ESA is one of the oldest Polish loudspeaker manufacturers, that is still present at the market. From the beginning the company offered nice sounding, solid speakers. It's portfolio changes from time to time, but the movements are not abrupt, as they do not come from the need to quickly improve the older model, but from introducing a new speaker model or an upgraded version. This testifies for one hand, that the company is following on the market's pulse, and for another, that it still works creatively, still searches. Because, probably, the curiosity and the urge to drill down to the bottom of a topic drive the best constructors to endless experimenting. That kind of work, connects to some kind of conservatism, as the moves are not chaotic in their nature, tested solutions stay in the portfolio for a few generations, but we also have the opportunity to acquaint ourselves quite quickly if something new and interesting comes along the way.

One cannot miss the fact, that ESA almost exclusively, as only in a very few cases when for example Morel drivers were used, works with products of three Danish brands: Scan-Speak, Vifa, and now in a broader way - Peerless. New designs from the Triton series, are based on a novelty from the latter manufacturer, the speaker Peerless Exclusive, that uses many solutions from Scan-Speak's prestige line Revelator (Among others the Symmetric Drive line-up, helping linearize the magnetic field on the ends of the magnet.) The tested stand speaker Triton 1 is a two-way speaker, where the mentioned driver is partnered by the distinctive "pitted" ring dome of Vifa.. In the Triton range there is also a floor standing, 2.5 way Triton 3. And this is probably not the end of the range.

I ordered the speakers for testing blindly. I saw them somewhere on a photo and they awakened my interest with the new Peerless and the characteristic, stubby shape. Their arrival in a big enclosure (both are fitted in one packaging) made some dismay, because it could not be seen from the photo, that they are so deep, or so heavy. I would hope for more such surprises in my reviewers life... As I mentioned, the Triton 1 have a stubby shape. Their front baffle is sloped, its upper and lower edge is cut off, to have it look a bit "lighter". The speaker box is heavy and deep. Not all stand will fit the speaker - especially those, that have small top. However... ESA must have taken this problem into account when constructing the speakers, and while not opting for compromise, that would make the speaker look better, but not fulfill the technical specifications, prepared special boards with spikes, that can be screwed to the stand top. The price for this convenience (including spikes) is 300-400 zł (depending on the finish).

We have to add, that with the new models Triton and Credo a white paper was created, a text devoted to the company's philosophy. The text named "ESA and the independence of triangles" will appear soon on ESA web page, but for the time being, it can be found HERE

LISTENING EXPERIENCE

Triton 1 is that, what the "disappearing speakers" lover are longing for. The ESAs do it very neatly and efficient, almost not manifesting their presence. Besides that, we don't have the idea, that the sound is coming from the speaker drivers, it seems to come from behind the speaker, being a whole, without division into the lower and upper frequencies. The Tritons are also characterized by very good dynamics. Both the "Symphonic Mood" and "Mandala Symphony" from the disk with recordings of Toshiro Mazumi ("Mandala Symphony. Bukaku", Naxos, 8.557693, CD) were reproduced with a great sense of might and in a fast way. Speed, meaning the lack of delays or "lazy" response to impulse, was present in the whole spectrum of reproduced frequencies, because by jumps of dynamics, the speaker behaved like one speaker driver, giving the impression of coherent sound. The sound scene with the Mazumi disk, and in general with classic material, was quite broad, was nicely spread backwards, behind the speakers, but was lacking further planes, preferring the nearer, often first, plane.

Electronic rock from the newest disk of Thoma Yorke "The Eraser" (review last month in the "Music" section ) only confirmed that. In comparison to speakers like Eryk S. Concept NUVO (test HERE ) or Diana from Harpia Acoustics (test HERE ) Triton 1 show the near plane in a stronger, more touchable way, but sacrificing some of the depth, some divergence, that the other mentioned speakers show better. It does not happen on its own, it is the effect of different way of leading the lower mids and bass. The speakers go down low, lower than ESC and HA, having a really tangible kick, what, by the music proposed by Thom Yorke (also in the band Radiohead, where he is the singer), is often especially useful. To experience this, you have to couple the ESAs with a quite powerful amplifier. Both the ESC and the HA are nominally more demanding load (have a lower efficiency), but my 27-watt (at 8 Ω) Avantgarde Acoustics Model 5 handled them better, showing a more open sound. With the Triton 1 it was slightly different, because the lower frequency sounds, evidently present, strong ... and low, were not as free as, they did not have that certain "lightness", that was present with for example the Diana.. Significant improvement was brought when the ESA were connected to the amplifier Amplifikator Model G (test HERE) with 100 W power. There was no shadow of a doubt, that the Tritons like to eat, and even though a small tube will drive them, like the amplifier I tested together with the ESAs Art Audio Lab. m25.3 with 25 W power, based on a Mullard EL34 tube working in triode configuration, showing a rich structure, coherence and palpability of the sound, but it will not be able to "open" the lower frequencies.

Regardless of the type of amplifier (I have connected also the amplifier of the Japanese Triode Company based on 300B tubes and 8 W output power - test HERE) and its power, the upper frequencies were very good. I have to say, that unfortunately I heard many more bad applications of the "horny" Vifa speaker than good ones, so I am not so fond of it. In the Triton 1 it behaved splendidly, disappearing nicely. A measure of quality in that frequency range is for me the ability to show sufficient amount of detail and disappear at the same time. There are plenty of speakers, that are detailed and expressive, but almost all of them have the sin of pride - they want to show that they are there and do their work. In this case, the upper frequencies, or better, the information contained in those, was present in exactly the amount needed, maybe their attack was slightly rounded, but it could not be said for sure that this speaker is playing at the given moment. That was the case with classical music, electronics and fusion of synthetic and acoustic sounds, from the very nice disk of Nguyen Le Duosa "Homescape" ( ACT, 9444-2, CD; review HERE), where the combination of those both worlds is not so easy. ESA speakers made this really nice and without effort, differencing the character of the particular instruments, but without emphasizing its roots, and such emphasis destroys the coherence of the music. Tritons played with full, deep midrange and a strong mid-bass. It became apparent, that the speakers need to be placed about one meter from the back wall, because if placed closer to the wall, the heavily working bass-reflex may color the midrange and make it sound nasal. If we take care of that, we will get very even, mature sound, without division in separate frequency ranges.

The only words of criticism that can be spoken against the Triton 1 touch two aspects. First is the treble resolution. I think that the Seas used by the Harpia and the Sonus Faber Electa Amator dome can show more shades of the brass. The difference is not big, but with a good amplifier, that does not mask this frequency range, it can be heard. It cannot be evaluated explicitly, the Vifa in the Tritons disappeared a little better than the mentioned Seas, which was a bit more prominent. The midrange behaves comparably - in the ESAs it is a bit quieter. It is not about macro dynamics, because the Tritons make good impression here, but about their resolution, or maybe micro dynamics. It seems to me that this frequency range is a bit muffled. It allows to show the sound with big shape and momentum, but it will not be fully freed. These are the only remarks I noted, and relate more to an objective situation, not taking into account, that those speakers are not that costly. In this area "1" don't have much competition. They are well designed and evenly well crafted. It can be seen - and more important - heard, that that behind them is somebody, that has a clear vision what he is looking for, and realizes a well thought plan, not dwelling in the dark . We just have to remember about a good, strong amplifier, solid stands and pulling the speakers from the back wall

THE MAKE

First, let's give voice to Mr Zawada, the owner of ESA, we should listen what he has to say about the new speaker series, as he knows them best:

"The new designs draw attention with new enclosure shape and positioning of the drivers. This allows to implement a few important acoustic claims, which are ignored or only pretended to be met by other manufacturers, and in reality are sacrificed on the altar of "safe" cabinet design.

The slope of the front baffle positions the speaker drivers in similar distance to the listener, diminishing phase shifts and facilitating the fine tuning of the filters. Additionally, the inclination of the back of the enclosure makes the front and the back stand far from parallel, and the depth of the box at the bottom and at the top differs by a large amount. Together with the enforcements, inside the cabinet an additional baffle is placed, in optimal angle versus the other cabinet walls, dividing the enclosure into two separate, smaller sections, for each of the woofers/mid-woofers. Only such radical treatment are able to reduce the standing waves that are generated inside the enclosure. Cosmetic sloping of only one cabinet wall, including only one slant baffle inside or the very fashionable "lute" shape are not able to reduce the generation of strong standing waves, especially when the enclosure has slender shape.

About the crossovers many rubbish stories can be written, as many companies do, attributing miracles to their filters. Meanwhile a well designed crossover just has to do, what other describe as a emanation of genius from their designer. Full phase integration near the splitting frequencies and within the area of the drivers cooperation, optimal choice of splitting frequencies and the slope of the filters based on the drivers parameters and their directional characteristics, thus providing balanced output not only on the main axis, but also on the, as broad as possible, range of angles."

The speaker box was finished in natural veneer, and is optically divided into three parts (looking from the side), separated by small dilatations:
- thick front baffle;
- the actual body;
- back plate.
In some way this "lightens" the Triton, but still, together with the quite broad front baffle and the large mid-woofer it makes a large, chubby block. Triton 1 is two way construction. On the bass and midrange we find the quite large Peerless HDS (830883) series driver with a paper cone, with a glued rigid element near the center (it looks like polypropylene or coated paper), that holds the coil carcass. In the middle there is no traditional dust cover, protecting the speaker from rubbish getting in the coil slit, but in this place a large phase cone was glued. The cone is made from metal (so it functions also as a cooling element), and is painted in the same silver color as the speaker carcass, with something that looks like furnace varnish. Let us note, that similar coloration could be found in speakers of the, very popular in Poland, company Avance. The mentioned carcass is cast, has large openings between the spider. The magnet is quite large and has no magnetic shielding, so we have to be careful in placing the speaker to a CRT TV set. To the gold plated speaker driver terminals flat tapes of copper braid were soldered, running to the back, to the crossover, which is placed on the bottom of the enclosure. This construction of point-to-point soldered large polypropylene capacitors and air coils is glued to an additional MDF element. From here further tapes have a short way to the gold plated, double binding posts (they look quite solid, but in such worked construction it would be worth to exchange them to something better - WBT, Cards or Eichmann Technologies) and to the tweeter. In this role the Vifa dome XT25TG03-04, where we have two folds instead of a single dome. This expanded the speakers frequency range (to the upper frequencies) and reduced its distortions. It's front is made of plastic and from behind a small muffling can was applied.

The drivers require a surface to be screwed to, and it would be best for it to be rigid and have low inertia. Here we have everything needed - firstly due to the fact it is a stand speaker, so it is compact by nature, and secondly, due to appropriate construction. The front baffle is composed of three layers, 62mm thick. Two of those are thick MDF plates, the third is the veneer. However it hard to call this veneer - it is 3 mm thick. The sides, the top and the bottom were obviously made from plywood, at least it looks that way from the inside. The inside is very weakly muffled (Harpia Acoustics speakers are similar in that aspect), because only on the sides two pieces of felt were placed. The speaker box can be covered by a grill, but then it looks much worse. A pity, that after the grill is removed, the not so decorative mountings remain visible (but this is similar by 99 % of manufacturers).

I am not a constructor, but I have unscrewed a few hundreds of speakers, so I have some idea how they look like. On this background, the Triton 1 is superbly constructed, and, however not all wives will be fond of it's chubby looks, it gave me a feel of competence.

The price given below is for typical veneers: maple, cherry, walnut (also tinted). Other finish is available on individual request and the price for this is also fixed individually.

ESA TRITON Price: 4200 zl Distributor: ESA Contact: e-mail: biuro@esa.com.pl www.esa.com.pl

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