Aptica
Product Information
APTICA
Aptica has evolved from Albedo's original design concept for an unobtrusive, compact loudspeaker - that 'speaks' exquisite form as well as function ... not just another 'coffin' box. Svelte good looks and sound presentation to match. Created to enhance your living room and Audio System.
It's immediate predecessor the H2.2 was reviewed by 6 Moons and dubbed the "Worlds most beautiful Speaker ?"
For a second opinion on the H2.2, further reading, Sound opinion and information comes from "StereoLife"
"I really do not know what else I could wish for. In one package I got a reference bass, fantastic soundstage which allows you to forget about the limitations of listening rooms, one hundred percent neutral colour, superb dynamics and lucidity. Certainly the performance of the HL 2.2 will embody audiophile ideals but for me this is the maximum of what can be achieved without falling into complete absurd price range".
...
Aptica introduces a new 6" Accuton ceramic main driver, in a two-way pair-matched configuration with improvements made to it's sturdy base plinth. The front baffle also inherits from 3-way Axcentia treatment, whose sculpted surface is designed to defray reflections. The floor facing transmission-line terminus remains unchanged.
Ceramic Drivers
Ceramic drivers were developed in 1984 by Bernhard Thiel, an engineer at Backes & Müller in Germany. They are made with an extremely thin layer of hard material alumina, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide, which is found in nature as sapphire. Consequently they are expensive and also very difficult to control. The Absolute Sound's 'Illustrated History of High-End Audio' devotes an entire chapter to them ... and why the World's leading loudspeaker manufacturers employ their use.
Advantages of ceramics :
• High efficiency
• Very thin form factor
• Tight manufacturing tolerances
• Smaller acoustic cavity required
Aptica employs an Accuton 6" mid/woofer and 1" tweeter with "DSD" (Diffraction Shaping Device) ... see Pic below.
Care and attention has been paid to cross-over design. Driver performance paired with the benefits of a properly designed TL enclosure, explain why this model has gained so much acclaim.
In addition to their good looks ! "MEET THE APTICA"
What can you expect ?
Independent opinion is always best. The comments (below) derive from Reviews and those that have auditioned Aptica.
At this level of performance a quality Source is essential - they are in fact used at 6 Moons to evaluate Digital and Amplification equipment performance.
Room considerations are less important - even a sizeable room with 5m x 11.5m x 2.6m dimensions ... did not 'phase' them in Review. Aptica is small in size and stature but even though a TL ... bass does not dominate. Smaller rooms therefore are accommodated.
Amplifier choice will be preference but while Srajan Ebaen's tastes have changed from Valve to Solid State over the years - an excellent compromise is now available.
Metrum's new Forte Stereo Power Amp bridges the gap. It is a Valve design in entirety ... minus the bottle !
6 Moons Review of Forte in fact confirms, that Adaio + Forte make perfect partners for Aptica.
Performance :
In short ... "To say that the Albedo Aptica is a masterpiece of acoustics, is not an exaggeration nor rhetoric, but a simple observation."
Audio Review Italia by Mauro Neri, translated from Italian.
The Aptica Wins a Red Fingerprint Award !!
"I will be brief - I have not heard anything like that from the speakers in this price range for a long time, and I have never heard anything like that from the speakers of such small dimensions, ever".
In full ... click "Truly Unique" below
Take One
“Although I was forewarned that the Albedo speakers deliver "big" sound, hooking them up to my system brought a pleasant surprise … I cannot explain such a large soundstage and so good volume of instruments other than by a very good synergy of well-matched and properly crossed over drivers with the transmission line and Helmholtz resonator.
At the same time, the Aptica showed the same combination of incredible smoothness and attention to detail that I'd previously heard from other good speakers equipped with this type of drivers, like the Avalon Transcendent and the Isophon Berlina RC7.
I would even say that in terms of conveying transient attacks without sound compression they are better than my Harbeths. I am mainly thinking treble here. Their pitch differentiation in this range is much better than that of my M40.1 .… if someone does not particularly like the appearance of the Harbeth M30.1 or M40.1 and wants similar quality.
It is a very similar way of building up the sound that has the same texture, with great soundstaging and momentum, realistically sized instruments, and the same outstanding resolution executed by a very precise attack. And it's all smooth, silky and soft. You want detail without harshness or brightening ? Here you are, the Italian speakers are the champions in this respect.
The Apticas sound in a way that clearly refers to a particular system of values, needs and aesthetics. They are fantastic in that. Large phantom images, absolute smoothness and incredible sensitivity to individual sounds and their attack result in something ... "Truly Unique" Wojciech Pacuła - Positive Feedback
Take Two
"For audiophile appeal there's the Accuton angle. It's long served as Kharma's and Mårten Design's trump card. There prices skyrocket quickly. I'd always thought of my cheery Cherry Boenicke B10 as the unkontested kings of kompact kool. Sultans of svelte swing. Noisy narrators of narrow. As it turned out, the Albedos were a close second ...
Here was highly crystallized clarity like a cut glass decanter. The Aptica was a whisperer par excellence. This went back to vertical transients and concomitant super intelligibility. Check the step response of complex multi-way speakers. They tend to be very confused in the time domain. Here single-driver widebanders ... have quite an advantage. But not exclusively so. Time-domain accuracy isn't inextricably linked to high efficiency after all. It would seem more associated with design simplicity.
Extension and speed embrace techno and electronica but raw shove - where a Zu Druid V for example collects stars - falls a bit short and the extra wallop from ported alignments is absent too. Considering just how compact the non-vented Aptica is, that's no surprise but bloody impressive. As such it is quite the surprise, simply of a different sort.
Whilst I didn't find the Accuton as gossamer airy as my favored Raal ribbons in hosted Soundkaos and Aries Cerat speakers, it plainly was ideal here for perfect integration with the main driver which isn't softer paper. The hard convex dome's leading-edge reaction seemed superior to fabric domes.
Perhaps because they focus brilliantly as time-coherent minimum-phase designs, the Apticas could play the edges of the (sound) field for Cinerama panorama ...
This latest Albedo thus seriously impressed us and a number of visitors. That such an "Ultra High-Performance" device could look this good, be this compact and wide bandwidth were the cherry and cream on top. Italians own style. It's so cliché but true here and with a vengeance". Srajan Ebaen - 6 Moons
Take Three
Summary translation from Italian Audio Review by Mauro Neri.
"A Masterpiece of acoustics and design"
Take Four
"Another remarkable feature is the good propensity to disappear in the listening environment, to give space to a precise reconstruction of the acoustic scene. The sealed in power and the consequent great sensation of Dynamics, make the Aptica an immersive Speaker, despite their not very high sensitivity (85dB)".
Availability
Aptica comes in 4 flavours - Black Oak, Makassar Ebony, Glossy Graphite Ebony and Glossy Black lacquer.
Demonstration
At this price level audition is recommended. Apticas at Critical are installed in a medium sized room approx. 4.85L x 4.3W x 2.95H, spaced just over 3m apart across room width with 3.3m listening position. Metrum's Adagio performs Dac and Digital Volume duties feeding Forte Stereo Power Amp. Interconnects : Silver Kimber BNC/XLR, Yter RCA, van den Hul Carbon The First Ultimate RCA with Silver Yter or Slinkylinks plus Naim NACA5 Speaker cables.
If out of town - a great opportunity to explore what 'The Bay' has to offer (not just the good weather) - and combine music with a visitor experience.
Pricing : Black Oak and Makassar Ebony $14,750 - includes delivery throughout NZ.
Pricing for Glossy Graphite Ebony and Glossy Black lacquer on request.
In the North Island delivery by Criticalsound.
Enquiry welcome.
Aptica in Glossy Graphite clothing.
Well spiked and sturdy base plate with cable connectivity - shortest cable run possible to terminals ... being at ground level. Chunky adjustable levelling control.
Sculpted Ebony Baffle - solid base plate and grounding.
Accuton ceramic drivers and diffraction tweeter surround.
The distances between the centre of emission and the edges of the panel (of the order of some centimetres) corresponds to the frequencies of a few kHz. They have a very important role in the overall emission. Thus reducing deterioration due to diffraction from the edges - an important contribution to correct reconstruction of sound-stage and tonal balance.
It remains to be heard ... whether a complete Metrum stack will extract more from Aptica !
Aptica alongside big brother ... Axcentia.
Aptica's predecessor in Review - compared to larger Harbeths.
Metrum's SOTM Adagio ... producing Source information for Aptica's presentation.
Even Musette is at home providing Source information.
Little Metrum Musette sitting atop COS D1 - even Musette is right at home ... in a High Class System.