've done a lot of physics, math and materials behavior to understand composites. I know how to work with their strengths and weaknesses. The M1 and M3 are my vision on harmonious apartment living with feminine appeal. They're a blend of elegance, quality and simplicity."
High-gloss Santos rosewood is revered in Asia for its luxury associations. In Western environments it can seem just a bit loud. So I asked whether the review sample could come in less flashy cherry as shown above with their newest model. Antoine proved amenable. My follow-on to their Blue Moon award-winning M3 was inked.
Alain: "The Zero Junior concept was to come closest to the human voice. That's the central challenge of all playback: 65Hz to 2'200Hz. That range must be covered by one excellent driver with at most a 6dB filter. Here 35Hz-125Hz go to an internal Audax woofer on a 6dB/octave low-pass. My custom-commissioned 245 Supravox midrange runs in open dipole mode without a high-pass and a simple 1st-order 3.3kHz low-pass to hand over to my M3/M1 tweeter in a fully tapered line.
"The idea was to create the highest possible quality in the most compact possible cubic volume and do so for an honest price. Kaiser Kawero charge €75'000/pr. To me that's outrageous and ridiculous. I know the Audiotechnology and Per Skanning drivers inside out.
"I'm a retired man now. I need to make no more money. I seek no more glory. I simply enjoy my life and continue to thrive on engineering challenges. I paint [examples at left and below – Ed]. I sculpt. I write. I do fun sports like arm wrestling. Your award for the M3 was my hifi gold medal."
His present station in life puts Alain Pratali in the enviable position of toiling purely for the creative fun of the things he finds interesting. Financial considerations or commercial success no longer take center stage.
To truly enjoy life and celebrate it with creative self expressions for their very own merit… really, those are the very best and healthiest foundations from which to do anything.
In this instant, there is a commercial benefit. Any of us so inclined can actually own one of Alain's late speaker art works under new brand Aurai Audio.
I was starting to think that I should. In fact, j'aurai means I will have. Subversive, that.
