Continuing with Sub-System No. 2 in the study. It is a small 5.5-tatami room, and with this system positioned on a different wall, the speakers may well be the bottleneck. If I use the Sub-System No. 1‘s audiopro Image11, A and B are fairly well matched (the tonal character differs, so it comes down mainly to personal preference), but as things stand, the speaker compatibility feels rather awkward here.
There are two pairs of speakers here, though they are not connected in parallel — I swap the speaker cables depending on the source material and my mood at the time. The TAG McLaren proprietary F3-10SPK cable was ordered with dedicated Y-lugs rather than banana plugs, prioritising sound quality, which makes swapping it around a bit of a chore.
The lower speaker is the DENON SC-M53, designed by a British engineer (apparently from MISSION) and widely regarded as surprisingly good for the price. It looks cute enough, but how does it actually sound? That depends on one’s frame of reference, but as a mini-system speaker it passes muster, just about. Comparing it to the small pure Hi-Fi bookshelf speakers featured in the right-hand sidebar of this site would, however, be a little unkind. There are aspects I do find appealing, and if the opportunity arises I would like to write about those at some point.
Perched on top is the audio-pro allroom collection04. It is a colour variant of the BLAVO ALLROOM SAT. I had taken a liking to the Allroom after hearing it in a shop some time ago, and just the other day I found myself snapping up a discounted unit at AVAC. In Japan the regular colour range is Red / Black / White / Silver / Blue, but overseas there are even more outlandish options — Apple, Orange, Cherry, and Grape — which it seems the Japanese distributor stocked for a time as well. Being a clearance item, I had no choice of colour, and what I ended up with was, shall we say, a purple — the outer box said “Grape / Plum” — which is a rather crazy colour. I suspect it did not sell in Japan precisely because the colour is so striking. Given the choice, I think I would have gone for White, Green (Apple), or Blue myself. That said, the Grape is actually not bad in person — the finish is a glossy piano lacquer that looks even more luxurious than the Image11, and the colour has a depth to it that I found unexpectedly appealing. On another note, the number of stockists seems to have been dwindling — could the BLAVO ALLROOM series already be discontinued? (Later note: it has had a price increase but remains on sale.)
The audio-pro ALLROOM SAT was originally purchased with PC audio in mind, but it turned out to be deeper than expected and simply would not fit behind the LCD display — a bit of a trap. The sound quality, however, is quite beyond what I had anticipated from my audition in the shop: in the smooth, acoustic quality of the midrange and in sheer musicality, it surpasses even the Image11. It tends to be overshadowed by the Image11 and its 
successor, the Image12, and does not get the attention it deserves, but it has remarkable potential. The bass, however, is simply not there — and I mean that quite literally. The quoted frequency response is 100–22,000 Hz. Below 100 Hz things roll off rather sharply, and perhaps as a consequence the mid to upper-mid range tends to tilt slightly bright and forward — one cannot entirely deny that. Even so, the upper treble, above the musical pitch range, appears to roll off gently, and it is that quality that keeps the brightness from becoming fatiguing or distorted-sounding, turning it instead into a charming, musically enjoyable liveliness. The tweeter in the Allroom has none of the knife-like sharpness that the Image11 occasionally shows; it is smooth and supple throughout, with no sense of metallic distortion — a genuinely acoustic sound with a touch of warmth.
The way the soundstage opens up with the Allroom — a soft, floating expansiveness — goes beyond even the Image11’s taut, wide-reaching presentation, and I think this is a quality unique to a satellite speaker designed originally for surround use. Unlike the sealed Image11, the Allroom has a small rear bass-reflex port, which gives the small cabinet a sense of openness; although the bass foundation is thin, the sound never feels unnaturally closed-in or congested. At 8Ω / 87dB, the sensitivity is easy to work with, and even a modest amplifier should be able to get a clean sound out of it at low volumes. The crossover frequency is also set high at 6,000 Hz, meaning the 8.9 cm woofer alone covers almost the entire musical pitch range, which gives it a natural point-source quality reminiscent of a full-range driver — a perspective that unfolds with real depth.
Its weaknesses are dynamics and high volume levels. Bass instruments are conveyed only in rhythm and image outline via the bass-reflex harmonics, while the fundamental notes are entirely absent. Think of it purely as a miniature speaker for enjoying vocal music or small ensemble pieces at low volume. Its gentle tonal character is also a point in its favour when you want to take the edge off a harsh-sounding CD. The perceived frequency response is narrow, so it lacks the versatility of the Image11 or Image12 when it comes to handling a wide range of source material — but in return it offers something those two cannot: a sound that is distinctly audio-pro in character, round and with a faint, delicate sweetness. A satellite speaker with an endearing voice, in other words.
To reproduce bass instruments in a properly balanced way alongside this speaker, the dedicated Ace-Bass active subwoofer is really essential. → Ippinkan’s recommended article on audio-pro super woofers. Essential reading for all audio-pro users.
The Japanese importer Rocky International’s website. The Allroom SAT colour range has now been reduced to Black and White only.
The official Swedish audio-pro website. Two new colours have been added to the ALLROOM SAT range: Riviera Turquoise (mint green) and Fortune Gold (gold).
To be continued.
Auto Translated by CS4.6
List of comments （2）
行きつけのパソコンショップに鶴屋さんの痛車が止まっていて、こんな田舎でもいるんだ、といささかびっくりしました。
敢えてちゅるやさんですかｗ。ハルヒで私が一番好きなキャラが鶴屋さんだったりして。