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Where many lifestyle components compromise performance, Ologe’s claimed response of 58Hz to 30,000Hz +/-1dB promised remarkable capabilities for this diminutive sealed cabinet and its 3.75-inch mid/woofer. Above said woofer sit two 1-inch soft dome tweeters side by side. All drivers are designed and assembled in house to tight tolerances and magnetically shielded. Filter parts are proprietary, tailor-made and include caps and coils. The ONE sports a hefty pair of chrome-plated 4N copper binding posts that have a provision for banana connectors but beware, the ASTAND clearance restrictions dictate that only bare wire or spades be used with the stand. There is no provision for biwiring.


All Ologe speaker models incorporate some level of response management, with the upper models also offering a choice of active or passive modes. In the ONE a three-position toggle for tweeter level offers +/-0 .75dB in either direction and a 2-position on/off toggle can invoke boundary compensation that comes into play at 62 cycles. Purists may question the presence of these switches but their inclusion gives a legitimate level of flexibility to contend with such real world variables as speaker placement, listening distance and taste.



The ONE has been constructed with practical forethought to cover a wide range of mounting scenarios. Ologe supplies an assortment of accessories all playfully named combining the letter A with the term for their application. The speakers can be floor/desk mounted with their ABASE, wall-mounted with the AMOUNT or used as a traditional monitor + stand with the ASTAND.

The matching white ASTAND is an inverted T with minimally imposing footprint and an attractive modern aesthetic. It is constructed of thick extruded aluminum alloy [left] and reinforced with multiple internal channels to dissipate energy. The base further employs iron to achieve a weight of 14.8kg. The vertical pillar measures 963.6 x 210 x 30cm HxWxD and mounts to a spiked base of 275 x 210 x 30cm. The speaker mounts to the stand via an unusual but user friendly hook and slot arrangement. The four floor spikes are threaded for leveling.

The design of the stand is a case of form following function. The function is resonance management where Ologe added a twist. Rather than applying damping, the stand is intended to augment low frequencies by utilizing the concept of cavity resonance, a practice found in acoustic instruments. The stand can be viewed as a direct mechanical extension of the bass driver. While the concept of utilizing a stand to reinforce bass is not unheard of, Ologe’s execution is quite novel.

The company has coined the term Recoil Vibration Guiding System (RVGS) as their vibrational model. The designer believes that vibration from the loudspeaker operates in the horizontal plane like the recoil of a gun rather than the more conventionally imagined vertical mode. Theory has been put to practice in a clever arrangement. A circular aluminum plate with a center recess mounts to the back of the speaker as a resonance conduit. It rests on the point of a spike which threads horizontally into the ASTAND pillar to transfer energy through the internal channels and release it as bass information. Even the hole in the vertical pillar behind the loudspeaker contributes to the tuning of that acoustical output.

At first glance seemingly little but upscale lifestyle gear, upon closer inspection these speakers and matching stands were shaping up to be considerably more technologically interesting. It was time to assemble the system and see whether Ologe’s theories were fact or fiction. Initial tests were done full-range with a single run of Audio Art SE speaker cable bypassing my usual subwoofer and crossover. The second round added the Paradigm sub and its crossover to check for integration. Combinations of Audio Art and Signal Cable Silver Reference interconnects gauged voicing flexibility in either configuration. Then the Audio Space AS3/5A monitor was brought out as reference point. The room boundary switch was tested but not applied as it was not required. Tweeter compensation was tested too but the ideal setting for my room conditions turned out to be zero. All listening was conducted using Ologe’s optional ASTAND. The ABASE which would normally come with the speaker was not provided so therefore not evaluated. As always musical hardware is nothing without musical software so many old favorites and interesting new pieces entered the CD player.
 
"Al‘ombra di sospetto" from Händel: The Italian Years [DorianDOR-90147] is Baroque delicacy in the skilled hands of Dorian’s engineers; minimal microphone technique with no dynamic compression for hall acoustics, instrument and the power and control of Julianne Baird’s vocal talent.
"Bruca Manigua" from Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer [World Circuit/Nonesuch 79532-2] is a lovely clean recording from Cuba featuring Ibrahim Ferrer with a wealth of talented instrumentalists and vocal backup. This is a pleasant interpretation of a composition first released in 1937 - detailed with strong sense of acoustic.

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