Review Context
The speakers were listened to primarily in the main system that consists of the CH Precision C1.2 DAC, CH Precision L1 preamplifier, CH Precision A1.5 power amp, normally flanked by Magico S1 MkII speakers. Digital sources include the Grimm MU1, Antipodes K50, and Antipodes K41+K22 Music Servers (all running Roon).
Additional amplifiers used for testing are the NuPrime AMG-STA and the Accuphase E-280. Speaker cables used are FoilFlex and Driade Flow Reference 808, the latter for critical listening.
Listening – Aletheia III
These blue beauties may be modest in size but at 28 kg, they are deceptively heavy! When installing them onto the matching aluminum stands, the speaker’s recessed spikes fit in HDMT couplers that in turn fit into recesses in the stand. While the speakers can be carried by a single person, the initial positioning is best performed by two persons, so that the spikes and cups can be precisely aligned by one person while the other person does the lifting. Once positioned, the speakers sit very firmly and the large floor discs underneath the stands make it easy to slide them over a laminate floor.
Once connected and positioned in the same locations as I use for the Magicos, all it took was a few seconds of music to take me across the threshold of tentative critical listening into enjoying the music. Everyone who visited commented on the same thing, how these speakers sound so beautifully uncolored and so convincingly realistic. They simply get out of the way and let the music do the talking, or rather, the singing! Clearly, Bo San’s Buddhist philosophy is paying off.
I already mentioned that the Aletheias reminded me a lot of the Magico S1 MkIIs I normally use. They are no sonic identical twins, but the Aletheias do perform very similarly in many areas.
There is a remarkable solidity to the Aletheia’s presentation. Their overall stance is rather the inverse of feathery, dreamy, or floaty. It’s well-rooted, earthy, sonorous, and decidedly unwavering. To some extent, this is also expressed in the soundstaging. The speakers focus very precisely and image very widely. But they do not project quite as deeply back into the stage, nor do they breathe quite as freely outside of the cabinets as the Magicos. That said, they certainly do not have the cardboard-like flatness of imaging that some dipole foil speakers can have. Singers and instruments have real body and a convincing physicality to them.
Again just like the S1s, the Aletheias have a deeply saturated tonality and a broad tonal palette, yet there is no added warmth or thickness, no added “subjectively pleasant” harmonics, and no rose-tinting. While my emphasis on “no added warmth” might suggest the speakers could sound barebones, clinical, or devoid of musicality, just as with the S1 MkII, this is most definitely not the case with the Aletheia III. Oh, and they sound just as fabulously coherent as the Magicos. And importantly, the crossover frequencies are absolutely inaudible, with the two drivers behaving much like a single unit.
Contrasting with the S1 MkIIs, however, the Aletheias’ upper midrange/lower treble can sometimes be a little forward. Please note that it will only ever border on being hard, never actually becoming hard or edgy. It’s just the right amount to add some bite, excitement, and expression. Indeed, the Magicos are not any crisper or any more dynamic or expressive. Rather the opposite. Rimshots and woodblock hits actually sound just a little bit softened with the S1s and more incisive and impactful with the Aletheias.
I double-checked this aspect with my neighbor Jessyca who is 10 years younger, has great hearing, and basically all the makings of an audiophile without actually being one. She’s highly perceptive, very sensitive to high-frequency noise, and not spoiled by prejudice. So, whenever I want an unbiased second opinion, I invite her, tell her nothing, and just let her do the listening. Long story short, Jessyca confirmed the Aletheias are spicy but they never cross the line.
That said, if the recording is so-so, if there is hardness in the amplifier, or if there’s anything else not quite right in the system, these speakers will let you know in no uncertain terms. Just like a truly truthful speaker should. In that respect, they are less forgiving than the Magicos S1 MkIIs which sound quite silky in the treble.
Given their revealing quality and my side experiment with Jessyca, it’s important to reiterate that when all is well, the Aletheias sound utterly fabulous, and very consistently so. If required by the music, they can swing either way, from cool and incisive to lush, rich, and creamy, and everything in between. In the best sense of the word, these speakers are self-effacing and honest. But unlike some speakers that are very neutral and even-handed at the cost of expression and excitement, the Aletheias have plenty of spirit and are never dull or matter-of-fact.
The Aletheias sound not only full-blooded and musically engaging, but they also sound pretty much full-range and that last aspect really is quite amazing. They manage bass that is very nearly as accurate and easily as deep as that of the S1 MkIIs, while sounding even fuller and more powerful at the lowest octaves! As I mentioned, they are not sonic twins and the Magicos do sound purer and texturally more natural, more linear, more refined, and more transparent. But contrast this with all that the Aletheias do so very well and consider that they achieve this at roughly half the price.
Next: Listening to the AM23
Sorry to disturb here… in this topic.
Just to inform you that the “contact page” does it NOT work.
Delete this post if… thank you again.
Thanks for the review. It would be great if you could actually write down the price of these speakers instead of „being cryptic“ and saying something about half the cost of the small Magico’s… I for example don’t know how much these Magico’s currently cost (IMO Magico’s are way overpriced for their sound quality anyway, but that’s another story). Thank you and sincerely
I was not intentionally being cryptic, just assumed people more or less know Magico prices, and sometimes I think it reads better to use descriptive or comparative words instead of raw numbers. In any case, the S1 MkII was 24.000 euros at introduction 7 or so years ago and it now costs 30.000 euros.
Thanks, Christian