Is this it? The one component speaker set by which all others will be judged? The one that will reign supreme as its name implies? Or could Morel have bestowed the Supremo 6 its moniker in order to only to sell a pair of really expensive component speakers? Rather than boring you with an intro monologue about Morel and my past experiences, let's jump in with both feet and find out if the Supremo 6 lives up to its name.
Impressions
The Supremo 6 arrived in an impressive looking, yet exceedingly large box that spans nearly 31" across. A semi-flat black sleeve uses cutouts to expose the main corrugated packing box within while also displaying the model number or logo on three sides. Underneath, a larger cutout displays a plaque containing the wealth of technologies incorporated into the system's components along with cut-away views of the speakers. The styling of the box is unique in a way that is fashionable and fitting of a component set costing a whopping $2,199.95.
Remove the black sleeve and you'll find packed within the corrugated skin is yet another box. Grab one of its eyelets and upon lifting its lid you're greeted with the whole shebang: a pair of Supremo woofers, tweeters and sizable passive crossovers. The only items missing from view are the ones lacking visual importance, primarily hardware. A nice showroom arrangement, and yet the substandard cardboard inserts seem inadequate for its expensive contents.
Typically I initiate my product investigation by reaching for a woofer, but the two silver spacecraft casings that bear the -12dB crossover networks drew me in, so I extracted one from the daft cardboard. My first thought was this must be made of lead, noting it had the heft of five to six typical crossovers. Protruding from behind one of the cross members of its cast aluminum chassis is the main culprit - a large, densely wound copper air coil. While sizing up this coil, I came across some other hi-fidelity components more commonly found in nice home audio sets: another good-sized coil, a very large poly capacitor and an expensive Mundorf M-Cap capacitor (part of the highpass). There's also a series of low-tolerance ceramic resistors, some of which are used for attenuation and others in an impedance equalization network.
While the crossover is exemplary, it's said that the success of any audio system starts with the drivers. Like any smart company, Morel drew from one of their finest past designs, the original Supremo tweeter. We reviewed this tweeter in the past and gave it our highest praise for its outstanding performance, but the Supremo's accomplishments were largely afforded by its tremendous size.
The new Supremo Piccolo is a direct derivative of that driver, yet arrives in a much smaller, installer-friendly package. Like its sibling, the Piccolo uses an Acuflex-coated, 28mm silk-dome that, according to Morel, results in "wider dispersion and softer sound characteristics." Also employed is the use of the company's proprietary aluminum Hexatech voice coil - a hexagonal-shaped wire used for the voice coil that interlocks when wound. This leaves virtually no room for air gaps, thereby providing a higher concentration of energy, better heat dissipation and increased power handling.
The under-hung Hexatech voice coil is submerged in another Morel exclusive - a pancake-style neodymium motor assembly. This assembly enables a linear excursion of the voice coil completely within a tightly focused magnetic field, virtually eliminating inter-modulation distortion.
But that's only part of the Piccolo story. The driver's casing is virtually all cast metal, including the cup that makes up the rear acoustic chamber. At the entrance of the acoustic chamber and beneath the 28mm dome is a C.A.R. (Controlled Acoustic Resistance) Filter. The combination of the rear chamber and the C.A.R. Filter all but eliminates unwanted back waves while improving the acoustical loading of the driver. This improves the speaker's dynamic range and transient response while allowing the Piccolo to be crossed over as low as 800Hz.
The last item of note is the input connections. Morel equipped the Piccolo with 12" of Van Den Hul silver-plated linear crystal cables. While it might seem like overkill, it shows a level of dedication that is certainly a byproduct of their hi-end home audio products.