Musical Affairs
Ever since the first time I talked to Hans Kortenbach of Musical Affairs, I felt a certain closeness to him. I bought my first musical affairs speakers as an end consumer. Frankly, I even forgot what that particular model was called. It was right after i had bought a famous pair of speakers that I put up for sale right before even arriving in my home…..and as soon as it arrived, and took it out of box, realized for sure it was just not my type. Short and sweet of it, i sold it in less than a month, at about $3,000 loss. Since then, Musical Affairs speakers have been the permanent fixtures in my music rooms.
Hans Kortenbach’s search for the ideal sound box for these unique speakers lasted from 1996 to 2000. He tried many designs and material. The results were atisfactory, but the “magic” of a “live” musical performance was not quite there. One fine day in 1999, Bernard Salabert of PHY-HP drivers fame gave Hans the idea of using Sitca spruce “tonewood” for the boxes, instead of MDF. Sitca spruce is the wood used for the sound boards in pianos, for guitars, violins, cellos and other stringed instruments.
For years Hans had been studying how musical instruments are built. Equipped with this knowledge, Hans started a second search resulting in the design of a sound box with very thin walls, made entirely from 4 mm solid wood, and with the necessary bracing similar to the bracing used in making guitars, violin, and cello.
The design and realization of this bracing was a real challenge, but the final result is a sound box that is completely free from undesired resonances. In fact, no muffling is required in the box. Using musical instruments as the model of his cabinets, Hans even uses a violin varnish based on shellac, a proven product for high-quality musical instruments to finish off the cabinets.
The results are truly astounding – suddenly the magic was there, the sensation of being personally present at the musical performance, with the timbre and the subtlety and richness of the sound of musical instruments. To cut a long story short: this is what Hans Kortenbach and his fans have been looking for all those years.
The PHY-HP full-range loudspeaker driver unit
A very nice explanation about the essence of a full-range driver is given by Mr. Edward James Jordan, the man who created the famous Jordan full-range driver units.
“A Full-range loudspeaker driver unit is defined as a driver which reproduces as much of the audible frequency range as possible, within the limitations imposed by the physical constraints of a specific design. This is so difficult that there are few manufacturers producing full range drivers for high fidelity use.
Since every electronic, mechanical or acoustical component in reproduction chain will, regardless of purpose, degrade fine detail, the fewer components between the amplifier terminals and the listening room, the better. This includes conventional “mid-kilohertz” crossovers, which, in addition, destroy the natural integrity of the harmonic structure by the abrupt severance of the harmonics from the fundamental frequencies. These problems are avoided with the single cone moving coil driver which is to loudspeakers as the wheel is to the car.”
—Edward James Jordan, interviewed by TNT-Audio
To Hans’s experience and humble opinion PHY-HP full-range driver units are among the best available nowadays. These units are very efficient (around 97 to 98 dB/W/m). The impedance falls never below 14 Ohms. This is another very important issue because it allows us to use low powered tube amplifiers and avoids the need of complex and heavy amplifiers. This is why Paul Klipsch, the designer of the famous Klipsch horn loudspeakers made the following statement: “What the world needs is a good 5 Watt amplifier”
The resonant cabinet
Without resonance, there cannot be a natural music reproduction. Avoid the use of damping material; the cabinet itself is the major factor; this in short is Hans Kortenbach’s philosophy in making Musical Affairs speakers.
For a perfect resonant behavior, the cabinet needs internal bracing; the shape and size of the bracing is a complex and very important factor. A picture of the inside showing the internal bracing.
Another important factor is the ability of a loudspeaker to reproduce all the dynamics and small differences in tonality in music. An important part of the “soul” of the music is hidden in the dynamics. PHY-HP driver units are capable to reproduce the huge differences in dynamics as well as all subtle differences in tonality. The cabinets contain no damping material. The cabinet dimensions themselves, acoustically and empirically optimized are the main factor in the music reproduction. Same as all stringed musical instruments.
HANS ON YOU TUBE …..
As of 2009 Hans Kortenbach offers three models of Musical Affairs speakers:
- Crescendo
- Grand Crescendo
- Grand Duetto
Musical Affairs also hand builds custom made audio racks. Whereas his speakers absorb all the resonance, Hans Kortenbach’s audio racks are really heavy.
Musical Affairs Crescendo Loudspeakers:
In principle, Musical Affairs Crescendo speakers are “open baffle” loudspeakers. the “baffle” (the soundboard) is however folded into a sound box with a narrow opening on the back. In line with the laws of nature, Musical Affairs choses an “off centre” placement of the speaker in the front panel. A separate wooden frame is fitted inside the box to which the driver is attached. This relieves the front panel of the weight of the driver and allows the box to function freely as a sound box.
Although the “off centre placement of the speaker” will get some getting used to initially, Musical Affairs chose this design solution after extensive testing demonstrating the best sound reproduction quality.
Crescendo loudspeakers are fitted with the 20 cm broadband driver type H21LB15, either with or without a tweeter. Following extensive listening tests with experienced “audiophile” listeners, we came to the conclusion that the speaker in the SAG version (with silver voice coil insulated with silk) achieved an incredibly rich and highly musical performance, even without a tweeter! For those who prefer the version with a 20 cm broadband speaker with a copper voice coil: this version is only available with a tweeter, type TW37. This is mounted vertically on the upper panel and a reflector projects the highest frequencies into the sound field without the usual phase problems.
Musical Affairs Grand Crescendo Loudspeakers:
The design, shape and construction of the Grand Crescendo correspond largely to Musical Affairs Crescendo Loudspeakers. The dimensions of the sound box, however, are slightly larger. This loudspeaker has a 30 cm coaxial broadband speaker type KM30 SAG or , if you prefer, the H30LB15 SAG mid-range/bass speaker in combination with the tweeter type TW37.
Picture to the left is of the speakers belonging to my good friend Paul. He is running them with Wavac EC- 300B amps, another beauty and appearance in its own right. Paul loves his speakers as all our other customers do.
Given the fact that in line with SORAsound policy of pricing our products about same as the home country they are produced, we do not operate based on a true dealer network (i.e. there is no extra margin to give dealers). As such, the best way for you to audition these speakers is to either visit us or pay a visit to some of our customers graciously willing to host you.
Musical Affairs Grand Duetto Loudspeakers:
Grand Duettos are Hans Kortenbach’s dream come true – so far. Hans is a person who always tries to improve what he does. In that sense, no single pair of his speakers are exactly the same as the previous pairs. They only get better.
Continuing on the basis of the design philosophy behind the Crescendo and the knowledge and experience gained from their development, Hans and his inner circle of audiophile friends experimented with the idea of combining the 20 cm H21LB15 SAG and 30 cm H30LB15 SAG broadband speakers. Right from the very first test model, they realised that this combination was “made in heaven”. There is no need for a separate tweeter with Grand Duettos using the 20 cm driver with the silver voice coil.
Hans Kortenbach and his friends spend evenings and week-ends tweaking ideas. Serious. They spend hours making cables. They spend days experimenting with power conditioning. They use all kinds of woods, and listen. Listening to the sound. They never stop learning and improving.
Bearing in mind that with audio equipment such as amplifiers, CD players and the like, vibrations should be avoided. So unlike Musical Affairs speakers which absorb resonance, Musical Affairs audio furniture are designed to virtually eliminate any vibration. Musical Affairs audio furniture are custom made of spruce and a bit more.
All stands are custom made. Allow for some variations as they are handmade. Very heavy to transport and carry. Really good.
The man behind it all, Hans Kortenbach
Hans was born in 1939 in the Netherlands in a small village near The Haque. His earliest audio experience was at the age of 12 when he made a portable radio. The transistors were not invented at the time so the radio was equipped with tubes. It was portable but rather heavy because as Hans’s radio had two big batteries inside. Hans was very proud of the looks and the sound. Above all, his radio proved to be very helpful in impressing the girls! So, he thought at least.
At 14, the young Hans Kortenbach finally collected enough money to buy all necessary parts to build his own mono audio system. He made a loudspeaker using the Philips 9710 full-range driver unit mounted in a kind of bass reflex enclosure and a simple mono EL84 push/pull tube amplifier. The sound was incredible and he loved it so much!
In the beginning of the transistor era the tube gear disappeared. Hans still wonders why. Since then he owned various “modern” transistor amplifiers and loudspeakers; worked very hard for my own consulting bureau and forgot all about tube amps and full-range loudspeakers. In 1997 Hans was invited by a friend to visit Bernard Salabert, the owner of PHY-HP for the first time. After listening for a while to his 8 inch full-range driver unit, mounted on an open baffle and connected to a simple tube amplifier, Hans was totally impressed with the sound and the musicality he heard. This took him back to his earliest musical emotions, immediately deciding to take a pair back home.
From that moment on again Hans Kortenbach was totally fascinated by these PHY-HP driver units and tube amplifiers. They opened a new world for him. After searching around, various experiments with different enclosure designs, discussions with Bernard, Hans came to the conclusion a resonant “folded baffle” enclosure should be the optimal solution. It took him another four years to find out how this should be done.
SORAsound prices are the same as in The Netherlands, quoted in Euro. Shipping and Duties are extra.
| Speaker Type |
Driver Type |
Euro |
| Crescendo |
|
|
| Crescendo SAG |
H21LB15 SAG |
6,780.00 |
| Crescendo SAG TW |
H21LB15 SAG + TW37 |
7,640.00 |
| Grand Crescendo |
|
|
| Grand Crescendo Coax SAG |
KM30 SAG |
9,860.00 |
| Grand Crescendo SAG TW |
H30LB15 SAG + TW37 |
10,400.00 |
| Grand Duetto |
|
|
| Grand Duetto SAG |
H30LB15 SAG + H21LB15 SAG |
15,950.00 |
| Grand Duetto SAG TW |
KM30 SAG + H21LB15 SAG |
16,400.00 |
Musical Affairs Crescendo Loudspeakers:
