The Solitaire S 540 is the larger of the two floor-standing models in the Solitaire S series made by T+A Elektroakustik in Herford, and it sits above the Solitaire S 530. It is a three-way system in a closed cabinet, pairing a long magnetostatic tweeter with a line of small oval midrange drivers and four woofers. T+A offers it in high-gloss black, high-gloss Macassar and high-gloss Arctic silver.
Key specs that matter
For treble T+A fits the in-house Mag850 magnetostat, 850 mm long and working from 1.8 kHz up to 50 kHz, combined with seven elliptical 90 x 60 mm StarStabilizer midrange units and four 220 mm bass drivers. Crossover points are 180 Hz and 1,800 Hz. The rated range is 20 Hz to 45,000 Hz, sensitivity is 88 dB at 1 W and 1 m and impedance is 4 ohm. Power handling is 240 W nominal and 300 W music power. Each speaker measures 148 x 32 x 52 cm in height, width and depth and weighs 80 kg, and buyers can order the front baffle in silver or in black.
Engineering and use context
The Mag850 is driven by 64 magnets in a single line and has a diaphragm area above 500 cm2, and T+A adds its Draft Control System to keep the magnetic field consistent. Together with the vertical row of midrange drivers it forms T+A's Cylinder Wave Technology, which produces a flat, homogeneous wavefront between the speakers and is meant to reduce the influence of the listening room. The four woofers fire sideways, two on each side, and are mutually braced inside the sealed enclosure, so their opposing forces cancel vibration and resonance in the cabinet. T+A chose the closed box instead of the bass reflex loading of the S 530 for better transient response. The internal volume is 120 litres. The side and rear panels are MDF, while the front baffle is machined from aluminium billet. The double-sided Fast Signal Response crossover keeps bass and midrange boards separate, and three three-way toggle switches change bass, midrange and treble level by 1.5 dB up or down. Twin terminal pairs on each cabinet make bi-wiring and bi-amping possible. The speaker stands on a machined aluminium plinth with outriggers and four spikes, and the metal grilles attach magnetically.
Pairing
The low impedance paired with moderate sensitivity suits a transistor power amplifier with solid current delivery, and the separated crossover boards let a dedicated amplifier channel handle the woofer section on its own.
Alternatives
The T+A Solitaire S 530 is the smaller floor-standing model in the same Solitaire S series.