BAYZ AUDO COUNTERPOINT V2.0 SPEAKERS REVIEW

One of the products that have made an impact this following year was without a doubt the BAYZ Audio Courante speakers. The impact of these unusually shaped speakers made by Zoltán Bay, Hungarian enfant Magnifique and electronic/speaker wizard led to the creation of the bigger, even more, impressive flagship model, the BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0. 

Zoltán Bay, a stand out multidisciplinary designer and inventor is the owner of many patents. He has the most impressive history and family heritage and perhaps even more importantly, he is among a rare breed of high-end audio designers with a distinctive and genuine affection for the music. 

I’ve already reviewed the BAYZ Audio Courante loudspeakers speakers here and they have triggered many if not most of my inner sensors. After my completion of the review, Zoltán Bay proposed a review of the BAYZ Audio flagship and updated V.2 versos of Counterpoint 2.0 speakers. A few weeks later he delivered Counterpoint 2.0s and picked up the Courante. After a week of my day to day association with these impressive transducers, I’ve compiled enough material to present a proper write-up.  

BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 speakers were already shown at various high-end audio shows and have won many hearts and accoladed. The reviewed version is the latest V2.0 update that brings many enhancements. Already high-performing BRS tweeter was updated to the BRS-HR level. HR stands for a high resolution. HRS-HR combines the extreme linearity with frequency response well past 50 kHz. The BRS-HR is well damped with no significant break-up modes and has extremely low distortion at all frequencies. 

The original BRS tweeter used in the Courante and Counterpoint (V1.0) was already among the fastest transducers. This was their key advantage and the very reason for lifelike realism, immediacy and higher grade of believability. 

Bay connects the introduction of the BRS-HR with the growing amount of high-resolution audio. BRS-HR extends beyond 50kHz which is an impressive achievement for the omnidirectional type of speakers. 

BAYZ Audio had to improve the internal wiring to handle the increased high-frequency resolution. This result not only in far more accurate higher frequency delivery but also in a more compelling and lifelike mids. Micro and macro dynamics have also gained quite a noticeable boost, delivering even more convincing presentation. 

The updates…

• The BRS-HR has been integrated into the all-new Courante 2.0 and Counterpoint 2.0 along with a variety of mechanical and cosmetic improvements that includes:
• Improved Internal Cables – allowing greater transparency and warmth while improving transient response and impulse response of the system.
• Hardcover on the BRS-HR – a laser-cut aluminum cover provides increased protection for the BRS-HR driver.
• Improved mechanical connections to the solid granite base for greater stability and ease of setup. Solid mahogany wood backplate for improved vibration dampening of the cabinet.

As with previous versions, the all-new BRS-HR tweeter is matched with two custom-made utterly fast 240mm (9½”) woofers that focused and powerful bass, fast transients, and ultra high-resolution. These woofers are designed by Frank Nielsen of SB Acoustics. Frank Nielsen (CEO of Danesian Audio ApS) is a designer of renowned Satori drivers, with more than thirty years of experience with designing high-end transducers for SB Acoustics, ScanSpeak, Vifa, Danish Sound Technologies, Tymphany, and others. 

For the BAYZ Audio Frank and the Danesian Audio team have designed and refined a unique, ultra-fast Satori-like driver that matches the speed of the ultra-fast BRS HR tweeter. The Denesian Audio Engine Team also assembles and tests each of Bayz Audio speakers. This guarantees, that each loudspeaker is matched and passes stringent quality control.

As with the past production, the ultra-high-end BAYZ Audio Counterpoint patented speakers come with the exotic Hungarian hand-made cabinet, that is hand-assembled and rigorously tested in Denmark. Like the state above this ensures the impeccable quality and state of the art performance.  

BAYZ Audio is continuing the collaboration with András Voloscsuk and his Engineering Team for the manufacturing of the Counterpoint’s carbon fiber composite enclosure. This high strength-low weight (only 30kg without the 55 kg granite stand) advanced monocoque chassis is of true state-of-the-art attributes, letting the music freely de-attached from the speakers. 

It’s worth mentioning how András Voloscsuk and the Composite Project Team have decades of experience in developing and manufacturing the new carbon-fiber materials for F1 monocoques, race planes for Red Bull Air Race World Championships, and even carbon fiber pianos. 

With this unique know-how, András has raised carbon fiber fabrication to an artistic level. The beauty and elegance of the Counterpoint would not be possible without this out-of-the-box partnering. 

These are the latest official measurement with the all new BRS-HR driver. Yes, quite impressive to say at least… 

As with BAYZ Audio Courante speakers, the Counterpoint 2.0 cannot be exactly tied to a certain genre. While they are genuinely not voiced to favor particular music, they surely excel with live, un-amplified music. At the end of the day, this is the music reproduction we can most intimately relate to when it comes to real-world references. 

BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 speakers can deliver an amazing drama and dynamic collision with strictly studio material like for example the Daft Punk Giorgio Moroder “Giorgio by Moroder” from Random Access Memories. We know little of how exactly the producer and mastering engineer have chosen to present it, but what is know that the Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter have spent a fortune for the production, mixing and mastering. And it shows! This track can not only drive the system to the very limits but can also push the bass driver in a most unpleasant state of affairs. Even far bigger speakers than Counterpoint collapses on the burden of this track. The same goes for power amplifiers. Quite a few actually shut down due to the overwhelming impact! 

BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 didn’t collapse! On the contrary, the energy was seamlessly distributed without pushing the drivers into overload. Despite driver’s size, Counterpoint 2.0 could threw a mightier punch than expected. At around 160 cm high one might not get the exact feeling of the tubes’ length. But if it would be the straight tube design the sheer size of Counterpoint 2.0 would far exceed 3m. Interesting and intriguing right!?

Counterpoint 2.0’s unique ability to get out of the way and paint the sonic canvas with the full-scale coloring is remarkable as is with Courante, but it goes even further. The V2.0 update has unquestionably been the big reason for the BAYZ’s flagships’ lighting fast aural formation and materializing of the uncluttered dynamism. 

“Life’s a Gas” by T. Rex from the album Electric Warrior embodies both raw dynamics and vibrancy that calls for something beyond ordinary. Achieving the primary grip is no ordinary affair and this is easily further challenged with the  “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida” from the same-titled Iron Butterfly album. Many speakers claim to provide the needed grasp, but when the electric guitar and Hammond organs start to kick in the harmonic density is too often lost in the translation. BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 speakers are not shy of playing acid or progressive rock, but they do deliver something extremely mesmerizing when it comes to portraying of the live and acoustical music.  

Even with some of the dipole or other omnidirectional speakers, the box effect doesn’t disappear. The absence of a typical enclosure does bring some of the advantages but the sound doesn’t escape the phenomena of transducers’ allocation, meaning that while the sound is not strictly allocated with the chassis it’s still closely attached to the speakers’ driver.  

Something as pure and immediate as Ray Brown, Laurindo Almeida album Moonlight Serenade calls for the same level of purity…

The interplay of guitar and Ray Brown’s bowed double bass creates an intimate world worthy of many returns. It also introduces a challenging act. It’s extremely hard to keep the balance with the subtlety of Almeida’s guitar slow-paced and Brown’s ever-changing bow mastery.

The opening track “Mondscheinsonate/’Round About Midnight” is an alluring yet arduous escapade. It introduces burdensome subtle taxing to any loudspeakers as it’s very hard to attain the this particular jazz intimacy. BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 speakers acted swiftly by delivering what’s needed and required without hesitation!

The enormous density of sudden attacks and instant establishment of micro/macro acting of the highest degree in a complete absence of energy congestion is no stranger to BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 speakers. This was easily confirmed with a very rare audio release of All-Star Percussion Ensemble, Harold Farberman from the album Audiophile Reference, Vol. 4 with the track “Canon in D”.

“Canon in D” will reveal what sets apart the usual so-called ordinary dynamic speakers and Counterpoint 2.0. The BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 speakers deliver a different kind of impact, away beyond the usual expectations, by allowing fully immersive scope and fundamentally different music’s depths.

When driven by the BAYZ Audio amplifier the sonic delivery was not only on par with most distinguished and push forward products, but BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 speakers can for a change to transcribe a higher scope of intimacy. They simply act with a loupe like precision, discerning smallest dynamic nuances with feather like lightness.

Like stated many times over the review,  there is nothing standard about the BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 speakers’ reproduction of the music and this was evident from track to track of my reference material.

BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 ability to escape the usual sonic box entrapment is of exceptional value. It addresses the utmost demand for unaltered deliverance of music and this exceptionally easy to understand with the reproduction of acoustic, live music. Even to a non-trained ears. 

Like a smaller model, the BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 speakers follow no ordinary paths. Reflecting designer Zoltán Bay’s modus operandi, these creations are of very different origins. With Courante loudspeakers Bay has established a unique mark in our niche industry wherever they’ve were demonstrated. The new flagship Counterpoint 2.0 only takes these intriguing affairs further and to a higher plane.  

BAYZ Audio represents a rare product that addresses practically most if not all the criteria of a true high-end audio product. No corners were cut with the Counterpoint 2.0s. Sound, aesthetics, propriety technology, etc. All checked! Counterpoint 2.0s delivers the message as bold and straightforward as their designer. 

The refined design represents a genuine object of art, that even before producing any notes sketches the very own aura and design language. Counterpoint 2.0 stands on its own in the space and is certainly an object that would easily be worthy of the Red Dot Award nomination or introduction into the MOMA’s hall of fame. 

The hardest thing to accomplish for any designer regardless of the trade is achieving something pure and meaningful, a complexity trickled down to functional simplicity. Michelangelo said how “every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it”. This is exactly how I feel about Counterpoint 2.0 speakers. Their most potent core simplicity is a result of the painstaking process of removing everything unwanted while refining it to the utmost perfection. This takes a lot of patience, time and funds to complete. But, once you get to know Bay personally it’s quickly evident why his speakers are looking and performing so differently. Bay is a perfectionist and   calling him just an avid music lover would be understatement. His inner core is deeply etched with a genuine love for music. For him, the utter challenge and urge  represent the quest for understating and capturing the very essence of the music and Counterpoint 2.0 is his vitae perfectum. 

Why are BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 (and Courante) speakers so important? Yes, as a start, the sonic projection is in the league of its own. There’s no doubt about it. But perhaps even more importantly, it’s the BAYZ Audio’s gist that affects people a wider variety of people.

If a product can somehow unify the appreciation of audiophiles, music lovers and those aficionados that most highly cherished utmost high-end creations, where products regardless of what they  are transcend the usual barriers, then such product is opening the windows of our beloved industry at far wider scale. Such products are of different value and crucial for the existence of our beloved industry. Regardless of the price sticker, we need the products, that break down the walls of mediocre and address the right triggers of interest outside of the usual crowd, while still keeping the interest of audiophiles and music lovers. 

There’s little doubt how high-end audio is already a part of luxury industries. This happened a long time ago and for most people, the world of luxury begins at a far lower scale than expected. 

BAYZ Audio speakers are certainly not the products you would considering to purchase for a short interval sensual pleasure. They come with a non-ordinary sets of attributes and represent something one would easily want to own for the rest of life and pass down to the younger generation. Not only as the carbon fiber structure ensures the visual pleasure and longevity. As with mechanical watches, iconic cars, etc. Counterpoint 2.0s timeless appeal introduce an added value, that is not exactly the usual norm. 

Their less-problematic room placement and aesthetics allows them to act as a centerpiece or unobtrusive part of either ultra-modern surroundings or classically themed environment. In both cases they’re instantly engaging when needed and with immediate lock & load momentum, that easily conquer the space. These features alone are what most of high-end manufacturers are striving for. 

The immediacy of fully immersive 360-degree sonic propagation and out of the box sonic presentation is one of a kind and offers a truly splendid delivery of the music with a refreshing believability that shocked so many of my visitors. 

My reference listening room was designed to be flexible and both BAYZ Audio speakers as well as the Soundspace System Aidoni speakers under review, demand a bit less dampening. Moveable acoustic curtains in my den are of big help when this is needed. Open baffle principle comes with its own rules and so does omnidirectional designs. Both concepts usually call for more open space or less absorbing nearby surfaces. With allowing  the Counterpoint 2.0 to act with more space and reflection points, the complete presentation gains even larger horizontal and vertical expansion. 

Our senses can be tricked in many ways, but never easy and without having the right set of attributes. Counterpoint 2.0’s extreme disappearing act and sort of 3D ability, render the atmospheric density at a higher level. The sonic presentation is as unique as their looks.

BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 speakers expertly embrace two important aspects. The Technicolor alike rich, vibrant and lifelike tonal vibrancy and cinématique sense of reality. This translates to extremely fast delivery of the non-ordinary amount of acoustical anchor points, that can easily form an unexpected energy rendition and the right balance of timbre, tone and colour. With BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0s it’s all about the sheer drama and presenting the music as it is. 

BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 speakers perhaps most potently capture the present overall zeitgeist… They’re mainly made out of the high-tech 21st-century material, which is usually related with the sports cars, ultra-light acrobatic airplanes, and luxurious racing boats, rather than speakers. BAYZ is certainly not the first manufacturer that uses carbon fiber as the cabinet (Magico, Wilson Benesch, etc.) material, but it’s undoubtedly implementing the biggest sheer amount of the carbon fiber surface as the speakers’ enclosure. 

Of course, the carbon fiber shell alone is no recipe for success. Everything that comes before and after the chassis completion and design will impact the sound. This relates to Counterpoint 2.0’s particular design choices, size, and shape. They’re all the result of enormous efforts and combine various state of the art technologies. 

I’m no stranger to the carbon fiber products from various industries and I can assure you that the quality of waviness and finish is top-notch. Even some of the luxurious products with skyrocketing price tags are not at the same level of execution! Any sports car or motorbike enthusiast and connoisseurs will instantly recognize and cherish the Counterpoint 2.0’s impeccable carbon fiber finish. It’ is in a league of its own. Unlike many traditional methods, where high scale production can bring down the cost, this is not the case with this particular exotic material production. Perhaps in a few years or a decade, the cost of manufacturing might come down. Then again, most likely this won’t happen for such a small scale boutique high-end audio products. Otherwise, the carbon fiber would already be more widely implemented in the car and other industries.  

With many high-end audio speakers, it’s highly debatable how much funds are allocated to the building parts. Especially when it comes the chassis design. With BAYZ Audio there is a little doubt regarding the cost of manual labor and completion of the carbon fiber enclosure. This cannot come cheap and the retail price reflects it. 

BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 is a proof of concept, a new breeze that resists obeying the usual norms and traditions of commonly used box-shaped cabinets and implementation of the materials like MDF, plywood, etc. 

I have to point out that the big part of Courante impressive performance is intimately linked with the BAYZ Audio propriety class A amplifier, that Bay designed a long time ago and refined over the decades. While I’ve had achieved a well-balanced performance with a variety of amplifiers, the most potent combination consisted of MSB Technology Select DAC feeding the BAYZ Audio amplifiers directly. Everything was interlinked either with Nordost Valhalla II cable loom or BAYZ own most interesting cables. The BAYZ Audio amp and cables are certainly something I’ll most probably address in a dedicated article in not so distant future, but it’s worth noting how thhey are as unique as Bay’s speakers! 

While Courante works extremely well in smaller environments and delivers much more than sufficient performance in the bigger spaces, the BAYZ Audio top tier model introduces a notable step up in the terms of dramatic and energetic impact. As noted before, it’s all about a sheer drama and Counterpoint 2.0s deliver a massive, unexpected amount. Although they are not small, their sonic projection rather mirrors the impact of the speakers of a far greater size. 

Like the Courantes, the BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 speakers deserve to be awarded and pointed out of the crowd for many of the reasons. In the era of massive cut and paste manufacturing culture, Counterpoint 2.0s represent something very unique, that is not easily replicable. Nor design-wise, nor sonically, nor material wise.

For what it represents and what it brings I’m wholeheartedly granting BAYZ Audio Counterpoint 2.0 speakers a rare and distinguished Mono and Stereo Editors Choice Award!

Matej Isak

– 144.000 EUR (including VAT).

BAYZ Audio

Hungary

Tel: +36 30 99-88-781

Email: z.bay@BAYZ-audio.eu

Web: www.BAYZ-audio.eu