LOUDSPEAKERS AUDIO ACADEMY PHOEBE II WOJCIECH PACUŁA Translation: Krzysztof Kalinkowski

In the current portfolio of the company Audio Academy this model actually is no longer mentioned. It is replaced by Phoebe III, however costing much more. And this is probably the reason, that the older model is still enjoying sustained interest. In the end, in the same cabinet as Phoebe III we get a cheaper product. Anyway, looking at Phoebe II we cannot escape the feeling, that we get much “good”: covered with natural veneer, very good crafted enclosure, with an integrated pedestal and nice looking speakers presents itself very well. The whole is not big, the dimensions resemble the models iQ5 from KEF (test HERE) and 2390 of Harpia Acoustics (test HERE… oh, sorry, not tested yet…) – my daughter, when she saw them, was happy, that there are some speakers smaller than she is, and without the leg (she meant the stand) – however this is a full fledged, floor standing, 2-way bass-reflex speaker.

LISTENING EXPERIENCE

You do not have to be a very experienced listener, to quickly come to the conclusion that the Phoebe II have a very balanced sound. Not without compromise, but at this price level it is inevitable. In any way the key word is “balance”. With such a low budget, from which a part is devoted to solid, nice looking enclosures, this is quite an achievement and a step away from speakers, that are tuned to polish one or two elements of the sound, what makes them devoted to one kind of music.

The sound of the Audio Academy speakers is fresh and open. It is not contributed to the treble, as this – especially in the upper range – are quite delicate, but it comes probably from the character of the upper midrange. This, while not being sharp, is strong and prominent. This gives substantial possibilities in the area of drawing of the instruments, their dynamics and sound scene. We get a clear, nice sound, not cursed with narrow band colorings, that maybe bring some element of drama into the sound, but are clear misconceptions. The transmission is probably not a masterpiece of resolution, in this aspect the 2390 of Harpia Acoustics are a step further, but thanks to this the speakers will integrate easily with most of spiffy devices costing below 3000zł. The voices from The Beatles disc Love (Apple/EMI 380789, DVD-A 24/96) had a clear articulation and no underlined sibilants. And although they cannot be described as warm, due to the slight rounding off of the attack we get a vivid, blended together with the rest of the music “universe” sound. As I mentioned before those little speakers show the dynamics of the recordings splendidly. Both the quiet recordings like in the course of “Something” as well as the explosive “Help!” had internal tension, something like a wound spring in a clockwork, that pushes everything forward while remaining seemingly unmovable.

With this recording a characteristic could be noticed, that will probably be decisive in choosing appropriate electronics: the midrange sound quite hard. This is the reason the sound has vitality and internal coherence, but it also emphasizes the faults of the recordings. With The Beatles, in stronger pieces like “Get Back” and “Glass Onion” it could be heard clearly that the source material was not ideal, and although Sir George Martin and his son did what they could, but some things, like slight blatancy of some sound fragments, could not be overcome. And the Phoebe II paid more attention to this. It was similar during the listening session of the Arcam FMJ DV139 player (test in preparation), that can play some SACD a bit hard (in this model the DSD is converted to PCM 24bits/176kHz and only then it is processed). So it is worth to experiment with the speakers, to avoid similar sounding electronics.

However this is the only thing to watch out for before buying. Surprisingly easy the manufactured in Łódź speakers compose themselves with most of budget electronics, much easier than the mentioned Harpia, that are more vicious in that aspect. Rotel, Primare, Creek (EVO). Or Denon “700”. Or Arcam with the DiVA A70 amplifier – these are all good company for the Phoebe II. In addition to the splendid tonal balance another feature can be added – very good space. It is not as stable as with the Harpia Acoustics Marcus I use (test HERE), but there is a fivefold difference in price, and what follows that (although it does not always work that way) in class. For such inexpensive speakers Phoebe present a very wide, deep and stable stage. I think that up to 2000zł it is a leader in that aspect. Let's listen to Norah Jones from the disc Not Too Late (Blue Note/EMI 382035, CCD) and we will know what I am talking about – there is depth, dynamics, openness. The instruments are appointed to their places on the stage in a very accurate way, giving the illusion of real instruments. Besides that the Phoebe are an easy load. Because they do not play with a very profound bass – although stronger than in the KEF iQ5 (test HERE) – so there are no problems in pushing them to reasonable sound levels. As there are now many Chinese, inexpensive and very good amplifiers on the market, so maybe this is the combination to try out? As the tubes for that money mostly give quite warm and romantic midrange, so when paired with the strong midrange of the speakers we get that what it is all about – Music.

Let's summarize: Phoebe are leaders is every aspect in the 2000zł price range. If we enlarge the window by 25% so to 2500zł, we will find a few other constructions, that will try to steal the primacy from them. The Harpia will be more dynamic and more resolving, KEFs will show a sweeter, more fluid midrange, and the Bowers a more dramatic, intensive transmission, with a stronger treble. But none of those speakers will fit so easily in most systems and none will give such a balanced sound from the beginning.

THE MAKE

As mentioned in the beginning, the model Phoebe II from the Łódź based company Audio Academy is a two-way, two driver speaker. The treble is served by the small Vifa dome TC20TD06 (in the more expensive, coming on the market model Phoebe III it will be replaced by the Seas KT25F), and the midrange and bass are reproduced by the coted paper cone TC18WG69 also from Vifa. The spider is made from plastic, and the magnet is rather small. The load for it is a chamber of considerable size, with damped walls and partially the inside, strengthened with ledges and ventilated to the front by the bass-reflex tube. To both speakers terminals thick OFC copper braided cables are soldered. The cables run to a reasonable sized cross-over, screwed to the back plate. We find powder core coils, foil and bipolar capacitors and two mass resistors there. The signal is provided to the crossover by the same kind of braided cable from a single set of gold plated terminals located quite close to the floor on the back wall of the cabinet. The enclosure is made from thick MDF and finished in natural veneer. The front is separated from the rest of the cabinet by a small dilation, similar to the thick, black painted, protruding pedestal. From below messing spikes can be screwed into the pedestal, spikes that are not sharp, but have small ball endings. The spikes are supplied in a small, tasteful box with the company logo pressed on it – for so little money we get a taste of luxury! It was similar with the Acuhorn speakers – did somebody spy on somebody? Even if, I wish everybody would spy on such examples. This makes the speakers look very sleek and they do not intimidate the room with their presence. To the pedestal the company logo is glued. The speakers can be covered with a grill.

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