Напольная акустика — AudioSolutions Virtuoso S

The Virtuoso S is the smaller of the two original floorstanding models in the Virtuoso range from AudioSolutions of Vilnius, Lithuania, a company set up in 2011 under chief executive Gediminas Gaidelis. The series was announced in April 2019, when the Virtuoso M got its debut at High End in Munich and a Virtuoso S was already named as a later addition. AudioSolutions describes the family as sitting between its Figaro and Vantage Anniversary lines, pairing Vantage-derived engineering with Figaro styling. Next to the S, the current lineup lists the Virtuoso B for shelf or stand use, the Virtuoso M and the Virtuoso L.

Key specs that matter

Four drivers make up the passive three-way layout - a 3 cm silk dome at the top, a 13.2 cm hard pulp paper cone for the midrange and two 16.5 cm hard pulp woofers. The filter hands over at 500 Hz and at 7,000 Hz. Rated in-room response reaches from 26 Hz to 30,000 Hz, sensitivity is 91.5 dB for 2.83 V at 1 m and nominal impedance is 4.0 ohms. AudioSolutions gives 130 W RMS as nominal power handling and 260 W as the most it will accept without clipping. Height including the plinth is 1,130 mm, width 391 mm and depth 547 mm; the cabinet alone measures 1,090 x 281 x 478 mm. One speaker weighs 50 kg and 80 kg when crated for transport.

Engineering and use context

The wide-band midrange covers close to four octaves, which lets the designers keep both filter points clear of the 1,000-2,000 Hz region to which the ear reacts most strongly. Its enclosure follows the brand's box-in-a-box principle, where an inner structure with dense skeleton-style bracing gives the rigidity and handles primary vibration, while an outer shell of a different material wraps around it. Panel thickness and density vary from wall to wall, and polyurethane adhesive bonds the layers so that each part vibrates differently and resonance energy is absorbed. The silk dome is loaded by a small horn that AudioSolutions first used in its Overture speakers to deal with dome resonance. Owners can pick one of three crossover settings, Balanced being the default, and the switch alters the harmonic distortion profile of the drivers rather than their output. Paint choices run from four standard shades - Pearl White, Silver Grey, Zinc Grey and Black - to seven custom colours such as British Racing Green, Teal and Glacier Blue.

Pairing

Because its nominal impedance is low, the S needs an amplifier rated for output into low loads, and the continuous power of that amplifier should sit within the nominal and unclipped handling figures quoted by the maker.

Alternatives

The AudioSolutions Virtuoso M is the next tower in the series, with a 16.5 cm midrange, two 19 cm woofers, 92 dB sensitivity and a weight of 75 kg per speaker.