Audiovector S1 Signature.
“AUDIOVECTOR RAISES THE BAR WITH THE NEW PRESTIGE MODEL S1 SIGNATURE”
S1 Signature delivers great all round performance for the money and it sounds extremely good with any type of music.
Audiovector’s succes with upgradable speakers has been noticed by everybody. With the new S1, which takes over from the now discontinued standmount speaker, the Mi1, Audiovector has now taken the definitive step towardsa genuine hi-end sound and quality which is coming close to the prestigious Si6. The S1 series spans from the S1 standard to the ultra luxurious S1 Avantgarde. This review’s S1 Signature is expensive though it feels really expensive and solid with its very convincing appearance.
The price level of the S1 Signature easily qualifies it to be among last months ”ultra luxurios stand mounts”. More about its position related to these later.
The fine sound quality and the typical ”Audiovector” sound has naturally been carefully preserved and yet improved upon.
The S1 Signature features a brand new curved cabinet with perfect acoustic properties which allows for a minimum of damping exploiting the a unique new damping material with microscopic nanopores. This results in an incredibly clean, dynamic and lively sound.
Audiovector’s patented new technology, called Direct Feed Forward, is said to reduce loss with 50% compared to the cross overs of earlier models. This has resulted in acoustic properties in the S1, so good that they could only belong to a speaker in the Si-SERIES.
The treble driver is the best dome tweeter Audiovector has ever made, called the T 2008 SEC, which is said to be fantastic in all respects.
The rear of the speaker is in true hi-end quality and very clean with beautifiul bi-wire terminals. All kinds of cables with either spades or banana plugs fits.
The bass driver is new, too, and features a titanium voice coil former, which drastically reduces distortion and heat build-up, sustantially improving on the musicality of the speaker. With a maximum power capacity of 160 watts, it is possible to play very loud without any sign of distortion. This is not typical ofa compact standmount. Great!
Even from the most basic S1 they have succeeded in keeping the same sound quality throughout the whole range. As the price increases, so does the extremely good sound quality. Just as the quality and depth of bass! Naturally, the ambitions with respect to sound quality were sky-high from the beginning. I really like the fact that it is possible – in real Audiovector fashion – to create an upgradable range of speakers. Other manufacturers could learn from this.
The level where you get most quality for your money, according to Audiovector’s Swedish representation, is the Signature model, where all the bits and pjeces really work together. Unless you have a really good system, I do not think that the next step up to the Avantgarde model is worth thinking of. At this level everything has to work perfectly together to get the most out of the Avantgarde model.
The Signature model is a very good performer – good enough most people for a very long time. The S1 Signature delivers fine all round performance for the money and sounds really great with any type of music you might feed it with. You really have to search for a long time to fine a product matching this. Anything but the best would a shame to match with this musical pjece of jewellery.
Listening to music for hours does not feel the least tiring and everything sounds analytical but still with a warmth, where details are presented with an almost hysterically good sense of presence. For comparison, ther reference speaker for the latest group test of expensive standmounts, the Monitor Audio GS 10, does not at all feel as open and analyutically perfect as the S1 Signature. Very disappointing, too, that my own expensive B&W ”Special Edition” standmounts almost felt sad and uninteresting in comparison. That the S1 Signature went right to the top and more than challenged the testwinner, the Canton Reference 9, is beyond all doubt. The only question is if it deserves a ”9” or it goes the whole way up to a ”10”?
Oh my God………