Напольная акустика — Ayon Audio Ayon BlackFalcon

Ayon Audio of Austria makes the BlackFalcon, a three-way floorstanding speaker - the brand being otherwise known for tube amplifiers, preamplifiers and converters. Ayon presents it as the evolution of its earlier ceramic loudspeaker series built between 2003 and 2010, which comprised the Seagull, Hawk, Falcon and Eagle. Today's catalogue lists it as one of five full-range models - BlackRaven, BlackHeron, BlackFalcon, BlackEagle and BlackCrane.

Key specs that matter

Five drivers are fitted per cabinet. A 1-inch Cell-Ceramic tweeter works above 2,150 Hz, a 6.2-inch ceramic midrange covers the band from 210 Hz upward, and three 6.7-inch ceramic woofers handle everything below 210 Hz. Rated response is 33 Hz to 30 kHz at the -3 dB points. Sensitivity is 92 dB at 1 W and 1 m into a nominal 4 ohm, and Ayon gives a recommended amplifier power window of 7 W to 350 W. The cabinet ends in WBT NextGen terminals and uses custom-made internal wiring. Standard finishes are high-gloss real wood veneers in French Walnut, Tineo and Etimo, with further options available on request.

Engineering and use context

Ayon uses ceramic driver technology throughout and has the bass drivers built with specially produced impedance voice coils, which allows a simplified 6 dB per octave crossover. The enclosure is elliptical and made of resonance-optimised instrument-grade plywood, a shape the company chose for its all-around radiation behaviour. Ayon calls the overall design a 3-way Airflow Damping System, abbreviated ADS. The crossover network is a combined transistor-tube circuit with a switch that sets it for either transistor or tube amplification, and Ayon states that the tube position is designed to respond to both single-ended and push-pull valve amplifiers.

Pairing

Ayon's lower power limit brings low-powered single-ended triode amplifiers within the speaker's intended range, while its top end covers big solid-state amplifiers. With tube amplifiers that offer 4, 8 and 16 ohm output transformer taps, Ayon recommends the tap equal to the speaker's rated load. Setting the crossover switch to match the amplifier type is part of connecting the speaker, so owners who move between valve and transistor amplification can keep the same pair.

Alternatives

The Ayon BlackEagle is a 3.5-way floorstander from the same series with a 6.7-inch Cell-Ceramic midrange, 93 dB sensitivity and a 122 cm tall cabinet weighing 52 kg.