Country of Origin
This review first appeared in December 2024 on fairaudio.de. By request of the manufacturer and permission of the author, it is hereby syndicated from the German original to reach a broader English audience. Ed.
Reviewer: Jörg Dames
Digital sources: Canever Audio ZeroUno SSD, Norma HS-DA1 PRE, Keces S3, Melco N50-S38, SOtM sMS-200 ultra & SOtM sPS-500, Volumio Primo
Preamplifiers: Radio MTX Monitor V3b-4.3.1, Radio MTX Monitor V3b-4.2.1 (upgrade from V3b), Radio LAP-2.V3 (upgrade from Lap-2.V2)
Integrated amplifier: Abacus Ampino
Power amplifiers: Bryston 7B³, Norma Revo PA 150
Speakers: Wilson Audio SabrinaX, Sehring 903 Series 2, Abacus C-Box 3
Headphones: Audeze LCD-2, Beyerdynamic DT-990, Sennheiser HD 800 S, Sony MDR-1000X, Teufel Supreme In
All-In-One: Ruark Audio R4
Cables: Kimber Carbon 16, HMS Armonia, WSS Platin Line LS4, Real Cable BW OFC 400, HMS Fortissimo, AudioQuest Pegasus (RCA and XLR), Supra Cables Sword Excalibur (RCA), Straight Wire Virtuoso (RCA and XLR), AudioQuest Carbon and Diamond, Boaacoustic Silver Digital Xeno, BMC Pure USB1 P, Kondo KSL-ACc Persimmon, HMS Energia Suprema, Supra Cables LoRad 2.5 CS-EU Mk2, Tellurium Q Black, Quantum-Powerchords, Swisscables Reference, Audioquest NRG-Z2
Power strip: HMS Energia MkII, AudioQuest Niagara 5000
Rack: Classic II
Listening room: 29m² Height: 3.3m
Review component retail: €699/pr, €799/pr, €1'299/pr
Money doesn't score goals. Or so soccer claims. And I'll add that more expensive audio components usually hit the mark more accurately though as always, exceptions prove the rule. Whilst it's the case that a successful team must be assembled and coordinated skilfully on both sides, hifi systems can usually be curated such that, given their transfer fee, not only is the sound really good but even develops true high-end game. Potential player material for such systems and of course the big-leagues stuff can be found in our archives. I really enjoy looking at inexpensive candidates and think it fab when manufacturers send promising talent onto the field on a limited budget. Our guests today, a Danish trio of two compact speakers and one floorstander, are active with volume controls and can direct-access the cloud or local UPnP server. The Argon Audio Forte A4 WiFi at €699, Forte A5 WiFi at €799 and Forte A55 WiFi for €1'299 are complete ready-to-play teams if you will. My test will clarify whether they have a chance of attracting a fan base as loyal as Union Berlin.
As we'll see, the A4, A5 and A55 differ sonically enough to have me impressed regardless – but not by all models for all usage scenarios. Nevertheless they pack from very similar to identical technology so at first glance seem interchangeable safe for size and drivers. First a brief look at the basic capabilities of the trio which can receive wired or wireless network signal. Via WiFi and the free DTS Play-Fi app, we can access Tidal or Qobuz or a local NAS server via UPnP. I mainly used the app. There's also Airplay2 and Spotify Connect neither of which I tried; Bluetooth 4.2 AAC; and Chromecast. I'll talk about my experiences with the different protocols and interfaces later. Either way, Argon's WiFi models easily hardwire too via HDMI ARC, 24/96 Toslink and two analog RCA pairs for line in and MM phono. Last but not least there's a sub out.
From cute to dainty in three steps. The small A4 measures 14.3 x 24 x 19cm WxHxD while the A5 still keeps to desktop-compatible dimensions but is noticeably more voluminous at 16.5 x 27 x 21cm. The A55 then literally floats above its siblings but at 16.5 x 85 x 25cm remains a fairly petite tower. The diameter of the mid/woofer increases with cab size and yes, the A55 remains a classic two-way with 2'800Hz filter hinge. Nomen est omen, the A4 gets a 4-incher, the A5 a 5er and the A55 two of the latter. There are also subtle qualitative differences. According to Argon, the slightly better motor system of the A55 cones guarantees still lower distortion. Specially designed acoustic flow resistance intends to eliminate vertical wave resonances and improve dynamic behaviour. Meanwhile internal damping material or subdivisions in the housings and their side effects—dynamic loss, shifting of resonances to higher frequency ranges—have been happily avoided, says chief developer Michael Kragelundis. The three mid/woofer variants share a two-layer concept of fibre-laminated paper. Argon emphasize that all their drivers including the 2.5cm neodymium dome tweeters are proprietary developments outsourced to a Chinese production partner. As a brand of the Nordic Hifi Group and Hifi-Klubben Group founded by Peter Lyngdorf in 1981, Argon Audio are a Danish name that makes no bones about some production taking place in the Far East.
The active crossover embedded in DSP is another in-house development. We remember how true active not just powered speakers locate their crossovers in front of the amplifiers which then power individual drivers, occasionally in parallel as with the A55. Amps and drivers match optimally over limited bandwidth. Passive filters instead sit behind the amplifier sections of often cheaper pseudo actives whose driver lot then powers off a single amp like the recently reviewed Elac Debut Connex DCB41 Adsum. For active two-way systems we need a quad of internal gain channels. Argon apply four channels of 80Wrmps whereby the master speaker contains all electronics whose amplified signal the slave drivers get via 3m umbilical. Class D is inherently analogue but can also implement digital. Today all signal from input to output stage remains digital. Low-res sources upsample to 32/96 then PCM converts to PWM similar to a 1-bit DAC. This avoids a classic conversion chip. As for residual noise, Argon exploit noise shaping and oversampling to move hiss outside the conversion process which then removes via LC filter at the output. Fine, proprietary drivers and electronics are bully especially in this price range. But the Argons also look good. Their housings in matte white, black or blue as well as Walnut wear tidy scratch-resistant skins. Edge bevels and radii ensure organically soft lines. Aluminium trim rings provide a colour contrast on the baffles. I found this nearly overdressed but my Argonautes received remarkably positive comments from friends and acquaintances alike who stopped by during the test period. The Danes really hit a nerve. But it's encouraging to know that Michael Kragelundis also had the acoustic properties of the housings in mind when applying finite element testing to eliminate unwanted resonances. Now we stop theorizing to get practical.
