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Conclusion. Lithuanian products rarely grace the pages of audio magazines in Poland or elsewhere so that little is known about their domestic hifi scene. The few reviews of products from companies like Reed or LessLoss don't really address it. That’s why the reviews of AudioSolutions products in these pages will hopefully catch us up just a little.
And that's worthwhile because these speakers really are stylish in the best sense. Clearly inspired by Italian design (primarily Sonus faber), they speak with a distinctive voice. Very warm yet vivid and gutsy, they are perfect for recordings with a clear lead vocal or instrument particularly of the stringed variety. Those worried about my earlier treble descriptions should rest assured that both piano and harpsichord were portrayed in an intensely vibrant way. Bass extension isn't massive and even smaller speakers like the RLS can reach lower. However bass extension is only part of this story and usually paid for with something else. Since the Rhapsody 60 doesn't apply a forced bass alignment to overwork its port, the sound is very free and the dense lower midrange eliminates any perception of weakness.
The Rhapsody 60's vividness is particularly delightful to make for a very colorful sound that's the antithesis of monochromatic or gray. The speaker is not as fast as the Dynaudio however but that's intrinsic and part of the recipe. These are nicely finished well thought-out monitors with a voicing that needs to match personal expectations but is well worth auditioning!
Review methodology. My auditioning had the character of an A/B comparison with both A and B known and a relatively long time between changes. Music samples were 2 minutes long but entire albums were tested too. The speakers sat on simple 60cm tall Sonus faber stands. AudioSolutions offers its own slanted version to which the speakers can be bolted like Chario did for its Academy Sonnet monitors. I couldn’t do anything about the height of the stands but was able to safely and securely tilt back the speakers with small Acoustic Revive spacers. In addition to the reference amplifier I also used the Accuphase A-200 class A power amp. The stands did not sit on the floor but on Acoustic Revive RST-38 platforms. The speakers were compared directly to the Dynaudio Confidence C1 Signature and Harbeth 30.1 and M40.1. Their axes crossed slightly behind me.
Design. The Rhapsody 60 from Lithuanian manufacturer AudioSolutions are medium-sized two-way stand-mounted speaker designs. The 150mm treated-paper Seas mid/woofer loads into a front port with metal trim ring like Wilson Audio speakers. This driver has a powerful magnet and rigid cast basket of aluminium/magnesium alloy. The tweeter is a beautiful 25mm top-line silk dome from Seas with a rigid mounting plate and large damping chamber. Both drivers mount to a sub baffle covered in leatherette.
The enclosure cheeks are strongly curved and covered with very nice real-wood veneer. Top, bottom and back are thick MDF panels which stiffen the entire structure. The narrow back has a very small surface area whose upper and lower ends protrude to the rear. Placed between the two is a metal name badge and single pair of very nice Chinese speaker terminals. The crossover doesn't bolt to the terminals but is potted in epoxy resin with added quartz for vibration damping. The designer gives two reasons: to reduce the impact of the mid/woofer's rear wave on the crossover parts and to protect it against copy cats. The filter features large air coils and polypropylene capacitors from Jantzen.
The cabinet is made of several layers. The outer is 10mm MDF, the inner two are 5mm plywood separated by vibration damping compound. The top, bottom and spine are 44mm thick, the sides 20mm.
Technical specifications according to the manufacturer
Dimensions (HxWxD): 480 x 212 x 377mm
Weight: 16kg (each)
Sensitivity: 86dB
Maximum power: 60W RMS
Impedance: minimum 7Ω/240Hz; maximum 27Ω/75Hz
Frequency response (in-room): 50-25,000Hz
