My review as promise.
ART Emotion Signature
I was recommended these speakers by a few people, and kindly offered a home demo from a friendly dealer up north. So I would be silly to turn down the opportunity to hear what all the fuss is about.
There has never been a lack of quality speakers in my listening room. NEAT ultimatum series, Amphion, Sonus Faber, Acoustic Zen….. The list goes on but at £9,000 per pair, the ART Emotion Signature is the most expensive pair I ever had in my house! Put it this way, you could buy 3 pairs of my resident Opera Callas Diva; or if your reading this in US of A the same cash will get you 4 pairs of the highly regarded Acoustic Zen Adagios going by the current exchange rate.
First impressions of the ART is very good. The cabinets are very well built with high quality hard wood. I am not too keen on the look, but then you might love the retro styling with 26cm drivers staring at you.
"Listen…Listen….Listen"
The ART didn’t hit me from the first note. They sound very different than any other HiFi I have heard! Is it better than my Opera? I wasn’t sure at this point.I left the room while the system was still playing to have my lunch and try to clear my mind from any comments or reviews I had read before today.
The listening resumed with Dire Strait’s Private investigation. The ART showed an astonishing amount of midrange and treble detail. The busy guitar work of Mark Knopfler was easily followed, the soundstage is very good, coming from behind the speakers, but not as far forward as my Opera….and then Dynamics hit me! The drum and guitar slams toward the end of the track. This was simply AWESOME. The ART having a rare ability to go from soft to very loud at the drop of a hat.
Next up was Pink Floyd’s comfortably numb. Before I write any further I have to mention here that I used to play Bass guitar in a rock band for a few years. Therefore I used to stand right in front of a massive drum kit with bass cab just behind me. Why am I telling you this?Because the ART re-produced the most realistic bass sound I have ever heard anywhere! The open top “E” string having a very distinctive sound as it rang longer, deeper than other notes with a slight vibration that could be heard from the Bass cab. It was accurately portrayed by the ART, something I never noticed before, and as a big Floyd fan I have heard the track hundreds of times.
Move on to Joan Armatrading’s love and affection, her voice captured with “emotion” (forgive the pun), again the instrument’s finer details are accurately re-produced from ride cymbals, right down to bass drum pedal!
Low level listening is superb too, exceptional micro-dynamics that do not make you feel like your missing anything compared to when the amp was cranked up to 12 O’clock.
The treble never became bright or aggressive. The midrange is rich and well textured with bass control I have yet to find bettered. OK! I didn’t get a “freak out moment” with 3D soundstage/imaging (almost surround sound) that Opera can give you but instead the ART produced a solid wall of sound.
The best thing is after a while, I found myself just listening to music and not comparing the ART with any of the other speakers I have owned. And from a serious box swapper like myself, I couldn’t praise ART Emotion Signature more than that.
Associated equipment:
Sugden Masterclass Cd player, GamuT D3s Pre amp/ECS EA-2 power amp, Krell 400 Xi amp, Linn Magik amp, Opera Callas Diva speakers, cables: Virtual Dynamics Testament interconnects, Audio quest indigo speakers cables.
ART Emotion Signature
I was recommended these speakers by a few people, and kindly offered a home demo from a friendly dealer up north. So I would be silly to turn down the opportunity to hear what all the fuss is about.
There has never been a lack of quality speakers in my listening room. NEAT ultimatum series, Amphion, Sonus Faber, Acoustic Zen….. The list goes on but at £9,000 per pair, the ART Emotion Signature is the most expensive pair I ever had in my house! Put it this way, you could buy 3 pairs of my resident Opera Callas Diva; or if your reading this in US of A the same cash will get you 4 pairs of the highly regarded Acoustic Zen Adagios going by the current exchange rate.
First impressions of the ART is very good. The cabinets are very well built with high quality hard wood. I am not too keen on the look, but then you might love the retro styling with 26cm drivers staring at you.
"Listen…Listen….Listen"
The ART didn’t hit me from the first note. They sound very different than any other HiFi I have heard! Is it better than my Opera? I wasn’t sure at this point.I left the room while the system was still playing to have my lunch and try to clear my mind from any comments or reviews I had read before today.
The listening resumed with Dire Strait’s Private investigation. The ART showed an astonishing amount of midrange and treble detail. The busy guitar work of Mark Knopfler was easily followed, the soundstage is very good, coming from behind the speakers, but not as far forward as my Opera….and then Dynamics hit me! The drum and guitar slams toward the end of the track. This was simply AWESOME. The ART having a rare ability to go from soft to very loud at the drop of a hat.
Next up was Pink Floyd’s comfortably numb. Before I write any further I have to mention here that I used to play Bass guitar in a rock band for a few years. Therefore I used to stand right in front of a massive drum kit with bass cab just behind me. Why am I telling you this?Because the ART re-produced the most realistic bass sound I have ever heard anywhere! The open top “E” string having a very distinctive sound as it rang longer, deeper than other notes with a slight vibration that could be heard from the Bass cab. It was accurately portrayed by the ART, something I never noticed before, and as a big Floyd fan I have heard the track hundreds of times.
Move on to Joan Armatrading’s love and affection, her voice captured with “emotion” (forgive the pun), again the instrument’s finer details are accurately re-produced from ride cymbals, right down to bass drum pedal!
Low level listening is superb too, exceptional micro-dynamics that do not make you feel like your missing anything compared to when the amp was cranked up to 12 O’clock.
The treble never became bright or aggressive. The midrange is rich and well textured with bass control I have yet to find bettered. OK! I didn’t get a “freak out moment” with 3D soundstage/imaging (almost surround sound) that Opera can give you but instead the ART produced a solid wall of sound.
The best thing is after a while, I found myself just listening to music and not comparing the ART with any of the other speakers I have owned. And from a serious box swapper like myself, I couldn’t praise ART Emotion Signature more than that.
Associated equipment:
Sugden Masterclass Cd player, GamuT D3s Pre amp/ECS EA-2 power amp, Krell 400 Xi amp, Linn Magik amp, Opera Callas Diva speakers, cables: Virtual Dynamics Testament interconnects, Audio quest indigo speakers cables.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram