The Haydn SE Signature is a small two-way monitor made by the Austrian firm Vienna Acoustics for its Concert Grand line, a range that also holds the Beethoven Concert Grand Reference, the Beethoven Baby Grand Reference, the Mozart SE Signature, the Waltz Grand, the Maestro Grand Reference and the Theatro Grand. The SE in its name stands for Symphony Edition, and the Signature version is the current form of that model. It pairs a small cabinet with a crossover built from tight-tolerance parts, and it is sized to sit on a stand or a sturdy shelf.
Key specs that matter
A 1.1 inch silk dome tweeter, hand coated by Vienna Acoustics, works with a 6 inch Spider-Cone mid-woofer made from X3P, a blend of three polymers. The maker quotes a range of 40 Hz to 20 kHz, a sensitivity of 88.5 dB and a nominal impedance of 4 ohm, and it recommends amplifiers rated between 50 and 180 W. Each cabinet measures 174 mm wide, 361 mm high and 265 mm deep, and the listed weight is 20 kg per pair. Buyers can choose piano white, satin white, piano black, satin black, rosewood and cherry.
Engineering and use context
The ribs moulded into the cone follow a spiderweb pattern patented by the company, which stiffens the diaphragm without adding mass. The filter uses Bessel slopes of 6 dB and 12 dB per octave, a first and second order mix, so the two drivers overlap gently at the handover. Crossover parts are specified to close limits - MKP capacitors at 1 percent tolerance, air core coils at 0.7 percent and inductance-free metal film resistors at 1 percent. The bass reflex port vents from the rear of the box, and the alignment is described as an impulse optimised quasi Butterworth type, QB3, chosen for timing rather than maximum depth. Veneer wrapping and piano lacquer work are carried out to furniture standards. With the vent firing backwards, the speaker should stand clear of the wall behind it so airflow is not blocked, and a stand of suitable height puts the tweeter near seated ear level in a room of around 20 m2.
Pairing
A load this low needs a partnering amplifier that copes with low impedance and supplies current comfortably, and a solid state integrated rated toward 100 W or more fits the brief well. A modest valve design with low-impedance taps can work in a smaller space, provided it sits within the rated power band and is not asked for high levels.
Alternatives
Within the same brand, the Haydn Jubilee is another two-way stand-mount model built around the Haydn format.