Напольная акустика — T+A Solitaire S 530

T+A's Solitaire S 530 is a three-way tower from the German manufacturer based in Herford. It sits between the more conventional S 430 and the larger S 540 in the Solitaire line, and is built around two T+A technologies - a tall magnetostatic tweeter developed from the company's Solitaire P headphone work, and a vertical line array of oval midrange drivers. The speakers are supplied as mirror-imaged pairs and made in Germany.

Key specs that matter

The S 530 combines an 850mm-long, 42mm-wide Mag850 magnetostatic tweeter, a 610mm-tall array of seven 90 x 60mm oval StarStabilizer aluminium midrange drivers and two 220mm aluminium-cone woofers. Crossover points are 180Hz and 1.8kHz, the upper using second-order slopes. Frequency response is 29Hz to 45kHz (+/-1.5dB), sensitivity is 86dB at 2.83V/1m and impedance is 4 ohms, with power handling of 200W music and 250W maximum. The woofers are reflex-loaded, while the midrange and tweeter are sealed. Each speaker stands 128cm tall including the base, measures 26 x 45cm and weighs 60kg, in high-gloss Black, Silver or Macassar veneer.

Engineering and use context

The Mag850 uses a Kapton membrane under 10 microns thick, carrying aluminium traces that form a single conductor more than 10m long, driven by 64 magnets arranged behind it. T+A calls the arrangement its Draft Control System - the field acts evenly across the membrane so it moves uniformly and stays in the linear part of the field. T+A switched from electrostatic to magnetostatic tweeters because electrostatics can arc in hot, humid climates. Together, the long tweeter and the stacked midrange drivers form T+A's Cylinder Wave Technology - both radiate a cylindrical wavefront aimed at the listener, with little energy sent to the floor and ceiling, reducing early reflections. The oval midrange shape narrows vertical dispersion and lets the drivers sit close to each other and to the tweeter, and a star-shaped pattern stiffens their aluminium diaphragms. The two woofers are mounted on opposite sides of the cabinet in a force-cancelling arrangement that cancels cabinet vibration, and vent through a wide downward-firing port. Pairs are supplied handed, with tweeters normally placed on the outside.

Pairing

The low impedance and modest sensitivity call for a powerful amplifier with high current capability, such as T+A's own HV-series amplifiers. The narrow vertical dispersion favours a listening distance long enough for the line source to integrate, making the S 530 best suited to larger rooms.

Alternatives

T+A's own Solitaire S 540 uses the same tweeter and midrange array in a taller cabinet with four woofers in a sealed bass system.