Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (4GHz quad-core with Turbo boost, 32GB RAM, 3TB FusionDrive, OSX Yosemite. iTunes 12.2), PureMusic 2.04, Qobuz Hifi, Tidal Hifi, COS Engineering D1, Metrum Hex, AURALiC Vega, Aqua Hifi La Scala MkII, SOtM dX-USB HD w. super-clock upgrade & mBPS-d2s, Apple iPod Classic 160GB (AIFF), Astell& Kern AK100 modified by Red Wine Audio, Cambridge Audio iD100, Pro-Ject Dock Box S Digital, Pure i20, S.A. Lab Lilt [on review], Metrum Acoustics Pavane [on review]
Preamplifier: COS Engineering D1, Nagra Jazz, Esoteric C-03, Bent Audio Tap-X
Power & integrated amplifiers: Pass Labs XA30.8, FirstWatt S1, F6; Crayon Audio CFA-1.2; Goldmund Job 225; Gato Audio DIA-250; Aura Note Premier; Wyred4Sound mINT; AURALiC Merak [on loan], SST Audio Son of Ampzilla II [on review]
Loudspeakers: Albedo Audio Aptica; EnigmAcoustics Mythology 1; soundkaos Wave 40; Boenicke Audio W5se; Zu Audio Submission; German Physiks HRS-120, Gallo Strada II w. TR-3D subwoofer, Sounddeco Sigma 2, Voxativ 9.87 system [on review]
Cables: Complete loom of Zu Event MkI and MkII; KingRex uArt double-header USB; Tombo Trøn S/PDIF; van den Hul AES/EBU; AudioQuest Diamond glass-fibre Toslink; Arkana Research XLR/RCA and speaker cables [on loan]
Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra on all components, 5m cords to amp/s and subwoofer
Equipment rack: Artesania Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves and Krion or glass-based Exoteryc stand/s for amp/s
Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators
Room: Irregularly shaped 9.5 x 10m open floor plan with additional 2nd-floor loft; wood-paneled sloping ceiling; parquet flooring; lots of non-parallel surfaces (pictorial tour here)
Review component retail: €3'499/pr & €5'750/pr



Attendees of the 2015 Munich show would recognize the above electronics as being from the new Titan range of Auris Audio. However, they'd draw a blank about the speakers. Those who remembered the Serbians' presence in the same venue a year prior would likely recall that they'd invited Boenicke Audio from Switzerland [see left] to contribute their loudspeakers.


Yet today's boxes are no solid-wood Boenickes. They are veneered MDF and by Auris Audio. True, not only is the ultra-narrow concept with lateral woofers visually similar to Boenicke's aesthetic; that 3-inch Fountek widebander also appears in Sven's W5 and W8 models. And, the Serbian black-lacquered S1W5 speaker shown at this year's Munich event to complement their new compact Poison electronics is the Auris version of Sven's W5 down to its stand.


To be sure, there are many differences as well. None of the Swiss use d'Appolito arrays. Where they parallel drivers, they organize them as unbroken 2, 3 or 4-up lines. If Sven Boenicke were to draw up today's costlier model for Auris boss Milomir 'Miki' Trosic, he'd almost certainly orient the Peerless woofers as an opposing if offset pair to generate some force cancellation in this narrow tall box as it does in his own SLS and B-Series models. Invisibile to the naked eye are Sven's customary labyrinths. Those take advantage of his favoured solid-wood clam shells. Our Serbians forego that complication using more conventional panel construction. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Miki's compact towers would seem to flatter Sven's W8 which rolled out in the same memorable joint exhibit above. However, Milomir Trosic assures us that these are mere superficialities, most likely triggered by the 2014 event and his smallest W5-inspired model. With his choice of Fountek Neo 1 ribbon tweeter, he has already added an obviously new element to the visual mix. As we'll see later, he also uses his woofer/s in a different fashion and runs different crossovers. Finally there is Serbian not Swiss boutique manufacture. Even Fiat maintain a large assembly plant in Serbia to take advantage of good industrial infrastructure with lower manufacturing costs. Add MDF not solid wood construction and we expect a very strong retail pricing edge for Miki's models despite their added veneering steps. How strong? In Amré Ibrahim's W8 review for Image Hifi, the fully optioned-out Boenicke W8 is listed at €13'950/pr in the German market.


For the US, the StereoDesk site lists it from $8'000 to $19'000. That vast swath is contingent on tweak level (built-in esoteric and very costly sonic enhancements from the likes of Bybee, Stein Music & Co). Our Serbian at left starts and stops at €5'750/pr, the one at right at €3'499/pr. Not having a Boenicke for comparison, I'll refrain from even guessing at sonic overlap and differences. This intro merely credited visual overlap between a by now well-known speaker designer and a lesser-known entrepreneur who thus far had kept busy with valve electronics. Incidentally, many of those exploit Trafomatic Audio iron. For a more formal intro to Auris Audio the brand, refer to my previous review of their Forte 6550 monos.


Once my speaker loaners were ready, they'd unexpectedly split into two pairs. What had been christened Poison 5 [left] as the model Miki originally proposed to me, had sired the Poison 3 [right]. Also a 3-way design, the Three repurposes the very same enclosure but goes singular not parallel on a different midrange and woofer from Italy's FaitalPro. That nets a bandwidth of 35Hz-40kHz. Compact dimensions are 12x25.2x86.5cm WxDxH. Weight is a most manageable 12kg. Sensitivity is given as 91dB, nominal impedance as 8Ω. This contrasts with the Poison 5's 14.36kg whilst its bandwidth scales up to a claimed 20Hz-40kHz and sensitivity slides down just a notch to 90dB. Each speaker's veneer options included Walnut, Indian Palisander and Palisander.

With bass loading for both rear ported, construction is a classic paneled MDF box with outside veneer and inner fiber fill. Both 3 and 5 exploit a single-point spike in the front and a spiked outrigger bar in the back. This broadens the foot print for superior stability. How well had these Serbian grasshoppers come off as being Auris Audio's first floorstanding models? How did their different drivers in otherwise identical enclosures affect sonics? That's what I was supposed to suss out. Auris already had experience with the 3" Fountek widebander at left. It doubled up in the Inat 1 model of 2014 below. That year they had launched the Leatherwood electronics line which still flew under the original since altered company logo.


2015's Auris presence in Munich introduced two new electronics lines (Poison and Titan) plus a new logo. A full set of three speaker models was ready a few months later. Below we see Miki's smallest which goes to black or white lacquer but still awaits final assembly. Was this a company still findings its groove?



Or were they just unusually resourceful and ambitious? Those were questions my review obviously couldn't answer. Only time would tell. From an output and sheer creativity level, they certainly seemed to be on fire.