Teresonic Toots its Single-Driver Ingenium

I don't know if it's a case of careful component and/or cable matching—Wilson Audio, after all, favors VTL electronics and Transparent Cabling, and Spectral always dems with its own, MIT-manufactured cabling—or just better engineering, but my experience of Teresonic single-driver loudspeakers has shifted dramatically for the better over the years.

When I entered the room, Teresonic's striking Ingenium loudspeaker ($15,000/pair) was playing music from Queen Margot Queen Margot by Balkan composer Goran Brejovic using Teresonic's Reference 2A3, class-A, zero-feedback, SET tube amplifier ($15,000); Berkeley Audio Designs' superb Alpha DAC 2 ($5000); the new Baetis Media Server V2 ($3000), which re-samples up to 192kHz with a bit depth of up to 64 (!); and new Teresonic Clarison Silver EXP speaker cables ($3500/set), Gold XLR interconnects ($4000/set), Clarison power cables ($395 for 1m), and new Clarison digital cable ($395). The sound was extremely transparent and beautiful.

Then Mike Zivkovic switched to the 88.2 HDTracks download of Anna Netrebko's Sempre Libera recital with Claudio Abbado. Personally, I find this album's title recording a prime example of one missed opportunity after another, but the audio presentation was very impressive. Despite a slight edge on the voice, the warmth of the midrange won me over . . . to the system, if not the soprano.

COMMENTS
JohnnyR's picture

Sorry but single driver spakers will NEVER be able to reproduce the full spectrum well and this is just another costly exercise in excess Lets see the affordable systems in detail and stop fawning over this crap.

1likeh1f1's picture

JohnnyR:

I understand your opinion regarding low-powered tube amps,  Lowthers and the like.  I basically held it as well until I attended RMAF this year.  One of my key objectives during the weekend was to check out low-powered amplifiers and Lowthers; I had never heard them before.  I've read over the years that well designed 4 watt amps driving single driver speakers can produce room filling music that is very musical and engaging.  When I saw Teresonics in the registration user guide, I figured they would be as good a room as any to visit for this purpose.  I was floored!  Here was a system that was filling the room with better, more balanced and resolved music than I had been hearing in virtually any other room, even rooms demonstrating equipment from the manufacturers of my main system components, including Wilson, ARC, etc.  I visited the Teresonics room several times during the convention and heard many different types of music being played in the room (acoustic ensemble, classic orchestral, operatic, folk, rock - you name it) and the clarity in the mid's and upper frequencies just could not be beat.  They went low as well; there was plenty of punch and low bass energy to let you feel the rhythm and beat - and check this out! They were typically being powered at approximately .4 watts! (That's right, less than one half of one watt power).  The whole system flew in the face of what I know to be the tried and true recipe of a top two channel system, i.e., powerful amplification that can tightly control the signals between it and high quality speakers with totally non-resonant cabinets (after all, I have Wilsons being driven by ARC reference gear for cryin' out loud!).  And, here it was: a pair of single-driver speakers with highly resonant cabinets (manufactured by folks that build violins and cellos) designed to flex and vibrate in tune with drivers to produce the sound emitted into the room, driven by LESS THAN A WATT OF POWER?!  Listening is believing and I'm still trying to reconcile how they could sound better and more realistic than systems from very reputable and excellent manufacturers costing up to 10x what the Teresonics system cost.  If I were starting from scratch at this point, I'd be giving this type of system very serious consideration as my main two channel system.

So, I suggest that you don't knock them until you've tried them.  And, if you try them you'll be hooked just like I was!

Happy Listening! 

Lon 

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