Напольная акустика — Audiovector R 3 SIGNATURE

The R 3 Signature is the base version of the R 3, the compact floorstander in the Audiovector R series, and is built in Denmark around drivers the company designs and patents itself. It is the point of entry to an upgrade ladder that continues through Avantgarde to Arreté, so a pair bought in this form can later be converted rather than replaced. Audiovector describes the R line as compact speakers based on a mix of evolution and fresh ideas, and the UK price of this version was GBP 4,299 per pair.

Key specs that matter

Two 165 mm carbon fibre mid-woofers are paired with the R Evotech soft dome tweeter, and the crossover points are 230 Hz and 3,100 Hz. Audiovector quotes 26 Hz to 28,000 Hz, or 26 Hz to 52,000 Hz at the minus 6 dB points. Sensitivity is 91 dB/W/m at a nominal 8 ohm, and power handling is listed at 275 W. The tower is 103.4 cm high, 23 cm wide and 36 cm deep. Black Ash, Italian Walnut and African Rosewood are the standard real wood veneers, White Silk is the painted option, and other piano colours can be ordered.

Engineering and use context

The soft dome sits behind an acoustic lens and has a rear vent that lets part of its high-frequency energy escape toward the back of the enclosure, which makes the tweeter partly rear-firing. The cabinet has a curved back and no parallel walls to limit internal reflections, and its bass reflex port exits through the base, a floor-firing arrangement that keeps the front and rear panels free of openings. The build includes laminated baffles, nanopore damping and shock absorbers placed inside the cabinet, and the carbon cones use titanium technology coils. The crossover uses Audiovector's DFF technology. The Avantgarde conversion swaps the dome for an air motion transformer, and the Arreté conversion goes further with an upgraded AMT, Freedom Grounding and NCS Freeze cryogenic treatment of parts. The slender front was drawn so that the tower remains visually discreet in a living room.

Pairing

Efficient and easy to drive, the R 3 Signature can be driven by valve amplifiers of moderate output as well as by transistor designs, and the generous power handling gives large amplifiers room to work. Black cloth grilles are included in the box.

Alternatives

The Audiovector R 3 Arreté is the top floorstanding version of the same model, using the R AMT Arreté tweeter, crossovers at 320 Hz and 2,900 Hz and 350 W handling.