DT 94 - 8 Ohm

The ALTO I is a 2-way shelf-mounted speaker with a cabinet volume of 13 litres. Apart from the 20 mm tweeter cone, the cabinet contains a 17 cm diameter mid-bass cone.

The sound qualities of the ALTO I are "warm" but with crisp, high-range reproduction.

This kit is ideally suited to replacing the more basic speakers often supplied as standard with low-priced hi-fi systems and thus improving the overall standard of the system.

Since the bass ports are at the front, the ALTO I can be hung on the wall or placed in bookshelves, facilitating good bass response even in rooms with difficult acoustics.

This 2-way column speaker, ALTO II, designed as a 30 litre vented system, is another suggested application from the Alto series. The same driver arrangement has been selected as for the ALTO I but, here, the lower range octaves benefit from the enlarged cabinet volume and optimum bass frequency to produce powerful, responsive bass.

ALTO II is also well-suited to improving the sound of low-priced compact hi-fi systems.

The ALTO II can be positioned freely anywhere in the room, producing clearly defined spatial sound character.

The ALTO III c has been designed as a 3-way column speaker with an inside volume of no less than 44+3 litres. The twin bass arrangement using two W 170 S - 8 Ohm drivers in parallel guarantees very powerful low-ranging bass reproduction, that comes across crisply and impressively even with hard-hitting beat.

From around 450 Hz upwards, the 10 cm mid-range cone W 100 S - 4 Ohm takes over, mounted in its 3 litre enclosure. Single instruments and solo voices are reproduced throughout the mid-range in a most tangible, crisp fashion, where the precise definition of virtual sound sources and their associated range layering, so typical for good mid-range cones, comes across well.

Above about 3500 Hz, the sound character is rounded off neatly by the crisp 19 mm tweeter DT 94 - 8 Ohm. The exuberance demonstrated by the ALTO III c promises to put listeners in a good mood and keep them there for several hours of musical pleasure.The ALTO III c has been designed as a 3-way column speaker with an inside volume of no less than 55 litres. The twin bass arrangement using two W 170 S - 8 Ohm drivers in parallel guarantees very powerful low-ranging bass reproduction, that comes across crisply and impressively even with hard-hitting beat.

From around 450 Hz upwards, the 10 cm mid-range cone W 100 S - 4 Ohm takes over, mounted in its 3 litre enclosure. Single instruments and solo voices are reproduced throughout the mid-range in a most tangible, crisp fashion, where the precise definition of virtual sound sources and their associated range layering, so typical for good mid-range cones, comes across well.

Above about 3500 Hz, the sound character is rounded off neatly by the crisp 19 mm tweeter DT 94 - 8 Ohm. The exuberance demonstrated by the ALTO III c promises to put listeners in a good mood and keep them there for several hours of musical pleasure.

The 2-way FONTANA system is a 360° omnidirectional speaker with a highly attractive appearance and is particularly well suited as an effect speaker. The speakers are arranged so that they point upwards and reflect the sound output by means of two specially shaped cones. This results in a uniformly distributed frequency response, that matches your hearing expectations in the room.

The best sound quality is achieved if these omnidirectional speakers are positioned about 50 cm to 1 m from a wall. This produces spatial sound of such tangible quality that it is perceived at any position in the room. Virtual sound sources, such as instruments or voices perceived to be between the speakers, can be clearly located from any seating position in the room, which gives listeners a freedom of movement in the room they have never had before and this holds true even in acoustically difficult rooms. This results in extraordinary diffusion fields for the effects channels in Dolby® Surround and multi-channel systems.

The DT 94 - 8 Ohm tweeters, ideal for this type of system, working in conjunction with the mid-bass AL 170 - 8 Ohm and the carefully tuned crossover unit, ensure balanced, neutral sound reproduction. Low-range bass frequencies are boosted by the BR 15.34 tube, which is situated in the bottom of the bass chamber and guarantees clear, powerful bass reproduction.

The omnidirectional FONTANA, tested in an anechoic chamber, achieved a maximum volume of 98 dB. If positioned, as recommended, near a wall, however, the system produces + 6 dB or, in a corner of the room, + 9 dB, making this omnidirectional speaker ideally suited even for larger rooms. If required, two FONTANA's can be installed on each side to produce a full surround field. To do so, position one omnidirectional speaker to the side of the seating arrangement and a second one behind that. The same applies to the other side.

The FONTANA is ideal as a fullrange effects speaker system for high-quality surround sound systems for movies and music, but can just as well be used as the main loudspeaker for hi-fi stereo systems to give you excellent spatial listening pleasure for your favourite music.

The FONTANELLA subwoofer satellite system is both visually and accoustically a completely new experience. The drivers in the satellitesare arranged to project the sound upwards. Two specially shaped cones reflect the sound according to specific patterns to ensure that the sound is distributed horizontally and uniformly in all directions.

The mid-bass unit is the AL 130 M - 8 Ohm, and the tweeter range is covered by the DT 94 - 8 Ohm.

This diffused sound distribution means that the impressive spatial effect is virtually uniform all round the room. Virtual sound sources, for example the voices or instruments that appear between the speakers, can be clearly and precisely located. The depth of colour of the sound remains the same at any seating position in the whole room. Ideally, the satellitesshould be positioned 0.5 m to 1 m away from a wall and on a base or stand. The cones should then be at ear level or slightly below.

The passive subwoofer cabinet has been designed to match the satellitesand is fitted with the GF 200 - 2 x 4 Ohm double voice-coil woofer; resulting in powerful, highly dynamic bass reproduction from this high-end driver.

The FONTANELLA system provides a high level of listening pleasure as a hifi stereo system but is also extremely well suited to use as the rear effect channel in home-video systems. In such cases, the subwoofer is not required and the two satellites are used alone.

The STARLET is a 3-way speaker which is extremely good value for money. The individual drivers used here have all proved their worth in numerous well-known constructions.

At the bottom end of the frequency range, there is the W 200 S - 8 Ohmfrom the EXPERIENCE V 20, mounted in a 58 litre vented cabinet. The mid- to high-range is covered by the W 100 S - 8 Ohm and DT 94 - 8 Ohm from the ALTO series of speakers.

The impression given by the STARLET is of a solid low-frequency foundation with powerful, crisp bass. The mid-range has a pleasant, unobtrusive sound, and at the higher frequency ranges the STARLETproduces sparkling, clear-cut treble. In a nutshell, the STARLET is an extremely reasonably priced column speaker with a well-rounded tonal character and good power handling capabilities.

The ALTO LINE MK II is a slim, 2-band column speaker with two 13 cm mid-bass units and one dome tweeter.
Due to its slim design and the correspondingly small footprint, this model is ideal as a free-standing speaker in smaller rooms.

The spatial separation is well handled by the speakers and can, as a result, produce clear sound characteristics even in "normal" living rooms.

The unusually broad range bass spectrum for a speaker of this size, that remains crisp even at higher output levels, is a point worthy of note.

As a result of its balanced, crisp sound characteristics, and the finely detailed, exuberant high-frequency output, the ALTO LINE MK II can be considered a fully-fledged member of the ALTO speaker family.