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These Studio Oslo minis can't replace large studio monitors. It’d be be silly to ever think that. But I've never heard such a brilliant computer/desktop speaker before. What's more I dare say that bass extension excepted, Ancient Audio’s speaker outperforms the famous Yamaha studio monitor with white diaphragms which by comparison seems very colored and poorly resolved. Next to the Studio Oslo it sounds like a broken radio. The problem is that most sound engineers are used to their distortions and have long since stopped noticing them.
But that’s no longer my problem. Jarek's speakers are a great tool for a small studio and a lovely complement for a desktop. These are beautiful for two reasons – their cosmetic design and their remarkable sound considering that they are very cheap for studio monitors (albeit quite costly for computer speakers). I don't really see much competition unless we included much larger monitors. Drama, speed, attack, resolution and liquidity are all very strong suits of the Studio Oslo.
Aside from the uses already mentioned, you can also pair them with my favorite Tivoli Audio Model One console radio. It’s only got one mono speaker but a tuner with a perfectly usable analog stereo output. It sounded swell with the Oslo and their design matched the small radio well. If you already own any Tivoli and thought about adding better speakers… the Studio Oslo really is the best possible option!
Review methodology. This product was quite different from what I usually review - not inferior or better but atypical. I thus tested the Ancient Audio Studio Oslo monitors in four places: with my work laptop on a solid table working as desktop computer; placed on a desk and stands connected to the variable output of my Ancient Audio Lektor Air V-edition CD player; and last but not least connected to the analog out of Tivoli Audio’s Model One radio.
Attached to computers the speakers were connecter either to the soundcard’s analog out or via USB to Hegel’s outboard HD2 DAC. I also tried the portable HiFiMan HM-801 player. I used an RCA-to-mini iChord cable between speakers and the computers and portable. Auditions were A/Bs with both A and B known. Musical samples were 2 minutes long but I listened to entire albums as well. My reference speakers are Harbeth M40.1 for the main system and Tangent Evo E4 desktop speakers for my computers.
Design. The Oslo monitor is a one-way active speaker with a truly tiny enclosure. Even when put on its side it is easily covered by a Stereophile copy leaving plenty of exposed space. The cabinet is made of MDF and enforced with a horizontal inner brace. The finish was a beautiful natural veneer but high-gloss RAL options are available too. Front and back panels are slanted and the profile facing the listener is very narrow.
The drive unit is a quality Dayton Audio RS100-4 widebander with 3" cone made of black anodized aluminium in a heavy-duty 6-hole cast frame with large magnet. There’s a phase plug and rubber suspension. This driver works in a small air volume with hardly any damping and a bass reflex port on the belly to fire downward. The distance from the support surface is fixed with a small black wooden block in the front and a single metal spike in the rear. You’ll want to stick some non-slip rubber under the wooden block or the speaker will slip each time you touch it. I also think the metal spike and protector beneath it are overkill. A one-piece solution would be more practical and I’d include some non-slip rubber for it.
Being active, amplification for both is installed inside the master unit designated as such by its frontal volume control. The entire electronic circuit mounts to two PCBs bolted to an aluminium plate. The latter is placed inside the enclosure’s back panel. The electronics comprise an input and output stage. The XLR inputs occupy a separate PCB which includes single-ended conversion since the amp itself isn’t balanced. Gain is based on a single Philips TDA8566Q chip capable of 30wpc in class AB. It’s cooled by the exposed heatsink. The circuit is quite simple but includes high-quality passive parts.
What I think is the input circuitry hides beneath some rubbery black material that's likely meant to conceal some proprietary solution as well as to add damping. It’s probably what Jarek calls ‘analog signal processor’ as a kind of compensation filter to minimize driver resonance since in this loading dynamics are quite surprising.
Another vibration damping element is transparent silicon pasted over the RCA input connections on the board. The signal from the active (master) box to the passive (slave) box is via long RCA that looks as though borrowed from a lamp.
The Oslo sports multiple inputs – 1V and 0.5V RCA inputs for CD players and low-output mobile devices respectively and a pair of 1V XLR. There’s also a mono subwoofer output. Two tone controls for treble and bass are located on the back as well and I did in fact lower the treble a bit whilst boosting the bass. The active circuitry is powered by a laptop lookalike external power supply which inevitably means that DIYers will develop some upgrade for it.
These speakers look great and sound amazingly good. What lacks are clear back-panel descriptors. Those are placed on a small sticker at the bottom of one speaker instead. Of course these instructions are in the manual too but neither is very helpful in the thick of things. I reckon these cutbacks were enforced by budgetary constraints. After all, these boxes aren’t cheap and such small details would only make them more expensive.
