Viper

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; Speakers: DMAX P61 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: €4'400/pr ex VAT factory direct, free worldwide shipping

Small but deadly? "I've had this speaker just about ready for a long time but wanted to become independent of carpentry as the biggest hassle. Plus, small cabinets are very uneconomical to make. They aren't much cheaper than bigger ones. Also, I didn't want yet another nothing-special box when I prefer to go after something completely different. By now I have fifteen 3D printers, some of them capable of doing small cabs. I did a few prototypes and do like the look of these so plan to release them in a few months. They are small yet with a powerful 200w/4Ω preferably class D amplifier sound like really big speakers with awesome holography, brutal bass and enormous soundstage size. It simply happens at the cost of just 83dB efficiency. For that they reach below 40Hz and I can rock them out in a 40m² room or run them as desktop nearfield monitors. I like how they sound very much so for sure they will go to market. But will they become a Qualio model as you asked? I doubt it. This is a solo project. I want to build up the Virtual HiFi brand so this should become my next Virtual product."

Qualio IQ atop Virtual Hifi Vibron isolators.

In an early April industry feature which this review replaces, I'd written: "There I was minding my own business when out of the blue I cross paths with my perfect compact monitor. Lust at first glance? Let's back-pedal to last month when news of Ivette's death reached Javier Mílan of Spain's Kroma Atelier. In a moving remembrance of his visit to our Lecanvey digs facing the Atlantic at the mouth of Westport's Clew Bay, he mentioned perhaps naming a future speaker in my wife's honour. I subsequently thought of suggesting to him a speaker Ivette would have liked: a really compact 2-way in Javier's signature white synthetic Krion stone cab, Mundorf dipole AMT tweeter on a short open baffle on top followed by a 4"-5" Purifi mid/woofer augmented by dual passives on the cheeks. They're from driver catalogues Javier already uses. Then I thought better of it. If his spontaneous response remains in play when it's actually time for Kroma to add a new model, he certainly doesn't need me to suggest how his impression of Ivette should manifest in a speaker. But you can now envision my surprise when a speaker very much like it popped on my radar. It's by Grzegorz Rulka, co-owner of Cube and Qualio shown on his own micro brand Virtual Hifi's site. My eyes told me of my favourite dipole Mundorf AMT on top, a small possibly 4" carbon-fibre mid/woofer with truly bodacious suspension and one possibly two sidefiring membranes which I suspected were passive radiators. The white cab was clearly 3D printed to exploit the design freedom of texturizing the outer surfaces in mini pyramids. Not only did it look attractive, it rendered these surfaces diffusive not reflective. If Greg does the same on the inside, he'd also help break up the dynamic drivers' rear waves."

The whole concept had me hot under the collar. If I knew how to design a compact speaker, I'd copy Greg's idea to the pixel. Just then the Munich shows had come and gone. With a €3'000'000 system of +6kW power and another where each speaker weighed a ton, Viper plays in a very different 'hood. We already have my review of Greg's vibration isolators which hit a new low on the money-grab meter, MGM for short. No need to chance a casino with the Vibron.

By May 12th, "the monitors that have your attention will be ready in about a month. I'm fine-tuning them now and just printed out the last proto cab which works perfectly. Now I just need to tweak it all and these minis should become giant killers. Since they're small yet extremely potent, I call them Viper. Seeing that you're interested, I can send you a pair around middle of June." I was ready. "Bite me!" In case you skipped over the other bite, embedded in the above was Hoffman's 2-of-3 rule casually referred to as his iron law. Between the parameters of low bass, high sensitivity and a small enclosure, we can pick two at the expense of the third. Viper is tuned for low bass from a small cab. Ergo sensitivity must crash in Hoffman's court to want a more powerful amp. Greg recommends 200W/4Ω. Today that's far from unreasonable or even necessarily costly. Low-power SET of the tube or transistor variety are simply out. This is a classic case of big amps making small speakers sound big. My above 250W monos comply. Having just seen my Qualio IQ front and back, you understand why I thought of Viper as BabyQ. Of course the name Viper has a lot more pizzazz.

Already Dodge knew that.