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mean the JMLab is less good than our
other speakers…just different.
How would the JMLab do on an
actual movie? Wonderfully well, as
we had expected. The choral voices on
Abduction From the Seraglio (in Amadeus)
were no longer homogenized, and they
seemed to emerge from the flat screen
into the room with us. The applause and
the other crowd sounds were considerably
improved too. In the scene that followed,
the ambient sounds, including the
creaking of the floorboards, seemed real.
“Even the voice of Constanze’s mother is
better,” said Albert. “She sounds distant
and then comes closer, exactly as she
should.”
We are of course aware that the
soundtracks of films like Amadeus are
not captured by microphones on the
site of filming, but are assembled in
a post-synchronization studio. Still, a
good audio producer can put together a
sound field that is astonishingly realistic,
and the right equipment can make that
plain.
Summing it up…
Brand/model: JMLab Electra
CC 900
Price: C$1795/US$1295
Dimensions: 55 x 20 x 35 cm
Impedance: 8 ohms, 4.4 ohms minimum
Most liked: Great dynamics and
detail, very low distortion
Least liked: Slightly soft highs,
noticeable on live voices
Verdict: Memo: line up some other
reviews from JMLab
The Harry Potter sequence was
excellent too, with the sound of the
three front speakers blending into a
3-D image for the first time. Voices
were clear and natural, and the street
sounds were downright eerie. “The difference
doesn’t even need spelling out,”
said Reine. “There’s ambience, there’s
subtlety…everything.”
Things got even better.
In The Fifth Element, in the scene
before the Diva arrives on stage, the
voices had greatly increased body. “And
it isn’t just the subwoofer,” said Gerard.
“We had the same sub with the other
speakers.” In the concert sequence itself,
we were pleasantly surprised to discover
that the soundtrack included considerable
hall sound, and also murmurs from
the audience. Some of this material is
of course assigned to the rear speakers,
but their contribution had been less
evident with other speakers. And that
was despite the automatic alignment we
did with each change of speaker.
The fight scene was spectacular,
of course. For the first time we were
tempted to let the rest of the film run,
to see what other marvels lay ahead. But,
alas, there was work to do.
The fact that JMLab has competent
engineers did not come as a surprise, to
be sure, but this speaker was way better
than we had supposed. Was it reference
quality? For the first time in this test
series, we could answer in the affirmative.
Two 16.5 cm woofers with polypropylene
loaded cones flank a soft-dome
tweeter. No rounded edges, no sculpting.
At the rear, however, are two sets
of J.A. Michell’s “Big Mother” binding
posts, finished in rhodium. Their size
makes them easy to tighten, and they
stay tight too.
The ProAc is large, almost exactly
the same size as the Thiel, and only
slightly lighter. From that, and from
previous experience with ProAc speakers,
we were optimistic. And we were
right. This would turn out to be the
kind of speaker you dream, of finding.
We began the test in the Alpha
room, using the recording of our own
voices. We mostly liked what we heard.
There has always been some-
If his ear doesn’t like what it hears, back
The highs are a little crisper than those
Tthing special about ProAc’s go the drivers.
of the JMLab, and that brought up the
Tlarge speakers, and especially This faithfulness to the spirit of
“S” sounds a little, but without the sort
Tthe ones in the Response
The music voice isn’t always that evident from will merely astonish of distortion that drives you
us nuts. Albert
series. This is not the result of careful looking at the speakers themselves. Most
especially liked it, citing a lack of the
placement of microphones in anechoic
Soprano ProAc Karina speakers Gauvin are sings plain these rectangular Handel opera coloration arias (and we indeed had most heard music)
with some of
chambers. Rather, designer Stewart better than boxes, anyone with nothing else we to know. distinguish Check out them her Analekta the earlier recordings, speakers. at http:
Tyler, like Totem’s Vince Bruzzese, relies //www.uhfmag.com/Analekta.com.
from a zillion others. So it is with this
The CC-Two was well-behaved on
on his sense of what real music sounds speaker.
the Beethoven recording, reproducing
like. We’ve heard stories of Tyler hooking
up new drivers to a pocket radio and
and cherry finishes are also available.
bly. The bottom end had good weight,
Ours was matte black, though ash
those troublesome strings quite plausi-
listening right there on his workbench. The driver layout is not revolutionary. with a palpable sense of both rhythm
ProAc Response CC-2
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 37