Напольная акустика — Estelon AURA

Estelon's AURA is a three-way tower from Estelon, an Estonian maker whose cabinets are moulded from composite materials rather than built from flat panels. It uses a sealed box with four drivers, including a downward-firing woofer, with a US price of USD 19,900 per pair. The warranty period is five years, and the speaker is made in Estonia.

Key specs that matter

The lowest octaves go to a 250 mm FaitalPro unit with a hard-pressed paper cone. Two 132 mm SB Acoustics Satori mid-woofers use cones of Egyptian papyrus fibre, and the tweeter is a 25 mm textile dome from the Scan-Speak Illuminator series. Estelon rates sensitivity at 88 dB at 2.83 V, with a nominal impedance of 4 ohm dipping to 2 ohm at 58 Hz. Power handling is rated at 150 W, with 30 W named as the lowest usable amplifier output. Frequency response is 37 Hz to 30 kHz. The cabinet stands 1366 mm high with its base, 384 mm wide and 367 mm deep, and weighs 34 kg.

Engineering and use context

Estelon thermoforms the enclosure from a mineral-filled composite with curved surfaces intended to limit standing waves inside the box. No reflex port is used in this closed design. Crossover points sit at 75 Hz and 2.3 kHz with second-order slopes, so the woofer covers only the lowest octaves and the paired mid-woofers handle the band up to the tweeter. Parts include air-core and iron-core coils, Auricap and Jantzen capacitors and Mundorf resistors. Each crossover is hand assembled using point-to-point connections, and the internal cabling is by Kubala-Sosna. White is the standard finish, and Black Gloss, Horizon Blue, Starlight, Amber Elegance and Iron Grey are offered on request. Estelon recommends rooms from 16 m2 to 60 m2, which covers a typical 20 m2 living room.

Pairing

This low-frequency impedance dip points to a current-capable transistor design, since the Estelon asks more of the output stage in the bass than its modest power figure suggests. Low-powered valve designs with high output impedance are a less secure match. Because the woofer fires downward, the distance between its opening and the floor is fixed by the base, so the bass driver's coupling to the floor stays the same wherever the speaker is placed.

Alternatives

Within the Estelon range, the entry-level YB Mk II is a floorstanding design with a sealed cabinet of marble-based composite and a side-firing 220 mm aluminium woofer.