PRESTIGE AUDIO ET VIDEO / OCTOBER 1996 Patrick Vercher et Jacques Valienne The Grand Opéra system is a total success, in terms of transparency, from the deepest bass to the highest treble, of extreme rapidity, of airiness, and of sweet blending of timbres into space. The Grand Opéra is destined to genuine musics lovers, to those accustomed to concert halls. Its tour de force is to be detailed without removing any weight to the timbres. Let’s also mention the power of the extreme low-end, wich will give you an entirely new perception of your recordings. The French High-End can be proud of such a product. The Grand Opéra can indeed rival with the world’s most famous speakers playing in the same league « HAUTE FIDELITE » N° 52 JULY/AUGUST 2000 Jean-Marie Reynaud, well-known from our readers, ranks among our most talented and prolific speakers designers. Several of his products have received our reward "Best buy" thanks to the excellence of their design, of their construction and of their sonic qualities, at a reasonable price. But Jean-Marie Reynaud likes to flirt with exception, as with his most famous Offrande, characterized by their original and elegant looks, their luxurious cabinetwork, their outstandingly precise and clear rendering. This range has evolved, and is today represented by the Grand Opéra, which is reviewed here, and the Odyssée, Jean-Marie Reynaud's flagship speaker. Aesthetically, the Grand Opéra look like floorstanders mounted on dedicated stands. The fairness of the wood gives a luminous aspect to these speakers, whose cabinetwork is once more praiseworthy. The stands are an integral part of the speakers, as testify the binding posts they bear. Volume-wise, the Grand Opéra remind me of the Spendor S 100 with a more narrow baffle, wich emphasizes the depth of the cabinet. LISTENING IMPRESSIONS The energy radiated by these speakers is litteraly staggering. Something punches you into the chest, then holds your guts as long as the music's playing. Large, strong vibrations that shake you to the bone, but must be distinguished from the strength of the impacts, that are also second to none. So be careful: the Grand Opéra are likely to make your windows rattle, all the more since they are endowed with a high power-handling capacity, without distorting nor undergoing dynamic compression. Let's stress that this sensation is unusual enough to hold the listener's attention, the first time he listens to these speakers. This energy is precisely part of the realism we're all looking for when trying to recreate at home the atmosphere of the concert hall. From this point of view, the Grand Opéra are a true achievement, even an exception. Echoes are reproduced with a new dimension, and greatly contribute to the impression of presence of the recorded music. You will deduce from this that their transparency is first-class, an intuition we validated with records full of micro-information: concerts with noises from the audience, etc... The Grand Opéra's transparency is only limited by the transparency of the associated equipment, including cables. Detail-lovers will meet their match! Dynamic capacities are not outdone. Level variations are clearly reproduced, accelerations are lighting-fast. Power is always available, even when the music's running at full speed. The Grand Opéra will fulfill the desires of those looking for a rendering close to the live music, precise and on a large scale. (...) What is more, they are neutral speakers, which do justice to the timbres of instruments and voices. The midrange is very accurate, and very detailed.... If you've seen the movie Tous les matins du monde, maybe you'll remember Marin Marais (Gérard Depardieu)'s last lesson: "You must let the note die". Well, that's precisely what the Grand Opéra do. Never do they shorten the notes, which gives an entirely new perspective to records you thought you knew by heart. This was obvious with Eddy Louiss' Blues for Cook. This well-known track, a mega-hit at hifi shows, took a whole new dimension when played through the Grand Opéra. I realised Eddy Louiss' interpretation was full of the subtlest nuances. The electronic texture of the instrument was more easily perceived, as a result of the speakers' transparency. Last but not least, the power and expressiveness of the low-end contributed to change my perception of the track. Now, let's linger on this part of the spectrum. Jean-Marie Reynaud's original design bears its fruits: the bass is full, solid, very accurate, dynamic. The strings of a double-bass are perfectely rendered, as are the resonances of the instrument's body. As for percussions, the bass drum is present in the listening room, without exaggeration. Impacts on drumskins are reproduced with a startling realism. Is it worth mentionning their extension towards the lower frequencies? Regarding the results obtained by Jean-Marie Reynaud with less advanced speakers, we were expecting something great. And great was it! Deep bass is reproduced with a lot of body and definition. Organ lovers won't be disappointed, all the more since, as I already mentionned, these speakers radiate an awesome energy. I bet the Grand Opéra, though designed for two-channel audiophile stereo, would produce spectacular results if inserted in a home-theater installation. At the other end of the spectrum, the treble is precise, clear and detailed without being intrusive. Aggressivity is banished, triangles and bells are perfectly rendered, even in the explosion of a symphonic orchestra. Harspsichord sounds cristalline in a chamber orchestra (Vivaldi, Quattro Staggioni, I Solisti Italiani, Denon). This same record reveals fast transients and a very subtle harmonic decay. A few words, to finish with, about the soundstage. Scaling, airiness, freedom, are its main assets. The soundstage extends in a semi-circle behind the speakers, without being over-deep, but with a precise positionning of the musicians. We didn't expect less. Another noteworthy point is the fact that the singers are standing, and not kneeling, in front of you. Much more than a stylistic composition, the Grand Opéra are undisputably exceptionnal speakers. Exceptionnal in their design, exceptionnal in their sonic qualities. The french acoustics industry can be proud of them. CONCLUSION The Grand Opéra are impressive speakers, in the literal and figurative sense of the word. Though not easy to set-up, they display a vast array of assets: a phenomenal bandwidth and energy, powerful impacts, clear and deep bass, an outstanding transparency and neutrality. Add rapidity to these qualities and you'll have a fairly good idea of what they are capable of. A true masterpiece.