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Designed with meticulous care, logical heir to the Offrande, the Grand Opéra is, even more than an achievement, a true masterpiece.
EQUIPMENT Lots of loading methods have been designed around a truly exceptional
transducer, but only one has been singled out: a "double bass-reflex",
extremely difficult to tune but which offered the best technical and musical
results: frequency response, drag and distortion on the one hand, articulation,
phrasing and melodic follow-up on the other hand.
Two half-rolls, positive and negative, are assembled face to face, perfectly
sealed. The internal negative half-roll is regularly and evenly perforated. When
strongly stimulated by low-frequencies, the air inside the two half-roll is
alternatively driven out and sucked in by the decompression holes, thus gaining
a high viscosity which ensures the pneumatic damping of the positive half-roll
section in proportion to the displacements' amplitude. This system endows the
speaker with a very low resonance frequency - which is not usually the case of
double-spider systems - and, consequently, with a wide pass-band. Deep bass can
thus be obtained in a reasonable enclosure.
6,7'' transducer, featuring a HDA cone also coated with carbon. Equipped with a double magnet, a double moving coil wound edgewise in flat oxygen-free copper, a massive zamac basket. It is a true masterpiece, difficult to match with other components used under the same conditions. A central nose cone, turned on a digital lathe and uncoupled from the magnetic core, suppresses stationary waves generated by the bottom of the cone and improves directivity. The suspension, in negative half-roll, is acoustically shielded to avoid the emission of time-shifted peripheral signals. Its two moving coils have independent crossovers. The 6,7'' size was chosen for its wide emitting surface. This is an essential asset for a midrange transducer, necessary to obtain a large image and to avoid compression problems when submitted to strong electrical impulses
28mm polyamid dome, unsuspended, of very advanced technology. Central anti-vortex plug. Its star-shaped phase plug reduces directivity up to 40° off-axis. Equipped with a double magnet. Its cone is specially treated to avoid any coloration due to its material.
This is a 4-way crossover.
In view of the outstanding results obtained by the speakers, the cabinet had
to offer optimal inertia characteristics. The technique used for the Offrande
was thus reemployed. All the parts of the cabinet are machined in a 28 mm solid
beech battenboard, whose heterogeneous structure prevents resonance's. Panels
are assembled with slots and tongues and glued under press, to obtain once again
perfect inertia.
Grand Opera is manufactured by pair according to the mirror design. Its transducers are placed asymmetrically on the front baffle in order to improve they linearity performances (less stationary waves). The inner and outer ports of the load were designed according to this theory. Consequently, the Grand Opéra must be installed so that their outer ports are inside the listening plane.
The cone of a driver, when moving, is submitted to frictions with air that
generate static electricity. Its superficial molecular structure is thus
modified, and signal reproduction is disrupted. Tonal balance is more or less
modified, according to the amount of static electricity accumulated by the
transducer. The exclusive system we designed allows a permanent draining of
those static charges.
We are using copper/silver cabling, under kapton sheath, whose construction is similar to our HP 216A. It is equipped with a ground braid that can be used to eliminate static charges (see above). We strongly recommend using this system, since we took it into consideration when optimizing the Grand Opéra.
ELECTROACOUSTIC PERFORMANCES
Reviews « HAUTE
FIDELITE » july 2000 N° 52 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-informations: 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 approach, 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. « PRESTIGE
AUDIO ET VIDEO »
OCTOBER 1996 By Patrick Vercher and 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 |
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Description and Reviews 