Ci sono solo due marche di preoduzione italiana che mantengono un elevato rapporto qualita' prezzo :sono Monrio negli amplificatori e lettori e Opera nei diffusori.
Qualità e design si possono sposare con questa ottima Marca Italiana.
Se volete un diffusore compatto dal bel suono (cosa molto difficile) ecco la migliore scelta.
Opera Super Pavarotti
2300 euro con la nuova linea sotto raffigurata: ma purtroppo oggi c'e' la piu' conveniente Audes 335
E il loro centrale:
Un ottimo centrale dovrebbe essere solo coassiale come questo.
850 euro
42 x 20 x 27 cm
Per ragioni di efficenza si usano delle soluzioni in D'Appolito(due woofer e un tweeter) ma questa soluzione ,per funzionare senza problemi sul posizionamento dell'ascoltatore non in linea col diffusore,dovrebbe essere messo in verticale e non orrizzontale. Siccome per facilita' di ambiente viene messo in orizzontale si va pesantemente a rovinare il beneficio principale del frontale che e' quello di avere per posizioni di ascolto non centrali un corretto suono che arriva comunque dal centro delle casse frontali. Cosa succede:gia' da angolazioni di 20 gradi si ha l'eliminazione di frequenze dai 1000 ai 2000 hz fino al loro totale annullamento gia' da 30 gradi. Solo un altoparlante coassiale risolve il problema.
Oppure la splendida, la migliore per me, Opera Callas:peccato non ancora in versione a pavimento.
2150 euro
Sing, Pavarotti, sing
By SUJESH PAVITHRAN
Model: Opera Super Pavarotti loudspeakers
WHAT is it that inspires the Italians to transcend the humdrum when it comes to designing hi-fi equipment?
Sure, much of the audio gear these days that emanates from Europe, the United States and even Britain, for that matter, pay tribute to form almost as much as function, but it’s different with the Italians. If one were to ascribe a particular quality to the styling, I suppose “soul” comes close to describing this intangible aura … it must be in the history and social fabric of the nation.
You may not like the sound of the various Italian marques available here now – Sonus faber, Unison Research, Chario, Diapason and such – but you certainly aren’t indifferent to the cosmetics. For many years, Sonus faber has been the benchmark against which many Italian houses have been tested, and in recent years, the lines have become almost blurred … at least in styling. Almost every speaker I’ve seen emerge from other Italian manufacturers possesses that familiar look – foot upon foot of luscious wood, curved, sweeping and suave.
The Opera company is no different, despite the fact that it has some British roots. Founded in 1989, Opera’s speakers have, in spirit, paid tribute to the purveyors and styles of that very fine art that gives the company its name – its very first offering was the Caruso, followed by the Callas. Later came the Operetta, Divina and, in tribute to the greatest of them all, the Pavarotti.
What we have here is the Super Pavarotti, which adds on a couple of features to the standard model and is undoubtedly aimed straight at the heart, rather than mind.
Features
The Super Pavarotti is a “twin asymmetrical cavity loaded”, compact, floor-standing design, geared for use in hi-fi and home theatre systems (it is video-shielded). Like other models from the company, solid hardwood is used for the cabinet, and the construction is indeed furniture-like, in the most eclectic sense.
Opera says the solid cabinet panels reaffirm structural integrity, and along with careful internal bracing, eliminate resonance from within. The rounded edges of the cabinet mean less diffraction.
There’s a flared port underneath the cabinet, which means the speaker has to rest on the provided hardwood plinth, which is mounted on solid brass cones – also available is a 3cm marble stand plinth.
Opera doesn’t specify the make of the transducers, which are two 110mm bass-mid cones and a single 19mm tweeter – yes, this is a three-way design, with crossover points at 100Hz and 2.3kHz. Frequency range is quoted at 50Hz-20kHz, but I doubt usable bass, with the speakers well out into the room, goes lower than 60-65Hz.
The Super Pavarotti’s handling power is quoted at a modest 60W max, but Opera says valve amps of 12W output onwards and others rated between 30W and 80W should be suitable to drive the four-ohm load. Sensitivity is not given.
There’s no bi-wiring facility, but the given gold-plated terminals are of industrial bearing, keeping in line with the quality of parts and build that’s obvious elsewhere across the speaker.
Weighing in at 22kg and measuring 14 x 95 x 18cm (w/h/d), the Super Pavarotti has to be the most diminutive floorstander to have graced my listening room. A pair of these in the hall sure looks good – cute, compact and classy – but then, this really isn’t enough to sell the speakers to hi-fi and home theatre enthusiasts, is it?
Performance
I’ve had the Super Pavarottis for a few months and during that time, I drove them with a variety of amps, including the Krell KSA-300S, Mesa Baron and a new upgraded version of Octave Electronic’s PP-1. Preamps were Krell KRC, McCormack TLC-1 and Octave’s take on the Marantz M7i.
Cables used were AFA Zeus and Straightwire Polaris, connects, Yamamura Churchill Millennium 5000, Clearaudio Quint and AudioQuest Emerald. I’ve also started using some custom-made cables and interconnects recently.
Sources were Marantz CD 63SE (my souped-up versions, that is) and Swedish Audio Technology’s CDfix (being run in currently) in the digital domain … analogue source was my Clearaudio Solution/Roksan Artemiz/Shiraz set-up … cables were AudioQuest Python and Clearaudio Quint. My speaker reference, of course, was the Magneplanar MG-1.6/QR panels.
Some of these Italian jobs tend to be deceptively understated when it comes to presentation, and it’s no different with these small towers. The initial sessions reinforced my feeling that there would be little grunt to note of from the Super Pavarottis, and in the months that followed, I realised these aren’t speakers tailored for pop or rock music – there’s an odd midbass bump with electronic music that underlines the box’s physical limitations.
But switch to more acoustic stuff – say, recordings by Diana Krall, Patricia Barber or Holly Cole, and you begin to get glimpses of the Italian soul.
While the sound staging is not as expansive or bold as some of the Sonus fabers I’ve tried in this price range, the Super Pavarottis know their stuff from midrange and upwards. Vocals are uncannily neutral, inched a notch in front of the backing instruments, so that the singer stands out in the mix, but without being detached from her musicians.
This segues into uniformly smooth upper registers, which are just on the right side of lush – a bit rounded off at the edges, yes, but very musical and hence, comfortable on the ear. In fact, they can sound a bit rich, lending an almost fruity quality to the treble – not too out of character for the soft-domed tweeters (oh, didn’t I mention this?).
You might not want to push up the volume too much, though, because the bass can get unruly after a certain point – it’s as if the speakers were struggling to get a handle on the copious amounts of bass on some recordings. It comes very close to intruding into the higher registers, which however remain very much in control even at this point.
The real surprise came when I tried out some orchestral works – specifically, Rouget De Lisle’s La Marseillaise (Paul Paray conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra) on Mercury Living Presence’s You Are There! compilation. There’s a great fanfare of tympanis on this, but the Super Pavarottis were unfazed by the dynamic nature of this recording – a rather full, weighty sound, tight, and big … remember what I said about deceptive? I was actually hearing some body in the bass.
After this, I ran a few other classical pieces and discovered the speakers to be consummately comfortable handling such material … the stage isn’t as expansive as my Maggies, nor as pacey, but given the size of these boxes, I was pleasantly surprised by how large they could sound.
Obviously, the Super Pavarottis are more at home with classical music, which begs the question – home theatre? Ah, yes, a subwoofer is the answer, although Opera somewhat surprisingly doesn’t have one in its range.
Conclusion
There, then, an exquisite bit of work, tailored to deliver with amazing competence in some aspects, lacking the necessary bite to make it work across all musical terrain. They’re certainly not rockers, and unless you partner them with a very good sub-woofer, not the sort of boxes to appeal to bass fans.
But Opera does have a winner of sorts in the Super Pavarottis – if you listen to classical music all the time, like some fine-looking furniture-grade boxes in your living room and can’t spare the space, these speakers will suit the bill perfectly.
Add a sub for some grunt and I believe the Super Pavarottis will go places … however, this just adds to the already immodest cost (given the size) of the speakers.
Pros: Typical Italian attributes in design and sound; musical and soulful in the right environment; space-saving design; best with classical material.
Cons: Not cheap; not a rocker; not for those who don’t like ’em small.
Ora hanno fatto anche la versione a pavimento della Callas,la Divina e rinnovato l'estetica della super Pavarotti.
6950 euro
Ma anche la Callsa Diva:
4000 euro
La piu' conveniente come quality price, decisamente.
Purtroppo niente da fare in raffronto alla Blues da 2500 euro.
