The Sound
Contents
Let’s start with the fact that the Gauder Akustik Arcona 100 can play incredibly coherent, fast and open. At a level you might not expect from a set of 8000 euros. (Yes, 8000 euros is a lot, but this can really play very holographic…). But… it takes some effort in matching to reach that level.
Reinforcement
As previously reported, we played on two systems. Funnily enough, we never really had matching problems with the Bryston. But the Arcona 100 just doesn’t like our pre / end combination with Pass Labs and Bryston. The middle area feels pushy and rough. So much so that we can’t listen to it for long. Even with the bridge out, it’s not coherent.
But with the MOON 700i V2… ooh! That’s a different league! It plays large, mild and fluent. Very nice; all the sharpness is gone.
This difference in performance is really remarkable and shows that matching with this speaker requires a little more than taking some heavy, expensive equipment and pairing an amplifier with the right number of watts. The Bryston is an incredibly stable amplifier with loads of power. We could weld with it if we would like to. The MOON as well. But the difference in reproduction is clearly audible.
We played the remaining time we had with the MOON, because it just plays great and gives a good idea of the performance of this German creation.
That bridge
On the back of every Gauder loudspeaker is a bass extension bridge. In it gives a deeper bass, out results in an easier load. Of course we played with both configurations. And yes: it’s very audible. But not only in the bass. Also the mid area is influenced in our opinion.
If we play with bridge, we have the idea that the focus is a bit tighter. Just like the bass, which brightens up the middle area a bit. Without bridge the layer seems a bit less precise and punchy and the focus in the middle area also seems a bit less tight. Could be due to our combination, but we hear it over and over again when we change.
Overall
We were able to play for quite a few hours with the Arcona 100. And it’s been good. The piano lacquer white Germans are remarkably good all-rounders. Radiohead, Massive Attack, Trentemoller, Jack Johnson… …everything just comes through like it should. And that’s not bad, since it’s a neutral tuned speaker, as you can see later.
What helps with the ‘all-round’ character, is the tight, punchy bass that goes particularly deep. Angel of Massive Attack really hits the deepest octave without a problem. (Also thanks to the MOON). And honestly: not many loudspeakers achieve that. And certainly not our Focals. They do stop around 40 Hz. These Gauders just pick up with ease at 30 Hz. And that results in a resonating bench… yummy!
Now a lot of bass is nice, but the whole sound image has to hold up of course. And fortunately that’s the case. We hear crystal clear vocals and fast and airy highs, despite the roaring basses. This is something a two-way monitor doesn’t really do. At least not on the volumes we play during these songs.
If we go to the refined tracks – Lovesong, Adele, or Present Tense, Radiohead – then everything just stays neatly balanced. The image is not too big, the basses not too heavy and the middle is incredibly detailed and refined. The emotion rolls out, as it were, into the room. Now we have to think about Roland Gauder’s – for us – iconic statement in our interview. We ask Roland about his design philosophy:
I’m a scientist, not a philosopher.
… . . .okay. So science and feeling are not diametrically opposed. As it turns out. Let’s take a look at the measurement results of this scientifically designed louse speaker.