Thank you for your kind -- actually
overly kind -- comments, caesar. Michael Fremer, of
Stereophile, does comparative reviews and so does Don Saltzman, of
The Absolute Sound, among other reviewers.
To answer your question I heard the big Zellaton Statement system briefly at Munich in 2016.
In my visit report to Von Schweikert Audio in May of 2016 --
http://www.monoandstereo.com/2016/05/von-schweikert-audio-vr-11se-mk2-and.html?m=1 -- I wrote this:
“FAST”-SOUNDING SPEAKERS
At Munich High End 2016 I heard for the first time Zellaton Statement loudspeakers and Magico M-Project loudspeakers. Previously I had heard Tidal Audio La Assoluta loudspeakers in a friend’s home.
I hear each of these speakers as being extremely transparent (especially considering they employ dynamic drivers), “fast”-sounding and just a bit “tizzy” or “zingy” or “menthol”-sounding. It is hard to know what word to use to describe the very "fast” sound which such speakers produce. It is not in any way a traditional brightness or edginess (such as was produced by the Wilson Audio metal dome tweeter for many years until Wilson’s recent switch to a soft dome tweeter in the XLF, the Alexia and the Alexx). But it is a characteristic which is noticeable, to me, from the members of this genre of speakers.
The transparency of which these very fast-sounding, dynamic driver speakers are capable is very impressive but, to my ears, that transparency comes at the cost of a bit of naturalness or "musicality" to the sound. The fact that I am aware of this “fast” sound as a discrete characteristic tells me that it is not the type of sound I personally, subjectively, prefer. If a speaker has some characteristic which makes me notice that characteristic and identify it, then I am not engaged in, and lost in, the music. I have learned that, for whatever reason, this genre of speakers just does not allow me to become emotionally connected to the music.
To be crystal clear I am not suggesting that Magico or Tidal Audio or Zellaton speakers are doing anything objectively wrong. I am saying only that, to my ears, subjectively I do not care for that hyper-fast sound. People who like that transparent, detailed and very fast sound (and many people do, which is why Magico is so popular and Tidal Audio and Zellaton are so revered), will have no idea what I'm talking about, and they simply are enthralled with the transparency and openness of such speakers. I completely understand and appreciate that (differing) preference. That is what makes this hobby subjective.
The only amendment I would make to this excerpt today is that, after hearing the Magico M3 at Rhapsody in Manhattan and the Magico S5 Mark 2 in Myles Astor's listening room -- in both cases the speakers were driven by tube amplifiers I totally like -- I did not hear this hyper-fast attribute. I consider this to be primarily a result of what I perceive to be Magico's shift away from this hyper-fast sound in later iterations of its speakers, and secondarily to the tube amplification in Bob's and Myles' systems.
Caesar, I love the transparency of electrostatic loudspeakers, but, rightly or wrongly, I do not equate exactly the transparency of electrostatics with the hyper-fast, and also transparent, sound of the Zellaton.
In Jonathan Valin's visit to Audioarts --
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/jv-and-jm-visit-audioarts-in-nyc/ -- he wrote:
Here is what the Zellaton Reference did better than any other cone speaker I’d auditioned up to that point: Reproduced LPs and digital media with simply unparalleled speed, openness, and resolution. Everything from entire vocal and instrumental lines in large ensembles to the tiny timbral and textural details that characterize (and humanize) the performances of soloists was reproduced with such clarity and naturalness (and with such a complete absence of the usual metal, plastic, paper, ceramic, diamond, or carbon-fiber cone/membrane sonic signature) it was as if the recordings themselves had been remade—remixed and remastered by the world’s greatest mastering engineer. Moreover, the Zellaton References did this magic trick without ever sounding “analytical.” Indeed, their tone color was well nigh perfectly neutral from top to bottom, and their “disappearing act” nearly complete. Not without reason did Gideon Schwartz call them “Quad 57s with meat on their bones.”
Perhaps Jonathan's "simply unparalleled speed, openness, and resolution" is my "'fast'-sounding and just a bit 'tizzy' or 'zingy' or 'menthol'-sounding"? Differences in preference are one of the things which makes this hobby subjective and endlessly fascinating.
But isn't it interesting that this difference in preference appears to be consistent? For example, I prefer the slightly darker, warmer "house" sound of Rockport Technologies speakers and Jonathan prefers the less dark and cooler "house" sound of Magico speakers.
I want to note that after
Mono and Stereo published my visit report on Von Schweikert Audio, including the discussion about "hyper-fast" sound excerpted above, Gideon of Audioarts in Manhattan, which carries Zellaton, wrote to me to suggest that I have not properly heard the Zellaton speakers, and that I have misjudged their sound, and he very graciously invited me to listen to his system in Manhattan. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to take Gideon up on his kind offer. Of course I remain open-minded that Gideon is correct that I have misjudged the Zellaton sound from my brief listen in Munich.
