Tag Archives: Stand-mount loudspeaker

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Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4

Posted on by Alan Sircom

The 800 Series is the long-standing jewel within the Bowers & Wilkins crown. The passive loudspeaker vary will get an everyday refresh about each seven or eight years and it constantly improves upon the final iteration. The downside for a lot of, nevertheless, is that the earlier model of the 800 Series was already excellent. Just how significantly better can they get? It was to handle this very query that we ordered a pair of 805 D3 and 805 D4 from Bowers & Wilkins to check.

A fast recap is so as; in contrast to different corporations numbering methods, the numbers run backwards for Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series. The 805, being the smallest within the line, is the one stand-mount loudspeaker to hold an 800 Series badge. Like its greater siblings, the 805 D4 is hand-built in Bowers & Wilkins’ head workplace manufacturing facility advanced in Worthing, on the South Coast of England. The 800 Series can be the cornerstone of the Bowers & Wilkins line; sometimes, the primary to make use of applied sciences developed by the corporate’s R&D workforce.

The Hard Science Club

That phrase ‘R&D workforce’ is regularly chronically overstated in loudspeaker design, as it could actually imply one swivel-eyed man with wild hair, a loudspeaker cookbook, and (possibly) a measuring microphone. However, within the case of Bowers & Wilkins, there’s a workforce of engineers, acousticians, and technologists who do the arduous science elements that assist type the following era of loudspeakers; that ‘subsequent era’ normally begins with the 800 Series and filters down by means of the remainder of the Bowers & Wilkins vary, after which – sometimes when out of patent – to the remainder of the loudspeaker making neighborhood.

The loudspeaker’s headline change is its cupboard, and in some respects, that is the 805 D4 taking part in ‘catch up’ with the developments put into the D3-era floorstanders. Bowers & Wilkins describe this as a ‘reverse wrap’ cupboard; the place the entrance baffle of the D3 was comparatively flat and the cupboard was designed to curve round that baffle, the 805 D4 begins from a strong aluminium backbone and the entire cupboard is curved from there. Not solely does this give the loudspeaker a extra fashionable, elegant, and gently curved entrance, it reduces the profile of the entrance baffle, there by lowering baffle-step issues and enhancing the dispersion properties of the drivers. It additionally considerably will increase the rigidity of the loudspeaker itself.

This new cupboard design additionally means the 805 advantages extra from Bowers & Wilkins enormous presses in its Worthing manufacturing facility. The earlier MDF-braced pressed ply cupboard now a completely layered, glued and fashioned plywood enclosure and bracing system. This permits the 805 D4 to make use of improved inner chambering, each on the rear of the mid-bass unit and for the crossover itself, and Bowers & Wilkins’ aforementioned R&D workforce (I desire ‘Band of Boffins’) have rubbed their accelerometers over each floor of that cupboard to optimise inner quantity and management air strain throughout the front-firing ported stand-mount.

Into the Continuum

Larger fashions in Bowers & Wilkins’ newest 800 Series use the brand new Biomimetic Suspension drivers, the place a composite suspension system replaces the normal cone spider. However, the 805 D4 retains a model the 165mm ‘Continuum Cone’ mid-bass driver from its D3 predecessor. It’s not merely final era’s cone, nevertheless, because it has a brand new voice coil and former. It can be now mounted on an aluminium plate on the rear of the cupboard.

The purpose for not utilizing a Biomimetic Suspension driver is easy; these new items lack the cone tour of Fixed Suspension Transducer/Continuum Cone designs. In bigger, a number of bass cone methods that want for further tour goes away, however in a two-way stand-mount, utilizing Biomimetic Suspension drivers would spell lighter bass.

Spider apart, the supplies utilized in each ‘Biomimetic Suspension’ and ‘Continuum Cone’ drivers stay equivalent… and a closely-guarded commerce secret. Bowers & Wilkins holds the key in the identical secure the place the recipes for KFC and Coca-Cola and the method for Krabby Patty burgers are stored. This secrecy is comprehensible; the corporate’s iconic woven yellow Kevlar cone turned the topic of in depth rip-offs and clones and that’s a destiny to not be repeated with subsequent drivers.

All we are able to say is it’s not yellow, it took years to develop, the cone materials manages to be stiff in all the appropriate locations and but versatile when required, which means cone break-up modes are without delay much less abrupt and pushed additional out of band. Bowers & Wilkins used Kevlar for years with good purpose; however this silvery-white wanting woven materials that changed it brings all the advantages of Kevlar to the desk, and provides numerous advantages of its personal, making it a tough act to comply with for Bowers & Wilkins rivals.

Similarly, the 25mm diamond dome tweeter is much like the items that has been put in in 800 Series fashions for the final 15 years, with Bowers & Wilkins taking a realistic ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t repair it’ method. However, the 805 D4’s tweeter has two stronger magnets as a substitute of the three within the D3, giving it extra room to breathe. This offers the 805 D4 a frequency response as much as a bat-eared 35kHz.

However, as soon as once more it’s the housing that’s modified… and adjusted for the higher. The strong tweeter pod that the motive force sits in is an extended, machined from strong aluminium, tapered tube. The 30cm lengthy tube sits virtually completely decoupled on a Connolly leather-clad solid aluminium prime plate, as distinct from the picket prime panel of its predecessor.

Hits the spot

Sonically, this loudspeaker hits the spot quick. The most rapid factor that pulls you in is the bass; for a small loudspeaker supposed for small to medium rooms, there’s a wholesome quantity of gut-pounding, quick, deep, chunky bass firing at you.

Depending in your musical tastes, one of many first tracks you’ll play by means of these loudspeakers will mirror that bottom-end gruntiliciousness. I went with the title monitor from Infected Mushroom’s 2005 I’m The Supervisor [Resist], however it might simply as simply been a monitor by Rammstein, The Prodigy, Orbital, The Chemical Brothers or Leftfield. I performed it loud and highly effective by means of a Burmester 911 Mk 3 energy amp and it didn’t disappoint. Those bass notes come thick and quick right here, they usually might pose a near-existential risk to a ported two-way; on the very least, they arrive quick sufficient to choke up the port, turning exact deep beats right into a extra damaged virtually flatulent sound. The 805 D4, nevertheless, takes this in its stride, sounding each inch the larger loudspeaker. Close your eyes and there’s a bigger floorstander bringing the ruckus, within the course of producing a transparent and detailed presentation of what passes for delicate bass textures within the techno onslaught.

Bowers & Wilkins is just not undermining the legal guidelines of physics right here, and it isn’t dishonest with the 805 D4. There are pure limits to the bass of a two-way stand-mount loudspeaker, however what the 805 D4 does so properly is push these limits with out sacrificing efficiency. It’s not that it makes artificially deep bass, it’s that so many equally specified loudspeakers pull their punches on the backside finish; both going for a mid-bass ‘elevate’ at round 80Hz or simply sounding bass gentle. The 805 D4 has adequate bass vitality to ship clear and highly effective bass down into the sub-40Hz area, and that’s spectacular in its personal proper.

Once you relax and start to play much less hyperactive music, the standard of this loudspeaker shines by means of. It’s not merely a bass machine, however what drew you to the spectacular bass holds elsewhere. The soundstage is large and deep and terribly strong, particularly when you think about it is a stand-mount. This appears to carry even when the music will get advanced and orchestral; it’s comparatively simple to have three or 4 jazz musicians [Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note] sound rooted in area, however this will get so much tougher to do when coping with entire string sections [Solti/LSO, Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, Decca]. However, the 805 D4 presents a strong, giant, and open soundstage irrespective of the music. I suppose the cupboard is making this comparatively giant stand-mount act like a small point-source.

 

Honest to the restrict

We’ve come to count on Bowers & Wilkins loudspeakers to be sincere transducers, with loads of element and never a lot in the best way of unevenness within the frequency response, however the 805 D4 takes these ideas to their current limits; and throws in a cupboard with a few of the lowest coloration I’ve (not) heard and an absence of driver distortion that makes it sound extra like you’re direct injecting music into your ears with no middleman. Honesty with out sounding ‘stark’ is all the time good to search out and the 805 D4 does it with such allure many might be gained over. You hear this most clearly with feminine vocals [‘Heart Like a Wheel’ from Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Warner] and solo pianos [Schiff, Beethoven Piano Sonatas, ECM]; the purity of tone from each will be masked by cupboard and driver alike however right here it will get near electrostatic ranges of readability. This is doubly intelligent in a two-way design as there isn’t any midrange driver to assist ship that sonic readability.

Perhaps most significantly, the 805 D4 has a way of enjoyable to its sound. Not comedy or clowning round… simply music is meant to be pleasant and it definitely is thru these loudspeakers. There’s a continuum (cone-related pun not supposed) in speaker efficiency, with ‘worthy, however boring’ at one finish and ‘excitable to the purpose of being unhinged’ on the different. Traditionally, Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series fashions tended towards the previous as a result of honesty ought to reign supreme. The 805 D4 loses nothing within the honesty stakes, however positive factors some enjoyable and pleasure alongside the best way.

There are some observations to be made right here. First, issue these stands into the equation; sure, different stands can be found however Bowers & Wilkins personal make a helpful contribution to the sonic efficiency of the 805 D4. Next is the ability difficulty; though the 805 D4 is much less power-hungry than its predecessor, it’s nonetheless a loudspeaker that wants some high quality and amount behind it. The benefit to the present model of the 805 is if you happen to short-change it within the amplifier stakes, it can have a tendency towards mushy and straightforward on the ear; examine this to the earlier model that goes within the different course and sounds arduous and edgy when underwhelmingly partnered. This does imply a loudspeaker with one thing like a ‘energy band’; whereas it’s good at whisper quiet and ear-punishing alike, it actually shines in that candy spot the place listening is ‘comfortably loud’.

Climbing off the fence

Normally, I have a tendency to take a seat on the fence in terms of modifications from one model to a different; there may be typically an enchancment with every iteration, however it’s normally not so massive as to make the earlier version sound unhealthy. There are a couple of exceptions, nevertheless, and the 805 D4 is likely one of the greatest. The 805 D3 is a superb loudspeaker, and you may see and listen to why it was so standard… proper up till the second you hook up a pair of 805 D4. It takes all of the issues the 805 D3 does proper and makes them so much higher.

The change is just not clichéd veil lifting, however what occurs within the run-up to visiting the optician for a check-up; you spend a couple of months with almost the appropriate optical prescription after which are wowed as you get fitted with lenses good for you. That second of sonic readability and focus you get from the D4 within the wake of the D3 is putting. It’s value restating that the 805 D3 is an especially competent and good sounding loudspeaker, however it’s totally outclassed by its progeny.

Sometimes a change is little greater than a step, however within the Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 it’s a large leap. Whether or not you comply with the fortunes of the little reference speaker from the model, the Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 has entered the race as among the finest stand-mount loudspeakers in audio proper now.

Technical specs

  • Type two-way bass reflex stand-mount loudspeaker
  • Drivers 25mm diamond-dome tweeter; 165mm Continuum mid/bass woofer
  • Frequency Response 42Hz to 28kHz (+/-3dB from reference axis)
  • Impedance 8-ohm nominal; 4.6-ohm minimal
  • Sensitivity 88dB (2.83V/1m)
  • Finishes Gloss Black, White, Satin Rosenut, Satin Walnut
  • Dimensions (H×W×D) 44 × 24 × 37.3cm
  • Weight 15.5kg
  • Price £7,000 per pair (FS 805 D4 stands £1,250 per pair

Manufacturer

Bowers & Wilkins

www.bowerswilkins.com

+44(0)800 232 1513

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The publish Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 appeared first on Hi-Fi+.

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Rogers Classic LS5/9 SE

Posted on by Jason Kennedy

The story goes that Rogers’ designer Andy Whittle was wanting round for good materials to make a devoted stand for his LS3/5A, essentially the most iconic of BBC-designed loudspeakers and got here throughout Panzerholz. This is a hardcore model of plywood the place the glue is changed with resin, and the result’s an especially high-density materials that’s so in contrast to common wooden that it’s bulletproof and sinks in water. But it’s the density that appealed to Whittle who, whereas growing a Panzerholz stand has discovered one other utility that needs to be much more helpful to these desirous to make their music sound higher; loudspeaker cupboards.

The Classic LS5/9 SE is an upgraded model of Rogers’ normal model with a Panzerholz entrance baffle. The excessive rigidity and self-damping qualities of this materials make it eminently nicely suited to an utility the place you need to minimise vibration and thus cut back coloration. It’s solely 9mm thick just like the common birch ply model, however Panzerholz is so stiff that it’s not possible to bend this panel along with your arms, which – as anybody who has picked up a bit of 9mm ply will know – is kind of shocking.

Despite this variation, the SE model nonetheless qualifies as a licensed BBC design. In different phrases, utilizing this materials for the baffle is just not a sufficiently big change for it to be outdoors the specification. The cupboard is in any other case as per the usual design with birch ply building and a recessed entrance baffle that creates a body for the Tygan cloth grille to take a seat in, albeit there are squares of Velcro to maintain it there.

This reflex-loaded loudspeaker has a front-firing port and a tag strip with a soldered jumper for organising driver output on the entrance; that’s manufacturing facility arrange fairly than in‑room. The tweeter sits behind a perforated metal brass cowl initially conceived to guard the tender dome from harm when the speaker was moved round. It additionally supplies a level of added dispersion and helps the treble to flee the recessed baffle. The tweeter is a big 34mm Audax unit that Rogers customises to offer better section accuracy. It crosses over to the Rogers mid/bass driver at 3kHz which is excessive for a tweeter of this dimension however displays the classic of the design.

Vinyl reflections

The cone on the primary driver is polypropylene and has a vinyl encompass; this latter could be very uncommon and one other aspect of the BBC spec. The attraction of the fabric is that it’s stiffer than rubber. The disadvantage is that it takes the unit about half an hour to heat up earlier than it sounds its greatest. Rogers has upgraded the crossover for this SE model with mud iron cores within the inductors fairly than ferrite, a costlier strategy that’s stated to lead to a extra pure sound.

For anybody who, like me, has questioned what designations like LS5/9 imply I requested Andy Whittle to elucidate: “These numbers are the BBC’s coded tools format. In this, cupboards have the prefix ‘CT’, filters ‘FL’, and loudspeakers ‘LS’, therefore the primary two letters. Figure ‘3’ within the code signifies that the design is primarily for out of doors broadcast (OB) use. A determine ‘5’ would imply studio broadcasting, as in LS5/9. The quantity ‘9’ after the stroke is the mannequin quantity.” It’s not the obvious approach to describe a two-way with an eight-inch driver, however there may be an administrative – if bureaucratic – logic behind the numbers.

The LS5/9 is what the BBC designated a grade 1 monitor for its capacity to ship low coloration and deal with energy, rendering it appropriate for crucial broadcast work. The LS3/5A, by comparability, was a grade 2 design principally created for out of doors broadcast vehicles and with out the bandwidth on supply from this bigger design. It’s not monumental at 18 inches excessive however has ample quantity and an eight-inch predominant driver making it able to respectable sound stress ranges for its dimension. I fairly just like the 4mm sockets supplied for speaker cables; they appear nice and as there’s not a lot steel concerned ought to sound higher than chunky terminals. Those with naked wires should discover some match sticks!

As the Panzerholz stands weren’t prepared when these audio system arrived I used a pair of 55cm Solid Steel stands that Andy felt have been one of the best dimension for the Classic LS5/9 SE. After a little bit of experimentation with placement it grew to become clear that one of the best tonal stability was achieved with the audio system near the rear wall and toed in to an extent however not a lot as to be immediately on-axis to the listening place. Amplification consisted of a Townshend Allegri Reference preamp and Moor Amps Angel 6 energy amp for almost all of the listening. However, as you’ll learn I tried another energy amp with a powerful Class A bias for among the time too. These Rogers audio system sound like displays since they’re robust on element and don’t easy over the shortcomings of less-than-naturally balanced recordings. In different phrases, they’re revealing to an extent that highlights overly ‘scorching’ or compressed productions; being initially designed for broadcast monitoring they don’t have the ‘sweetened’ voicing discovered with many fashionable loudspeakers.

Mind Ecology

I haven’t hung out with many BBC designs, however this one definitely lets the sound escape from the field higher than these I’ve. It’s nonetheless not as open as one of the best fashionable alternate options however combines monitor-style transparency with the size of picture very properly. Their strongest swimsuit is the midrange which helps you to revel within the qualities of any voice, sax or violin you care to take heed to. Lyrical intelligibility is exceptionally excessive due to the decision right here, and the advantages of a barely lean stability turn into apparent. They are additionally taut and pacey which isn’t a typical attribute of the style. Put on one thing with vitality and tempo like Shakti’s ‘Mind Ecology’ [Natural Elements], and also you get a rush of thrilling music that’s managed but very thrilling.

Rogers Classic LS5/9 SE

But then I placed on the Doobie Brothers’ ‘What A Fool Believes’ [Minute by Minute] and was carried away by the angelic qualities of Michael McDonald’s voice. This is probably not a sweet-sounding speaker by nature, but when that sweetness is within the recording you understand all about it.

The Classic LS5/9 SE is just not an apparent selection for these after a visceral sound, however they will ship it with gusto, I attempted Massive Attack and Christian Scott, and in each circumstances, the craze and ferocity have been instantly evident. What did shock me was the bass extension on the previous’s ‘Man Next Door’ [Mezzanine] which was far decrease and extra stable than anticipated for a speaker of this dimension. It was actually deep and muscular and gave me a brand new respect for the design and this explicit iteration of it. The Panzerholz have to be a major issue right here in addition to within the sense of immediacy that this SE model can produce. Andy solely talked about the sense of openness that it brings. He didn’t warn me that the couch would begin to vibrate.

Coffee, tea or MP3

The fairly ahead nature of Esperanza Spalding’s ‘Ebony and Ivy’ [Emily’s D-Evolution] was additionally evident however so have been the varied layers within the recording. The sound right here jogged my memory of ATC loudspeakers due to its ‘warts and all’ evaluation mixed with pace, and the excessive degree of element permits the lyrics and the lyricist’s voice to be totally appreciated. Still, there’s no getting away from the try at making the monitor sound radio-friendly.

I thought of the truth that Rogers is making a pentode valve amplifier known as the E20a II, an built-in that options design enter from Audio Note UK’s Andy Grove, and this acquired me pondering that perhaps an amplifier with comparable traits can be the best way to go together with the Classic LS5/9 SE. So I attempted the CAAS Elysian 100 Mono-block energy amps with them. These are solid-state amps, however the first 20 of their 100 Watts are delivered in Class A, and as few of us not often use extra energy than that they’ve a distinctly Class A sound.

This hunch proved appropriate, and the sound grew to become sweeter, smoother and flowed properly. The bass lacked grip by comparability, however the trade-off was price it as a result of these amps matched the audio system so nicely that it proved very laborious to press pause.

Rogers has proved with the Classic LS5/9 SE you could replace an iconic design with out shedding the qualities which have allowed it to endure for half a century. This is a outstanding achievement and ends in an equally outstanding loudspeaker, little question about it.

Technical specs

  • Type 2-way, two-driver stand-mount monitor with front-ported bass reflex enclosure
  • Driver complement One 34mm dome tweeter, one 210mm polypropylene mid-bass driver with vinyl encompass.
  • Frequency response Not specified
  • Crossover frequency 3kHz (third order)
  • Impedance 8 Ohms
  • Sensitivity 87dB/W/m
  • Dimensions (H×W×D) 460 × 275 × 285mm
  • Weight 12kg/every
  • Finishes walnut, amazaque, olive, rosewood.
  • Price £5,599/pair (walnut, amazaque, olive),
    £5,899/pair (rosewood)

Manufacturer

Rogers International UK Ltd

www.rogers-hifi.uk

+44 (0)333 533 0135

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The submit Rogers Classic LS5/9 SE appeared first on Hi-Fi+.

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Aretai Contra 100S

Posted on by Jason Kennedy

The Hanseatic League was a form of proto–European Union that started in the mid fourteenth century and lasted for over 300 years (I wonder if the current one will last as long). It was formed by cities in Germany and around the Baltic Sea and stretched from Bruges right round to Turku in Finland and Bergen in Norway and created for trading purposes; the cities involved have remained wealthy to this day. One of them is Riga in Latvia and this is where loudspeaker maker Aretai is based.

The Contra 100S is Aretai’s only bookshelf speaker and the entry-level model in a three-strong range where all the models are distinguished by a white tweeter horn sitting on top of a contrasting black cabinet. On the Contra 100S, this horn is 157mm (about six inches) in diameter and the way it’s built into the top of the otherwise rectilinear cabinet is particularly well done. It looks as though there is a channel carved out of the flat top of the box in which the back of the horn sits; a job that would have been easier to achieve by cutting the cylindrical horn body in half and placing it atop the box. But this is why when you glance at the price and size of this speaker it looks a little ‘spendy’, but the detailing is perfect across the board and some of the details are not immediately apparent.

Back and front

The first thing you spot when looking around it is that there is another driver on the back which is identical to the front firing cone. It turns out that this is the bass driver in a two-and-a-half-way sealed box design. Both drivers sit in a shallow horn achieved by machining the MDF if that’s what it is, the Aretai website is rather scant on detail for such a detail obsessed company. The company must be ‘young’ because there’s more info on social media and thankfully the distributor Val Hi-Fi has the specs to hand.

The Contra 100S has a built-in plinth that angles the cabinet upwards but is separated by a vibration decoupling pad that provides a degree of isolation from whatever surface it sits on. This could be a speaker stand or a desktop according to Aretai who would probably like to get this speaker into studios among other places but show them on a (presumably) quite large desk in some of their literature.

Aretai 100S

The horn that surrounds the tweeter was developed to aid dispersion and increase sensitivity but is shallow to avoid the negative characteristics found with some conventional horns, such as beaming and a cuppiness. The tweeter itself is a large ring radiator type that could theoretically be used down to around 2.5kHz but Aretai founder/designer Jānis Irbe has put the crossover point much higher at around 6kHz. He has however allowed tweeter and the mid/bass unit below it to roll off gently so that there is more overlap between the two than usual. The mid/bass and bass drivers are six inches in diameter and run polypropylene cones, I’m told that they were selected for their “extremely low THD and IMD distortion values and very smooth breakup characteristics”.

Jānis’ background is in IT, but he clearly has had the hi-fi bug for a long time and spent seven years researching the ‘virtues’ of the perfect loudspeaker before launching the company in 2018. The name comes from Aretaic theory, which argues that laws should be created that bring out human virtues. This seems like a good idea if a bit challenging to execute effectively.

Jānis has come up with a (figurative and literal) sound concept to encompass what he is trying to achieve with Aretai, and this includes purity of sound and minimal yet expressive design where sound follows form, room energising sound at that. He agrees with PMC and others when it comes to direct and indirect sound, since both need to be the same if the sum that you hear is to be coherent. That is the sound that hits the room boundaries before it gets to your ears should have the same balance as that which has a direct path. Another laudable point that Jānis makes is that Aretai products are sustainable; making them largely out of wood goes a good way toward that goal, as does the use of purely cardboard packaging.

The overall sensitivity of the Contra 100S is 85dB with a four Ohm impedance so it’s not the most efficient of designs, but Jānis says that good results can be had with a range of amplifiers including single ended triodes, although solid-state amps will naturally get the best bass performance from them. The cable terminals are high quality single wire types as standard, but the option exists to have tri-wire terminals for those looking for maximum control.

There are various finish options too including veneer in matte or gloss finish, but the black paint finish contrasts particularly well with the white horn.

Sound quality

UK distributor Greg Chapman of VAL Hi-Fi brought the Contra 100S over with a pair of Solid Steel SS-5 three-legged stands which he said are a little short for my listening position, but he likes the way the speakers sound on them. Listening started with the Aretai being driven by a Moor Amps Angel 6 power amplifier with the speakers placed about a foot from the wall which worked well for the mid and treble, but the bass was a little boxy on some tracks. That said Joni Mitchell’s voice sounded rather good on ‘The Man I Love’ and the bass on Kraftwerk’s ‘Radioactivity’ had more gravitas than expected for a box of this scale, the reverb on the live mix giving real depth to the soundstage. Moving the Aretai closer to the wall meant that the soundstage got bigger, but the bass didn’t really change which was surprising, having an active rear bass driver clearly brings benefits in terms of control. Deadmau5’s ‘Seeya’ was delivered with real spatial precision at high levels without any sense of glare or hardness, a characteristic that was to become more apparent the further the listening went on. Aretai favour pro drivers which are generally designed to cope with higher playback levels without distortion and this certainly came through.

Aretai 100S

To get more mid and treble from the Contra 100S I put them on some higher 60cm stands from Custom Design, my listening seat is a little higher than average and this stand brought notable improvements in image precision. The scale and depth that the Aretai found on a number of albums was impressive but Brokeback’s Looks at the Bird was particularly good in this respect, with the bass and electric guitars sounding unusually articulate with plenty of low-level detail. Crosby, Stills and Nash’s ‘Helplessly Hoping’ didn’t have as much scale as I expected but this is probably a realistic reflection of the recording whose strength lies in its tonal beauty as much as the quality of performance. Massive Attack’s ‘Man Next Door’ has become a go to for assessing bass extension and power and these relatively compact speakers delivered more weight than most thanks to that active rear bass driver. But it’s the mid and treble that provide the powerful sense of presence in the vocal, something that’s not affected by the deep thump of the drum and the general air of menace that the band managed to capture so effectively.

The bass is also pleasingly tuneful and strong, the Grateful Dead’s ‘Cumberland Blues’ is a fabulous live track, but the bass line frequently gets lost in the organised mayhem that erupts when the singing stops and two guitarists, a pianist and a drummer get busy. It can usually be heard if you make the effort but often gets masked by louder sounds, this was not the case with these black and white beauties, they give you the depth and the power that many other speakers seem unable to find in the recording. This could be because they were a little close to the wall and the bass was reinforced but whatever the reason the result was rather good, especially if you wind up the wick. My chamber music piece of the moment, which has become quite a long moment I realise, is the Engegård Quartet’s take on Haydn’s String Quartets which these speakers reproduced in an attractively natural fashion, placing the musicians behind the cabinets and providing a perspective that was wholly convincing. A more recent recording of the eight strong Locrian Ensemble made by Mike ‘Chasing the Dragon’ Valentine on valve mics in front of the editor and myself was a lot more relaxed and open, getting close to the result we heard in the Henry Wood Hall a couple of weeks earlier. Which given how good it sounded there is an achievement of note.

Again imaging was a highpoint with this piece, these speakers gave a good sense of the scale of the location and likewise of the instruments being played which were modern rather than ‘original’ as is often the case with chamber pieces. Comparing the Aretai with an admittedly more affordable pair of speakers was a bit like contrasting an oil painting with a cartoon. There is a depth of detail that is very agreeable and this is apparent with pretty well any type of music.

I also tried a lower powered amplifier in the form of Rega’s Elex-R integrated, which while a little bit too affordable to be a likely partner for the Aretai does have many excellent qualities and not just for its price. One of them is excellent communication skills which these speakers were more than happy to exploit when Nina Simone is on the turntable, her voice on ‘’Don’t Smoke in Bed’ is perfect, full of feeling and sad beauty. This despite the dual mono nature of this particular version making it sound even older than it is. I played quite a lot of vinyl through a couple of phono stages and the Aretai made it absolutely clear that there were significant differences between them. One being warm and relaxed and the other distinctly more focussed and precise, as ever when presented with two extremes like this the tendency is to want something in between. Such is the odious nature of comparisons.

Aretai 100S

Playing vinyl through these monochrome speakers was a very enjoyable experience however, Ryley Walker’s ‘I Will Ask You Twice’ being deliciously relaxed, warm and inviting through them, which encouraged further listening of this and many other albums. The acoustic guitars and voice being the standout elements thanks to the effortless nature of the Aretai’s midrange and treble. This is in many ways the key strength of these speakers, their ability to deliver detail, extension and scale in a relaxed fashion from a compact enclosure. It means that they will lay down a banging beat in powerful fashion without becoming aggressive or losing coherence and that live recordings can be reproduced in surprisingly convincing fashion if said recordings are of a high enough calibre. Ryan Adams encourages fans (if he still has any – Ed) to record his concerts in much the same way that the Grateful Dead did, and many of them can be found on the Archive website. One in particular, Live at Das Haus, is exceptional and with a speaker like this fills the room with energy and sound to fabulous effect. It makes you wonder why more official releases aren’t as good.

Conclusion

Aretai has its own take on loudspeaker design and aesthetics. The use of a shallow horn allows the tweeter to deal with higher sound pressures without difficulty and the use of two bass drivers gives what is a fairly compact box more low end fire power than usual. They are a little more tricky to position than average as a result of that rear driver and need more space than similarly sized bookshelf models but the resulting sound is attractively easy on the ear. Combine this with the appealingly post modern styling of the Contra 100S and you have a loudspeaker that’s ready to make its mark in a competitive market.

Technical specifications

  • Type 2.5-way, three-driver stand-mount monitor with infinite baffle enclosure
  • Driver complement One 45mm tweeter, one 150mm mid-bass driver, 150mm bass driver
  • Frequency response 32Hz–30kHz
  • Crossover frequency 6kHz
  • Impedance 4 Ohms
  • Sensitivity 85dB/W/m
  • Dimensions (H×W×D) 420 × 214 × 250mm (including plinth)
  • Weight 15kg/each
  • Finishes black semi-matt enclosure finish with pearl white waveguide
  • Price £7,250 per pair

Manufacturer

Aretai

URL: aretai.com

Tel: +371 2922 3823

UK Distributor

VAL HiFi

valhifi.co.uk

+44(0)333 577 2005

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ELAC Solano BS 283

Posted on by Simon Lucas

If nothing else, you’ve got to admire how concise ELAC’s Solano range of loudspeakers is. One floorstander (FS 287), one centre channel (CC 281) and one stand-mounter (this BS 283) – and that’s your lot. None of your ‘slightly larger cabinet/a few more drivers’ padding until a range comprises six or seven models nonsense. The brevity of the Solano line-up speaks of confidence. So does the binary choice of high-gloss black or high-gloss white as finishes. Can’t build a suitably great-sounding stereo pair or home theatre surround-sound system from these three models? ELAC, I’m pretty sure, thinks the problem is with you rather than the other way around.

At £1,449 per pair, the Solano BS 283 are far from the priciest product in ELAC’s catalogue. But despite selling for what is a relatively modest amount, the company hasn’t made an overt attempt to economise. Certainly no one seems to have had budget uppermost in their minds when they specified the complement of drivers. ELAC’s widely celebrated, visually dramatic and wantonly high-performance JET5 concertinaed foil membrane tweeter sits above a 150mm mid/bass driver of the company’s preferred ‘aluminium sandwich’ type – both are hand-crafted and assembled in Kiel, Germany. The former has a claimed frequency response of 50kHz (which puts any potenital uneveness way beyond human ears), while the latter seeks to combine its metal’s torsional rigidity with the transient capabilities of a cellulose alternative. Crossover between the two occurs at the quotidian figure of 2.4kHz.

 

Suitably Chunky

Aluminium baskets hold the drivers in a rounded-off rectangle of a cabinet that’s a combination of MDF and lustrous, beautifully applied lacquer. At the rear are biwire binding posts of suitably chunky dimensions, while the bottom of the cabinet is raised a few millimetres above a metal plinth (to give the downward-facing bass reflex port space to do its thing). At 331 × 190 × 248mm (hwd) the BS 283 is a workaday, and consequently quite manageable, size – and its configuration promises an easy-going nature as far as positioning is concerned. With sensitivity of 85dB and nominal 4 ohm impedance, it doesn’t threaten to be all that troublesome, either.

ELAC Solano BS 283

Of course, JET5 tweeter aside, there are any number of similarly specified, similarly priced and similarly sized stand-mounting speakers vying for your attention. Many companies have a shiny, well-turned out dog in this particular fight. Really, the only meaningful way in which ELAC can expect the Solano BS 283 to stand out from the crowd is with the quality of its sound.

For the purposes of this test, the ELACs are given a fighting chance by being a) positioned securely on top of a pair of Atacama Moseco 6 stands and b) attached to a Naim NAP100 power amp via a couple of lengths of QED XT400 speaker cable with Airloc Forte plugs at either end. Sources into the amp include the matching UnitiQute 2 streamer/pre-amp accessing Buffalo network-attached storage, a Cambridge Audio Alva TT turntable (attached via both its always-on phono stage and aptX Bluetooth) and a Cyrus i9 XR CD player. QED Reference Audio 40 is used for both analogue connections into the pre-amp and also from pre-amp to power amp.

A Japanese pressing of Paul Simon’s There Goes Rhymin’ Simon [CBS/Sony] using a hard connection from turntable to pre-amp ought to be a gimme for a pair of speakers with the BS 283’s aspirations – and, to no small extent, that’s how it proves. Certainly the ELAC absolutely lap up the painstaking, detail-drenched recording, happily identifying even the finest harmonic variances and reporting back on them in full. Rhythmic expression is very satisfying too – the ELAC understand the polite, knowingly inhibited grooves and syncopations of the album and can describe their motivations eloquently. This is a very-little-expense-spared state-of-the-analogue-art recording that even at fifty years’ distance sounds upmarket and sophisticated – and it sounds no less luxurious for being delivered by the BS 238.

 

Absence of Silence

High-end response is, unsurprisingly, deeply impressive. Treble sounds are crisply rendered, detail-heavy and informative on every level. We may not be able to hear to the top of the tweeter’s claimed extension, but that peculiar ‘absence of silence’ sensation whenever a sound is played at a frequency above the range of hearing is evident from time to time. And at the opposite end of the frequency range, there’s control, straight-edged precision and, again, a level of information served up regarding texture that borders on the torrential.

In between, Simon’s vocal – recorded (or so it sounds) from no distance whatsoever, and with his disinclination to raise his voice even slightly more apparent than perhaps at any other time in his career – communicates in spades. All of the details of technique are apparent (both of his and his recording engineer’s), as are his quirks of diction.

There’s precious little temperature in the Solanos’ delivery, however. This LP should be the sonic equivalent of a nice relaxing bath – but the ELAC’s precision and neutrality makes listening to this album less of a tranquil soak. ‘Neutrality’ is all well and good in a loudspeaker, as is a desire to stick one’s oar in as little as possible. But the BS 283 is so ‘honest’; how you react to such neutrality is a bit like thinking about Switzerland; do you summon up visions of watches, banks and chocolates, or start recalling the ‘Cuckoo Clock’ speech from The Third Man?

ELAC Solano BS 283

Admirably, the ELACs don’t alter their stance one iota. A switch to a 24bit/96kHz file of Public Enemy’s By the Time I Get to Arizona [Def Jam] ups the dynamism quotient considerably, along with the brittleness and scuzziness count at the same time. The ELACs peer deep into the relatively rough and chaotic mix, and return with all kinds of worthwhile insights. They preserve the implacable attack of the rhythm track, avoiding lumpiness and instead giving proper expression to the gimpy momentum that’s intended. And yes, they serve all this good stuff up without any overt displays of emotion. It’s not every loudspeaker that can cut through the ruckus to make Public Enemy sound like master craftsmen, but then it’s becoming increasingly obvious the ELAC BS 238 are not every loudspeaker.

 

Any Music You Like

Try any music you like, from any source you like – and during the course of this testing we ran through a reasonably wide selection, from a 180g vinyl reissue of Scott Walker’s Scott 2 [UMG] through a compact disc copy of Patti Smith Group’s Easter [Arista] to a 24bit/192kHz stream of Giant Swan’s punishing Bring Back Fives [Howling Owl] – and you won’t get the ELACs to amend their position even a little. If you want a sort of sonic equivalent of verbatim reportage, an examination of a recording down to an almost molecular level, you won’t go wrong here. And if you like this sort of behaviour with a big serving of rhythmic positivity and surefootedness, that’s even better. The ELAC BS 238 make a mighty strong case for themselves – and in the process they do a fine job of differentiating themselves from the multitude.

No one is ever going to ‘plunge’ into ELAC Solano BS 238 ownership because these loudspeakers are not made for such people who act on impulse. Instead, they appeal to your less base instincts. This is the perfect choice for the studied listener. The ELACs simply do what they do with utmost precision and accuracy and the BS 238 make their attitude obvious right from the off. If you share this ‘detail and accuracy are paramount’ approach, the cerebral ELAC Solano BS 238 is the logical loudspeaker choice.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

  • Type: two-way; bass reflex port
  • Driver complement: 1 × JET5 tweeter;
    1 × 150mm mid/bass driver
  • Frequency response: 41Hz–50kHz
  • Crossover frequency: 2400Hz
  • Impedance: 4 Ohms nominal
    (3.2 Ohms minimum)
  • Sensitivity: 85dB/W/m
  • Dimensions (H×W×D): 331 × 190 × 248mm
  • Weight: 8 kg/each
  • Finishes: High gloss white; high gloss black
  • Price: £1,449/pair

Manufacturer: ELAC Electroacustic

URL: elac.com

UK Distributor: Hi-Fi Network

URL: hifi-network.com

Tel: +44(0)1285 643088

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