Review: Amphion Argon2

[Fincave]

Let me start by saying that any use of technical terminology MAY well be accidental and should not be taken as the absolute truth!

Like most people who are into this hobby I also suffer from the upgrade bug, nothing unusual there. I wanted to improve my sound quality at home. My previous speakers were JBL XTi 80's and I must say that I was very happy them, I did however start getting the itch to upgrade and wanted a noticeable improvement in sound quality. I came to the conclusion that the easiest way to achieve this would be through purchasing new speakers, upgrading components would probably make a difference but probably not as dramatic. I started doing quite a lot of research on the net and reading a lot of reviews to try and give me some kind of idea as to where to start.

I set myself a budget of 1000 euros for a pair of speakers which after reading a lot pointed me in the direction of bookshelf speakers. My JBL's were floorstanders and I would happily have opted for floorstanders again but decided that performance and price were of the greatest importance, I was willing to sacrifice size and looks for perfomance and sound quality.

I armed myself with about ten cd's of varying styles and went around to several specialist stores and got to listen to quite a few different speakers that fit my budget. It was a bit difficult to make direct comparisons as the listening conditions were different in every store. One speaker that really stood out was the Quad 12 L, it was also available for quite a bit less than my budget and I very nearly purchased them. I however decided to visit one more store and see what they had to offer and am very pleased that I did.

The first cd I opted to listen to was Johnny Cash - The man comes around, the speakers in question Amphion Argon2's. I was sold right away, I had to get these speakers. Not to rush things I listened to music for a good hour in the store, listening to some classical music, quite a bit of acoustic music, some very heavy stuff and even one opera cd. I was more than impressed, the only negative being that these speakers did not quite fit my budget! I decided to try throw caution to the wind and asked the store for their best price, I still ended up paying about twenty percent more than my original budget but you only live once, right?

Amphion is a local (Finnish) speaker manufacturer and so are popular here. The Argon2 is an update of the original Argon which had received very good reviews both locally and internationally.

APPEARANCE: These speakers look a bit different than most, they feature a flared baffle and also have no grille which may not be to everyones liking. I opted for the cherry finish which, surprise surprise costs a little more but is in my opinion worth the expense. These are seriously sexy speakers IMO and the finishing on the cabinet is exquisite! The cabinet is made from MDF with the front being wood to allow for the flared baffle, this is then covered in a wood veneer. There is a single pair of speaker terminlas on the rear which appear to be very sturdy, also a port on the rear almost directly behind the tweeter, foam inserts are supplied.

PLACEMENT I have the speakers placed on 70cm high stands (Atacama) that I weighted down using sand blasting material. I attached the speakers using a very high tech method, Prestik (blue tack in the US?). I was a bit apprehensive at first thinking that they may topple quite easily, now I actually think they are more stable than my previous floorstanders! I am also using spikes on a laminate floor, I made a kind of sandwich using felt feet for furniture with a coin in between th felt feet, it seems to work very well (the idea is not my own, I found it on the a Finnish hifi enthusiasts forum).

I have the speakers placed about 55cm form the rear wall and about 65cm from the side walls. At first I had them toed in quite severely but did not really like the sound, high especially sounded a bit harsh and too pronounced. I now have them only very slightly toed in and the sound improved a lot.

SOUND Being bookshelf speakers they do need a little bit of assisatnce regarding bass reproduction, Amphion rates them as 40 to 20 00hz. I use a subwoofer for all my listening so I have no problems with lack of bass.

What impressed me first with these speakers was vocal reproduction, at my first listen I could have sworn that Johnny Cash sat himself down in front of me with his guitar. Vocals, bith male and female seem to be more intimate and realistic compared to all the other speakers I listened to, the only speaker that came really excelled at vocal reproduction that I listened to was the Sonus Faber Concertino Domus. Stereo imaging and soundstage (as I understand the terms) are outstanding, there is a definite spatial feel to music with the vocals placed very much in the centre.

The Argon2's all seem to be very accurate, I seem to hear small nuances in my music that I just did not hear before or did not hear as clearly before, fingers sliding along the neck of of guitar even guitar strings vibrating are now heard very clearly. Mids and highs are clear and not muddy or subdued which they appeared to be with my previous speakers, cymbal crashes, hand clapping etc all sound crystal clear and natural. I will admit that before placing acoustic panels on the walls the mids and highs may have sounded a bit harsh, the sound has now calmed down which may also be due to the speakers being finally run in properly. The Argon2's are very accurate in my opinion and will expose badly recorded or mixed cds but you will get to hear what is on the original recording. According to one review that I read the reviewer claimed to be able to distinguish between two grand pianos of exact same make using these speakers, you either need better ears or a better imagination to be able to do this in my opinion.

The crossover according to Amphion is set at 1200hz, which I will admit means absolutely nothing to me!

CONCLUSION Amphion have their 'own' sound which is apparently evident in their entire range of speakers, the Amphion sound generates quite a lot of discussionon the Finnish forums. Some people really love the sound, myself included, while others find them to be harsh and unforgiving. I can only recommend that if at all possible give them a listen if you are planning an upgrade or just for the fun of it. These are definitely the right speakers for me and am very thrilled with them, have already gotten many hours of enjoyment out of them and looking forward to many more. They are one item that will not be upgraded in the near future.

Edit: Have added some pics

[JCD]

Great review!


And I agree.. they are pretty sexy..

<link busted>

Did you audition any other speakers before you bought these?

JCD

[Sonnie]

Thanks for the review Fincave! You did very well.

How about some pics?

Jacen... is there supposed to be a pic in your post? Looks like a partial link maybe.

[Fincave]

Thanks for the positive comments!

Jacen: Yes I listened to quite a few, Usher S520, Usher X708, Magnat Quantum 503 and 903, Quad 12L, Dynaudio Focus 140, Sonus Faber Concertino Domus, B&W (CM1, not sure about the model), Amphion Helium2's which I purchased as rear speakers. The bigger Usher was impressive but a little pricey, the Sonus Faber was also very nice, I was a bit dissapointed with the Dynaudio as had read so many good things about the Audience range.

Sonnie: I spent most of the morning compliling my review, the rest of the morning hunting for my battery charger so that I could take some pics, will add them as soon as I find the charger which I have obviously put in a very safe place!

[goodsound]

I'm just about ready to purchase a pair myself. Do you have any suggestions for speaker stands and/or where to purchase them? Also, since your purchase, any new comments?

[Fincave]

goodsound wrote:

I'm just about ready to purchase a pair myself. Do you have any suggestions for speaker stands and/or where to purchase them? Also, since your purchase, any new comments?

I do not seem to be getting emails regarding threads that I am subscribed to hence the late reply.

I am still using the Atacama stands which unfortunately do not seem to be available in the US, had a look at their website and there is no listing for the States. Regarding the speakers themselves, still very happy with them and have no intention of upgrading in the near future. The Argon 2's are definitely the best part in my humble set up.

[goodsound]

Actually, after your review, I went and auditioned and purchased a pair for myself. Given their design, sound quality and appearance they fit my application perfectly. I found a good quality SoundDesign stand to use with them. Only problem is, they've brought out the weaknesses in my subwoofer! Now I'm on the hunt for a good replacement for it.

Notably, my girlfriend, who asked me when I was looking to purchase speakers said "why do we need speakers" can actually hear the difference between the Argon2s and our prior towers. Thanks again for the good pics and description of these speakers.