Just as voices have a natural, communicative quality, so too does the playing of soloists. The Yepes/Argenta Concierto De Aranjuez (in this case, the Alto reissue of Alhambra SCLL 14000) always places the soloist front and centre of Decca’s typically narrow, deep, early soundstage. The Alphason takes that a step further, focussing on the solo guitar and surrounding it with a beautifully focussed but tightly spaced orchestra, properly narrow but also foreshortened in depth. The presentation is equally tight and purposeful, with excellent dynamic discrimination and temporal/rhythmic integrity bringing an almost physical shape and intent to Yepes’ playing. Leading edges are crisp and clearly spaced, giving shape and direction to the phrases, a sense of musical momentum to the piece as a whole. The clarity and rhythmic articulation bring a whole new sense to the old Linn notion of toe-tapping involvement, the linearity and definition through the low frequencies effortlessly showing pitch and pace. The orchestral accompaniment is vibrant and colourful, considered and beautifully balanced against the solo instrument.
That catchy, engaging quality, full of life and energy, injects upbeat tracks with drive and an irresistible flow, while the clarity and unflappable quality that underpins the arm’s performance keeps even the complex rhythmic layers of a track like Vampire Weekend’s ‘This Life’ lucid and distinct, adding to the musical impetus rather than muddling and slowing it. In many ways, the HR-200S is the very model of a perfect, Linn-school PRAT performer – but with important additional qualities and capabilities. Unfailingly engaging and entertaining, able to respond to the musical demands of rhythm and tempo, fast or slow, simple, evolving or simultaneously overlaid, this arm is far more musically capable and refined than its history or slightly retro features and appearance might suggest. Updated and improved, the 9” HR-200S is a thoroughly modern tonearm available at what is for this level of performance, an extremely attractive price.
What happens if you increase the Effective length? You start to add space, dimensionality and harmonic sophistication to the musical picture. If we go to the opposite extreme and compare the 12” HR-200S to the 9” arm, the differences are clear. Taking the Yepes disc as an example, the soundstage is broader but much deeper, with clearly defined space and distance between the different instruments. The soloist steps back into the soundstage, creating a more inclusive and coherent acoustic, while his notes are longer and more fully developed, bringing subtlety and delicacy to his playing to go along with the leading edge precision. This is a more relaxed but also a more sophisticated performance, one that more clearly defines not just the orchestra and the space, but the relationship between the soloist and the accompaniment.
A calming influence…
The word that springs out of my listening notes is ‘quiet’ – referring to the absence of ‘noise’ within the soundstage, but also within the performance itself. It’s not that the tempo slows or the dynamics soften. It’s that the musicians have all the time they need to play, the notes all the time they need to develop and decay. Nothing is bustling or busy. Instead pace is natural and unforced, instrumental detail and identity simply part of the musical fabric. The incidental noises and sonic ‘tics’ that litter the Vampire Weekend tracks are much more clearly placed and defined by the 12” arm, adding an extra musical dimension to add to the physical dimensionality it brings to singers and instruments. The samba beats and Latin rhythms that inform Getz/Gilberto (The Analogue Productions dual 45 release, AP-8545) take on a deliciously sinuous quality, Pablo Ferández’ Cello is a bold, physical, harmonically complex presence in the Brahms Double Concerto (with Mutter, Honecke and the Czech Philharmonic, Sony 19658741101). But even with such a powerful instrument and dynamic performer, there’s no tendency for the solo instrument (or the supporting brass or percussion) to step forward or launch themselves out of the soundstage. The 12” arm delivers added stability to go with its added clarity and separation.
