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Back in 2011 while attending CESI 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 im-pressed with the sound given show conditions, I was motivated to interview the creator of such fi ne 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 technolo-gies were refi nements 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 SPEAKINGThe Virgo 25 plus+ is an enhanced version of the 25th Anniversary model launched at CES back in 2011. Refi ne-ments are mainly related to strength-ening and dampening the enclosure with the use of Audio Physic’s open-cell ‘Ceramic foam’ which also serves to distribute and cancel vibrational modes within the speaker’s cabi-net. 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 benefi ts in terms of bass control, imag-ing precision and tonal accuracy respectively.

The Virgo 25 plus+ cuts a gorgeously lithe fi gure — and could be seen as the oh-so-sweet spot in the ‘Reference’ line-up. The speaker is ideally proportioned for good bass response (appropriate internal cabinet volume), accurate imaging (narrow profi le and dampening material around

the tweeter) while being highly cognisant of the Wife Acceptance Factor in terms of its form and

fi nishes. The review sample came in a beautiful real walnut veneer while several other natural fi nishes 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 fi tted 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 fl ush on a top-third steel baffl e 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 baffl e narrow — all the better for precise imaging. Each side panel houses a 180mm driver operating in an in-phase push-push confi guration which, as a side benefi t, will substantially reduce cabinet resonance. The woofers are mounted low on the cabinet in order to capitalise on a modicum of fl oor gain while the refl ex port vents at the bottom of the

ABOVE: THE UNUSUAL CONE TWEETER FEATURES A FOAM SURROUND IN AID OF CONTROLLED DISPERSION.

BELOW: THE PLUS+ VERSION FEATURES A NUMBER OF REFINEMENTS INCLUDING AUDIO PHYSIC’S ‘CERAMIC FOAM’.

AUDIO PHYSIC HAS DESIGNED ITS OWN HIGH QUALITY MIDRANGE DRIVER. NOTE THE LARGE VOICE COIL AND DUAL BASKET SUPPORT.

AUDIO PHYSIC VIRGO 25 PLUS+ LOUDSPEAKER

AUDIO PHYSIC VIRGO 25 PLUS+

LOUDSPEAKERS

Reviewer Edgar Kramer

080 081

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 fi eld.

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 vibration-

reducing 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 SPACESAudio Physic’s website has a dedicated section for speaker set-up

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 diffi cult 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 toe-in 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.

CONCLUSIONThe 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 fi nished 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-fi ve years as a quality speaker manufacturer in an overcrowded market is a signifi cant achievement by any defi nition. 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

suggestions, and the company is known for its preferred placement which aims to nullify the room’s infl uence. 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 baffl e, acoustic treatment of the tweeter and cinemascope placement), the Virgo 25 plus+ presents an open and thoroughly spacious soundfi eld with nil loss of centre image specifi city. 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 confi dence 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 off erings), 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.

DAMPING MATERIALS OF DIFFERENT DENSITIES ARE USED IN THE APPROPRIATE LOCATIONS ON CABINET WALLS FOR THOROUGH RESONANCE CONTROL.

Acoustic guitar came through with

sharp transient attack and with the full-bodied

resonant sound of the instrument’s

cavity, soundboard and strings...

SPECIFICATIONS

AUDIO PHYSIC VIRGO 25 PLUS+

DRIVE UNITS: 1 × 39mm HHCT II tweeter, 1 × 150mm HHCM midrange, 2 × 180mm woofer drivers

AUDIO PHYSIC VIRGO 25 PLUS+ LOUDSPEAKER AUDIO PHYSIC VIRGO 25 PLUS+ LOUDSPEAKER