High Efficiency Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Hans Kortenbach Piccolo Speakers by GEO

Model:	Piccolo
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	3000
Description:	Single Driver Monitor with Super Tweeter
Manufacturer URL:	Hans Kortenbach
Model Picture:	View

Review by GEO ( A ) on February 05, 2004 at 09:50:40
IP Address: 204.60.67.108

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Like many people in this hobby I initially started out with the amplifier that I had pined years for.. the McCormack DNA â€“1. Right about this time, soon afterwards I ran across audio asylum and met a friend who had recently bought a Sonic Frontiers Power One. After reading about tube amps and getting over any concerns with maintenance (a Anthem Pre One had recently replaced my broken PS Audio 5.6 preamp), and being encouraged by my friend, I decided to buy a Graaf 5050 tube amp which was really unbelievable ( I will buy one again if I ever see one for sale). The McCormack was moved out on the Audiogon food chain.
Needless to say, the Graaf was the beginning of the road that eventually took me to low powered single ended amps. Along the way I stopped at Unison Research Smart 845 mono, A custom Wavelength Duetto (current amp) and a SE DC Darling 1626 (fun amp). I tried a homebrew 45 which was enough to convince me to have a custom 45 built (in the works). Throughout this journey the â€œright speakerâ€ just eluded me. I tried the Spendor SP 9/1 â€“ Nice for what it was but really needed more current and better damping than what I could give it with a SE 845 (it did sound nice) or my 300B (sounded nicer actually) and anything lower powered than the Duetto (8 W) was out of the question. I then tried a Meadowlark Hot Rod Shearwater because (A) it was physically smaller than the Spendor and (B) the smaller drivers seemed to work better with the my Duetto and (C), it would allow me to buy some time until I could find the â€œright speakerâ€. For me, the â€œright speakerâ€ was something that would be 97 db efficient or higher and would not be the size of a boat anchor and lastly it would have to deliver a high quality sound with a pure tone. There werenâ€™t many options because I did not want anything to physically dominate my living room like the Spendors did and I really did not want to try a â€œbudgetâ€ horn for obvious reasons. I tried the Reimer McCullough which actually was a very good speaker but at had already decided to go with a Merlin VSM SE because it sounded great with my 300B and had a small footprint. I sort of gave up on the idea of anything below a 300B.
After living with the Merlin which sounded nice and everything, it just did not have that dynamic snap and I was starting to get that 45 itch again. So in the back of my mind, I knew the Merlinâ€™s days were numbered. I was surfing the net and ran across a picture of Hans Kortenbach. I was already familiar with Hans and his Auris 2 loudspeaker which has a great reputation. I already knew the PHY-HP drivers and had lusted for them but never saw them in a set-up that would meet my criteria of not being physically larger than my Spendors or something that would not dominate my room. The picture of Hans must have been fate, because in the picture, there he was carrying a â€œsmallâ€ monitor with a single PHY-HP driver. I though, now that would work for me but I never heard anyone talk about it. I soon sent Hans an e-mail with the photo attached and asked him about that speaker. He e-mailed me back and told me it was called the Piccolo and it was his personal speaker which used a single PHY-HP H 21 LB 15. I asked him if he would sell it and he sent me an e-mail back and said yes and that he would recommend I ad the TW 37 super tweeter if I wanted to go the whole nine yards. I though about it and thought about it and worried about how was I going to work with the 16 ohm speaker when my amp had only 4 and 8 ohm taps. I spoke with Gordon who said send the amp back and he would connect the 16 ohm tap on my opts. That was all I needed to hear. Spoke with Hans told him I would take the speakers (which included stands). Hans figured that after adding the tweeter and shipping and customers that I should have my speakers in two weeks. So, I sold my Merlins and figured I would be without music for a couple of weeks. This was around thanksgiving. Hans did his part, but my speakers sat in customs for about four weeks for something that had nothing to do with my speakers. I had no music for a month and even my wife was starting to complain and she doesnâ€™t listen to my system! The speakers finally arrived pretty much intact and the rest is HISTORYâ€¦..
The Piccolo is really a delightful speaker. Unlike a new Auris 2 which can take months before the drivers break in and during which time the bass may not be quite right, my speaker was already broken in as it belonged to Hans. Also, in some ways my driver compliment may deliver a purer midrange. The driver is not as large as the KM 30 and will not play as low but you may pay a small price to get that last bit of bass. The PHY-HP speakerâ€™s primary strengths that I have determined so far are as follows and this is based on hours upon hours of listening to jazz combos (from solo piano and trios to big bands but mostly quintets/sextets):
1) Presence: The speakers have the ability to deliver a complete and realistic "in the room sound". Piano, bass drums and horns come across with the same vibrancy that you hear when you are in the presence of live music. Although much is dependent on the whole musical chain, it seems as though there is nothing between the listener and the music. You can hear the body of the bass and piano has weight and scale. On horns, the sound energizes the room the same way a real horn does when you play it. It has a certain room filling sound even at a low volume and the air pressurizes the room and your eardrum even at low volumes.
2) Tone: The music has richness and body with an evenness of sound. Notes are rounder and fill the ear the way music does when you are listening live. You can really hear the overtones on notes and when instruments play in harmony there is a depth to each individual instrument as well as a fullness of the harmony. A big thing with the super tweeter is the integrity of the harmonic richness. I believe that is something that PHY-HP strives for. All instruments sound very natural and just â€œrightâ€
3) Dynamics: The ability to go from very soft to very high quickly and seamlessly. You can really lock yourself in to the shaping of a musicianâ€™s solo. As the â€œsoundâ€ has a beginning middle and end. Great leading edge definition, with a richness to the tone and a decay that just goes of into space. Interesting is the fact that the transition of when the note just ends and goes to silence is startlingly clear and adds that touch or realism and brings the music to life. The sound is so dynamic and lively that it has that toe tapping factor and that is that you tap without even realizing that you are following the music. Really engaging. Like walking down the steps of the Vanguard when a band is already playing. You can't help but swing (particularly if it is Betty Carter). You just know you are in the presence of live music before you even enter the door.
4) Imaging: In many hi-fi speakers this is often a "goal". With this speaker, the image is right in that the instruments have a realistic physical size and shape. The speakers are incredibly transparent and you are so unaware of the speakers. Musician placement is defined and distinct but the music is not cut up. The image maintains that "group" feel. The music has no detectable electronic signature and you forget that you are listening to a stereo system.
5) More than anything, this speaker just plain swings swings swings.
6) No need for a subwoofer (if you only listen to jazz).
This speaker is by far the cleanest, clearest and most natural speaker that I have had the pleasure of hearing. It is in a different league. I guest it technically isnâ€™t a single driver, but there is no crossover to the super tweeter and the sound is just seamless. It is slightly larger than I imagined but it is so light and it sits on an integrated stand that I can move it back and forth with no problem whatsoever. I donâ€™t have to have it sit Â¼ of the way into the room when I am not listening to it. I can move it against the back wall and out of the way. It really exceeded all of my expectations. It is 98 db efficient, it is compact and moveable, and it sounds incredible. I can run it with a SE 1626 Â¾ watts all the way up to a SE 845. I am having a custom 45 built that is likely to become my main amp, if and only if it can unseat my Duetto. Many an amp has failed. A side note is the fact that my Duetto has better bass than the 6336 PP monos, the PP 6L6 stereo and the IT 300B amps that I have tried 
I also want to thank some of the Auris 2 owners who helped me along the way. As these speakers could not be auditioned before I bought them, it was a leap of faith, but based my research, my gut instict told me that these speakers would work for me. They far exceed my expectations and are too good to be true. The way these speakers excite the air is just remarkable.

Product Weakness: Not sure yet.
Product Strengths: See above

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Wavelength Duetto 300B
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Emotive Audio Sira LE / Wright Phono Stage
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	EAD 2000T with Audio Logic DAC/Hyperspace with Anna arm and Helikon
Speakers:	Piccolo
Cables/Interconnects:	Stage 3 Concepts
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Jazz
Room Size (LxWxH):	22 x 13 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments:	Home Furnishings
Time Period/Length of Audition:	7 Weeks
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Not sure yet.
Product Strengths:	See above