Напольная акустика — Göbel High End Epoque Aeon Reference

The Epoque Aeon Reference is the larger floorstander of the Epoque Aeon series from Göbel High End, the German company founded in 2003 by Oliver Göbel, formerly lead loudspeaker engineer at Siemens. Göbel started the company around his patented application of bending-wave transducers, and in 2022 moved production to a new factory near Munich whose building he designed himself. The Epoque Aeon series comprises two floorstanders, an on-wall model and two subwoofers, all built around a flat-panel bending-wave driver combined with cone bass units.

Key specs that matter

The Epoque Aeon Reference combines Göbel's patented Carbon Excellence Aeon bending-wave driver, which covers the range from about 160Hz to 31kHz, with aluminium long-throw bass drivers and aluminium passive radiators in an impulse-compensated arrangement. Frequency response is 28Hz to 31kHz, sensitivity is 86dB/1W/1m and nominal impedance is 4 ohms. The plinth footprint measures 43.6 x 55.7cm, and each speaker weighs about 180kg. Finishes in the series are piano-lacquer white with silver anodised aluminium or piano-lacquer black with dark grey anodised aluminium.

Engineering and use context

A bending-wave driver does not move as a rigid piston like a cone - its flat panel is excited so that waves travel across its surface, and different areas radiate different frequencies. Göbel's version can reproduce around seven and a half octaves from a single diaphragm, so the whole midrange and treble come from one source with no crossover in the midrange or treble. The Aeon panel is reinforced with carbon, and Göbel says the latest version lowers distortion, raises maximum output and improves heat dissipation. Below that, the cone drivers take over. Their long-throw aluminium units are paired with passive radiators in an impulse-compensated layout - drivers and radiators are arranged so their reaction forces cancel, keeping the cabinet still, and so their combined output blends with the dispersion pattern of the bending-wave panel. The series specifies 180-degree frontal dispersion over the full range and rear radiation up to around 4kHz. The housing uses a multilayer composite described as bulletproof, 15mm solid aluminium acoustic baffles and a top element machined from a solid aluminium block. The Reference version adds upgraded woofers and crossovers over the smaller Aeon Fine.

Pairing

Because the impedance dips to around 2.8 ohms near the bass crossover in the series, the Epoque Aeon Reference needs a powerful amplifier with high current delivery. Its wide dispersion and size suit large rooms at normal listening distances.

Alternatives

Göbel High End's own Epoque Aeon Fine uses the same bending-wave driver with a smaller bass section.