Alon Model One Speakers

[American Audiophile]

This is the second pair of Alons I have owned. The first being the Alon Point V, reviewed earlier on Audiogon. So impressed was I with the Alon Point V I just had to find a pair of Alons that were further up in the range. About two years ago did find a pair of Alon Model 1 at a used audio store. They were being auditioned by someone there before me. Listen along with the first buyer and both of us agreed these are very special indeed. Price used was $990.00. Lost out on those as the first buyer bought them that day. However I knew I had found the speaker I wanted for my system. Since then it has taken over two years to finally locate another pair. Finally found another pair of Alon Model 1 in the optional oak finish.The optional oak finish was a $300.00 option. Had to travel some 1,200 miles roundtrip to get them, but has been more than worth the trouble to acquire. Us audiophiles are an odd lot to travel hundreds of miles for used gear,oh well part of the hobby I guess. The Alon Model 1 appear so infrequently for sale is testament of their enduring value. Audiophiles that have them, keep them.

The Alon Model 1 are open baffle design for the tweeter and midrange, while the woofer is in an enclosed non ported cabinent. The Alon Model 1 are bi-wireable and appear to use Cardas five way binding post. Using the Alon Black Orpheus speaker cable in bi-wire configuration. Also the Alon Model 1 come with floor spikes installed from the factory. These are adjustable spikes in order to level the speakers and make proper contact through the carpet to the sub floor below.

CD Used for Evaluation:

Ben Webster At The Renaissance (Contemporary Records OJCCD-390-2)
The Royal Ballet Gala Performances (Classic Compact Discs CDSCD 6065)
Jurassic Park Motion Picture Soundtrack (MCAD 10859)
We Get Requests - The Oscar Peterson Trio (Verve 810047-2)
You Won't Forget Me - Shirley Horn (Verve 847482-2)
On Every Street - Dire Straits (Warner Brothers 26680-2)
Trio Jeepy - Branford Marsalis (Columbia CK44199)
Paris Jazz Concert - Louis Armstrong (RTE 1001-2)
Braveheart Motion Picture Soundtrack - London Symphony Orchestra (London LC0171)
Patriot Games Motion Picture Soundtrack (RCA 07863 66051-2)
Highlights From The Plugged Nickel - Miles Davis (Columbia CK 67377)
Private Investigations Best Of Dire Straits (HDCD) - Dire Straits (Warner Bros 49891-2)
Straight Up - Bob James Trio (Warner Bros 945956-2)
Land Of Giants - McCoy Tyner (Telarc 83576)
New York Reunion - McCoy Tyner (Chesky 5173324)
Gladiator Motion Picture Soundtrack(Decca 2894670942)
Copland - Appalachian Spring (Telarc CD 80078)
Frederick Fennell - Holst Suites (Telarc 80038)
Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture (Telarc 80041)
John Williams - American Journey (Sony 89364)
Bizet - Carmen (Telarc 80048)
Live At Sweet Basil - McCoy Tyner Trio (Evidence ECD 22106-2)
Paul Desmond & The Modern Jazz Quartet - Red Baron JK57337
Jimmy Smith - The Unpredictable - Verve 8230308-2
Dexter Gordon - Our Man In Paris - Blue Note 7 46394 2
Mike Garson - Jazz Hat - Reference Recording RR 114
Bill Evans - Live In 1975 Switzerland - Gambit 69232
Bud Powell - Essen Jazz Festival - 1201Music-1QGN9
Cannonball Adderley - Know What I Mean - Riverside OJCCD105
Bill Evans - Ronnie Scotts 1980 - Gambit 69242
Tommy Flanagan - Over C,s - Prestige - OJCCD 1033-2
Ahmad Jamal - Chicago Revisited - Telarc CD 83327

If you are still into vinyl and you should be, the Alon Model 1 speakers add a depth of realism that is hard to imagine. Just one seamless presentation after another.

Listed below are the vinyl LPs used for evaluation.

Bob James - Hands Down (Columbia FC 38067)
Hiroshima - Self Titled - (Arista MFSL1-525)
John Coltrane - Blue Train - (Blue Note BST 81577)
Wes Montgomery - Bumpin' - (Verve V6-8625)
Rickie Lee Jones - Self Titled - (Warner BSK 3296)
Wynton Marsalis - Live Blues Alley - (Columbia PC2-40675)
Eric Gale - Forecast - (KUDU Records KU 11)(CTI Records)
Kenny Burrell & Grover Washington Jr - (Blue Note BT 85106)
Earl Klugh - Finger Painting - (Blue Note MFSL 1-025)
Larry Carlton - Friends - (Warner 23834-1)
Sadao Watanabe - Autumn Blow - (Inner City IC 6064)
Doobie Brothers - Minute by Minute - (Warner BSK 3193)
Santana - Zebop - (Columbia FC37158)
Pat Metheny Group - American Garage - (ECM 1-1155)
Frederick Fennel - Cleveland Symphonic Winds - (Telarc 5038)
Paul Desmond/Jim Hall - Complete Recordings - Mosaic(MR6-120)
Time Out - Dave Brubeck Quartet (Columbia CS 8192)
Paul Desmond - Self Titled (Artist House AH - 2)
Ahmad Jamal - But Not For Me - Argo LPS 628
Bill Evans - At The Montreux Jazz Festival - Verve V6-8762
Bill Evans - At Montreux II - CTI 6004
Sunken Cathedral - American Gramophone - AG 361
No Bass Hit - Concord Jazz Label - CJ-97
Oscar Peterson - Night Train - Verve V-6 8538
Gerry Mulligan Reunion Chet Baket - Pacific Jazz ST 90061
Bill Charlap - New York Trio Stardust - Venus VHJD 22
Michael Garson - Serendipty - Reference Recording RR20
Bill Charlap - Things We Did Last Summer - Venus TKJV19111
Ahmad Jamal - Extensions - Argo 758
Tommy Flanagan - Plays Harold Arlen - Inner City IC 1071
Jazz At The Pawnshop - Proprius - 7778-79
Barry Harris - At The Jazz Workshop - Riverside RLP-1177
Adam Makowicz - The Name Is Makowicz - Sheffield Labs 21

Seldom in speaker design do we get high definition coupled with muscality. The Alon Model 1 speakers are one of those speakers that handle both with great resolve of the musical signal. At times these speakers are holographic in their presentation filling the room with a musical presentation that one feels they were in the room when the recording was done.The sound stage is wide and deep with a solid layering of the instruments involved. With the Alon Model 1 I have heard music in the grooves and on disc that I had not heard before, just an uncanny ability to deliver the music with a solid rendering. These speakers do not get in the way of the music, but let the musical performance come through in a most convincing way.

One of the great litmus test for a apeaker to resolve is that of piano music. The piano has so many tonal balances and octave ranges that many speakers cannot reproduce acurately. Clearly the Alon Model 1 excels in this test. the Telarc CD Malcolm Frager plays Chopin. The Alon Model 1 was able to give a commanding presentation of this most difficult material handling both ends of the musical spectrum with authority. Joe Sample one of the most accomplished jazz pianist of our time and his disc Pecan Tree was a joy to listen to. Joe Samples playing came through with a verve that one would just have to hear for themselves. While Larry Carltons disc Sapphire Blue reinforced the point that the Alon Model 1 speakers can grab you and put you into the music in a very special way.

In the weeks that have passed several people have listen to the Alon Model 1 speakers and each have come away more than impressed with the overall musicality of these speakers. In fact most are seeking out the Alon Model 1 or other Alon speakers for their systems. It is amazing just how many audiophiles are unaware of Alon Speaker Systems. When new in 1993 these drew rave reviews from TAS and Stereophile. Now I know the reason behind those reviews. Alon speakers are something special indeed and are worthy additions to any hi-rez system. Listening fatique is absent and one can listen and appreciate day in day out. These are true reference speakers by any stretch of the imagination, only surpassed by more expensive Alons.

Recently Alon is now known as Nola speakers(Alon backwards)due to change in partnership in 2004.

In 1995 or 1996 the Alon Model 1 became Alon Model 1 MKII. I have not heard those,but for the life of me I do not know how these could possibly be improved upon. But those do exist. This review has dealt with the originial Alon Model 1 speakers.

At the used price points of the Alon Model 1, there is nothing that can come close to these speakers. And at the new prices for speakers on the market for what you will pay for used Alons, there is nothing even remotely close to the Alon Model 1 speakers.

I can and truly recommend the Alon Model 1 speakers, they have more than impressed this audiophile who has been at this for 47 years. This is an icon product that will impress and continue to do so for many years. To pass up a pair of Alon Model 1 speakers for something else would be regrettable indeed.

The Alon Model 1 speakers weigh about 50 pounds each stand 37 inches tall with grill covers in place,are 9 inches wide with a depth of 13 1/4 inches with grill cover on. the Cardas connectors add another 1 inch of depth.

Sold for $1,590.00 new in 1993 in Black Ash Finish. Was available in other finishes for an additional $300.00. Average used price for basic Alon Model 1 is $770.00 one of audios true bargains in used equipment.

I do recommend the use of Alon Black Orpheus speaker cables as these bring the Alon speakers into another realm of accuracy. Not cheap but well worth the price of admission.

 

[Desert Lotus]

Pair of Alon I's popped up on Ebay seller was in CA, I'm in Las Vegas. Flew to SF an drove over to Manteca to pick them up. Stored them at my parents house for several months until I could bring my car over to pick them up. Finally got the chance to drive to SF a month ago and drove it home. The seller was nice enough to include the 3/4" thick white speaker cables which was a godsend because I wouldn't have had the foggiest notion how to hook these up. The Alon 1's are horizontally biwirable and the setup is new to me. I've never seen speaker cables that went from 4 into 2 like that. I also got the oak finish. Final price was around $370 for the pair. There's another pair Alon 1's for $400 on Ebay from a guy in New York but they are black, it's the older model whose grills come in 2 separate pieces (which doesn't look as nice) and the woofers are eroded and need to be refoamed. Luckily my woofers are in fine condition no refoaming necessary.

I upgraded my amp to Acurus A150 which are rated at 150wpc and I feel like it's just powerful enough. The sound stage and airiness from the tweeter and mid are crazy good, unlike anything I've ever heard. Exceptionally clean and clear. Compared with the designer's previous speaker, Carl Marchisotto's Dahlquist M905's it's like night and day. I can really hear the boxiness in the M905's and it's not nearly as clean or clear, although the bass sounds miles better. The best comparison I can come up with is someone travelling to Japan. When you goto Japan, the people are honest, don't steal. You can leave your wallet and nobody will take it and the people are all nice and courteous. Then you come back to the U.S. and realize how rude people are and want to run back to Japan. That's it I feel about the Alon's vs the Dahlquist. The Alon's deliver the separation and crystal clear highs so effortlessly it just feels natural, as if this is how it should be.

So now I've been on a quest to find another pair of Alon's and nothing pops up on Ebay (other than NY guy), but I realize Marchisotto's previous efforts aren't that far from the Alon's. If you look at the Dahlquist DQ 20i's you start to realize it's the exact same speaker design wise anyways. I wonder how much of a step up the Alon 1's are to the DQ 20i's? Reviews on the 20i's reveal that people love those speakers. I believe the 20i's were the last speaker Marchisotto made when he was at Dahlquist so I'm inclined to think it's not far off from the Alon's.