The second thing the Comtesse is, is seamless. Just as the speaker’s bottom-end has an almost midrange-like clarity, agility and articulation, that speed of response and even projection of energy extends right across the speaker’s range. You hear it in the stability of the soundstage and the consistency of instrumental position and dimensionality, irrespective of pitch or level. Even the extreme intensity of the Ligeti doesn’t provoke a wander or shimmer in the players’ positions or the overall acoustic. Piano is especially notable for the step-less continuity in extended runs, in the clarity of the left-hand/right-hand relationship. Play Maria João Pires seminal Denon discs of the Mozart Piano Sonatas (OQ-7214-21-N) and the Göbel’s capture the delicacy, crystalline precision and clarity of line perfectly. The fluid grace and perfect pace and weighting of the notes that make these such captivating performances is as unforced as it is undisturbed by discontinuities or bumps in the reproductive process. The instrument is utterly stable, Pires’ input wonderfully nuanced and confident.
That dynamic response, integration, linearity, the coherence of the energy envelope and its ability to project an even sense of substance, irrespective of frequency is what gives the Divin Comtesse its invisibility. It’s also what makes it sound more like a single driver than a multi-way system. A big part of that quality is derived directly from the deft, tactile and pitch/texture definite bottom-end. The Comtesse doesn’t have the weight or the scale that speakers like the Stenheim A5-SX or Peak El Diablo deliver, but nor does it lack for musical (as opposed to physical) impact. Examples are legion, from the explosive snap of the percussion on the Ligeti, to the swelling energy of the enthusiastic claps at Massey Hall. These speakers are not about rattling rib cages. They’re about clarity, musical insight, immediacy and connection. They may not pin you to the chair with shifts in musical density, but they’ll let you hear (and almost count) exactly which instruments have joined the party. They will appeal to the listener who wants to hear into the performance rather than sit outside it, who values information over impression, who wants to appreciate the individual, both as a performer and as a contributor to the whole. The Stenheims deliver more drama, the Peaks more scale and power, but neither gets you closer to the musician(s) than the Göbels.
And the third thing that the Comtesse is, is distinctive. This speaker doesn’t sound like other boxes this size. In fact, it pretty much doesn’t sound like other boxes, period. It has a unique blend of virtues, that mean it can offer a different perspective on the music and different options within a system.
You’ve got to be careful suggesting that a box speaker has electrostatic tendencies – which is why I’ve been at pains to qualify which exact qualities that refers to: the speed of response, the seamless continuity, the evenness of character and output. But where the Comtesse majors on the clarity and transparency that many electrostatics have, it doesn’t come at the cost of thinness or an insubstantial sense of presence and body. The Göbel’s sense of musical purpose is distinctly box-like – even if its colouration levels are not. Meanwhile, I’m going to make another, perhaps equally easily misunderstood observation: The Divin Comtesse is the perfect partner for a really good sub-woofer.
