The contrast between the A1.5 and the Linear A proved interesting: the TEAD amp majored on flow, shape, body and colour, investing the sound with a real sense of substance to back up and propel its immediacy and musical purpose; the A1.5 offered a less obviously substantial presentation, but one that allowed a deeper view into the mix, unravelled the layers and separated out the musical elements in an unforced but more ordered way. Along with the greater clarity and definition, the CH amp brought even greater resolution and detail, while integrating that detail into the music as a whole. These are different, but in many ways equally successful amplifier options, the more expensive Swiss unit justifying its cost in terms of increased insight and a deeper understanding of both the music and the recording, whether that’s a case of understanding a Shostakovich String Quartet or Underworld. The TEAD makes a compelling case for itself on the grounds of sheer musical communication and engagement – not to mention value. The point here is that the AXjets reward careful consideration of their driving amplifier. Unlike many speakers, that dominate the sonic characteristics of the amp/speaker pairing, the character and qualities of the amp in question are going to be clearly – in some cases ruthlessly – revealed. For choice I’d take the CH A1.5, but at what price? I could easily live with the linear A/AXjet combination and save myself some considerable cash. But that’s me, with my predilection for classical music and other acoustic recordings. If I listened to mainly rock, pop and contemporary music, the TEAD’s appeal would be hard to ignore. At the price I’d even think about a second Linear A to bi-amp, with one channel from each amp driving the bass, if that could be arranged?
Listening to the Nils Petter Molvaer album Khmer (ECM 1560 537798-2) I realised that it encapsulates both the distinctions between these two amp options and the AXjet experience as a whole. Re-reading my listening notes and trying to reorganize them into a coherent paragraph I also realised that I could do worse than reproduce them verbatim:
Khmer – concentrated density, dynamic agility, overall coherence and intensity.
Crisp rhythms and solid layers. A1.5 adds texture and separation, subtlety to mix and greater contrast/spatial manipulation.
Tr. 2 – solid slaps of flanged bass – almost physical impact. Layer on woven layer (A1.5). Focussed, driven energy.
Tr. 4 – breathy, raspy trumpet, poised in front of disjointed, unsettling drum track. Rising ‘mist’ of keyboards wash behind guitar and trumpet solos.
Atmospheric and affecting. Mournful
Expansive soundstage. Insistent, hard-edged, propulsive rhythms, slab-like bass. Submerged, evolving patterns and melodies.
Clarity, organisation, proportion.
Motion and substance.
The sparse, clipped shorthand captures the uncluttered clarity, directness and impact of the AXjets’ musical presentation. There’s a terse, no-nonsense, let’s get on with it quality to their music. That doesn’t mean hurried or harried: it means the direction of travel is clearly established; it’s up to the musicians to set the pace. In some cases that pace will be frenetic, driven and propulsive – in others it will be calm, measured and considered. NPM oscillates between the driven and insistent and the calming and reflective, emotional and musical contrasts that are tracked faithfully by the speakers. The AXjets respect the musicians and their intent and that’s what they deliver. No niceties; no soft focus, no added warmth or rounded edges. As one high-end company would (in their case, rather ironically) have it, “Only the Music!”
The Long And Winding Road
The AXjet Pros are the culmination of a long and convoluted path from their utterly impractical beginnings to their current form – a surprisingly compact, versatile and capable, self-contained domestic speaker system. No such journey is ever truly over and I’m sure that there will be further developments down the road. But as it stands, the AXjet Pro already ticks enough musical boxes to demand serious consideration by anybody shopping for speakers in this price range or, considering the amplifier options it opens up, considerably less. With the explicit timing and rhythmic articulation that comes from a single driver design (and the absence of a passive crossover), the dynamic tracking and range that comes with such high sensitivity, the substance, scale and impact that comes from properly integrated low-frequencies, this is every inch the musical communicator. Sit in front of these speakers and play a familiar piano piece – any piano piece: once you’ve picked your jaw off of the floor, you’ll know. You’ll know just how precisely the AXjets track dynamics and translate them to note weight, timing and duration; you’ll recognize their unforced temporal security – the way they track shifts in pace or rhythmic evolutions, the shape of a phrase or how they fit together; you’ll barely notice their seamless integration, so even is their energy right across the keyboard.
Short – and to the point…
There is something fundamentally and unmistakably correct about the way the AXjets project the musical performance. They plumb the depths of music’s foundations (or at least, go deep enough) to build solidly on top. Pitch, pace and purpose in the low-frequencies deliver an explicit musical framework, one that the speakers couple directly to their midrange clarity and dynamic agility. They manage to reach beyond what’s on the recording and into the original event, it’s atmosphere and motivation. They capture technique and attitude with an almost insouciant ease – whether that’s Ruggiero Ricci’s flashing bow or Víkingur Ólafsson’s deft touch and carefully measured restraint.
