Floorstanding loudspeakers — Albedo Axcentia

The Axcentia is the three-way tower at the top of the Maestro Collection from Italian maker Albedo Audio, the line defined by cabinets shaped in curved wood. Its sculpted front baffle later passed down to the smaller two-way Aptica. A revised Axcentia MKII was announced in October 2023, and Albedo now offers only that version.

Key specs that matter

Four ceramic drivers from Accuton make up the array - a pair of woofers, a 5 inch midrange and a 1.2 inch tweeter. The woofers are 6.5 inch units on the first version and 7 inch units on the MKII. The crossover points are 300 Hz and 2.6 kHz. Sensitivity is 87 dB SPL at 2.83 V and 1 m, and the load is 8 ohm nominal. Bass reaches down to 35 Hz, while the upper limit went from 20 kHz on the original to 32 kHz on the MKII. The first model measured 25 cm wide, 62 cm deep and 115 cm high at 85 kg net per speaker, while the MKII measures 25 x 60.5 x 122.5 cm and weighs 98 kg. Finishes were Makassar ebony and Jamaica ebony at first, and the MKII is listed in black oak.

Engineering and use context

Albedo calls the design linear phase and uses an acoustic first order crossover, hand built with Mundorf components only. Bass loading is the Helmholine System, in which a resonator acts on the line output, and the company says it is meant to cope with high playback levels. To keep the tower from growing even taller, the woofer line is folded, and the metal chambered base adds extra acoustic volume to it. The line terminates in an unusually shaped outlet on the lower panel. The elliptical enclosure is a dense, well damped sandwich, with mould-pressed lateral panels reinforced by extra side panels and internal bracing to keep vibration down, and the MKII adds metal panels and internal spacers to that multi-layer build. Ceramic cones were chosen for their low moving mass combined with high rigidity.

Pairing

The moderate load and sensitivity make it an easy task for most well built stereo or mono amplifiers, and since Albedo states the Helmholine line is built to handle high volume levels, the speaker can take advantage of a powerful amplifier in a larger room. Each unit is heavy, so the floor underneath has to carry a heavy, concentrated load.

Alternatives

The Albedo Alecta is another three-way tower, from the Imperiale series, using a double mirrored transmission line and Accuton CELL drivers.