Напольная акустика — Gauder Akustik ARCONA 80 SD

The ARCONA 80 SD sits in the middle of the Arcona SD floorstanding trio from Gauder Akustik, between the slender Arcona 60 SD and the three-way Arcona 100 SD. Its lineage goes back to the first Arcona 80, a 1,050 mm tall tower with an Air Motion Transformer tweeter and two 7 inch woofers that listed at EUR 4,396. The MK II generation replaced that tweeter with an Accuton ceramic dome after two years of joint development, and the SD version now fits an ultralight soft dome instead. German list price for the MK II SD is EUR 6,000 per pair, in the United States a pair sells for USD 13,975, and both tweeter versions cost the same.

Key specs that matter

Gauder rates this 2.5-way model at 4 ohm nominal impedance and 170 W power handling. Each cabinet measures 105 cm high, 21 cm wide and 39 cm deep and weighs 24 kg, with a choice of black or white high-gloss lacquer. Two black XPulse bass and midrange drivers work below the soft dome. Quoted response is about 32 Hz to 45 kHz and quoted sensitivity about 87 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m. Measured sensitivity is 85.2 dB at 2.83 V, with a lower limit of 45 Hz at minus 3 dB, and an impedance range from 3.3 ohm at 47 Hz up to 10 ohm at 707 Hz. Measured distortion was 0.56 percent at 63 Hz and below 0.08 percent at 3 kHz and 10 kHz.

Engineering and use context

The layout mixes two loading principles - one bass and midrange driver works in a closed volume, while the rest of the drop-shaped cabinet is a reflex enclosure vented downward through the base. A narrow front limits diffraction, and the curved sides break up internal standing waves. Gauder uses XPulse cones made of aluminium coated with a polymer damping layer. The symmetrical crossover is built with Mundorf components and has slopes of 50 dB per octave, which keeps the band shared by neighbouring drivers very narrow. Bass Extension was first a small plug bridge at the terminal, and a newer module system now gives six steps, with the series maximum quoted as plus 4 dB at 40 Hz. The speaker is made in Germany, uses WBT NextGen terminals and carries a 10-year parts and labour warranty for the original owner. Owners of an original Arcona 80 could have it rebuilt to MK II standard for EUR 2,000.

Pairing

The measured figures describe an easy load, and 16 W is enough to reach 94 dB, yet the impedance dip in the bass asks for an output stage that does not falter when the load drops. The maker aims the model at medium and larger rooms, and spike extenders are sold separately at EUR 400.

Alternatives

The Gauder Akustik ARCONA 100 SD is the larger three-way Arcona tower with twin bass drivers, 114 cm tall and rated at 270 W.