This review page is supported in part by the sponsors whose ad banners are displayed below



This review first appeared in the May 2014 issue of hi-end hifi magazine fairaudio.de of Germany. You can also read this review of AudioSolutions in its original German version. We publish its English translation in a mutual syndication arrangement with the publishers. As is customary for our own reviews, the writer's signature at review's end shows an e-mail address should you have questions or wish to send feedback. All images contained in this review are the property of fairaudio or AudioSolutions - Ed.
Reviewer: Markus Sauer
Sources: Heed Obelisk DT and DA transport and DAC; Garrard 401 in Loricraft plinth, Alphason HR100S tone arm, Ortofon Windfeld cart, Loricraft The Missing Link phono stage
Amplification: Ayre K-5xeMP preamp, Symasym and Ncore power amps
Loudspeakers: JBL LSR 6332, ATC SCM25A
Review component retail: starting at €2’500/pr
Postcard from Lithuania. AudioSolutions still are a relatively new loudspeaker house. Owner/operator Gediminas Gaidelis started with speakers in 2003. But a country with ca. 3’000’000 heads is simply too small to support a speaker brand, never mind that Lithuania’s buying power is clearly lower than for example Germany to focus on more affordable offerings. Since Gediminas wasn’t content to exclusively focus there—it would have limited his chances at expressing a large part of his ideas and concepts—he launched AudioSolutions in 2011 to pursue the export markets.


The Rhapsody range was first, the lower-tier Euphony series followed relatively soon. The latter’s top model Euphony 140 bowed at the end of 2013 and is the subject of this report. The Euphony models were a must, said Gaidelis, not just because the Rhapsody models aren’t within reach of everyone but because many clients favour a traditional box with flat panels which more easily blends into a décor.


The goal of the Euphony range thus was a maximal percentage of sonic Rhapsody goodness for a significantly lower price. Within this range the client ought to pick primarily on room size. The smallest Euphony 50 is said to sound tonally very similar in a small room as the Euphony 140 does in a big one.


The handover between bass and midband sits at 600Hz. The midrange driver duplicates the woofer but operates in its own chamber and—unusual for a dedicated midrange—with its own port. Gaidelis claims this lowered the driver’s self resonance and moved it outside his used bandwidth to such a degree that the necessary crossover filter simplified. Additionally the vented alignment created a more "open" sound whereas a sealed chamber would have overdamped his chosen transducer. Hence he paid close attention to the chamber’s interior damping as well. Too much would have "killed" the driver's necessary attack.

The choice of dedicated midrange driver was in pursuit of lower resonances. Tasked to cover bass and midrange, there’d be breakup at higher frequencies. Loaded into a smaller cubic volume, the same driver’s effective bandwidth expands upward and distortions are minimized. Distortion measurements and waterfall plots bear this out we’re told. Gaidelis claims this decision was directly responsible for the brilliant overall results since it’s the vocal band where the most important musical information concentrates.

The filter frequency between it and the modern silk-dome tweeter with broad surround lies at 3’800Hz. Gaidelis remains tightlipped about the details of his filters save for the transition frequencies and generalizing that he doesn’t go after just flat amplitude response but also considers phase and impedance behaviour. He pays attention to the so-called power response as the sum of radiated in-room energy. This he calls as important as on-axis amplitude linearity. And the ears are sensitive to linear phase too. To handle those and related aspects, he’s willing to tolerate small response deviations particularly when 70% of the final result is subject to a room’s acoustic profile and how a speaker integrates with it.