Напольная акустика — AudioSolutions Figaro S2

The Figaro S2 is a slim three-way tower from the second Figaro generation of AudioSolutions. Gediminas Gaidelis set up the company in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2011, after building speakers since the age of 16 under the name GSP, short for Gediminas Speakers. Design and manufacturing take place at the Vilnius headquarters, parts are bought from suppliers within the EU, and drive units come from makers such as SB Acoustics, SEAS and Scan-Speak. The Figaro series itself dates from 2018 and was completely renewed in 2023.

Key specs that matter

The S2 is equipped with four drivers. The tweeter is a 19 mm silk dome, and the midrange and both woofers share the same 15.2 cm diameter, all three using ER paper cones. Crossover points are 400 Hz and 4,000 Hz. The published in-room response runs from 35 Hz to 25,000 Hz, sensitivity is 91 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m, and impedance is 4.0 ohm nominal. Suggested amplifier output is 10 W to 250 W. The cabinet on its own is 950 mm high, 230 mm wide and 401 mm deep, and with outriggers attached it measures 980 mm by 356 mm by 401 mm. Weight is 31 kg per speaker, or 34 kg for shipping.

Engineering and use context

The S2 vents its bass through ports on the rear panel. The side walls are curved and asymmetrical, getting narrower towards the back. As in the rest of the range, the box is built on the Cabinet-In-a-Cabinet principle first applied in the Virtuoso series - two separate boxes joined by a thin viscous polyurethane layer, the inner one light and rigid to absorb energy from the drivers, the outer one heavier and less dense so that it damps what remains. The midrange is allowed to run far wider than usual, which keeps both handovers about an octave away from the 1 to 2 kHz region, where AudioSolutions argues that the ear detects the switch from one driver to the next most readily. ER stands for Extra Rigid, a paper cone stiffened with hard pulp and strong fibres, chosen to combine piston-like motion with the internal damping that plain paper provides. The Mini-Horn plate around the tweeter dome damps it acoustically at the frequencies where silk starts to flex and distort. Six Bespoke colours are offered with vertical brass-coloured inlays and satin anthracite top and bottom panels, among them Azure Blue, Battleship Grey, Cafe Noir, Fern Green, Maroon Red and Pearl White. An online configurator, launched at Munich High End in May 2024, opens up further colour choices.

Pairing

The low suggested power floor lets modest amplifiers drive the S2, although the chosen amplifier has to be rated for low-impedance speakers.

Alternatives

The AudioSolutions Figaro M2 moves one size up among Figaro towers, with two 18.3 cm woofers, a 30 Hz lower limit and a 45 kg cabinet.