Напольная акустика — Chario CONSTELLATION CYGNUS MK2

The Constellation Cygnus MK2 is one of the two floorstanding models in the second-generation Constellation series from Chario, the loudspeaker maker based in Milan, Italy. Within the current Constellation family it sits between the Lynx MK2 and Delphinus MK2 stand-mounts and the Pegasus MK2 tower, and a Phoenix MK2 centre channel completes the range. Its defining idea is a second bass driver placed in the bottom of the cabinet, where it works against the floor.

Key specs that matter

Chario fits a 38 mm soft dome tweeter set in a waveguide, a 130 mm paper compound woofer on the front baffle and a second 130 mm paper compound unit that Chario lists as a subwoofer, mounted at the bottom. Crossover points are 170 Hz and 1,500 Hz, both with fourth-order Linkwitz-Riley slopes. Chario rates sensitivity at 87 dB SPL at 1 m with 2.83 V of decorrelated pink noise, measured in a listening room compliant with ITU-R BS 1116-1, and places the -3 dB bass limit at 50 Hz. Nominal impedance is 4 ohm, with a minimum of 3.0 ohm and a phase angle within plus or minus 36 degrees. The cabinet measures 955 mm high, 200 mm wide and 270 mm deep and weighs 17 kg.

Engineering and use context

Bass loading is described as vented NRS, short for Near Resonance Surface. The principle relies on placing a woofer very close to a rigid surface such as the floor, which raises the acoustic load on the cone and reduces the energy lost to rearward radiation. Chario explains that this lets the driver produce a given pressure with roughly half the excursion, and since harmonic distortion grows with excursion, the lower movement keeps distortion down. In the Cygnus the NRS section operates between the rated bass limit and the lower crossover, where the company claims a 3 dB efficiency gain at the same distortion level. Moving that band to the bottom unit also relieves the front woofer, which then handles only the range up to the upper crossover point. The tweeter has a 60 degree dispersion angle, while the floor-facing woofer radiates through 360 degrees. The structure consists of two cabinets built from HDF and solid walnut.

Pairing

Chario suggests an amplifier delivering 120 W average power into the nominal load. The low impedance minimum and the modest sensitivity make a current-capable transistor amplifier the sensible match, and a low-output valve amplifier the wrong one.

Alternatives

The Chario Constellation Pegasus MK2 is the other floorstanding option within the second-generation Constellation series.