These qualities rendered music with an upbeat sense of life and energy. When Joe Pass comes in for the last solo on the track “Contractor’s Blues” from the Count Basie LP 88 Basie Street (original Pablo LP), his hard-swinging entrance prompts the band to kick up their game to meet him. A few bars into the solo, the drummer emphasizes the rhythm with rim shots that lock in the groove, taking the energy to the next level. The Divin Noblesse reveals, with tremendous alacrity, these kinds of nuances of musical expression.

Another virtue of the Divin Noblesse’s lively upper midrange is its clarity of line and ability to resolve individual instruments and notes without smearing or congestion. The album Mirror Mirror by Brazilian pianist Elaine Elias is a series of piano duets alternating between her and one of her two musical idols, Chick Corea and Chucho Valdés (the album won the Grammy in 2021 in the Best Latin Jazz Album category). The at-times fiery interplay between the two musicians could sound confused or congested through a lesser speaker, and the energetic Latin rhythms diluted by less-than-precise articulation of each note. The Divin Noblesse beautifully portrayed the two 9′ grand pianos as separate instruments, and in doing so, revealed the marvelously sympathetic interplay between Elias and Valdés or Corea. Each track was recorded live in the studio with the pianos facing each other; the Divin Noblesse wonderfully recreated the sense of spontaneous occasion of these remarkable performances.

Even without the subwoofers engaged, the Divin Noblesse went satisfyingly low in the bass, with plenty of weight and power. The subs added that extra measure of fullness, bass dynamics, and, of course, the expanded soundstage provided by reproducing low-frequency spatial cues. The subwoofers added that “subterranean” component on organ recordings that you can’t get even from the largest full-range speakers, as well as more weight and impact to kickdrum. A pair of 18″ woofers can move an awful lot of air in the lowermost octave.

Link do recenzji: Goebel Divin Sovereign – The Absolute Sound

That physical sense of energy extends across the range. Play the Art Blakey track ‘Moanin’’ (Blue Note UHQ-MQACD-UCCU-40120) and the tonal density of the brass instruments, the attack and action of the piano, the clarity and pitch of the bass notes and the location and separation of the instruments produce a vivid, punchy sense of presence and vitality. When Lee Morgan lets rip in his first solo, Bobby Timmons’ muted, subtle piano prompts are just where and when they should be. Enter the sax and its reedy tonality is so distinct and separate from the trumpet that there’s no confusing not just the instrument but the nature of the sound it produces. Blakey’s drumming has slap, attack and a propulsive rhythmic precision, Jymie Merritt’s bass solo is articulate and fluid, a world away from the limp, muddled stumble that most systems produce. You want live, club levels? You’ve got them. You want to know what it’s like to sit in front of Lee Morgans horn? You will…

I normally approach subwoofers that run DSP packages and Class D amplifiers with considerable caution. But in this case – and as we’ll see in the separate review due shortly – the control interface and performance of the Sovereigns seem to finally deliver on the technology’s promise. It’s as intuitive as it is powerful, adding a whole new foundation to the already impressive low-frequency capabilities of the Majestic. In a situation like this, you can only report on the system, but what a system! The best I’ve enjoyed? I’ve heard some great and truly memorable systems over the years, but this system, on this day, in this form and with this set up – top of the list.

Link do recenzji: Goebel Divin Sovereign – Gy8