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Listening to Rodrigo y Gabriella’s Live in Japan [Because Music B001FD4XJU], the Wave 168D delivered amazing depth and live ambience. The Vivid K1 was more about speed, transients and greater ambient detail in the treble whereas the Wave 168D painted more ambient information in the mid bass. Fingers slides on the guitar were more realistic with the K1 whilst the acoustic pressure and density of the Wave 168D delivered better overall presence and a higher illusion of being in the concert hall.

On the Avison Ensemble's reading of Händel's Concerti Grossi Opus 6 [Linn Records B003RTM9E6], the Wave 168D delivered very authentic timbres where the K1 was airier but had less differentiated tone. Both speakers recreated a very stable precise soundstage. It's quite rare that a speaker like the Wave 168D can reproduce the timbres of Baroque instruments with the same distinct identities one so easily distinguishes in a concert hall. Imaging and precise localization are very strong points of my South African loudspeakers but the Latvians weren't far behind. Their stage seemed very extended and deep as well as disconnected from the boxes. Each component of the orchestra was reproduced in three-dimensional space and easily distinguished from the others.


Return to Forever's last revival outing The Mothership Returns [Eagle Rock Entertainment B007XNAQLA] made a great live impression. My guests had the necessary balance and delicacy to slam hard on Stanley Clarke's committed solos, avoid unpleasant brightness in Jean-Luc Ponty’s passages and confer appreciable density to keyboards and guitar with very precise three-dimensional images. Their ability to handle massive forces at insane volumes was obvious. The bottom end did not approach insane extension but energy and definition were truly outstanding. Each bass note was precise, articulate and fast. This was a kind of ideal compromise between articulation, energy and density. Stanley Clarke’s electric bass never got sloppy or heavy but delivered precise pitch and robust impact. The Wave 168D remained as unfazed by drummer Omar Hakim's workouts as it was by the vigorous electric bass assaults of Stanley Clarke.


Switching to high-resolution classical music, The Rite of Spring under Esa Peka Salonen [Deutsche Grammophon B000F39M9W] had superb tone and an ultra-detailed soundstage. Playing this very demanding music, the Wave 168D demonstrated that it belongs to the top echelon of big full-range speakers. The Italian midrange driver was superb despite not being the most expensive unit by a long shot. There was no perceptible strain or compression. The Onda Ligera seemed to fully control the duality of being delicate during moments of finesse and grace and visceral during the most demanding dynamic passages. Reverb trails on orchestral recordings were fairly reproduced even if here the Vivid K1 is the more accurate. The Wave 168D added more weight and conviction to each note, making the K1 by comparison perhaps a bit more electrostatic. This stunning density of the Latvians made the overall sound amazingly lifelike. Transients and the immediacy of drums were well rendered but suffered from the Vivid comparison which here are true champions.


Rachel Podger’s outing of Vivaldi: La Cetra [Channel Classics B007TG34QU] had good dynamics and no sign of stress as is unfortunately often the case when playing Baroque orchestral music. With the Latvians everything was under control. They passed this tough exam by delivering a large and extremely focused soundstage with very realistic tonal balance. The Scanspeak Revelator tweeter showed extension and smoothness as two important features to deliver correct performance with this music genre. Another important feature was satisfactory responsiveness to a high level of listening involvement.

The Wave 168D was very good also on rock & pop. Here versatility was no empty word. Where certain otherwise very good speakers I reviewed earlier showed a very clearly preference for particular musical genres, I could not say what kind of music best suited the Onda Ligeras. In fact the longer I listened to the Wave 168D, the more I appreciated its supremely easy and unforced sound on all types of music.

Conclusion. Summing up I'll say that the unusual design decisions of Onda Ligera resulted in a very versatile speaker which will fit various room sizes and musical genres. In comparison and from personal experience, this 200lbs speaker is far less problematic than a B&W 800Di in terms of bass management. It also generates more density and body in the midrange and a stereo image that's almost as good. Its good sensitivity plays to more choices of amplification. Granted, €32.000 are big money and there are undoubtedly other top performers in this price range. I had opportunity to listen to speakers costing the same up to double which convinced me less. The Wave 168D lacks the visual elegance and very lowest octave one might expect from such an expensive speaker but in all other respects is not far off from being a bona fide state-of-the-art design. If you are looking for a solid very room-friendly bass register, good overall sensitivity and holographic imaging with high tone density, the Onda Ligera Wave 168 is an excellent and highly recommended choice!
Onda Ligera website