AL 170 - 8 Ohm

The ATLANTIS has been consistently designed for optimum sound-pressure rating while retaining a moderately sized cabinet and an elegant appearance. In the bass range, two AL 170 - 8 OHM are mounted in parallel but in separate housings, where each has about 27 l of air space to itself. These speakers have a lower limiting frequency of 28 Hz meaning that they generate good, solid deep bass. Where you position the speakers is more or less a matter of choice, but they should not be right against the wall (a minimum of 10 cm is needed) as otherwise the effect of the bass reflex tubes will suffer.

Compared with the 'normal' AL 130 - 8 OHM, the AL 130 M - 8 OHM is equipped with a shorter voice coil. This improves efficiency and makes it the ideal choice in this combination.

Used as a tweeter, the KE 25 SC - 8 Ohm is activated from 2500 Hz. The distortion factor of this ceramic dome driver is really low at these frequencies, so that even high volume levels come across completely free of distortion.

The 5th generation of VISATON's classic ATLAS COMPACT is positioned in the mid- and high-ranges and compares with the systems mentioned at the beginning of the series. Once again, we have the DSM 25 FFL - 8 Ohm and DSM 50 FFL - 8 Ohm dome loudspeakers. The low- to mid-range is covered by the AL 170 - 8 Ohm. What is new in this version is the TIW 300 - 8 Ohm as the woofer.

The crossover, too, has been thoroughly reviewed. The separating frequency between the woofer and low- to mid-range unit has been set at 220 Hz. Thanks to this relatively low separating frequency, the bass is particularly powerful between 50 and 100 Hz. This is accompanied, however, by a reduction in impedance in this range of frequencies. There is compensation for the increased impedance in the woofer (KN 27 mH, 330 µF) which prevents this low impedance curve, but this also reduces the bass output level at 80 Hz by around 3 dB (red line below 100 Hz). This can be a great advantage in rooms where the bass output level is boosted excessively by resonance. Where the output level is more important and a reduction in nominal impedance at 80 Hz to 4 ohms is acceptable, the impedance compensation is simply deactivated to produce the higher frequency graph. In this way, the ATLAS COMPACT MK V offers a tangible advantage in that the bass output level can be trimmed to suit the listening room.

The broad chamfers in the upper part of the baffle give the cabinet a slimmer appearance while, at the same time, avoiding the build-up of corner reflection in the sensitive mid- and high-ranges.

The ATLAS COMPACT MK V is a very dynamic speaker with powerful bass reproduction but without getting woolly in the bass department. Additional features are absolutely neutral voice reproduction and crystal-clear high-frequency sounds without sharp edges.

This designer speaker cabinet is a challenge for any experienced craftsman who is looking for a speaker that stands out from the crowd. The excellent design means that the shape is not just a designer's whim but a technically thought-out reality. The front baffle has been kept as narrow as possible all the way along. This projects the sound away from the speakers into the room, in such a way that the instruments and voices are perfectly positioned and - provided the speakers are positioned away from the walls - the listener is treated to excellent spatial sound. The curved shape of the side panels has a stiffening effect and reduces resonance dramatically. In this way, the conventional reinforcements are not required.
In the bass department, we have the GF 200 - 2 x 4 Ohm with its high level accuracy, which can really make the most of its long-stroke voice coil and fibre-glass reinforced cone. The bass driver is positioned very close to the floor of the cabinet, and requires a low cross-over frequencyup to the mid-range. In order to maintain the excellent level accuracy here, a speaker with a large cone surface area has been chosen. In this combination, the AL 170 - 8 Ohm demonstrates its remarkable mid-range characteristics that guarantee exceptional transparency and clarity of sound. The tried-and-tested G 25 FFL - 8 Ohm textile dome unit adds depth and vitality to the high-range.
Not available as a complete kit.

The 2-way FONTANA system is a 360° omnidirectional speaker with a highly attractive appearance and is particularly well suited as an effect speaker. The speakers are arranged so that they point upwards and reflect the sound output by means of two specially shaped cones. This results in a uniformly distributed frequency response, that matches your hearing expectations in the room.

The best sound quality is achieved if these omnidirectional speakers are positioned about 50 cm to 1 m from a wall. This produces spatial sound of such tangible quality that it is perceived at any position in the room. Virtual sound sources, such as instruments or voices perceived to be between the speakers, can be clearly located from any seating position in the room, which gives listeners a freedom of movement in the room they have never had before and this holds true even in acoustically difficult rooms. This results in extraordinary diffusion fields for the effects channels in Dolby® Surround and multi-channel systems.

The DT 94 - 8 Ohm tweeters, ideal for this type of system, working in conjunction with the mid-bass AL 170 - 8 Ohm and the carefully tuned crossover unit, ensure balanced, neutral sound reproduction. Low-range bass frequencies are boosted by the BR 15.34 tube, which is situated in the bottom of the bass chamber and guarantees clear, powerful bass reproduction.

The omnidirectional FONTANA, tested in an anechoic chamber, achieved a maximum volume of 98 dB. If positioned, as recommended, near a wall, however, the system produces + 6 dB or, in a corner of the room, + 9 dB, making this omnidirectional speaker ideally suited even for larger rooms. If required, two FONTANA's can be installed on each side to produce a full surround field. To do so, position one omnidirectional speaker to the side of the seating arrangement and a second one behind that. The same applies to the other side.

The FONTANA is ideal as a fullrange effects speaker system for high-quality surround sound systems for movies and music, but can just as well be used as the main loudspeaker for hi-fi stereo systems to give you excellent spatial listening pleasure for your favourite music.

A compact subwoofer is usually a compromise between keeping the outer dimensions to a minimum and producing adequate bass sound. To ensure that the tidy size for use in the living-room does not impair one's listening pleasure, a certain minimum cabinet volume is essential. The 15 litres available in the MINI SUB 170 have been realised in a cabinet that is only 20 cm wide. With its depth of 39 cm and a height of 30 cm, the MINI SUB 170 will easily find a space beside, on or even under any piece of furniture of standard dimensions.

The long-excursion aluminium AL 170 - 8 Ohm woofer generates no less than 85 dB (at a distance of 1 metre) in conjunction with the front bass reflex vent at one watt and from 65 Hz. Within the range from 40 Hz to 70 Hz, the series-connected 800-µF capacitor raises the output level by a further 2 dB. As a result, this small-sized speaker cabinet sounds far more grown-up than its physical size would suggest.

The MINI SUB 170 is a perfect complement to a compact satellite system (stereo and home theatre) or PC speakers which are often sadly lacking in the bass department. In other words, it will always be suitable where a chunky subwoofer monster will either not fit or is not desirable but you do not want to do without a solid low-frequency musical foundation.

SYMPHONIE's sound profile can best be described as very mellow and melodious. The two AL 170 - 8 Ohm 17-cm woofers generate a full-bodied but well-defined bass in their isolated bass reflex compartments that one would not normally expect of a design such as this. Even at the lowest bass frequencies, SYMPHONIE retains its fidelity and produces clear, precise sound even at high volumes.

The highlight of the SYMPHONIE system is the 50-mm G 50 FFL - 8 Ohmmid-range dome. In the mid-range, it is this driver that ensures unbelievably tangible reproduction of the stage arrangement and provides clearer detection of the central (vocalist's) position than that provided by many other systems. Even recordings that are not perfectly spatial come across as well separated from the speakers, thanks to the SYMPHONIE. As a result, longer listening sessions become a source of relaxed long-term pleasure.

In the high-frequency range, the well-known ceramic dome driver, the KE 25 SC - 8 Ohm, is used to good effect and rounds off the overall soundpicture with its silky-smooth sound properties and outstanding linearity.

The VIB 170 AL is a slim-line 2-band column speaker using an AL 170 - 8 Ohm woofer and a 25 mm, G 25 FFL - 8 Ohm textile dome tweeter. The 34 litre bass reflex cabinet produces a remarkably deep lower limiting frequency of only 25 Hz, but maintains its powerful, precise bass reproduction. The reason for this is the subwoofer AL 170 - 8 Ohm with its rear-vented spider and its long cone strokes. The flow-optimised bass reflex tube BR 25.50 is mounted at the rear of the cabinet to present the most ideal optical appearance, but can, if the cabinets are to be set close to a wall (closer than 10 cm), be moved to the front without any loss in quality.

The two 1 µF capacitors in conjunction with the 2.2 mH coil form a blocking circuit that effectively suppresses the resonance in the aluminium diaphragm generated typically by that material.

The VIB 170 AL is a compact speaker with well-balanced sound quality and clean-cut bass and impulse fidelity, providing excellent dynamic properties for a speaker of this size.

When developing the VIB 170 BP, the main objective was to create a fairly compact column speaker with an extremely deep bass output, which is capable of reproducing the deepest regions of the audible frequencyspectrum. A common bassreflex housing can reach this aim only partly. Therefore, a very rare type of cabinet has been realized, at least when looking at fullrange-loudspeakers: A double-sided ventilated bandpass. In this layout, a woofer which is mounted on an inner separation wall, is operating on two bassreflex-tuned volumes, a larger one and a smaller one. By means of a subtle tuning of the two cavities, a linear frequency response down to 35 Hz (-3 dB) could be obtained with a housing of only 75 liters. Not until then, the sound pressure level starts to drop rather quickly. The lower cut-off frequency (-10 dB) is located around 24 Hz. Some very large bassreflex speakers are capable of reaching similar cut-off frequencies, but the SPL already starts dropping at much higher frequencies. This is why those kinds of loudspeakers sound less voluminous and deep.
Due to the exceptionally high excursion limit of the TIW 200 XS - 8 Ohm, the maximum obtainable sound pressure level is already physically tangible and more than sufficient even for large listening rooms.

Another design feature of the VIB 170 BP is the wide frequency range of the AL 170 - 8 Ohm. By means of a sophisticated crossover set-up, we have been successful in taking advantage of the outstanding acoustical properties of the AL 170 - 8 Ohm from 100 Hz up to 8 kHz. Not until then, the established ceramic tweeter KE 25 SC - 8 Ohm takes over to render the uppermost 1-2 octaves. By this layout, the widest part of the audible spectrum is reproduced by only one driver, which helps acoustical imaging and leads to a strikingly precise stage arrangement.

So how does such a fancy build sound like? Like the best of both worlds: The spatial precision and dynamic of a good fullrange driver, paired with the brute bass power of the TIW 200 XS - 8 Ohm in the bandpass cabinetand the silky, delicate treble of the excellent ceramic calotte.
At the same time, the whole loudspeaker plays all of a piece and acts absolutely neutral in terms of tonality. Moreover, not a hint of the often-cited "sponginess" of the bandpass principle could be observed, far from it: the low tones sound firm and massive, fully grown, thus becoming to many a much larger boxes.

All around, the VIB 170 BP can be said to be a felicitous loudspeaker, which combines the advantages of a high class fullrange speaker, a multiple way box and a strong subwoofer in one slim cabinet.

TIP: The low frequency part of the VIB 170 BP, without the tweeter and the midwoofer, and without the crossover network, makes a superb subwoofer to complement even large home cinema systems, single- or pairwise.

The BIJOU 170 is a compact shelf-top speaker with high-end drivers as the original BIJOU. The AL 170 - 8 Ohm woofer in the closed 10.5 l case provides for a kick and exact bass which works well and without booming by mounting on a wall. This was reached by a slightly rising frequency response to about 1000 Hz, so that the BIJOU 170 should be used preferentially as a wall or shelf-mounted speaker.

In this duet the high tone reproduction takes over the also well known ceramic tweeter KE 25 SC - 8 Ohm which is extremely rich in detail and exact in work.

The BIJOU 170 is available as single version and can be used therefore e.g. as a centre speaker, but, of course, also as a front and effect loudspeaker in home cinema systems, supported by an additional subwoofer.