![]() ![]() Upon first hearing it on some solo piano music, the Enigma MkII reminded me of the Goldmund Dialogue, but it was faster and cleaner on the leading edges of transients and more transparent and coherent overall. (Additional technical information may be found at ) ![]() The mid/woofers use woven polypropylene cones, a new type of composite material, that is light but stiff and has good damping properties. Engineered by Christian Y’von, with mechanical design by Eric Poyer, it is an attractive floorstander with two custom-made, eight-inch cone drivers separated by a ribbon tweeter (22cm) with an aluminum/polymer sandwich diaphragm for improved damping and linearity. The Enigma MkII is the flagship loudspeaker of the French manufacturer Apertura, a nearly 40-year-old company. Would it be better than the Dialogue? I was eager to find out. It sported a large ribbon tweeter flanked on top-and-bottom by two woven-cone drivers. I was crestfallen (and regretted not having used a local dealer)! However, I recently heard that the designer of the Dialogues had engineered a new speaker for his own company that outperformed previous iterations of the Goldmunds. Unfortunately, my used pair was damaged in shipment-both cabinets were cracked, and all the driver magnets were shorn off the cones. Its performance won me over with its remarkable coherence, musicality, soundstaging, and transparency. ![]() ![]() One pricey speaker that I did purchase after hearing it at another reviewer’s NYC apartment years ago was the Goldmund Dialogue. More affordable ones that I have owned included the Quad ESLs (57s and 63s), various Magnepans, and used Infinity Betas and RS1Bs, among others. Ruling out the Zellaton Stage I recently reviewed but, regrettably, cannot afford, some of the contenders were the bigger Wilsons (like the WAMMS I heard at the late David Wilson’s house), the larger Magicos (including the big horn flagship model), the huge MBLs, the equally large Sound Labs, etc. F ew loudspeakers I could actually afford to buy have really captivated me over the decades. ![]()
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