{"id":701,"date":"2016-09-03T01:13:32","date_gmt":"2016-09-03T01:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jimalfredson.com\/?p=701"},"modified":"2016-09-03T04:55:50","modified_gmt":"2016-09-03T04:55:50","slug":"amphion-one18-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jimalfredson.com\/?p=701","title":{"rendered":"Amphion One18 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

The fundamental purpose of any speaker is to convert electricity into acoustic energy. As with any piece of technology, how well a speaker performs this function varies widely between in implementation. Good speakers provide a pleasing, full-range sound, a stable soundstage, and no noticeable bumps in the frequency response. Great speakers simply disappear.<\/span><\/p>\n

Long-time readers of my blog might remember my glowing review of the JBL LSR305 active monitor speakers.<\/a> I\u2019ve been using those speakers now for two years. Actually, I upgraded my mains to the bigger LSR308<\/a> speakers last summer. I\u2019ve mixed a lot of music on them and still enjoy them. They are great speakers for the money. But what about some other, more expensive options? A more expensive monitoring system should be an order of magnitude better, right? Do you still get what you pay for?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"amphion_one18_2-way_loudspeaker_system\"<\/a>

The Amphion One18 speakers<\/p><\/div>\n

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BACKSTORY<\/b>
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At the 2016 Summer NAMM I was fortunate to receive a personal demo of the Amphion <\/a>monitor speaker range from my friend and human Jack Russell terrier Dave Bryce. It\u2019s always difficult to determine how speakers sound on a convention floor, but I had my first encounter with the JBLs in a similar circumstance at the AES show in 2013 and came away impressed. Likewise, I kept returning to the Amphion<\/a> booth, multiple times a day, to experience the Amphion speakers again. Dave was as excited to show them to me the fifth, sixth, and seventh time as he was the first time. He even played a cut off my THEO<\/a> album. That\u2019s what I call a personal touch!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"THEO<\/a>

THEO – The Game Of Ouroboros<\/p><\/div>\n

Last week I received an email from Dave offering to route a pair of demo Amphion One18 <\/a>speakers to my home studio. I gladly accepted. They arrived in a cool wooden mini-crate along with the matching Amphion Amp100<\/a> amplifier and cables in another box. I set them up next to my JBLs and did some quick comparison listening.<\/span><\/p>\n

First impression: What have I gotten myself into?<\/span>
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\n<\/span>But I\u2019m getting ahead of myself.<\/span><\/p>\n

SPECIFICATIONS<\/b><\/p>\n

Amphion is a Finnish company formed in 1998. The company offers a full line of home speakers and studio monitors as well as amplifiers, hand-built in Finland. Yes, their studio monitors are passive, which is kind of a rarity these days. They have five models. This review will focus on the middle of the range, the One18.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"amphion01\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The model One18 use a custom designed 6.5\u201d woofer and a fast-response titanium tweeter set in what the company calls a \u201chigh-density Corian waveguide\u201d. The look is spartan yet beautiful, with the white waveguide making a memorable impression. Two speaker terminals join the passive radiator on the back. The cabinets are sealed; no ports.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"amphion_one18_front\"<\/a>

Amphion One18<\/p><\/div>\n

The Amp100 is similarly clean and simple. The front panel is adorned only by the Amphion name and a chrome power button that has a soft blue LED ring around it when powered on. The back has the left and right speaker outputs, the IEC power connector, and the left and right XLR inputs. That\u2019s it. The included speaker wires terminate in banana plugs and are a high-quality twisted pair in black. I only wish they were a bit longer.<\/p>\n

The frequency response of the speakers is 45Hz to 20,000kHz +\/- 3db. The frequency plot on the Amphion website shows a little bump at 100Hz, another at 600Hz, a dip at 800Hz, another bump at 1.2kHz, and quite a bump above 20kHz. The suggested amplifier power to drive the 8 ohm speakers \u00a0is 30 to 150 watts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"impedence_amphion\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The specs on the amp are not on the website but as the name implies it delivers 100 watts into\u00a08 ohms.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"amphion02\"<\/a>

Backside of the Amphion One18 and Amp100<\/p><\/div>\n

The set-up is very straight forward. Connect your stereo outputs to the XLR inputs on the amp and the speaker outputs on the amp to the speakers themselves. Easy.<\/p>\n

PUTTING IT TO THE TEST<\/b><\/p>\n

I began my listening comparisons with some pre-recorded music from my collection, specifically Dr. Lonnie Smith\u2019s 2009 release <\/span>Rise Up!<\/span><\/i> and a 2015 release from the Polish progressive rock band Riverside entitled <\/span>Love, Fear, and the Time Machine<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

I started with the JBLs. They sounded great; clear and clean. I\u2019ve been using them for two years, so I know what to expect. Then I switched to the Amphions.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll refrain from using hyperbolic adjectives, even though I\u2019d really like to do so. Objectively, here\u2019s what I wrote down as my first impressions:<\/span>
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