Nor is this all about the subtle and insubstantial. Just listen to ‘Guys Like Me’ and the role of the heavily distorted guitar that, after opening the track slowly and purposefully insinuates into and drives the growing density and intensity in the music. It can easily swamp the track, or step, irrelevantly into the backdrop. The Monarques balance its dense, powerful contribution perfectly, building into the following track, ‘Pavlov’s Bell’ where it takes the whole act a stage further. And through it all, the speakers capture not just the power and direction of the instrumental line but the texture and edge to the distortion that’s so central to the sound and the instruments contribution.
Mann’s album is largely post produced from front-room recordings. It’s a perfect example of what a great producer can bring to good material. At the other end of the studio process, give a great band its head and a shove in the right direction and get out of the way. Play the Who’s seminal Who’s Next (Polydor UICY-20080) and you’ll quickly realise just how much energy, drive and purpose the Monarques can invest in the right recording. The weight, power, impact and propulsive rhythm of Keith Moon’s controlled yet maniacal drumming stand as an object lesson in just what a drum kit should bring to a rock band. In a near perfect balance of essential elements, bass, guitars and vocals are carried over that solid foundation. There’s an almost irresistible temptation to advance the volume control – and keep advancing it. That’s matched by the temptation to listen and keep listening. Whole albums come and go, each coming up all shiny and new – no matter how familiar. Don’t be surprised to find yourself on a musical road-trip through your misspent youth: Genesis, Zepp, ELP, early Elton, Bowie, Young Marble Giants and Camel have all passed in parade. As a living, breathing example of the almost addictive power to project coherent musical energy, it takes some beating – to the extent that it’s the source and any shortcomings it embodies, rather than the speakers that are holding things back.
Different strokes…
With the Wadax Reference rig and the eight-box CH Precision D10/C10 on hand, that might seem like a surprising suggestion. But as good as both of these digital sources unquestionably are, they are also very different. The degree and implications of those differences have never been as apparent as they are with the Monarques on the end of the chain. Musically, this speaker is a more coherent transducer than either. That’s quite a claim and quite an achievement if it’s accurate. Yet given just how clearly the speakers are able to reveal the relative strengths of both sources (and the Monaco turntable) and how those strengths and weaknesses relate to the musical presentation and communication of a given recording, it’s hard to reach any other conclusion. Once again, it’s down to an almost preternatural internal balance of virtues, so that if a source component or amplification lean in one direction or another, it’s immediately and obviously apparent. The detailed analysis of those contrasting presentations is a bigger subject for another day, but make no mistake: the Divin Monarques have been central to the understanding and appreciation of both sources and their inner musical workings.
