In terms of sheer access to the musical event (and the recording that captured it) I’m not aware of another speaker at this price (or prices quite a bit higher) to match what Göbel has achieved here. It’s a hell of basis around which to build a system.

That speed, surefooted timing, pitch and spacing of notes extends down into the speaker’s bottom end, where bass instruments have a real sense of texture and character, attack and decay. It’s a world away from the tuneless thud that emanates from so many speakers trying to eek a bit more weight and impact from their bottom end (and, ironically, achieving one at the expense of the other). Play the Barbirolli/Hallé recording of Sibelius’s Second Symphony (HMV ASD 2308) and the extended pizzicato passage that opens the second movement is beautifully paced and motive, moving through the melodic rises and falls, the passing of the theme from basses to cellos – which so often goes unremarked – unusually clear and explicit, both spatially and in terms of instrumental weight and character, the subtle increase in attack to the notes. The timp rolls are especially impressive, with a natural texture and clarity that gives not just the sense of the skins, but of the rapid, individual strikes, rather than being just a smudge of low frequency energy. The speed of response necessary to capture these textural nuances and tiny shifts in level speaks volumes about both the low mass of the driver, the power of its motor and the controlled behaviour of its cone. This lack of sonic and musical inertia, perhaps more than anything else, is what makes the sound of the Comtesse so reminiscent of what people crave from electrostatic speakers – but what those speakers so seldom deliver. What the Comtesse demonstrates so unequivocally, is just how much performance you can get from a suitably sophisticated paper cone – even if many designers don’t.

hat dynamic response, integration, linearity, the coherence of the energy envelope and its ability to project an even sense of substance, irrespective of frequency is what gives the Divin Comtesse its invisibility. It’s also what makes it sound more like a single driver than a multi-way system. A big part of that quality is derived directly from the deft, tactile and pitch/texture definite bottom-end. The Comtesse doesn’t have the weight or the scale that speakers like the Stenheim A5-SX or Peak El Diablo deliver, but nor does it lack for musical (as opposed to physical) impact. Examples are legion, from the explosive snap of the percussion on the Ligeti, to the swelling energy of the enthusiastic claps at Massey Hall. These speakers are not about rattling rib cages. They’re about clarity, musical insight, immediacy and connection. They may not pin you to the chair with shifts in musical density, but they’ll let you hear (and almost count) exactly which instruments have joined the party. They will appeal to the listener who wants to hear into the performance rather than sit outside it, who values information over impression, who wants to appreciate the individual, both as a performer and as a contributor to the whole. The Stenheims deliver more drama, the Peaks more scale and power, but neither gets you closer to the musician(s) than the Göbels.

And the third thing that the Comtesse is, is distinctive. This speaker doesn’t sound like other boxes this size. In fact, it pretty much doesn’t sound like other boxes, period. It has a unique blend of virtues, that mean it can offer a different perspective on the music and different options within a system.

You’ve got to be careful suggesting that a box speaker has electrostatic tendencies – which is why I’ve been at pains to qualify which exact qualities that refers to: the speed of response, the seamless continuity, the evenness of character and output. But where the Comtesse majors on the clarity and transparency that many electrostatics have, it doesn’t come at the cost of thinness or an insubstantial sense of presence and body. The Göbel’s sense of musical purpose is distinctly box-like – even if its colouration levels are not. Meanwhile, I’m going to make another, perhaps equally easily misunderstood observation: The Divin Comtesse is the perfect partner for a really good sub-woofer.

Link do recenzji: Goebel Divin Comtesse – Gy8

As the proud owner of an Epoque Aeon Fine, I am convinced of the tonal merits that Goebel bending wave sound transducers toss into the balance. I was all the more surprised by how well Oliver Goebel has managed to achieve almost the same seamless playback and speed with his new loudspeaker model using rather more conventional transducers. In addition, the Comtesse shines with an even more solid bass foundation and a seductive voice reproduction – and at a price that is high in absolute terms, but customer-friendly for what is offered. Extremely recommended!

Of course, I did listen to all the relevant test files: Keith Jarrett's “God Bless The Child” confirmed the enormous rhythmic abilities of the Divin Comtesse, Patrice Heral's “Improvisation” on Michel Godard's Le Concert Des Parfums and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 15 underlined the excellent spatial imaging of the Comtesse. The latter also showed the rich timbres that the smallest Goebel speakers are capable to reproduce. “Heavy Hour”, taken from Misha Alperin's Night, underpinned the outstanding performance in terms of fine resolution and dynamics, and on “Malinye”, a track taken from the album Codona 2, Don Cherry's pocket trumpet once again demonstrated that the speakers are able to reproduce instruments in full accuracy, even displaying them at the correct height. If the Divin hadn't been so convincing in the listening room – except for the small, room-related weakness in the lows – I would have thought that they and the living room happened to harmonize perfectly by pure chance. But no, it is solely due to the enormous qualities of the Comtesse that it seems as if they had been developed for the living room!

However, I'm not going to single out a particular record that would allow me to make a critical comment to relativize my enthusiasm for the Comtesse. I'd rather tell you about an equally fascinating new musical acquisition at Qobuz – and what the Comtesse makes out of it: Fulsome X's Impermanence, Live At Porgy & Bess. Fulsome X are Wolfgang Puschnig, alto saxophone and flute, Asja Valcic, cello, Jon Sass, tuba, and Reinhardt Winkler, drums. The quartet was recorded by Quinton owner Andreas Rathammer at the Vienna Porgy & Bess on the evening of 19th November 2023, the last day of the Finest Fidelity Show 2023. And it’s truly surprising what he has done with the digital multi-track recording: The only thing it has in common with what I was able to experience that evening is the joy of playing and the exciting interaction between the musicians. Even though the sound in the club was quite good, it does not come close to the sound so typical for Quinton recordings. The last three songs serve as a good example: the title track, “Second Heaven”, which fans of Wolfgang Puschnig know from the magnificent Quinton album Chants, and “Another Step”. “Impermanence” begins with the cello in front of a deep black background in a supposedly medium-sized room. Then the tuba sets in very sparingly, with the notes seemingly bursting out of it. Rim shots are heard in a much larger space before the saxophone joins in: the calm piece develops an irresistible groove. All of this has little to do with the live on-site experience, but it fascinates every second – not least thanks to the speed, timbre strength and bass capabilities of the Comtesse.

Link do recenzji: Goebel Divin Comtesse – HiFiStatement