August
2020

Country of Origin

Lithuania

Teddy

Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Main system: Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (4GHz quad-core with Turbo boost, 32GB RAM, 3TB FusionDrive, OSX Yosemite. iTunes 14.4), PureMusic 3.02, Audirvana 3, Qobuz Hifi, Tidal Hifi, Denafrips Terminator, Soundaware D300Ref SD transport & USB bridge; Preamplifier: Vinnie Rossi L2 Signature with WE VT52/300B or Elrog 50/300B; Power amplifiers: LinnenberG Audio Liszt monos; Headphone amp: Kinki Studio; Headphones: Final D8000; Loudspeakers: Audio Physic Codex; Cube Audio Nenuphar; Aurai Audio M1 [on loan]; Cables: Complete loom of Allnic Audio ZL3000; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra on all source components, Vibex One 11R on amps, LessLoss C-MARC Entropic cords between wall and conditioners; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc Krion and glass amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators; Room: 4 x 6m with high gabled beam ceiling opening into 4 x 8m kitchen and 5 x 8m living room, hence no wall behind the listening chairs
Second system: Source: Soundaware D100Pro SD transport; DAC/pre: COS Engineering D1; Amplifier: Bakoon AMP-13R; Loudspeakers: Acelec Model One w. Franck Tchang magnesium 360° super tweeters, Zu Submission subwoofer, LessLoss Firewall for Loudspeakers; Power delivery: Puritan Audio Lab PSM-156; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Room: ~4x6m
Desktop system: Source: HP Z230 work station Win7/64; USB bridge: Audiobyte Hydra X+; Headphone amp: COS Engineering H1; Headphones: Audeze LCD-XC; Powered speakers: Fram Audio Midi 150
Upstairs headfi system: Source: Soundaware A280 SD transport; DAC: Auralic Vega; Integrated amplifier: Schiit Jotunheim R; Headphones: Raal-Requisite SR1a
2-channel video system: 
Source: Oppo BDP-105; DAC: Kinki Studio; Preamp: Wyred4Sound STP-SE II; Power amp: Pass Labs XA-30.8; Loudspeakers: German Physiks HRS-120; Room: ~6x4m
Review component retail: €2'460/pr

February 2nd, 2018. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Gediminas Racevicius, managing director and designer of AudioGE in Lithuania. I grew up surrounded by music. My father Rimvydas was a composer and pianist as well as chief sound engineer for Lithuania's national television and radio network. As child I spent many hours on the floor of the recording studio facing orchestras and big bands. This provided me with a unique perspective of the sounds they produced. My love and appreciation of music was further nurtured by weekly visits with my father to the opera or ballet.

"After studying engineering and electronics at university, I began to build speakers for friends as a hobby. Finally I expanded into a business with the aim of producing speakers that could faithfully reproduce the quality of clear sound that I had heard in the studio during my childhood. It was clear that high-end speaker construction was the path to follow. After many years of studying sound reproduction specializing in loudspeakers, we constructed our first high-end system and presented it to the market in 2014. Almost 20 years of research into designing speakers—trying many different enclosure designs, drivers, filter designs and much more—have resulted in our range of naturally clear-sounding and good-looking speakers. We are driven by the desire to keep searching for the best ways to enjoy music at the highest possible quality. With exclusive use of ScanSpeal drivers and Jantzen audiophile parts for crossovers, we have developed two ranges of high-quality products our customers love. We have the Sincerus and Rautilio ranges, a stand-mounted speaker and a subwoofer. We are also very excited to announce our recently released R&R Sound integrated class A tube amplifier, a tube DAC, a preamp and a phonostage. As our website is currently under reconstruction, please find enclosed some photos of our products. Further information and photos are available on our Facebook page."

February 24th, 2020. "Hello Srajan, how are you? Hopefully well. Can we come back to my earlier request to review one of my speakers? It took a long time but I'd like to ask you now to do that. Thanks in advance." Again Gediminas had attached photos of his Rautilio80 speaker but this time also the new Teddy. With AudioSolutions and 8mm audiolab, Lithuania now had three speaker houses I knew of. Add LessLoss for cables, DACs and power accessories, Reed for turntables and tone arms.

This country was turning into quite the hifi magnet. I asked today's Gediminas in Ignalina—Gediminas Gaidelis heads AudioSolutions in Vilnius—what model he had in mind.