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This review first appeared in the March 2014 issue of hi-end hifi magazine fairaudio.de of Germany. You can also read this review of Teufel 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 Teufel - Ed.

  
Reviewer: Jochen Reinecke
Sources: 160GB iPod Classic 5 with Pure i-20 dock, Pro-Ject Xpression III w. Ortofon OM 30 Super, Audiolab 8200CDQ, Musical Fidelity M6 DAC
Amplification: Audiolab 8200CDQ and Dynavox TPR-2 preamp, Trends Audio TA-10.2 SE and Yarland FV-34C III integrateds, Abacus Ampollo power amp
Loudspeakers: Neat Momentum 4i, Nubert nuBox 101 w. AW 441 subwoofer, DIY transmission line with F120A widebander
Cables: Goldkabel Profi interconnects, Ortofon SPK 500 and Real Cable OFC 400 speaker cables
Review component retail: €499.99/pr

  

Berlin loudspeaker and electronics house Teufel really got it going on of late. Never mind the opening of their first grand flagship store in the spring here in Berlin, their catalogue has seen an impressive number of novelties. When fairaudio was offered their multi-room speaker Raumfeld Cube on assignment, I was quite curious. That put it mildly. Joy really was the word. Think of a reviewer getting a care package that’s unpacked in under a minute. To review beefy tower speakers is dandy and all. But when it involves carting heavy crates from the car to the house through melting snow, then up into the living room, unthaw, break in, position, toe in… well, small compact cubes are a nice change o’ pace.

In the carefully organized packaging I found a power cord, 1/4" terminated umbilical, owner’s manual and two cubes working in sado/maso… er, master/slave principle. They aren’t just called cubes, they are cubic – 19.5cm in all three dimensions. The master contains the power supply, amplification, DAC and WLAN receiver, the passive slave makes do with just its coaxial drivers which receive signal via separate mid/bass and treble conductors.

  

The master cube’s backside shows a power IEC, a mains switch, the speaker-out 6.3mm jack for the slave, an analog RCA input, a USB port, an RJ45 Ethernet socket, a reset button and a switch for first-time installation. Up front we get a partial grill which surrounds the metal-perf tweeter protector. Behind it sit the coaxially arranged drivers – a glass-fiber mid/woofer of 130mm diameter and a 28mm soft-dome tweeter. Above the drivers are two bass reflex ports in the opposing corners.

Amplification is by class D modules, one per driver. This gives 45w to the mid/woofers, 40w each to the tweeters. Below the drivers is a standby switch and a +/- control for volume. As quick as unpacking was, instant listening pleasure wasn’t on the books even with a CD player feeding the analog input. Before the Raumfeld cubes will make their first squeak, they must be set up over the resident network. Whilst wireless reception is part of the deal, the initial installation requires a wired connection. Just as essential is ownership of a smart phone (Android or iPhone) or equivalent tablet. For the time being, setup and control via a standard browser aren’t possible yet. For those who’ve endeavoured hard to avoid owning any smart phone whatsoever, there’s a solution too. Alternately the Cubes can be set up and controlled via the optional Raumfeld Controller.