SonicFlare, taking a break from its auto show coverage (?), has reviewed the Ducale bookshelf speakers ($3,950) from Goldenote (formerly Bluenote). These Italian “bombshells” (photo) employ a 2-way double front reflex design and inverted ceramic tweeters.
Reviewer Danny Kaey compared them to his Harbeth Super HL5 speakers and observed:
I can say with all certitude that at least with rock music, I preferred the Ducales over my Harbeths. Despite the Ducales being smaller, they excelled in lending rock tracks a gritty pace, a propulsive forward momentum.
In conclusion, he notes:
As the clichés go, no speakers are perfect. With gritty rock, solo piano and voice recordings, as well as jazz ensembles, I’ve hardly heard other speakers draw out so much purity out of the recordings, with such transparency. In certain orchestral works with a bigger scale and sweep, I did wish for a touch more refulgence, a bigger presentation.
Read the entire review, then take a look at SonicFlare’s Sonic Circle. It’s an interesting method for describing the “flavor” of audio components. Despite the tiresome car metaphors, I think SonicFlare has developed a valuable classification tool here. What do you think?