Achema

Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Main system: Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (i5, 256GB SSD, 40GB RAM, Sonoma 14), 4TB external SSD with Thunderbolt 3, Audirvana Studio, Qobuz Sublime, Singxer SU-6 USB bridge, LHY Audio SW-8 & SW-6 switch, Sonnet Pasithea, COS Engineering D1, Laiv Audio Harmony; Active filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Power amplifiers: Kinki Studio EX-B7 monos & Gold Note monos on subwoofer; Headamp: Enleum AMP-23R; Phones: Raal 1995 Immanis; Loudspeakers: Qualio IQ [on loan] Cables: Exact Express Flame, Furutech; Power delivery: 2 x Kinki/Vinshine Tai Hang on amps and source stack, Furutech DPS-4.1 between wall and conditioners; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators, AudioQuest FogLifters; Room: 6 x 8m with open door behind listening seat; Room treatment: 2 x PSI Audio AVAA C214 active bass traps
2nd system: Source: FiiO R7 into Soundaware D300Ref SD transport to Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Preamp/filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Amplifier: Kinki Studio EX-M7; Loudspeakers: ModalAkustik MusikBoxx + Dynaudio S18 sub; Cable loom: Exact Express Earth; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra, Akiko Audio Corelli Corundum & Castello Solo; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Sundry accessories: Furutech cable lifts, Furutech NFC Clear Lines; Room: ~3.5 x 8m
2nd headfi system: DAC: Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Headamp: Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Headphones: Raal 1995 Magna, HifiMan Susvara
Desktop system: Source: HP Z2 work station Win11/64; USB bridge: Singxer SU-2; DAC/headamp: iFi iDSD Pro Signature; Amplifiers: Topping B200; Speakers: Virtual Hifi Viper; Headphones: Final D-8000, aune SR7000
Upstairs headfi system: FiiO R7; Headphones: Meze 109 Pro, Fiio FT3
2-channel video system: Source: Oppo BDP-105; All-in-One: Gold Note IS-1000 Deluxe; Loudspeakers: Zu Soul VI; Subwoofer: Zu Submission; Power delivery: Furutech eTP-8, Room: ~6x4m
Review component retail ex VAT: €16'500/pr

Accuton. Mundorf. Add the name Albedo. That enters the additional qualifier transmission line which separates this Italian speaker house from competitors that likewise champion Mundorf parts and Germany's ceramic/diamond drivers as do the German Tidal 'n' Vimberg twins. With Achema first shown at Munich 2024, Albedo have created the entry into their new middle range called the Raffaello Collection. This model is a 2½-way¹ with a nominal 11Ω-plus impedance, very unusual for the type and accomplished by joining a hi-Ω 7-inch woofer to a matching 6" mid/woofer below the 1-inch tweeter with 1st/2nd-order slopes at 300Hz and 2.6kHz. Add 85dB sensitivity, 40Hz-23kHz published bandwidth, 38kg, biwire posts, a discrete crossover chamber and black, grey or cherry-red gloss lacquers and you've got Achema's talking points. Obvious from the photos is that the mouths of the transmission line exit 1/3rd up on either flank terminated with a grooved metal grill like a shallow amplifier heat sink.

Albedo and I have form. Their Aptica from what's now called the 3-deep Maestro Collection was a 10-year speaker companion in my collection. 'twas my resident example of ceramic sound done right and unusually executed with lazy 1st-order filters. My current example of the broader type is the MusikBoxx from German underground boutique ModalAkustik. It combines a 6" latest-gen Accuton mid/woofer in a sealed cab with a dipole Mundorf AMT and external Mundorf-populated crossover.

Since my original Aptica review still conducted in our Swiss penthouse rental above Vevey on Lake Geneva, Albedo built out their Imperiale Collection whose floorstanders grew ever bigger, heavier and costlier. Very soon these models left my spine stiffness, room size and wallet depth far in the rear-view mirror. However, showing once more at the upcoming 2025 Warsaw fall show, Achema has scaled Asia's well-paying lust for enormous very exclusive speakers back down to where I now slum it in Eire. This is a floorstander my room and I can not only manage but look forward to. Of course the author of my bygone Aptica has long since left to join Alare. A new design team is behind Albedo's later crop. But they clearly stayed true to the brand's original design principles. At just 105cm tall, 30cm deep and 23.2cm wide, Achema's svelte profile promised to slip as easily into my normal not palatially sized listening lounge on looks as it would physically on my usual padded furniture dolly.

On the matter of size…

¹ The preference for a 2½-way shared by Danish brands Raidho and Børresen is based on the main driver not needing a high-pass filter to separate it from a woofer. At the bottom it runs wide open. That is viewed beneficial because the all-important midrange signal needn't pass through more reactive energy-absorptive filter parts. The usual payment over an equivalent 3-way is half the load impedance. Here Achema changes up the recipe. 

As the lateral view demos, Achema rakes back mischievously which might suit time alignment though some modern Accuton drivers are designed such as to already time align on a vertical baffle. To the eye it certainly adds a racy aspect. According to Albedo's line drawing, whilst the base sits parallel to the floor, both front and rear baffle lean back whilst the top drops significantly towards the rear. This is no classic squared-out box and panel thickness reaches 30mm "in the most critical structural areas". Add substantial steel outriggers to widen the stance and Albedo's Achema—apparently the word means 'higher power' in Nigerian if Google isn't fibbing—is a timelessly modern compact tower of friendly dimensions and elite transducers. The faceted rear sweep of the baffle tracing the tweeter and mid/woofer outlines adds another cosmetic wrinkle. It all aims at buyers who prefer more of a classic look than Vivid's cuddly Barbapapa style in their Kaya range, B&W bullet tweeters or narrow-spined Børresen boat hulls. Albedo update the box speaker just enough to be modernist without going Starship futuristic like Node's Hylixa or Devialet's Phantom. Ancient Greece's 'Know Thyself' implies, 'know thy audience' too. It's key to consistent branding, managed expectations and heritage building. That includes last century's spike/floor interface where a good swath of speaker brands have long transitioned to decoupling isolator solutions. From Robert Harley's Munich 2024 show coverage, "… after enjoying listening to the Achema from Italian speaker maker Albedo, I asked the company founder/designer the price. Based on the excellent sound quality and superb fit 'n' finish, I was expecting to hear a number north of $30k. But he told me the Achema has a US retail price of $16'500."

Achema with Wattson and Soul Note electronics.

Whilst Trump's current economic warfare called tariffs causes quickly fluctuating price adjustments across all sectors for US buyers, Achema's EU pricing hasn't moved. It remains the €16.5K/pr which undercut Robert Harley's educated guess by nearly 50% a good year ago. Albedo founder Cristiano Bastianelli offered to ship me a loaner pair once back in Italy right after the 27th Warsaw show starting October 24th. I was finally back in Albedo Audio biz. Hurray!