Audio Video December/January 1995
Charmaine Charms - A Review of the Audio Synergy Charmaine by Leon Pereira
I'm still suffering from withdrawal ever since I had to return the gorgeously crafted and highly musical Charmaine at the end of the review period. This elegant compact bookshelf loudspeaker is designed by Australian audiophile Clifford de Sovza of Audio Synergy, who's well known among audiophile circles both here in Singapore and Perth , where he currently resides.
A highly-charged personality with a feverish love of music, Clifford named the speakers after his daughter, and set out to prove that a modestly sized speaker was Capable of filling a listening room with music, turning it into a mini "concert hall". According to the brochure provided by Audio Synergy, it is mentioned that "hearing the Charmaine dismisses the fallacy of big boxes". I beg to differ. I feel that listening to the Charmaine is akin to the experience of a live concert- full of raw energy, emotion, and communication. As such, the Charmaines do not pretend to be big boxes- what they do extremely well is portray the music in all its finery.
Although some will dismiss the presence of a brilliantly lacquered finish as extravagance, I'm of the opinion that this will add to the perceived value of the product in no small way. Handcrafted in an exotic veneer known as sapele (a species from the mahogany family), the cabinet encompasses a solid timber edging which, according to Audio Synergy, has been specifically selected due to its excellent sonic properties. As mentioned earlier, the high-gloss lacquer finish mirrors the natural flow of the wood grain perfectly.
While the cabinet plays an important rote in loudspeaker design, the choice of drivers is universally condoned as the contributing factor owards the success (or ailure) of the loudspeaker. Thankfully, the Charmaines use some of the best drivers in the world including the excellent Esotar tweeter and the Focal Polykevlar mid/woofer. The Esotar tweeter used is the same one found on the popular Sonus Faber Extrema. This 28mm ferrofluid cooled driver employs advanced coil techniques and is manufactured under stringent laboratory conditions. The 170mm Polykevlar mid/bass unit has been utilized to capture the speed and transparency that is predominant in live performances.
While the drivers may provide the "voice" of the speakers, it is the crossover that really makes them sing. And this is another area he Charmaines show their "no-compromise" attitude. MIT capacitors, air-core inductors, low inductance resistors and pure silver Audio Note cables are used throughout. At the business end of the crossover, high-grade rhodium-plated JA Michell speaker connectors provide a firm housing for a variety of cable options. Terminals are all ready for bi-wiring.
With a nominal impedance of 8 ohms and an 87dB sensitivity, the Charmaines aren't that difficult to drive. But that does not mean a NAD 302 will suffice. In order for it to "produce", it needs to have real "juice"! A high quality amplifier will push the speakers to its performance limits.
Measuring 39cm (H) x 26cm (W) x 31cm (D), and weighing morethan
20 kilos each, the Audio Synergy Charmaine should be placed on a 24" stand and sited well away from the rear wall. This is due to the presence of a bass reflex port, tuned to work in the 30hz range.
A Sound Experience
After having spent a considerable amount of time setting up the speakers for optimum performance, I settled on a pair of rigid 24" spiked stands for the Charmaines. These were placed approximately 3 feet from the rear wall and toed-in slightly. Before I go any further, I should mention that the tweeters are placed in mirror-imaged form and as such require a bit of experimenting before getting the final position set. I finally decided on the tweeters firing inwards since I felt this was' the best compromise to be afforded. With this setting, images became more sharply defined. A word of advice though; with mirror-imaged pairs, there is no one correct way of positioning the speakers. A lot has to do with the listening room size, conditions and partnering equipment. As such take the time and effort to set them up and whether you prefer the tweeters firing inwards or outwards, that final decision would have to be yours.
Knocking the cabinet of the speaker proved that this Australian beauty was extremely well made as there was hardly any form of vibration resonating from them. The gorgeous high-glossed lacquer finish made a perfect mirror when combing my hair (just kidding Cliff!). I believe its looks will please most everyone. Fine, but how does it sound? Well, the immediate reaction was one of total astonishment. Anyone who's ever read any of my previous reviews will know that I get high whenever the midrange is reproduced properly. The Charmaines bring that realm to another plateau altogether.
While vocals sounded liquid and had texture, I could perceive clearly, the whole head rather than just the mouth. It took on a life-like perspective I never thought possible and very importantly, the size of those images were just about right- not too small or overly exaggerated. It was certainly capable of filling the room with easy listening music, blending with the environment innocuously while at the same time making one sit up and take notice. Its easy listening virtues coupled with an amazing transparent quality made this the highlight of the speakers performance.
What amazed me even more was how well both drive units blended with each other, endowing the whole sonic landscape with a seamless integration. There were no audible traces of "holes" within the sound spectrum, making the experience a highly enjoyable one. While it was pretty obvious a lot of attention was focused on making the drivers and crossover network play as a team, the nice thing was, there wasn't any particular area of the sound that stood out like a sore thumb. High frequency resolution bordered on the saccharin. The combination of clean highs with lust the right pinch of detail all add up to a clarity that provides lots of insight into the nuances of the music. Cymbals, especially, showed vibrancy and tonal colour and its shimmering detail kept me enamored constantly. Never once did I feel tired or listless while listening to the Charmaines- and neither did it detach me from enjoying the experience of a genuine musical odyssey. While the low frequencies did not go down deep, the amount was sufficient to render a palpable presence.
As expected, bass was tight and the woofer was able to react convincingly to the changes in harmonic structure and tempo. And this amazing speed again highlighted the amount of engineering prowess on show. It was as if steroids were being used to pump up the adrenalin. The rigidity of the cabinet also contributed to the highly enjoyable Sound in no small way, hardly giving a hint of being over-excited. Even with rock music, the Charmaines performed well, though it did tend to gloss over the rough edges inherent on such material. But On well recorded pieces, the full spectrum of drama, emotion, and subtlety in the music were reproduced with no apparent restraint. The soundstage moved just past the edge of the speakers and as mentioned earlier, image size was realistic to the point of being "there".
Fin
Whether one prefers the quiet solitude of a singer and his guitar, the cliched rifts of pop music, or the stunning imagery of an age-old overture, the Audio Synergy Charmaine will bring out the atmosphere and energy of these events right in your living room. From the construction right down to the performance, it was evident that when this speaker was conceptualized, the all-encompassing goals of Clifford de Souza, was to design a speaker that was musically accurate and competent with a variety of music forms, aesthetically pleasing to the eye, physically small yet able to project life- sized images, and provide tons of resolution to satiate even the most insane of audiophiles.
And do you know what the most wonderful thing about this speaker is? Well, it's sonic virtues are so apparent that even non-audiophiles can appreciate the kind of quality they're getting for the money. In other words, it's worth every cent you pay. The Audio Synergy Charmaine costs S$4995 a pair and is designed and manufactured in Perth, Western Australia. It can be auditioned at:
State of Art
1, Coleman Street,
#03-46
Singapore 0617
Tel/Fax: 334-7539
