To assess the Alyssas' upper bass and lower midrange clarity, I used my favorite Astor Piazzolla album Tango: Zero Hour (16/44.1 FLAC Nonesuch/Qobuz). Although there are only five musicians, this incredible piece of dark nuevo tango offers thick, difficult-to-sort masses of complex information in the octaves below 1kHz, making it a perfect recording for my speaker placement and focusing operation. With the album playing, I moved the speakers first forward and backward, then a little right and left, until the soundstage and instruments achieved their most transparent focus. They ended up exactly 60" apart, 34" from the front wall, and 90" from my listening position. 1½ times. Setup complete.
With Yamaha and Pass Labs
When the Alyssas arrived, the Yamaha A-S3200 integrated amplifier was in the system for a follow-up audition. Right away, its 150Wpc (into 4 ohms) made Joni Mitchell's Blue (24/96 FLAC Rhino-Warner/Qobuz) sound sweet and plucky: "I want to wreck my stockings in some jukebox dive." The A-S3200 powered the Alyssas in a manner that made music feel easy-flowing and accessible. This combo short-circuited my critical brain and kept my focus on the experience of rhythm, melody, and the artist's attitude. I was delighted.
But, with the Yamaha, Joni the poet was not as vividly presented (focus and tone-colorwise) or as touchable as she was with the $7250, 50Wpc (4 ohms), class-A, Pass Labs INT-25 integrated amp I tried next. With the INT-25 driving the Alyssas, Mitchell's voice exhibited an almost grain-free purity that exposed the full artfulness of her vocal renderings.
In like manner, the Pass Labs INT-25's clarity did a fantastic job showcasing the dark mysteries of Piazzolla's Tango: Zero Hour. Sadly, however, the INT-25 ran out of gas and got blurry in the lower midrange when I turned it up only a little (to 75dB at 2m). I thought the INT-25's 50Wpc (into 4 ohms) would be enough in my small room. But, at higher volumes, the sound got dull and shut down.
The fact that Piazzolla's Tango sounded clear below 1kHz (at very low volumes) but then got blurry as I turned up the power suggests the possibility of an impedance dip in the 100–200Hz region. It is also possible that room-reflected bass energy was swamping the 100Hz to 1kHz octaves.
With the more powerful Yamaha, Astor's Tango had first-quality oomph and drive and more detail through these same octaves. What the Yamaha-Alta combo lacked was the super-transparency and low-level detail of the Alyssa–INT-25 combination.
With Rogue
I had big expectations when I connected the Alta Alyssas to Rogue Audio's 100Wpc Stereo 100 tube amp ($3495). My experience with the Titanium Hestias powered by Zesto electronics suggested that Michael Levy's designs might come to life and image their best with tubes. With the Rogue in Ultralinear mode, I played Ry Cooder's "Nobody" and "We Shall Be Happy" off his 1978 album Jazz (16/44.1 FLAC Rhino-Warner/Qobuz) and was instantly impressed by the tone, dense, bas-relief textures, and vibrant life of the upper midrange and highs. Ry Cooder's familiar voice was enjoyably natural in tone, but there was some blurring and loss of intelligibility at the lower end of his vocal range. His backup singers, whose voices reached further into the bass and upper bass, were puffed and indistinct. On "We Shall Be Happy," the bass trombone, pump-organ, and bass drum lacked definition. In my room, with this Rogue tube amp and this recording, the Alyssas exhibited a vexing lack of focus in the lower midrange and upper bass.
Overall clarity improved dramatically when I played another, even more familiar recording. I let organist E. Power Biggs air out the cathedral with his signature 1961 recording of J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 from Bach: Great Organ Favorites (16/44.1 FLAC Sony/Qobuz). With the Rogue tubes, Biggs's pipe organ sounded very large and well-defined all the way down to the 32Hz region. The toccata parts were as quick and nimble as they should be. The fugue's effect was a druglike delirium that only Bach and strong tube amplifiers can produce. The Rogue-Alyssa combo made this E. Power Biggs sound the way I think it should sound: very live, full and emotionally compelling. I played this Bach several times trying to hear if it was clear between 100Hz and 1kHz and could detect no obvious blurring. But of course, there are no male vocals in this music, and that is where the problem I was hearing had most obviously manifested.
Harbeth–DeVore comparisons
The Rogue-Alta combo let this E. Power Biggs thriller deliver more room-energizing bass power than I can achieve through either the DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93s or my reference Harbeth M30.2s. Through the Harbeths, the Biggs-Bach sounded dry and too small. It lost half its emotional impact. Meanwhile, the DeVore speakers rendered the spirit of the Biggs-Bach quite well but could not match the Alta's illusions of life-sized bass power. During the course of these auditions, this Bach organ record was the little Alta's best "Wow!" moment. The $6495/pair Harbeth 30.2 speakers reflect the needs of my left-brain reviewer's mind. I use them as tools for assessing the resolution and neutrality of components under review. In contrast, the $8400/pair DeVore Fidelity O/93 speakers represent my right-brain eyes-closed-and-dreaming artist's sensibility. I use them as my reference for midrange coherence, beauty of tone, and musicality.
For this comparison, I returned to those two songs, "Nobody" and "We Shall Be Happy," from Ry Cooder's Jazz. I wanted to compare the DeVore O/93's male vocal and bass regions to what I experienced with the Alta Alyssa. Very quickly, both songs made it clear: the DeVore's greatest strength was the Alta's greatest weakness. The more expensive O/93s resolved more detail in the male-vocal region (approximately 85–600Hz) than did the Alyssa. After a full day playing a variety of music through the Orangutan O/93s, I returned to the Alyssa, which then—sequence is everything—seemed dark and slightly rounded.
Harbeth P3ESR comparison
I've spent most of my life without deep bass. The speakers I've chosen to live with over the years—the Dynaco A-25, the Quad ESL, the Altec 604E and VOT, the Rogers/Falcon LS3/5a, and now, the Harbeth M30.2s and DeVore Fidelity O/93—all specialize in midrange acuity, not 32Hz organ notes. Alta's Alyssa made deeper bass than any of these speakers, but will I miss that extra bass when it is gone? The answer to that question appeared at the very end of the review period, when I played the E. Power Biggs Bach through the much smaller, less expensive ($2195/pair) Harbeth P3ESRs. The LS3/5a-sized Harbeths made so little energy below 80Hz that the Bach Fugue offered few thrills.
With the Alyssas, the African drums on the Art Ensemble of Chicago's album Bap-Tizum–Performance At The Ann Arbor Blues Festival (16/44.1 FLAC ECM/Qobuz) sounded super 3D, intensely corporal, and highly communicative. With the P3ESR, I observed those same drums in a detached manner. With the P3ESR, the Bap-Tizum drums sounded big soundstage-wise but not full or satisfying energy-wise.
Yes, I will miss the Alyssa's bass.
Ultimately...
In most ways, Alta Audio's Alyssa felt like a smaller portion of the memorable feast I experienced at Rhapsody Music and Cinema. Like the Titanium Hestias, the Alyssas delighted me with their ability to project an enormous soundstage and to array lifelike musicians in front of me. This, coupled to their innate transparency and ability to convincingly reproduce pipe organs, large drums, and synthesizers, made the Alyssas exciting to listen to.
Unfortunately, when the Alyssas were not thrilling me, they were disappointing me with a lower midrange that lacked focus—but was it the speakers I was hearing or their interactions with the room and my amplifiers? In a larger space, with lower levels of reflected bass energies, the Alyssas would, perhaps, present themselves with a more balanced tone and sharper lower-midrange focus. Perhaps another Stereophile reviewer can audition these speakers in a larger room.
My auditions left me unable to predict beyond reasonable doubt what you, my dear villa-inhabiting, bass-loving readers, are likely to experience in your room. If you have enough space and you crave deep bass from a luxurious-looking $5000/pair standmount, the Alyssa might be your dream loudspeaker. If you have never experienced the unique spatial excitements of an Alta Audio loudspeaker, I suggest you bring your favorite recordings to an Alta dealer now. You too might have a "Wow!" moment.
When the Alyssas arrived, the Yamaha A-S3200 integrated amplifier was in the system for a follow-up audition. Right away, its 150Wpc (into 4 ohms) made Joni Mitchell's Blue (24/96 FLAC Rhino-Warner/Qobuz) sound sweet and plucky: "I want to wreck my stockings in some jukebox dive." The A-S3200 powered the Alyssas in a manner that made music feel easy-flowing and accessible. This combo short-circuited my critical brain and kept my focus on the experience of rhythm, melody, and the artist's attitude. I was delighted.
In like manner, the Pass Labs INT-25's clarity did a fantastic job showcasing the dark mysteries of Piazzolla's Tango: Zero Hour. Sadly, however, the INT-25 ran out of gas and got blurry in the lower midrange when I turned it up only a little (to 75dB at 2m). I thought the INT-25's 50Wpc (into 4 ohms) would be enough in my small room. But, at higher volumes, the sound got dull and shut down.
The fact that Piazzolla's Tango sounded clear below 1kHz (at very low volumes) but then got blurry as I turned up the power suggests the possibility of an impedance dip in the 100–200Hz region. It is also possible that room-reflected bass energy was swamping the 100Hz to 1kHz octaves.
I had big expectations when I connected the Alta Alyssas to Rogue Audio's 100Wpc Stereo 100 tube amp ($3495). My experience with the Titanium Hestias powered by Zesto electronics suggested that Michael Levy's designs might come to life and image their best with tubes. With the Rogue in Ultralinear mode, I played Ry Cooder's "Nobody" and "We Shall Be Happy" off his 1978 album Jazz (16/44.1 FLAC Rhino-Warner/Qobuz) and was instantly impressed by the tone, dense, bas-relief textures, and vibrant life of the upper midrange and highs. Ry Cooder's familiar voice was enjoyably natural in tone, but there was some blurring and loss of intelligibility at the lower end of his vocal range. His backup singers, whose voices reached further into the bass and upper bass, were puffed and indistinct. On "We Shall Be Happy," the bass trombone, pump-organ, and bass drum lacked definition. In my room, with this Rogue tube amp and this recording, the Alyssas exhibited a vexing lack of focus in the lower midrange and upper bass.
Harbeth–DeVore comparisonsThe Rogue-Alta combo let this E. Power Biggs thriller deliver more room-energizing bass power than I can achieve through either the DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93s or my reference Harbeth M30.2s. Through the Harbeths, the Biggs-Bach sounded dry and too small. It lost half its emotional impact. Meanwhile, the DeVore speakers rendered the spirit of the Biggs-Bach quite well but could not match the Alta's illusions of life-sized bass power. During the course of these auditions, this Bach organ record was the little Alta's best "Wow!" moment. The $6495/pair Harbeth 30.2 speakers reflect the needs of my left-brain reviewer's mind. I use them as tools for assessing the resolution and neutrality of components under review. In contrast, the $8400/pair DeVore Fidelity O/93 speakers represent my right-brain eyes-closed-and-dreaming artist's sensibility. I use them as my reference for midrange coherence, beauty of tone, and musicality.
I've spent most of my life without deep bass. The speakers I've chosen to live with over the years—the Dynaco A-25, the Quad ESL, the Altec 604E and VOT, the Rogers/Falcon LS3/5a, and now, the Harbeth M30.2s and DeVore Fidelity O/93—all specialize in midrange acuity, not 32Hz organ notes. Alta's Alyssa made deeper bass than any of these speakers, but will I miss that extra bass when it is gone? The answer to that question appeared at the very end of the review period, when I played the E. Power Biggs Bach through the much smaller, less expensive ($2195/pair) Harbeth P3ESRs. The LS3/5a-sized Harbeths made so little energy below 80Hz that the Bach Fugue offered few thrills.
In most ways, Alta Audio's Alyssa felt like a smaller portion of the memorable feast I experienced at Rhapsody Music and Cinema. Like the Titanium Hestias, the Alyssas delighted me with their ability to project an enormous soundstage and to array lifelike musicians in front of me. This, coupled to their innate transparency and ability to convincingly reproduce pipe organs, large drums, and synthesizers, made the Alyssas exciting to listen to.
Unfortunately, when the Alyssas were not thrilling me, they were disappointing me with a lower midrange that lacked focus—but was it the speakers I was hearing or their interactions with the room and my amplifiers? In a larger space, with lower levels of reflected bass energies, the Alyssas would, perhaps, present themselves with a more balanced tone and sharper lower-midrange focus. Perhaps another Stereophile reviewer can audition these speakers in a larger room.
