Bookshelf Speakers — AudioSolutions Virtuoso B

The Virtuoso B is the stand-mounted member of the Virtuoso series from AudioSolutions of Vilnius, Lithuania, and was the fourth model added to a range first shown at High End Munich in 2019, next to the Virtuoso S, M and L. The company places Virtuoso between its Figaro line and the Vantage 5th Anniversary series, and much of the technology in it was first developed for those Vantage models. At its UK introduction in 2021 the pair was priced at GBP 9,500, with the matching stands at GBP 3,300 per pair and custom colours adding 20 percent.

Key specs that matter

It works as a three-way. A 3 cm silk dome tweeter and a 16.5 cm Hard Pulp paper cone midrange face the listener, while a 19 cm Hard Pulp bass driver fires downward from the underside of the cabinet. Filter points are set at 500 Hz and 7,000 Hz. AudioSolutions specifies 30 Hz to 30,000 Hz measured in a room, 91.5 dB sensitivity at 2.83 V and 1 m, and a nominal impedance of 4.0 ohm. Power handling is 130 W RMS nominal and 260 W maximum unclipped. The enclosure alone measures 450 mm high, 297 mm wide and 478 mm deep and weighs 23 kg. Fitted to its stand the speaker reaches 1,225 mm in height, 391 mm in width and 547 mm in depth at 37 kg, and a packed unit weighs 60 kg.

Engineering and use context

The down-firing woofer is what lets a box of this size reach so deep, and the maker says it developed bass units able to work in a very small volume for this purpose. Between them the two crossover points leave the midrange driver almost four octaves wide, so the region where listeners most easily notice a handover is not split. The cabinet follows a box-in-a-box principle. An internal skeleton of bracing is clad in a light material to form the inner box, and a denser outer shell with higher internal losses is fixed over it. Wall thickness varies along the perimeter, and layers of different density are joined with a polyurethane glue film 0.1 to 0.15 mm thick that converts mechanical energy into heat. Self-locking cabinet joints come from the Vantage speakers. A user-adjustable crossover offers three listening profiles which reshape how the drivers' own distortion is distributed while leaving output level unchanged. Standard gloss colours are Black, Zinc Grey, Silver Grey and Pearl White, and seven further finishes are made to order.

Pairing

An amplifier comfortable with low-impedance loads and able to supply the nominal power rating continuously is the intended partner, with the maximum figure as the upper limit, and the brand supplies its own stand for the downward-firing cabinet.

Alternatives

The AudioSolutions Vantage B, a stand-mount from the Vantage 5th Anniversary range, pairs a beryllium dome tweeter and a 22 cm paper woofer and suits amplifiers of 30 to 400 W.