Listening

We kick things off with Tim Knol’s recording from our live stream. Tim is playing for me again, his voice beautifully placed with the full sound of his guitar around me. This recording shows that the Driade Model 2S sounds somewhat dry and factual and reproduces exactly as it is. Nothing is added and nothing is left out. As a result, the Driades also present clearly what an amplifier brings.

With playful ease

The tubes of the Kora show a nicely rounded high and a deep full bass that does not become woolly. The Naim has a much smaller stereo image and a less deep bass, but is rhythmically catchy. With the Naim, the whole image is placed a bit higher than with the Kora. Both amplifiers can unleash a lot of energy on the speakers at impulse, with the Kora pushing out even harder than the Naim. The Driades do not budge. With playful ease, almost stoically and with great control the music comes to you. Nowhere do you get the feeling that you are getting anywhere near the speaker’s limits.

Like a nimble boxer

It results in a nimble and agile sound. A great illustration is “Oiseaux Exotic” by the composer Olivier Messiaen. In this piece, the sounds of exotic birds at the zoo, which Messiaen spent hours listening to, are translated into music. It is supposed to sound like a joyful cacophony, without becoming a mishmash. The impetus in the winds, piano and percussion and the tight rhythmic nature of the music demands a lot from a speaker and amplifier.

The Driade Model 2S allows the sounds of all the instruments to be heard, without them blending into each other, and also without the music falling apart. It is razor sharp and it swings. The piece is not supposed to sound “serious,” rather upbeat and jazzy and that’s how it sounds.

More than a pass-through

The Model 2S is capable of being more than just a conduit, but also of conveying the intention behind the music, as with the Crowded House album “Woodface.” Both the tight rhythmic drive in the music and the delicate songwriting come out very nicely. Crowded House balances between their punk past and singer-songwriter songs, with the Finn brothers’ multi-voiced vocals harmonizing through their similar timbre, while their lyrics often have a slightly ironic to sarcastic undertone. Crowded House often unites a contradiction in their songs and it becomes more palpable than usual. This album pops out on the Model 2S.

Nothing swept under the rug

The factual nature of these speakers works both ways. They also let you hear when the recording is bad. Alison Moyet “This House” is phenomenally sung, but it is a harsh, unpleasant sounding recording with a lot of pinched, harsh sounds in the high end, typical of the state of digital technology from the time it was recorded.

As a result, the text doesn’t hit you as much. With Metallica’s “Untill It Sleeps” it is the other way around, thick goosebumps and the lyrics have impact. The same goes for Jamie Cullum’s cover of Bon Iver’s “Hey Ma”. All the subtleties come out, the sound is generous, you are close to the performers. Cullum’s voice is given plenty of room. The echo of the recording space coming back into the microphone is clearly perceptible.