Page 27 - Hi-Fi World (January 2020)

REVIEW

almost unnerving clarity, strings Grosvenor playing
resonating vividly in front of me. Chopin Nocturnes
And again the Orkan 9s just got (24/48) and Diana
on with the job with slick ability: Krall’s Narrow Daylight
I wasn’t assaulted, just pulled into (24/96) were cast in
what was happening and how fast a pure gentle light
yet controlled his playing was. that was romantic yet
Whilst the tweeter has ability that revealing: no rough
marks it out as a ribbon rather stuff here. Meanwhile
than a dome, it integrates well and the Chicago Symphony
sets up pin sharp images across the Orchestra playing
sound stage. Lofgren’s vocals were Mahler’s Symphony
clean and clear but held within the No 8 stretched out
mix, not jumping out as can happen on a large stage in
with a loudspeaker having emphasis front of me, the
in the upper midband. ribbon tweeters giving
The Orkan 9s stay with pin sharp images of
Quadral’s design ethos of absolute instruments and a clear
accuracy – one of the reasons I rendition of the choir.
like them so much. Superficially this The Orkans don’t
makes them sound laid back against project out strongly: Quadral's ribbon tweeter sits close
others – but they are in fact more part of their gentleness to the midrange unit for good phase
subtly revealing. comes from the sound matching, to give a consistent sound at
After run in the Orkan 9s stage lying back a little. different listening (ear) heights.
took on a fulsome sound balance From memory the
with strong lower mids and bass, Chromium Style 8s rather than fast – not properties
the synth percussion work in Safri were more open and disengaged of Quadrals I have reviewed in
Duo’s Samba Alegreo moving our from the cabinet. the past. All the same, every
large listening room (6550 cu loudspeaker has particular qualities,
ft) with ease. There was power CONCLUSION which is what sets them apart
aplenty in their bass, although it Quadral’s Aurum Orkan 9 – and the pure treble and deep
rolls along rather than stabbing loudspeakers are distinctively insight of the Orkan 9s still had
out, having a sense of engaging smooth and svelte yet revealing me impressed. More sophisticated
warmth. Think: big bass. and with powerful bass. There was than most else, they are worth
Stripped bare performances, some sense of a sound stage being auditioning. A lovely loudspeaker
the lone piano of Benjamin held back and of bass being heavy that I found gently beguiling.
MEASURED PERFORMANCE

Quadral’s Aurum series Orkan 9 was of 2.5kHz (as ribbon tweeters go) sound, with bass suited to medium
smooth and flat across the audio and close siting of tweeter to mid- sized rooms (16ft, 5.5m or so long),
band from 180Hz to 16kHz like most range made phase matching good, positioning close to a rear wall likely
of their loudspeakers. This German minimising change in sound with best. NK
manufacturer concentrates on listening height.
accuracy: their loudspeakers rarely Bass output below 180Hz was
have emphasised bass or treble also restrained our analysis shows, FREQUENCY RESPONSE
– unlike most others today. measuring around -2dB down, but Green - driver output QUADRAL
Smoothness of response with peaking around the 35Hz port Red - port output ORKAN 9 £3995
indicates low colouration, due to lack frequency. This type of response suits
+20
of small local resonances in the drive near-wall placement in medium sized
units – mainly the cones – that show rooms, keeping room-gain in check. +10 OUTSTANDING - amongst
dB
up as small peaks and troughs. The The Orkan 9s will be able to produce 0 the best
Orkan 9s lack this, meaning they are deep lows with power.
-10
less coloured, and also less charac- The impedance trace is resistive, VERDICT
-20 Creamy smooth, deeply
terful. lacking peaks, and it is low, overall detailed. Big bass, a tad slow.
Quadral’s ribbon tweeter has been impedance with pink noise measuring -30
20 100 Hz 1k 20k
kept in check: there is no emphasis of 5 Ohms, so the Orkans draw current FOR
highs, output rolling off above 16kHz. from an amplifier and a sturdy design - smooth, easy sound
This result was consistent with the with good power supply (e.g. Naim) IMPEDANCE - superb treble
measuring microphone on-axis or best suits, or a valve amplifier with a 50 - tonally accurate
laterally off-axis, ribbon tweeters 4 Ohm tap. Ohms AGAINST
having wide lateral dispersion, so they Sensitivity was good at 87.5dB 30 - some warmth
do not need to be toed in to point at from one nominal Watt of input (2.8V) - slow bass
listeners. but not as high as is common (90dB) - expensive
Vertical dispersion was more for a speaker of the size. 10 Nu Nu Distribution
variable than a dome tweeter but a Measurement suggests a 0 + 44 (0) 203 5442338
relatively low crossover frequency colouration free, neutrally balanced 10 Hz 1k 20k www.nunudistribution.co.uk

www.hi-fiworld.co.uk JANUARY 2020 HI-FI WORLD 27