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That said, the recurring but brief grumbling of Gonjasufi’s refrain on "Sheep" [A Sufi & A Killer, 2010] regularly energizes and locks my room with the Thiel. Here the Stereokonzept played it more domestically tamed, albeit without—no worries—brushing things under the table. On extension and pressurization this price class and significantly lower can offer more. Here a spontaneous mental flick through our archives thinks of the Quadral Aurum Montan VIII, Ascendo System F and Wharfedale Opus II-3. Yet the 3.0 without fail sounded like a grown-up floorstander and one that was arguably mightier than most should expect from a stumpy two-way of a mere 94cm in height.
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Dan Berglund’s bass exploits on the earthily grounded "Stethoscope" from Tonbrukets had sonorous growl as they should and there was sufficient meanness for Klinik’s evil room-busting beats [End of the Line, 2001] to create spectacular volleys rather than a light version perhaps because the Stereokonzept played its bass quite dry if not as bone dry or excessively wiry as certain samples of the breed.
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Here I recalled the Audiaz Eta. Like the Stereokonzept and relative to price it is another more compact floorstander that's not dialled for extreme bass power. The Eta performed its work in bone-dry fashion though the overall tonal balance shifted slightly into the light whereas the 3.0 was textbook neutral. In short, 'balance' as the deliberate avoidance of sonic extremes and discernable personality traits which could bother a listener is the overriding trait of this speaker.
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In the end, that’s not completely true. There’s one small thing. The volume knob has to be turned quite far clockwise to generate sufficient output. Forget SETs, this speaker thrives on powerful amps with high damping factor. My Audionet AMPs and Fonel Emotion were tailormade but even the formidable if small Abacus Ampino worked quite well. On achievable SPLs the Stereokonzept proved no miser. Shy of raves which would want more displacement from greater cone surface, the 3.0 can wake the neighbors with pure undistorted power. This ‘power-hungry but SPL capable’ conclusion reminded me of the recently reviewed Phonar Credo. Perhaps that was no coincidence. It too relied on Scan-Speak Illuminator drivers.
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Conclusion. A rough sketch might call Stereokonzept’s 3.0 a speaker whose absence of coloration approaches the radical whilst still aiming for a specific audience. Be it tonality, treble quality or dynamic behavior, even in this elevated price range it’s quite difficult to find another speaker that so successfully avoids pigeon-holing into a neat drawer. To this are added very noticeable cleanliness i.e. avoidance of distortion, superb vocal presentation and spatial organization which outdid even the point-source dispersion focus of my coaxial Thiel CS 3.7.
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That said, the aphorism "aiming to please everyone pleases nobody" applies as well. Shoppers willing to lay out five figures for any true authority on bass extension and pressurizing potential won’t be happy with a simple two-way of limited enclosure volume. Listeners who desire bass maturity rather than ‘light’ but don’t require the spectacular or physically assaultive; and who don’t equate relaxed equanimity with boredom; they could find Stereokonzept’s 3.0 a dream speaker (a conclusion I’d then expect should be arrived at not that rarely). For an audition I’d simply insist on neutral and powerful quick amplification.
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Psych profile:
- An overall very pure well balanced rather than spectacular sonic image.
- Great soundstaging qualities including high image focus and exemplarily tangible three-dimensionally embodied instruments and vocals.
- A completely lucid, ultra-transparent, non-diffusive and relaxed rather than specifically airy or crisp treble which renders even marginal productions enjoyable sans stress.
- A very color-true expertly resolved highly organic vocal band.
- Middle-path dynamics which are neither jumpily attack-centric nor cozy.
- Bass with mature extension and pressure that's no particular virtue which would become decisive in this price range.
- A rather low efficiency requires potent ‘fast’ amplification of good damping factor to not have the speaker under perform.
- Perfect and careful execution of build and finish.
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Facts:
- Concept: 2-way bass reflex
- Trim: Corian skins in white, black, sand or grey, other colors by request
- Dimensions and weight: 94 x 20 x 37cm HwWxD, 54kg/ea.
- Sensitivity (claimed): 84dB/1w/1m
- Nominal impedance: 8Ω
- Other: In-home audition possible
- Warranty: 10 years
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redaktion @ fairaudio.de
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