Floorstanding loudspeakers — Ceratec effeqt t

The effeqt t is the tallest column in the effeqt family from Ceratec Audio Design, a loudspeaker maker based in Worpswede in northern Germany. The company is run by the Ranke family, whose founder Ulrich Ranke earlier set up the eton hi-fi brand and holds the patent on the hexacone membrane. Ceratec sorts its catalogue into four groups - Cerasonar invisible speakers, Ceraclassic design speakers, CeraART architectural speakers and OEM work for furniture and design manufacturers - and the effeqt models sit in Ceraclassic.

Key specs that matter

Ceratec specifies a 2.5-way column with bass-reflex loading. Its driver set consists of a pair of 105 mm midbass units with paper cones and a single 22 mm tweeter with a silk dome. Ceratec rates the range from 40 Hz up to 25 kHz and quotes 84 dB sensitivity measured with 2.83 V at 1 m. Nominal impedance is 4 ohm, with suggested amplifier power of 100 to 150 W. Width and depth are both 130 mm, the height reaches 1660 mm, and the circular foot has a diameter of 260 mm.

Engineering and use context

Ceratec builds the effeqt enclosures from aluminium with a rounded profile, since a curved shell avoids the parallel panels that let standing waves form inside a conventional box. The t shares its electrical data with the shorter mk IV, so the extra 42 cm of height mainly changes proportions and the height at which the drivers sit rather than the rated performance. With the two midbass drivers splitting duties in the 2.5-way arrangement, one handles only the lowest band while the other also covers the midrange up to the tweeter. Such a narrow column occupies very little floor area, and the broad disc at the bottom gives it a stable stance despite its height. The company lists aluminium, hand-polished stainless steel and glass among the materials it works with, and its management says the technology should stay modestly in the background of each design. Wall-mountable effeqt versions exist in four sizes for spaces where a floor column does not fit.

Pairing

The modest efficiency combined with a low nominal impedance calls for solid-state amplification with generous current, ideally rated within the power range Ceratec specifies. In a 20 m2 room this points to a capable integrated amplifier, not a small tube amplifier of a few watts.

Alternatives

The Ceratec effeqt mk IV offers the same driver layout in a shorter 1240 mm column.