Напольная акустика — Closer Acoustics Allegra

The Allegra is a full-range tower speaker from Closer Acoustics, a small maker based in Katowice, Poland, that was founded in 2013 and concentrates on high-efficiency full-range designs. In the brand's range it sits between the smaller Forlane and the larger Vigo, and it is built around one 8-inch transducer and has no crossover network at all.

Key specs that matter

Its single transducer, the EMS LB8 MKII, is a paper cone unit of classic 8-inch size, hand-assembled in France in the Katy Fertin workshop. Closer Acoustics quotes an efficiency of 93 dB, a power handling figure of 40 W and a frequency range of 40 Hz to 19 kHz. The maker lists a nominal impedance of 8 ohm. The cabinet measures 26 cm in width, 44 cm in depth and 117 cm in height.

Engineering and use context

Baltic birch plywood forms the main enclosure, while the side panels are Corian. Behind the driver the builder leaves out damping material entirely, a choice the company links to keeping the cone free in the midrange. Like the Vigo, Forlane and the Adam and Eva models, the Allegra follows the brand's distributed resonance principle, in which the rear wave of the driver travels through internal channels of different shape, length and volume instead of being absorbed in a stuffed box. Buyers can order a clear paint finish combined with acrylic stone side panels, or plywood covered in Alcantara with acrylic stone accents, and other colours can be made depending on what the workshop has available. The manufacturer recommends a room of at least 15 m2, so a typical living space of 20 m2 falls well inside its intended range, and it names acoustic, jazz and classical recordings as the material the design was voiced for. Because there is no crossover network, the amplifier connects directly to the voice coil of the single full-range unit, which removes filter components between the terminals and the cone.

Pairing

Closer Acoustics describes tube amplification as the natural partner, with low-power single-ended triode designs singled out, and the brand's own 300B Provocateur integrated amplifier is built for exactly this kind of high-efficiency load. The modest power handling means large transistor amplifiers bring little benefit here, while a few clean watts from a triode output stage fit the speaker's efficiency.

Alternatives

The Closer Acoustics Vigo is the larger floorstander in the range, using a 31 cm EMS LB12 full-range driver with a quoted efficiency of 97 dB.