Floorstanding loudspeakers — Voxativ HAGEN Tower2

The HAGEN Tower2, which Voxativ writes as HAGEN² Tower, is the floor-standing version of the brand's HAGEN² Monitor, reworked by the Zossen company into a slim column with one 5 inch full-range driver per side. Prices start at EUR 8,900 per pair, and the speakers are assembled to order by a small workshop team of about twelve people, with drivers hand-built in Berlin. The tower comes in piano lacquer, black or white, or in wood veneer.

Key specs that matter

Frequency response is 50 Hz to 33 kHz, and efficiency is 95 dB for 2.83 V at 1 m, measured at 2 kHz. Nominal impedance is 10.3 ohm, and the cabinet accepts 50 W sine. Each tower is 20.5 cm wide, 92 cm high and 25 cm deep and weighs 15 kg. The monitor it is based on shares the 50 Hz to 33 kHz range and 50 W rating in a box only about 36 cm tall. Two driver versions are offered, the AF-1.9 and the AF-2A, and on the monitor Voxativ rates the AF-2A at 94 dB, one decibel below the AF-1.9. Delivery after payment is normally about two weeks.

Engineering and use context

The AF-1.9 is a paper-cone unit driven by neodymium magnets, and like the larger Voxativ drivers it uses the Endless Gap motor, intended to hold the coil in an even field as it moves. Because a single cone reproduces everything from bass to treble, there is no crossover network between amplifier and driver. Voxativ designed the AF-1.9 to give usable bass from compact enclosures, while the AF-2A uses an AlNiCo magnet instead of neodymium. Inside the MDF cabinet the rear output runs through a back-loaded path that vents at the bottom of the column, while the internal Acoustic Stealth Technology layout damps reflections and standing waves. The column stands on a separate base fitted with spikes, and the gap between cabinet and base lets the bottom vent open in every direction rather than toward one wall. The tall, narrow shape raises the small driver to a normal listening height, something the stand-mounted monitor needs a stand for. The modest weight also makes these towers easy to move and position compared with Voxativ's 55 kg horn models.

Pairing

The high efficiency and benign load are aimed at single-ended triode amplifiers, while the power handling also leaves room for small solid-state amplifiers as well.

Alternatives

The Voxativ ZETH is the larger column, 33 cm wide and 32 kg, with a downward-facing horn mouth and the bigger AC-1.9 driver.