Напольная акустика — Cessaro Horn Acoustics WAGNER I

The Wagner I from Cessaro Horn Acoustics of Germany is a two-way horn loudspeaker in a floorstanding cabinet, which the maker positions as a compact system for small rooms. Cessaro gives a recommended room size of 15 to 30 m2 and a listening distance of more than 2 m, so a typical 20 m2 living space sits inside the intended range. Compared with the Chopin I, the Wagner I gains a new cabinet construction, a modified crossover and silver mica capacitors in the tweeter circuit, changes that add 40 kg to each speaker.

Key specs that matter

Cessaro rates efficiency at 98 dB for 1 W at 1 m and nominal impedance at 6 ohm. The stated frequency range is 30 Hz to 20,000 Hz, and peak level capability is stated at above 109 dB. Power handling is listed as 20 W, while the recommended amplifier power is only above 1.5 W. Each unit measures 132 cm high, 36 cm wide and 78 cm deep and weighs 110 kg, a mass that calls for careful planning before delivery and placement.

Engineering and use context

Low and middle frequencies come from an 8 inch driver with an Alnico magnet, working in what Cessaro calls a special horn reflex construction. Treble is handled by a modified TAD TD-2002 compression driver of 1 inch throat size, again with an Alnico magnet system and a beryllium diaphragm. That driver fires through a spherical composite horn 26 cm across, and the horn body alone weighs 7 kg without the driver attached. Using compression loading for the upper band and horn reflex loading for the lower band is what allows the high efficiency figure from a two-way layout. The horn can be painted in any colour the buyer specifies, while cabinet sides can be veneered in various woods on request, so each pair is effectively finished to order.

Pairing

Because a few watts are enough to drive the Wagner I and its power handling is modest, low-powered amplifiers such as single-ended triode designs are a natural match, and large solid-state amplifiers bring little benefit here. Cessaro itself asks only for an amplifier of high quality rather than naming a power class. The moderate nominal load keeps demands on output stages modest, and a quiet amplifier with low residual noise matters more than headroom given how efficient the speaker is.

Alternatives

The Cessaro Chopin I is the two-way floorstanding horn model on which the Wagner I was developed, with a lighter cabinet and without the silver mica tweeter capacitors.