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| 1. |
Who is
Acapella Audio Arts? |
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Acapella Audio
Arts is a company located in Germany dedicated to
music reproduction since 1978. They produced one
of the (if not THE) first horn speakers as well
as the first, safe, working ion/plasma tweeter.
Their German website is here. |
| 2. |
What
finishes and colors do Acapella speakers come in? |
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The horns can
come in any color that can be found as a
high-quality paint..The colors usually used are
the colors of Mercedes cars (blue, green, red,
and white).The speaker enclosures (boxes) can
come layered with a faux rosewood veneer, painted
(usually black or white) or with a layer of very
high quality acrylic (black). There is an extra
charge for the acrylic finish on the enclosures,
otherwise all options are free-of-charge (but may
cause some delay in delivery because Acapella
does not stock anything but components in the
standard colors). |
| 3. |
What
other products in addition to speakers does
Acapella Audio Arts produce? |
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They also make
fine speaker cables, interconnects, and isolation
platforms, all of which are just now becoming
available in North America. |
| 4. |
What Do
It Yourself performance-improving modifications
can be done to the Campanile and other Acapella
speakers? |
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The tweeter power
cord (European) connector on the back on the
tweeter unit can be replaced with a standard,
North American IEC connector so that 3rd-party
audiophile-quality power cords can be used to
power the tweeters. The IEC is a drop in fit and
so no modifications to the tweeter chassis is
required. The original connector is connected to
a common line filter that can be removed and
replaced with an audiophile-quality, out-board
line filter. Damping
material can be added between the bottom of the
tweeters and the cabinet for additional isolation
(Fred Crowder, Epic Audio)
Spikes can be put
underneath the speakers. Lovan spikes have been
used to good effect by Tapsa (TL-Audio).
Stainless steel
threaded cones can replace the stock feet 'nubs'
on the bottom of the speakers is working well for
Brian Ackerman (Artistic Audio).
The speakers can
also be put on 1 inch or thicker slab of granite.
Damping
'isolation' platforms can be put underneath the
speakers (for example the Acapella Fondato
Silenzio bases) [though Hermann Winters at
Acapella suggests that this be done only after
all other equipment has been adequately
isolated].
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| 5. |
What are
these weird tweeters, anyway? |
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The ION Tweeter
(often called a plasma tweeter) is unique in that
it produces sound by modulating an electric
spark. Because it has zero mass, there is no
delay between the signal from the amplifier and
the sound coming out of the tweeter. The rise and
fall of each note is reproduced much more
smoothly and accurately than that achieved by any
other known technology. This technology also
allows this tweeter to reproduce sounds at much
higher frequencies than most other tweeters (5K
Hz to 50K Hz). Because of the nature of
full-spectrum harmonics, this fleshing out of the
upper frequencies helps smooth and enrich the
lower frequencies as well. Each tweeter is packaged as
a self-contained metal, ventilated chassis
weighing about 30lbs with an opening in the front
(for the sound to come out of) and connectors and
adjusters on the back. The chassis contains a
tube amplifier/oscillator (containing Siemens
PL519 tubes) in addition to the ion chamber that
generates the sound. The rear connectors consist
of one standard female RCA input connector and
one European connector for the power cord. This
chassis fits (slides) inside Acapella speakers.
It can also be placed on top or beside any other
speaker to enhance the speaker's capabilities in
the upper registers.
The tweeter uses a
quartz rod when generating sonic sparks, and over
the course of 10 years or so of normal use, they
should be replaced (for a nominal cost from your
dealer or Acapella). Pentlabs has replacement
PL519's for the tweeters but of EI (Yugoslavian)
manufacture. A replacement-parts kit is available
containing 4 tubes and 2 quarts rods.
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| 6. |
Can the
tweeters be bought separately? |
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Yes, for
approximately $6,900.00 USD per pair (call or
email for latest prices). |
| 7. |
How long
do the speakers take to break in? |
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The tweeters take
little or no time to break in (they sound great
right out of the box). The mid-range takes about
a minimum of 14 full-days and continues improving
for the next 2 - 3 months. The bass module takes
about 4 - 6 weeks to start loosening-up and also
continues improving for the next 3 - 4 months. |
| 8. |
What
amplifiers are people using with the speakers
(Violins and Campaniles)? |
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Good results have
been obtained with the:
- Edge NL-10
(220 solid-state smooth detailed watts)
[Mike and Neli, Audio Federation]
- the Audio
Aero Capitole (50 push-pull EL34-based
triode/pentode tubed watts) [Mike and
Neli, Audio Federation]*
- Wolcotts
monoblocks retubed with all NOS tubes
(240 tubed watts) [Fred Crowder, Epic
Audio]
- Audionet max
two monoblocks (500 solid state watts)
[Tapsa, TL-Audio]]
- Audio Physic
Strada digitalmonoamp [Tapsa, TL-Audio]
- Accustic Arts
Amp II-AC (~200 solid state watts)
[Vince, TriCell Enerprises]
- Jeff Rowland
Model 12(?) (200 solid state watts) [
Jeff Rowland, Jeff Rowland Design Group]
- Edge
Signature monoblocks (400 solid-state
smooth and detailed watts) [Mike and
Neli, Audio Federation]**
- EL34
tube-based designs for Acapella speakers
that need higher power and SET's
(single-ended-triodes) for their more
efficient speakers [Hermann Winters,
co-founder Acapella Audio Arts]
- WAVAC HE-833
monoblocks [Brian Ackermann, Artistic
Audio]
- Parasound
Halo JC-1 monoblocks (400 solid-state
watts) [Fred Crowder, Epic Audio]
Mixed results have
been reported for the substantialness of the bass
when using the Audio Aero Prestige Monobloc
amplifiers (40 watt single ended triode tubed
watts) with the Violins and the Campaniles.
*Highly
recommended (especially when driven directly by
an Audio Aero Capitole CD player (try using
balanced interconnects). Winner of best of show
in Frankfurt).
**Highly recommended (especially when driven
directly by an Audio Aero Capitole CD player)
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| 9. |
What
speaker cable are people using with the speakers? |
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Good results have
been obtained with the Nordost Valhalla speaker
cable (Mike and Neli, Audio Federation and Fred
Crowder, Epic Audio) as well as Accoustic Zen and
Cardas speaker cables. |
| 10. |
Are the
speakers bi-wirable? Do they accept banana and
spade type connectors? |
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Yes. Yes. |
| 11. |
What
subwoofers are people using with the speakers? |
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Tapsa (TL-Audio)
is using the Audio Physic Minos subwoofer for good effect
with the Campaniles and complements its very high
resolution and control. Another uses 2 with the
Violoncello. |
| 12. |
How are
people positioning the speakers? |
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Tapsa (TL-Audio)
puts the speakers against the long wall in a 6 x
6.7 meters room, 3.5 meters from the inside of
one speaker to the inside of the other, 1.25
meters from the front of the speakers to the rear
walls, and 4.5 meters to the listeners ears. Here at AudioFederation we
put the speakers along the short wall in a
15x35x24 feet tall room, 8 feet from the inside
of one speaker to the inside of the other,
5'4" from the front of the speakers to the
rear (beveled) walls, and 14.5 feet to the
listeners ears. [Update: Jan
2003 - We moved the speakers about 14 inches
farther into the room, and angled them so they
are only angled in about 5 - 10 degrees. Much
better soundstaging and imaging and bass response
is somewhat tighter].
Hermann Winters.
co-founder Acapella Audio Arts suggested [as
reported by Fred Crowder of Epic Audio] that the
location of the speakers in the room is
essentially determined by the room's nodes and
that there was no one place that worked in every
instance. in a long room he preferred the
speakers along the long wall closer to the wall.
I got the impression that he generally preferred
the speakers closer to the back wall rather than
out into the room. he also said that the amount
of toe-in should be a function of what works best
in a particular room.
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| 13. |
Can the
speakers be separated into pieces for moving? |
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The Campanile is
shipped in 3 sections (top, middle, and bottom)
and the middle section can be detached from the
horn assembly, if desired, and the tweeter comes
in its own 30lb chassis that slides into the back
of each Campanile. The Violon box enclosure can be
separated from the horn assembly and the tweeter
comes in its own 30lb chassis that slides into
the back of each Violin.
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| 14. |
What
components are used in the Campanile? |
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The Campanile is
built from a ION/plasma tweeter in its own
enclosed chassis; a midrange (non-compression)
horn, built using a very strong and thick
acoustically neutral composite material using a
Dynaudio driver; and four 10" SEAS drivers
for woofers in individual rather large sealed
enclosures (2 woofers per 30" by 12" by
28" heavily braced box). The Campanile Highs are the
same as the Campaniles except that there is
significantly more internal bracing and
dampening, and more expensive components and
Acapella's own silver wiring are used in the
cross-over.
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| 15. |
What
components are used in the Violin? |
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The Violin is
built from a ION/plasma tweeter in its own
enclosed chassis; a midrange (non-compression)
horn, built using a very strong and thick
acoustically neutral composite material using a
Dynaudio driver; and one 10" SEAS driver for
a woofer in an individual rather large sealed
enclosure. The
Violin Highs are the same as the Violins except
that there is significantly more internal bracing
and dampening, and more expensive components and
Acapella's own silver wiring are used in the
cross-over.
The Violin High
Subs are the same as the Violin but add an
additional 10" SEAS driver for a total of
two woofers in the rather large sealed enclosure.
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| 16. |
What
online discussion groups discuss the Acapella
line? |
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The Manufacturer's online discussion forum
(translated
from German)
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| 17. |
Who are
all the Acapella Audio Arts dealers? |
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