Virgo 25 plus+ :: Audio Esoterica

AUDIO PHYSIC VIRGO 25 PLUS+
B
AUDIO PHYSIC
VIRGO 25 PLUS+
Reviewer Edgar Kramer
LOUDSPEAKERS
ABOVE: THE UNUSUAL
CONE TWEETER FEATURES
A FOAM SURROUND IN
AID OF CONTROLLED
DISPERSION.
BELOW: THE PLUS+
VERSION FEATURES A
NUMBER OF REFINE
MENTS INCLUDING AUDIO
PHYSIC’S ‘CERAMIC FOAM’.
ack in 2011 while attending CES
I happened upon the Audio
Physic room where a stunning
array of the company’s speakers
was being exhibited and were
producing sweet, sweet music. Being impressed with the sound given show conditions,
I was motivated to interview the creator of
such fine fare. While discussing many things
audio and music, Audio Physic’s R&D Manager
Manfred Diestertich calmly explained that
in 2010 the German company celebrated its
25th anniversary. The speakers being shown
at CES incorporated the latest technologies
developed for models in celebration of this
auspicious occasion. Many of these technologies were refinements and trickle-downs from
the Audio Physic Caldera statement product
and, subsequently, the Cardeas. It was during
that conversation that Diestertich hinted at the
further wonders to come and that would keep
the 25th anniversary celebrations marching on
further to this day in the second decade of
the new millennium.
PHYSICALLY SPEAKING
The Virgo 25 plus+ is an enhanced
version of the 25th Anniversary model
launched at CES back in 2011. Refinements are mainly related to strengthening and dampening the enclosure
with the use of Audio Physic’s opencell ‘Ceramic foam’ which also serves
to distribute and cancel vibrational
modes within the speaker’s cabinet. Further damping and tuning
has been applied to the midrange
driver’s separate internal chamber,
while the internal cabling has been
upgraded. Audio Physic claims
these changes provide benefits
in terms of bass control, imaging precision and tonal accuracy
respectively.
The Virgo 25 plus+ cuts a
gorgeously lithe figure — and
could be seen as the oh-sosweet spot in the ‘Reference’
line-up. The speaker is ideally
proportioned for good bass
response (appropriate internal
cabinet volume), accurate
imaging (narrow profile and
dampening material around
the tweeter) while being
highly cognisant of the
Wife Acceptance Factor
in terms of its form and
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LOUDSPEAKER
AUDIO PHYSIC HAS DESIGNED ITS OWN HIGH
QUALITY MIDRANGE DRIVER. NOTE THE LARGE
VOICE COIL AND DUAL BASKET SUPPORT.
finishes. The review sample came in a beautiful real
walnut veneer while several other natural finishes
are available alongside gloss black and white.
The Virgo 25 plus+ features a three-way
driver arrangement which includes, for starters, a
39mm HHCT II tweeter (Hyper-Holographic Cone
Tweeter) which Audio Physic claims provides
durability, freedom from ringing and excellent
dispersion characteristics. Further dispersion
contouring is provided by a wide ring of acoustic
foam around the tweeter’s diaphragm. The tweeter
looks deceiving; what would seem like a common
dome — albeit a small one — is actually the cone
tweeter’s ‘dust cap’ which, presumably, is sized thus
to better couple with the voice coil.
The tweeter crosses over to a 150mm HHCM
(Hyper-Holographic Cone Midrange) aluminium
diaphragm driver which features a number of
Audio Physic-designed strategies to increase
basket strength, reduce basket resonance, aid in
voice-coil temperature dissipation and reduce
cone break-up. The driver features a neodymium
magnet structure and ‘Active Cone Damping II’
which is basically a U-shaped rubber ring fitted
around the perimeter of the driver which then
tightens around the diaphragm to nullify any cone
resonance. A tubular ‘phase plug’ contraption
protrudes from the voice coil’s rim.
The tweeter and midrange drivers are
mounted flush on a top-third steel baffle and
feature independent chambers. And as far as the
front of the speaker is concerned, that’s your lot,
aside from a circular ‘25th Anniversary’ badge
towards the bottom of the cabinet.
Audio Physic has placed the woofers on either
side of the cabinet which has kept the baffle
narrow — all the better for precise imaging. Each
side panel houses a 180mm driver operating in an
in-phase push-push configuration which, as a side
benefit, will substantially reduce cabinet resonance.
The woofers are mounted low on the cabinet in
order to capitalise on a modicum of floor gain
while the reflex port vents at the bottom of the
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AUDIO PHYSIC VIRGO 25 PLUS+
Acoustic guitar
came through with
sharp transient
attack and with
the full-bodied
resonant sound of
the instrument’s
cavity, soundboard
and strings...
DAMPING MATERIALS OF DIFFERENT DENSITIES ARE
USED IN THE APPROPRIATE LOCATIONS ON CABINET
WALLS FOR THOROUGH RESONANCE CONTROL.
cabinet. All the drivers and the respective tooling
are designed by Audio Physic but are assembled
by an OEM driver manufacturer with the requisite
expertise in the field.
Audio Physic quotes a frequency response
of 30Hz to 40kHz (no parameters provided), an
impedance of 4 ohms and a sensitivity of 89dB.
The rear of the speaker — where the cabinet
is nicely curved — features the newest high
quality WBT NextGen silver binding posts in
a non-resonant panel, yet another vibrationreducing strategy
that Audio Physic
commendably carries
throughout the design.
The beautiful
walnut veneer of the
review samples was
immaculately and
seamlessly applied with
nary a joint visible. The
cabinet is stabilised via
a set of metal outriggers
that bolt to the bottom of
the cabinet and feature
top-adjusting hardened
steel spikes which, once
set, are covered with a
machined and polished
aluminium dress disc.
The accessories package
also includes a funky
Audio Physic key ring
featuring a spirit level for
exact speaker levelling —
nice touch AP!
WIDE OPEN SPACES
Audio Physic’s website
has a dedicated section
for speaker set-up
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LOUDSPEAKER
suggestions, and the company is known for its
preferred placement which aims to nullify the
room’s influence. Basically, it is suggested to
spread the speakers very widely apart, severely
aiming the toe-in towards the listening sweet
spot, which should be positioned closer to the
speaker plane than is usual. We followed this sage
advice and in our room we were rewarded with
a massive soundstage and imaging beyond the
speakers’ boundaries.
Given the spatial qualities at hand (which
are compounded by narrow baffle, acoustic
treatment of the tweeter and cinemascope
placement), the Virgo 25 plus+ presents an open
and thoroughly spacious soundfield with nil loss
of centre image specificity. Feed them Roger
Waters’ Q-Sound Amused to Death and we were
treated to spatial feats that rivalled the very best
speakers we’ve had in-house.
But by no means is the Virgo a one trick pony.
Yes, they excel at all the soundstage trickery but
immediate impressions were also of a midrange
and top-end rich in detail and textures, very
adept at separating dense musical mixes.
We hit the Virgos with our most demanding
cuts both on CD and rips via MacBook/AIFF/
BitPerfect and the speakers paid back with a
surefooted confidence in terms of resolving
power. Our bass test tracks were handled with
precision too. Mid-to-upper bass was punchy
if not the most ultimately dynamic (when
compared to more expensive offerings), certainly
on par with speakers of this size, while bass depth
was quite surprising in-room.
I was also impressed with the Virgo’s rendering
of instrumental tone/timbre. Acoustic guitar, in
particular, from master Eric Clapton in his Unplugged
release, or French maestros Luc and Lagrène in Duet,
came through with sharp transient attack and with
the full-bodied resonant sound of the instrument’s
cavity, soundboard and strings.
AUDIO PHYSIC VIRGO 25 PLUS+
LOUDSPEAKER
Ben Harper’s ‘Whipping Boy’ from his
Welcome to the Cruel World release didn’t, um…
whip me back on to the listening chair with
bass and kick drum brutality, as it does with our
much larger reference speaker, but the Virgo
25 plus+ almost matched it in terms of snare
snap, guitar resolution and vocal alacrity. That
it performed so well on this difficult track is a
credit to the Audio Physic designers.
Big orchestral pieces were something
quite special with these speakers. The superb
dispersion characteristics, which allow such
wide speaker placement and marked toein with the resultant reduction of room
interactions, recreated expansive spaces with
orchestras spread across in an openly wide and
deep acoustic environ. Violin sections weren’t
crammed and homogenised into caricatures but
they were expansive and, because of the Virgo’s
superb resolution, truly sounded like many
instruments playing in unison. This last is not
a trivial item — many speakers turn a string
section into almost a uniform singularity.
CONCLUSION
The Virgo 25 plus+ is not a cheap speaker.
And a naïve consumer may, for the money,
expect big drivers in a large enclosure
where they can see a more palpable and
blatant relationship between dollar and
wood. But the Virgo 25 plus+ is a whole
lot more speaker than a brutish amalgam
of cheap drivers and cabinetry… it’s the
product of skilled engineering, it features
high quality drivers, and is beautifully
styled and finished while presenting a
relatively small, room-friendly footprint.
Sonically, it performs sublimely. Widely
spaced, they create an enormous
acoustic environment that is open and
realistically reverberant — these Audio
Physic-designed drivers live up to the
‘Holographic’ moniker (recording
permitting). Tonally too, they are spot
on with accurate timbre and with
that unusual tweeter shining in its
detail and resolving prowess.
Anniversaries are always cause
for celebration. Twenty-five years
as a quality speaker manufacturer
in an overcrowded market is a
significant achievement by
any definition. The 25-year
landmark represents a silver
anniversary but, in my opinion,
the Virgo 25 plus+ is surely
more deserving of gold...
SPECIFICATIONS
AUDIO PHYSIC VIRGO 25 PLUS+
DRIVE UNITS: 1 × 39mm HHCT II
tweeter, 1 × 150mm HHCM midrange,
2 × 180mm woofer drivers
ENCLOSURE:
Ceramic foam reinforced
FREQUENCY RANGE: 30Hz-40kHz
SENSITIVITY: 89dB
IMPEDANCE: 4 ohms
RECOMMENDED AMPLIFIER
POWER: 30 to 180 watts
DIMENSIONS (HWD):
1055 × 230 × 400mm
WEIGHT: 32kg
PRICE: $18,500 in Cherry/Walnut/
Oak Natural/Ash black and $20,300
in high gloss Black/White or
Macassar Ebony
WARRANTY: Five years
DISTRIBUTOR: Radiance Audio Visual
on 02 9659 1117,
www.radianceav.com.au
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