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With Sounddeco going through the trouble of enabling biwiring, one ought to honour it. On return there was a subtle but noticeable jump in resolution. In Photoshop terms it would be like a minute amount of added sharpness. Time for some opera.
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We recently discovered—after all this time!—the phenomenon of the operatic mad scene. Not that some of those arias had been unknown to us but we never recognized that they were a special feature of the genre. A mad scene involves a character in an opera who truly freaks out like in one of the most distinctive scenes of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.
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In the third act Lucia stumbles across stage wielding a bloody dagger. She just used it to slice up her husband whom she married whilst thinking about the man she really wanted to wed. The aria is best known in pop culture as the classical interlude performed by Diva Plavalaguna in the SciFi flick The Fifth Element.
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A nice collection of operatic mad scenes can be found on Natalie Dessay’s Scènes de la Folie. In the proper mood, we thus cued it up to assess the Alpha F3 with both power amp mono sets on duty. With large orchestra, soprano voice and choirs, the music spanned a generous spectrum. With neither amplifier the F3 ran into any trouble. We enjoyed a large soundstage of proper width and depth with both highly damped class D power and class A pentode EL84 bottles. The distinction of amplification personalities was very clear. Using class D, we saw a very obviously smooth, clear and well balanced character. A bit more of a cheeky sound came from the Kaivalya pentodes which played it more forward to add some edge to the vocal antics which here and there became a bit too much for the violins.
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During part of the review period there also was a Polish AbysSound ASX-2000 80wpc class A transistor stereo amp on hand. When matched to the Sounddeco Alpha F3 we arrived at yet another sonic flavour. This sound was more ‘in control’ like a big V8 engine just ticking away doing 60mph. Where the EL84s were boyishly impulsive, the Ncores the prudent father, this black behemoth was the bad-ass uncle with the heart of gold. In combination with the F3, the sound netted a bigger footprint, was more grounded and seemingly utterly free of any effort. Big crescendos scaled instantaneously and the F3 seemed in perfect compliance with the amplifier’s demands. There was no hesitation or lag. The amp was boss.
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In all cases, the Sounddeco Alpha F3 conveyed what they were fed. The familiar amplifier signatures came through unchanged without coloration or distortion. Once set up with precision to involve a laser distance finder, these speakers cast a very convincing musical illusion with all manner of music. With a friendly shape, solid build, meticulous finish, easy placement and great audio performance, the Alpha F3 is truly a milestone in loudspeaker development. That plus its shockingly fair price also puts it squarely in the realsization department where uncompromised build quality and excellent performance must coincide. But a Realsization award alone wouldn't tell the full story... |
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Condition of component received: Mint.
Reusability of packing: Many times.
Website comments: Straightforward in Polish and English.
Completeness of delivery: Complete with warranty form and setup guide.
Pricing: Not of this world – in other words, it puts to shame many/most competitors. Sounddeco products are available to foreign customers by means of factory-direct sales. More information can be obtained on their website about shipping.
Human interactions: Exemplary.
Remarks: With the Alpha F3 Sounddeco prove a few things whilst roasting many of the industry's sacred cows. Cooperation and ingenuity lead to quality. A high price is by no means guarantee for quality whilst an attractive price need not mean cheap at all.
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