Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

With further exploration of familiar program, it became clear that the treble range was delicately resolved, very detailed, and natural. While almost self-effacing, it possessed exceptional expressiveness combined with subtle dynamic nuance. When I concentrated further I also heard beguiling immediacy with enchanting microdetail and exceptional transparency. There was no detectable "horn" coloration. The delicate tactility on offer reached beyond those many excellent Heil-type folded ribbons (AMTs) while offering wide distribution in all planes. Off-axis room reverberation sounded highly neutral. The more I listened, the more convincing the Siren's high-frequency performance became. Miles Davis's horn can be an issue with many loudspeakers; an awkward-sounding speaker with some amplification renders that tuneful, expressive trumpet dynamic more like a shriek. But not the Siren, which brings trumpet and alto sax recordings convincingly to life. Davis's Tutu, an early digital recording auditioned on CD (Warner Brothers Records 925 490-2), may sound strident, but not with the Siren. Here, Miles fairly blazed on the title track, dynamic, expressive, full of fire supported by punchy baselines and a generous acoustic.

What about the mids? On first hearing, they seemed somewhat reserved. After some days of listening, they began to catch up with the high frequencies. What at first seemed a mildly recessed quality was progressively dispelled; the midrange blossomed, revealing a broadly balanced and natural richness imbued with much microdetail and growing transparency. And there was no hint of midrange cone "shout."

When first installed, the heavy steel-chip loaded, ridged-base stands were stably planted on the plain carpet without spikes, mechanically engaging the floor through sheer mass. I thought I'd got fairly close to the Siren's potential, but I was proven dead wrong.

Moving to full spiking was close to revelatory. At the first note, I almost fell out of my chair; I would swear to a 30% improvement. The magnitude of that jump, to full-bore, high-end resolution, image depth, and convincing dynamics, guaranteed I just couldn't stop listening. I was driven to get up and turn down the lights to better savor the enchantment. The low-distortion aspect of this design could now be heard in that quality of natural harmony. This is rare, familiar from historic large-panel speakers such as Quad and Apogee. and to a lesser degree Magnepan. It is also present with some direct-radiator moving coil designs including recent, larger Magicos—speakers whose designers have also put considerable effort into lowering distortion.

Once fully planted, the Sirens sounded exceptionally natural and were consistent with respect to timbre and voice, which changed very little with either loudness or program density/complexity—a highly valued behavior consonant with low inherent distortion. The treble register was silky yet naturally dynamic, transparent, and microdetailed. Vocal sibilants were natural and unstressed, violins airy without unnatural hardening of timbre, while tenor sax was vibrant and expressive. The bass through to the midrange was exceptional if not quite as delicately transparent as the treble—how could it possibly be? Still, first off, the primary lower frequencies were even and well balanced, rendered with very low coloration. The Sirens could be pressed hard without complaining, with peak power handling that resembled many a larger, 8" driver. It is perhaps understandable that at very high sound levels, the modestly dimensioned (2") bass port began to huff a little with some limiting a little earlier than the midwoofer did.

The silent, massive peak excursion of the Purifi driver was a wonder to behold, operating with almost inaudible distortion. This compact midwoofer had no right to play this deep and loud. A flash of memory recalled a parallel from audio history, Bob Carver's 1981 7"-per-side, hold-it-in-one-hand "Cube" stereo power amplifier, where his sheer ingenuity with cascaded power rails achieved more than 400Wpc into 4 ohms long before class-D and switch mode power supplies.

On my CD of Manu Katché's Neighbourhood (CD, ECM 1896), a great ECM jazz recording that also features trumpeter Tomasz Stanko and saxophonist Jan Garbarek, the opening track, "November 99," features highly rewarding pedal drum and double bass playing. I was not able to interrupt the title track, finding new meaning in the performance with the Sirens in the system. The percussion was exemplary for its detail and expression. There is a beguiling sense of intimacy and articulation with the Sirens; they never shout at you.

I learned a little about sound system presentation from Branko Bozic, a master of the art, and retraced his steps by replaying Miles Davis's "Time After Time" from Live Around the World (CD, Warner Brothers 9362 46032-2), which I last heard on Bozic's finely tuned system comprising Conrad Johnson ACT2 series 2 tube amplification with Karan KA M1200 monoblocks driving the magnificent first-gen Avalon Isis speakers. Much of the intimacy of that first experience was recreated here with the Siren, if on a smaller scale. That descent into near silence during the track leads to an explosive release that never fails to enthrall.

"Cathedral in a Suitcase," from Pat Metheny's Secret Story (16/44.1 FLAC CD rip of Geffen Records GED 24468), built power and scale beautifully, with fine image depth plus excellent recovery of the fine detailing in this dense score, and it did fair justice to the shimmeringly deep bassline. These tracks were eminently full bodied. Eyes closed, the Siren did not sound like a compact loudspeaker.

It will play implausibly loudly whilst remaining forensically detailed. It does not seek to punch forward and impress; rather it steps out of the way, allowing the music to dominate the listening experience.

Cathedral organ was surprisingly satisfying in weight and reach. The late Daniel Chorzempa recorded my favorite rendering of Bach's Schübler Chorales, BVW 646 (CD, Philips 412 117-2), here rendered as an open window into recording space and bringing out Daniel's artistry and clear articulation, especially his agile bass pedaling at the Dom Zu Baroque Cathedral at Arlesheim, Switzerland (footnote 3).

Garbarek's "Rites (Special Edit for the Film)," heard on the soundtrack for The Insider (CD, Columbia 496458 2), reveals some amazingly deep spatiality, the music exploding from deep inky backdrops to a focused presence at the front of the stage.

In the fourth movement of Steve Reich and Music for 18 Musicians (CD, ECM 1129), I found inner depths, limpid transparency, and natural timbres with very good image dimensionality. The bass was nicely weighted, with substantial in-room power to 40Hz and some well-voiced orchestral bass drum at 35Hz.

Continuance, a new jazz issue by Joey Alexander (24/96 FLAC, Mack Avenue/Qobuz), commences with "Blue." Here, the Sirens sing out loud and clear, punchy and clean, the wide-open horn playing almost lifelike. "The Big Picture," gloriously sung by Hannah Reid on Truth Is a Beautiful Thing by London Grammar (16/44.1 FLAC, Ministry of Sound/Qobuz), delivered unexpectedly generous bass weight and depth, while Hannah's vocal soared over this intoxicatingly dense mix; no wonder it was a hit. Anna Lapwood breathes life and rhythm into cathedral organ. With lights set low, sit back and enjoy her stunningly atmospheric production playing Hans Zimmer's "Chevaliers de Sangreal" ("Holy Grail"), from the Da Vinci Code soundtrack, on Midnight Sessions at the Royal Albert Hall (24/96 FLAC download, Sony Classical/Qobuz). An old favorite, "Finding and Believing" from Pat Metheny's Secret Story (original mix), is complex and densely scored; the Sirens played it with forensic detail but also remained sweet and open in the upper midrange.

Conclusions
Demonstrating much of the pure harmony of a large panel speaker but with the dynamics of a studio monitor, the Siren could play at almost any volume level—within reason!

With no midrange overprojection and a very low fatigue factor, the Siren enjoys very low distortion coupled with a smooth frequency response that's largely free of delayed resonances. All these factors handsomely support the sweet, transparent sound we experienced. The drivers complement each other in such a way that they blend seamlessly. The Sirens are also more powerful than you have any right to expect from such compact dimensions. Easy on the ears. The Siren joins those select few loudspeakers that are able to truly disappear into the soundstage illusion.

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Footnote 3: Many recordings have been made there. See discogs.com/label/1141761-Dom-Zu-Arlesheim-Switzerland.