Impressively full-range sound was the hallmark of a fine system dominated by Aequo Audio's new three-driver Ensium speakers with active, room-corrected bass ($44,900/pair, or approx. $40,000/pair in the passive version). Connected by AudioQuest cabling (approx. $100,000), with Aequo's own Ferroguard power cables ($4100) for the woofers, the Dutch company's speakers absolutely sang. As I discovered from playing musical chairs, the sound was at its best in the front row; there, on Yello's "Till Tomorrow," colors were the most saturated and involving.
Audio show demos too often focus on sonic allure and visceral wows rather than emotional connection. (Not that these are mutually exclusive.) When I was handed the controls and cued up Sandrine Piau's gorgeous rendition of a Loewe song, I discovered how moving this system could be.
The Ensium's cabinet is made from Diluvite, a nanotech material Aequo says is twice as stiff as aluminum with 10 times its damping properties. According to co-owner/designer Ivo Sparidaens and general manager Paul Rassin, Diluvite converts vibration into heat on a nano scale, allowing the just ¼" thick walls to be "totally inert," with no resonance from 1Hz to 100kHz.
The Ensiums, which have no parallel walls, are cast in two halves for ease of assembly. The acoustic center of each driver is claimed to be equidistant from the listener. Described as a "bass-assisted, three-way, three-driver floorstanding loudspeaker with front reflex port," the system includes a 500W onboard amplifier with Bruno Putzeys's latest Hypex class-D technology. There is no DSP; correction is performed solely in the analog domain. The speakers, rated 90dB sensitive at 8 ohms, weigh 220lb each. Claimed in-room response is 16Hz–45kHz (–3dB), with impedance never dropping below 6 ohms.
The rest of this excellent system consisted of a Taiko Audio Extreme server ($30,000), a Playback Designs MPT-8 transport ($20,000) and MPD-8 DAC ($26,000), a VPI Avenger Direct turntable ($40,000) with DS Audio Master 3 cartridge ($9500), a WestminsterLab Quest preamp ($22,000/pair), and Rei monoblocks ($32,900/pair).
Audio show demos too often focus on sonic allure and visceral wows rather than emotional connection. (Not that these are mutually exclusive.) When I was handed the controls and cued up Sandrine Piau's gorgeous rendition of a Loewe song, I discovered how moving this system could be.
The Ensium's cabinet is made from Diluvite, a nanotech material Aequo says is twice as stiff as aluminum with 10 times its damping properties. According to co-owner/designer Ivo Sparidaens and general manager Paul Rassin, Diluvite converts vibration into heat on a nano scale, allowing the just ¼" thick walls to be "totally inert," with no resonance from 1Hz to 100kHz.
The rest of this excellent system consisted of a Taiko Audio Extreme server ($30,000), a Playback Designs MPT-8 transport ($20,000) and MPD-8 DAC ($26,000), a VPI Avenger Direct turntable ($40,000) with DS Audio Master 3 cartridge ($9500), a WestminsterLab Quest preamp ($22,000/pair), and Rei monoblocks ($32,900/pair).
