Floorstanding loudspeakers — AudioSolutions Virtuoso L

The Virtuoso L heads the Virtuoso range made by AudioSolutions in Lithuania, a line the maker places between its Figaro and Vantage 5th Anniversary ranges. AudioSolutions calls Virtuoso the start of a new generation of its speakers, carrying over and developing technology from the Vantage anniversary models, including self-locking cabinets and a mini horn around the tweeter.

Key specs that matter

This three-way floorstander uses four drivers. Its 3 cm silk dome tweeter is joined by a 19 cm midrange with a hard pulp paper cone, while two 24.2 cm hard pulp bass cones handle bass. The filter hands over at 500 Hz and 6,500 Hz. Rated in-room response runs from 20 Hz to 30,000 Hz, sensitivity is 92 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m, and nominal impedance is 4 ohm. Including the plinth the speaker measures 1410 x 547 x 765 mm, against 1366 x 392 x 668 mm for the cabinet alone, and each unit weighs 120 kg.

Engineering and use context

The enclosure follows a true box-in-a-box principle. A skeleton of extensive bracing controls the vibration created by the drivers and is covered with light, low-inertia walls so that an inner shell results, and over it sits an outer layer of denser material, chosen for its greater internal losses, so the two layers damp each other. Wall thickness changes continuously around the sides, baffle and back, and materials of different density are stacked so each layer resonates at a different frequency, joined by polyurethane glue 0.1 to 0.15 mm thick that turns mechanical energy into heat. The midrange spans nearly four octaves of the band, which keeps the crossovers away from the 1,000 to 2,000 Hz region, where the maker notes the ear is most sensitive. The Adjustable Harmonics Crossover holds three separate crossover networks in one speaker, giving the owner three selectable modes. They alter cut-off points and slopes rather than driver levels, and AudioSolutions states that the output level stays unchanged between them. The standard palette runs to Silver Grey, Black, Pearl White and Zinc Grey, and full custom colours can be made to order. Specially calculated corner joints and shaping add strength, and the maker says the finished cabinet shares the properties of aluminium or composite boxes without their high-frequency ringing.

Pairing

Power handling is 360 W RMS nominal, with a maximum unclipped figure of 720 W.

Alternatives

The Vantage L from the anniversary collection moves to a four-way design with a beryllium tweeter, a 32 cm down-firing woofer and 140 kg per cabinet.