Switching to the Latin sounds of Sera una Noche, the "Malena" surprised because the hand claps had a suddenness above the average of my other listening. I appreciated this warmer less dry tone than that of many high-end systems. Some other details like the triangle marking the rhythm in the background seemed more realistic, particularly defined, incisive and full of great harmonic richness. This tweeter was definitely a little marvel. On "Quedemonos Aqui", the drum strokes had very physical impact but didn't feel unnaturally forced. Apparently facing two 15" woofer per side at the front wall at the right distance helps manage this forceful shove with excellent stoppage for no ringing. The stereo spread was particularly large too and the musical gestalt felt both utterly fluid and articulate. The midrange eclipsed my Vivid G1S despite the surface jump between it and the bass units suggesting likely issues, none of which materialized. My W3EX amps from Japan's Spec Corporation also proved very good partners. In bridged mode they generated all the power necessary to control these large open-backed woofers. The speakers' transparency conveyed the different amplifier tunings even that of cables to a larger extent than I've observed with most other speakers. Yet each amp, be it SET, class A, AB or D transistors, convinced to show off the versatility of the anti-Matter.
Conclusion. I've clearly not paid enough attention to open baffles in the true high end to now have had my wakeup call with the Greek anti-Matter. I truly appreciated the concept and could easily live with it because it combined true listening pleasure with technical rigor and surprising versatility. What more could one ask for in this price range? That I can't say. There are far too many competitors to consider. The anti-Matter simply proved to be very coherent and lacked the usual compromises of box sound. The only condition that limits this choice of speaker is our ability to properly situate it in our room. With that handled though, the anti-Matter should gift you with as much wonderment as I felt during my time with them. They undoubtedly deserve my highest recommendation.
Fanis responds: "Dear Joël, we have read—a few times to be frank—your review in the 6moons syndication and Evgenia also read the French future publication. We can't thank you enough for your warm welcome and appreciation of the "Anti-Matter"! Your review is very important to us, being the first expert response to our first dipole product. We couldn't think of a better start!"
