PureAudioProject Quintet15 Horn1 open-baffle speaker system

System fun

My source has been set for a while now: the Small Green Computer sonicTransporter in combination with the SONORE Signature Rendu SE with systemOptique (fiber optic connection between the SMG and Signature Rendu SE). I rely heavily upon the Clarity Cable Supernatural USB cable as well. I rotate BAV (Belden Audio Video) Power Cords and Clarity Cable Vortex Power Cords as needed, but typically start with a consistent loom of Iconoclast/BAV or Clarity Cable, then tune from there.

DACs in play are typically the COS D1 DAC+ Preamplifier and the Exogal Comet with Plus Power Supply. As I continue to build audio systems with these DACs, I find that there is no assurance of the predominant performance of either. Their superiority seems conditioned upon the particular components and cables in use. They regularly swap positions as the top and runner-up DAC. I am beginning to consider DACs as variable a component as cable sets, for there has been no surety in one being considered better; every system brings a potential surprise.

These DACs are like heavyweight fighters exchanging punches; a lot of them landed on the other, but neither refuses to fall. I am grateful that I have at least two DACs on hand to flip between so that nearly any system I establish has capacity to yield stunning sound.

The other important component involved is the gawk-inducing Legacy Audio i.V4 Ultra Amplifier, a class D design that decimated class A and A/B alternatives. The review of the i.V4 Ultra may cause some heads to spin with the declarations I make, but they are well deserved. For this speaker system the combination of the Comet DAC with Plus Power Supply and the Legacy i.V4 Ultra Amplifier are strongly recommended as a premium combination. They will form the basis of an impressive system with the Quintet15 Horn1.

With this combination of gear and the Iconoclast cables, the horn has reached a most mature sound, full and warm, frankly to a degree I thought not possible. Also, the detail retrieval makes the depth of field even more impressive than with previous systems using the Kingsound King III electrostatic speakers! The combination of high power (600 wpc) and the high efficiency of the horn takes me back to the days when I put a full one kilowatt per channel on a pair of Tannoy Glenair speakers! I doubted I ever would again hear such transparency with such dynamic presence — but here it is!

The bass drivers coalesced better with this setup than with the COS D1. I am hearing them individually less so than with the former DAC. Also, the center image has become more generous, taking up more of the space between the towers. Two powerful influences are at work, making this speaker, which seems the antithesis of the King III dipole experience,just as compelling; the big rack of 15” drivers makes a wall of bass, and the horizontally positioned horns make my landscape orientation effect of the wide soundstage. In both dimensions, big is the name of the game. Not big as in sloppy, but big as in enormous scale. I recall visiting the inspiring Doge’s Palace of Venice, seeing masterpieces, some frescoes (paintings with watercolor on wet plaster), occupying the length of entire walls of sizable halls. The paintings were enormous and full of details. I hear a similar effect with the Quintet15, a musical mural of grand scale.

Concentration versus coverage

The unusual occurrence of having two big floor standing speakers on hand, both featuring four open baffle 15” woofers per channel but in distinctly different configurations, leads to some insightful experiences in terms of design and performance. The aforementioned Legacy Whisper has the woofers stacked in pairs; parallel front and rear baffles hold the drivers approximately 6” apart in tandem. In use with the Wavelet system controller, which features DAC, preamp, processor and room correction functions, there is a time delay between the front and rear woofers such that the rear driver’s wavelaunch pushes against the back of the front woofer’s cone at the appropriate time, thus assisting in transients and causing an off-axis null at 90 degrees. The speakers can even be put one foot away from side walls with no ill effects, and I have done so often.

There are many variables involved in the use of the Whisper with and without the Wavelet; my pair is custom, allowing for use of the speaker with or without the Wavelet, that is, active or passive operating mode. The closest in terms of performance to the Quintet15 is to hear the Whisper in passive mode utilizing its internal crossovers. The comparison discussed will focus on that operating mode.

These speakers are in several ways opposites in terms of driver configuration. The Whisper is all about coverage, and consequently has a quad of 7” mid-bass drivers, a 4” AMT midrange tweeter in conjunction with a 1” AMT super tweeter. Note that there is not a hard distinction between drivers, but they share duties in the zones of the frequency spectrum normally associated with dedicated drivers. Conversely, the Quinet15 is all about concentration, with a full range horn, and a quad of 15” woofers to supplement it. The comparison is not absolute, but general.

The most evident difference between these speakers is that they are also opposites in terms of projection of the center image and soundstage. The Whisper’s bass sounds more compact, as only two drivers are facing the listener, while the four mid-bass drivers widen the center image. Again, the Quintet15 does the opposite, with twice the surface area of the bass drivers aimed at the listener, and a 1.4-inch compression horn as the source for the midrange frequencies on up. As might be expected, the horn produces a far more concentrated and focused center image. The cleanness and detail are no less spectacular than the Kingsound King III electrostatic speaker!

For localization of voices and individual instruments, i.e., lead and solo performances, the Quintet15 is superior, resolving and hanging the particular performances in space nearly holographically. The phrase ‘image density’ is used to discuss how tight, how solidly a center image sounds; recall that it is also called the phantom image, as there is no center driver making the image. Some speakers are exceptionally good at it, and horns as a genre of speakers excel at it, and in fact may be the best next to full range drivers. This alone is a quality that makes the Quintet15 a standout and well worth consideration for fans of refined performances. This is my favorite speaker to date in terms of the isolation, not literally, but in terms of being able to pay attention to it, of the center performer and capturing the resplendence of their art.

Part of this is the landscape orientation afforded by the horn’s mouth being oriented sideways. This is a huge benefit to the Quintet15, because it offsets the generous field of bass generated by the tall set of bass drivers. The horn in a sense breaks through the field of bass with its clear, distinct activity. I very much like the effect; like a diamond in a fine setting, the horn shines brilliantly against the large canvas of the bass response. Again, the ability to focus on the energy and action of the horn’s output is akin to viewing a galaxy in a field of relatively black space.

Return to golden age of audio

In the golden age of audio, big box speakers and horn designs ruled. Big Klipsch and Voice of the Theater designs were the epitome of HiFi expression. At the time, the Quad speaker represented a valid alternative, but the most recognized and appreciated were the horn speakers. I find the draw of the magical Quad midrange performance insufficient to lure me to them, as there are too many significant shortcomings to merit reference sound. I believe the majority of adulation still reserved for the ’57 and ’63 Quads is due to nostalgia, not purely performance. Newer designs, such as the Kingsound King III electrostatic, have handily surpassed such speakers.

The Quintet15 hearkens back to those days of big bass and a horn driver, the new twists being the elimination of the cabinet in favor of the tall, open baffle design, and the proliferation of bass drivers! I much prefer this, as it addresses the aforementioned reservations I have with dynamic speakers. This speaker simply sounds much cleaner than classic floor standing, big volume cabinet speakers. There does seem to be a shift happening slowly in the community away from cabinets and toward dipole and open baffle designs. Aesthetics will likely continue to support the majority owning more traditional speakers, but enthusiasts with dedicated rooms or the freedom to anoint a living space with a less tidy speaker, will want to at least try an open baffle design. The experience can be transformative.

We are in a new golden age of audio, and in terms of components,it is the contribution of new DACs and amplifiers that are ushering it in. The quality of digital sources has ramped up noticeably in the past 3-5 years, and the advent of superior class D modules has breathed new life into the amp sector. System quality is being greatly advanced, while system cost to achieve such quality is being reduced by perhaps as much as 30-40%!

The Trio15 was my first go at a hybrid horn speaker, and I shared how elated I was to capture the peculiarities of such designs and employ the strengths in various systems. The Quintet15 has added to the fascination and ebullience of the horn speaker experience. With the Quintet15, the performance of the Trio15 has been enhanced with a grander scale and better tonal and output integration with the woofers. The Quintet15’s strength is in its easygoing blanket of bass and tight phantom image with its own lovely umbra. Reviewers often opine about whether a particular speaker could be appreciated (that is, used/owned) long term, or even forever. The Quintet15 is that sort of speaker, one that will not exhibit great shortcomings and would make proud all but the most well-heeled audiophiles. PureAudioProject has outdone themselves quite purposefully, and those who love open baffle sound, as well as Trio15 owners, should strongly consider the Quintet15 Horn1 as the proper upgrade.

ASSOCIATED COMPONENTS:

Source: Small Green Computer sonicTransporter AP I7 4T and SONORE Signature Rendu SE and systemOptique

Streaming Music Service: Tidal premium

DAC:  COS D1 DAC + Pre; Exogal Comet DAC and Plus upgrade power supply and Pulsar IR receiver; Eastern Electric Minimax DSD DAC Supreme with Burson, Sonic Imagery and Sparkos Labs Discrete Opamps

Preamp: TEO Audio Liquid Preamplifier

Amps:  Legacy Audio i.V4 Ultra (pair, totaling 9 channels); Exogal Ion (PowerDAC, used exclusively with Exogal Comet DAC)

Integrated: Redgum Audio Articulata; Kinki Studio EX-M1+

Speakers: Aspen Acoustics Lagrange L5 MkII; Salk Sound SS 9.5 custom; Kings Audio Kingsound King III; Legacy Audio DSW Clarity Edition; PureAudioProject Trio15 Horn 1; Pure Audio Project Quintet15 Horn1; Kings Audio King Tower omnidirectional; Ohm Walsh Model F (refurbished)

Subwoofers: Legacy Audio XTREME HD (2)

IC’s: Iconoclast 4×4 “Generation 2” XLR and 1×4 “Generation 2 RCA”; Clarity Cable RCA with Audio Sensibility Y Cables; Schroeder Method Audio Sensibility RCA; Schroeder Method Clarity Cable XLR with Audio Sensibility Y Cables; TEO Liquid Splash-Rs and Splash-Rc; TEO Liquid Standard MkII; Clarity Cable Organic RCA/XLR; Snake River Audio Signature Series Interconnects; (Schroeder Method, self-assembled with Audio Sensibility Y Cables used with several brands)

Speaker Cables: Iconoclast by Belden SPTPC Level 2 Speaker Cables; TEO Cable Standard Speaker; Clarity Cable Organic Speaker; Snake River Audio Signature Series Speaker Cables;

Digital Cables: Clarity Cable Organic Digital; Snake River Audio Boomslang; Silent Source “The Music Reference”

USB: Clarity Cable Supernatural 1m

Power Cables: Belden BAV (Belden Audio/Video) Power Cord; Clarity Cable Vortex; MIT Oracle ZIII; Snake River Audio Signature Series; Anticables Level 3 Reference Series

Power Conditioning: Wireworld Matrix Power Cord Extender; Tice Audio Solo

Copy editor: Dan Rubin