Vanatoo Transparent One Encore powered loudspeaker system

Has Serinus been demoted? You might well ask. This month, instead of reviewing a $58,000 stereo amplifier, I'm tackling a $599 powered loudspeaker system.

Truth be told, I'm always on the lookout for products that deliver outstanding sound at bargain prices. And since I maintain in my living room a modestly priced system built around powered speakers—this in addition to the far costlier system in my dedicated listening room—it's an easy fit for me to evaluate low-priced products in a real-world context. Besides, I've been impressed by Vanatoo's achievements ever since my first encounter with the company's original Transparent One speaker system, at the 2012 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. A bonus, Vanatoo is located relatively close to my home in Port Townsend, Washington: another easy fit!

Genesis of the Transparent One Encore
Vanatoo was founded in 2007 by mechanical engineer and amateur speaker builder Gary Gesellchen and electrical engineer Rick Kernen. Aware that a sea change was happening in audio, both men decided to quit what Gary described as "well paid jobs" to start working on Vanatoo. As Gesellchen explained when he traveled from the company's Seattle-area headquarters to set up my review samples, "I thought I knew enough about speaker design to build a small, affordable system that could pole-vault over the standard of 'doesn't suck.' In fact, we decided that it wouldn't suck by a long shot.

"A lot of things were changing in technology that we thought would disrupt how people were going to get and listen to their music. The iPhone had just come out when we began, people were ditching dial-up modems, and it seemed pretty clear that things were going to change. We expected speakers to go wireless, and the sound of class-D amps to continue to improve. We wanted to come up with an affordable system that would leverage the best of the new technology that was out there."

In 2012, after several years of groundwork-laying, the company's initial product, the now-discontinued Transparent One ($499/pair), premiered. The T1's smaller sibling, the Transparent Zero ($359/pair), arrived in 2017, and the Transparent One Encore (aka T1E) replaced the T1 a year later. Among the T1E's improved features are redesigned drive units, remote control, built-in Bluetooth, bi-amping, a DSP crossover, and a number of user-configurable parameters.

The Transparent One Encore is an active speaker system in which all electronics are housed in one of its two MDF speaker enclosures. Each speaker has a 1" aluminum-dome tweeter, a 5.25" aluminum-cone woofer—custom-made for Vanatoo using a split-gap "XBL" motor licensed by that design's inventor, Dan Wiggins—and a rear-firing 5.25" passive radiator. That last driver is tuned to a lower frequency than would be ideal for a reflex port in a speaker of similar size, while the speaker-output curve is equalized, via digital-signal processing (DSP), to compensate—a design approach Vanatoo calls ClearBass. A proprietary four-conductor, 6m–long cable connects the two units (also available are 2m and 10m lengths). "Most of our users are not audiophiles," Gesellchen declared during our chat. "They can't handle color-coded binding posts and speaker wire, so a simple, dedicated, four-pin connector cable that can only go on one way works best for them."

619vanatoo.bac

A four-channel class-D amplifier, manufactured by D2Audio, provides 100W each for the woofers and 20W each for the tweeters, and works entirely in the digital domain, the D2Audio chipset directly driving the transistors into Pulse-Width Modulation output. That chipset, which has a 24-bit maximum resolution and a sample rate of 48kHz, performs all DSP, including crossover functions, and is addressed by three digital inputs: one S/PDIF coax (RCA), one S/PDIF optical (Toslink), and one USB (type B), all of which accept signals of up to 24 bits/96kHz. Signals appearing on the T1E's analog input (3.5mm), intended for use with a smartphone, phono preamplifier, or other line-level-out device, are converted to digital by a Wolfson A/D converter. The system's wireless input is compatible with Bluetooth SBC and aptX codecs.

Other features include volume, bass, and treble controls; automatic switching to whatever source is playing; AutoSense line-level output for an active subwoofer; remote control; a low-power sleep mode; magnetically attached grilles; and a switch on the speaker containing the electronics to determine whether it is to function as the left- or right-channel speaker in a stereo pair.

Perhaps the only disheartening change from the original T1 to its successor is that the T1's IEC connector, which enabled use of a detachable aftermarket power cable, has been replaced by a hard-wired standard gauge power cord. Because that cord has a nonpolarized two-prong plug, the user can listen, rotate the plug 180°, listen again, and note which orientation produces better sound.

Installation and setup
There are nine different settings that can be customized on the Transparent One Encore, including the system's DSP setting. The T1E's default response curve incorporates a 4–5dB attenuation at 60–125Hz, to compensate for having the speakers less than 2' from walls or room corners—this owing to Vanatoo's perception that most T1E owners don't use speaker stands or otherwise position their speakers with the same care exhibited by audiophiles. But for installations where the speakers won't be so close to room boundaries, the user can switch the DSP equalization from that default (Shelved) to Flat. Also among the customizable settings is the option to disable the system's default Limiter (ie, compressor), without which the user can crank the speakers louder for dancing, distortion be damned.

When Gesellchen installed the T1E system in my irregularly shaped, 14' by 16' living room, he switched its DSP bass setting from Shelved to Flat so I could hear the difference. (Because I keep living-room speakers nearer than 2' from the front wall, he thought that Flat might deliver too much bass.) While I liked Flat on most classical music, bass intensity became a bit overbearing on some pop recordings. Consequently, I went back and forth, depending on material. (The change took 90 seconds.)

In order to compare the sound of the Transparent One Encore system to my reference living-room system, the 10-times-pricier Dynaudio 200 XD class-D powered speakers ($6000/pair)—which process digital signals in a manner similar to the T1E system—I positioned the Vanatoos on the same fixed-height speaker stands. The short distance I maintain between the Dynaudio speakers is mandated mostly by the 2m Nordost digital cable that connects the two enclosures—that and the fact that the right speaker sits perilously close to a propane-fueled fireplace that my husband has been known to turn on full blast without concern for frying the speaker—yet the T1E system's far longer connector cable enabled me to space them almost 6' apart.

I connected my MacBook Pro to the active speaker with the same Nordost Valhalla 2 USB cable I use with the Dynaudios: at $3499.99/m, a disproportionately expensive choice for use with a $599 powered speaker system, but a necessary one for the sake of consistency and a fair comparison. To play Red Book and higher resolution files, and to wirelessly stream Tidal and Qobuz, I used Roon, the best-sounding computer-based playback software I've encountered. Other Roon advantages are its ability to convert DSD to PCM on the fly and to downsample higher resolutions to the 24/96 required by the T1E system. It can also perform the first unfold of Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) files, enabling them to play at 24/96 resolution.

COMPANY INFO
Vanatoo LLC
1600B SW Dash Pt. Rd #51
Federal Way, WA 98023
(855) 771-1161
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
Ortofan's picture

... the Transparent One Encore's DSP to make the output of its drivers time-coincident, as apparently KEF does in their LSX?
https://www.stereophile.com/content/kef-lsx-wireless-loudspeaker-system-measurements

Bogolu Haranath's picture

The Dynaudio Focus 200-XD, JVS compared with, are also DSP controlled time-coincident .......... See Stereophile measurements :-) ...........

Mike Rubin's picture

[Responded to the wrong comment by accident.]

Bogolu Haranath's picture

One more ....... Kii Audio Three loudspeakers (reviewed by Stereophile), are also DSP controlled time-coincident :-) ............

Mike Rubin's picture

I have lots of 24/192, 24/384, and DSD files that can only play through the Vanatoo DAC with downsampling or conversion to PCM, as the case may be. I want to buy a set of powered speakers in this price range for a basement system, but I am finding that it makes the most sense to use an external DAC into analog inputs in order to allow my higher-res files to play natively. That means I am concerned about the quality of powered speaker analog inputs.

Did you try these speakers through the analog input? Also, this particular product only has a 3.5 mm input, which will necessitate an RCA-to-3.5 cable, which will limit cable choice. Are cables with 3.5 mm connectors inherently compromised?

Other readers: which powered bookshelf speakers in the $500-1000 range have you found to have transparency and decent imaging through analog inputs, preferably RCA's?

Ortofan's picture

... Dynaudio Xeo 2 is presently available for $900/pr., down from $1500.
https://www.dynaudio.com/discontinued-models/xeo/xeo-2

https://www.stereophile.com/content/dynaudios-new-xeo-2

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/dynaudio-xeo-2-wireless-loudspeaker/

https://www.avhub.com.au/product-reviews/sound-image/dynaudio-xeo-2-wireless-speakers-review-415505

https://darko.audio/2016/04/punch-a-higher-floor-with-the-dynaudio-xeo-2/

https://www.whathifi.com/dynaudio/xeo-2/review

Mike Rubin's picture

Will look into these.

Kal Rubinson's picture

I have lots of 24/192, 24/384, and DSD files that can only play through the Vanatoo DAC with downsampling or conversion to PCM, as the case may be. I want to buy a set of powered speakers in this price range for a basement system, but I am finding that it makes the most sense to use an external DAC into analog inputs in order to allow my higher-res files to play natively. That means I am concerned about the quality of powered speaker analog inputs.

If you are obsessing about higher resolution and DSD, you are going about it in the wrong way. The analog input on the Vanatoo is re-digitized at 24/48 PCM in order to utilize the DSP crossover and other internal digital functions. Surely, doing that that is a much more disruptive procedure than simple "downsampling or conversion to PCM."

Mike Rubin's picture

I agree that the digitization of the analog inputs sounds more destructive than whatever the DAC inputs do to higher-res files. Is this a universal issue with these particular powered speakers or one that affects all powered speakers? Do you know of any in this price range that keeps the analog signal from the external DAC in the analog domain?

Kal Rubinson's picture

I agree that the digitization of the analog inputs sounds more destructive than whatever the DAC inputs do to higher-res files. Is this a universal issue with these particular powered speakers or one that affects all powered speakers?

Neither. Non-DSP active/powered speakers are basically speakers with their analog amps and analog crossovers internalized and, therefore, keep everything in the analog domain. DSP active/powered speakers depend on digital processing to do crossover and other useful machinations (as with the Vanatoo) but they do that in the digital domain. Thus, it is generally better to feed them with a digital source than an analog source.

Do you know of any in this price range that keeps the analog signal from the external DAC in the analog domain?

There are many small, inexpensive active speakers without DSP but I have no personal experience in that realm.

Mike Rubin's picture

Makes perfect sense. I should have thought this through before asking.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

You could look into the Tannoy Reveal 802 active speakers ....... The signal stays in the analog domain ...... No DSP ........ Now available at Amazon for $200/pair :-) .........

Mike Rubin's picture

Thanks for the suggestion. Will look into these.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

Tannoy Reveal 502 and 402 active speakers are also available at Amazon for even lower price ......... No DSP ........ All analog ....... There are several reviews and answered questions available at Amazon :-) ......

mrkaic's picture

It is strange to think that reviewing a lower price item = demotion. :)

But more importantly, JA could open the boxes and measure the amp section in isolation. Just as any other amplifier. Would be quite informative to those of us who read mostly JA’s measurements and skip the rest.

Kal Rubinson's picture

How would that be informative? The speaker cannot be used without the amps nor can the amps be used without the speaker.

mrkaic's picture

When you have a system, you want to know how its parts behave. The fact that the amp and the speaker are in the same box does not change anything.

Also, I don’t agree that you could not use the amp without the speaker. Take.it out of the box and use it. If nothing else, it would be fun.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

How low can you go? :-) ........

"Limbo Rock" ......... Chubby Checker :-) .......

Kal Rubinson's picture

When you have a system, you want to know how its parts behave. The fact that the amp and the speaker are in the same box does not change anything.

I can understand your curiosity.

Also, I don’t agree that you could not use the amp without the speaker. Take.it out of the box and use it. If nothing else, it would be fun.

OK. Then you can measure the two amps when you do but the task is hard to justify except for idle curiosity.

mrkaic's picture

...but I am a curious guy. And I’m not the only one around here.

Kal Rubinson's picture

Perhaps. I doubt that many are curious about this particular matter.

Bogolu Haranath's picture

In almost all of the active speakers, each individual amplifier is connected to each individual driver in the speaker ....... So, they both are optimized for each other ....... and, both are optimized to the active crossover which is placed before the amplifiers ........ So, all these individual components are optimized to work with each other ....... Each individual amplifier, driver combo is optimized for certain limited frequency ........ Let us say a 50W amp is connected to a tweeter, and a 100W amp is connected a woofer ......... In a DSP speaker a DAC is also included in the package :-) .........

In a passive system, speaker designers try to make their speakers work with as many different amplifiers as possible ........ Same way, amplifier designers try to make their amplifiers work with as many different passive speakers as possible :-) ..........

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