AURUM CANTUS Leisure 3SE MkII
Stand mount monitors
The craftsmanship is immaculate - the glossy finish is spotless and seamless, this Aurum Cantus monitor is like a supersmooth monolith. There are several layers of hand-polished lacquer on the cabinet that is assembled from extremely thick panels, no wonder that knocking on its wood yields only sore knuckles.
Function and form
The ribbon tweeter is he Leisure 3SE's central point. In principle, a ribbon tweeter uses a very thin diaphragm (it is a vaporized aluminum foil in the Aurum Cantus) that supports a planar coil, suspended in a powerful magnetic field of neodymium magnets.Such a ribbon is very lightweight material and so it can accelerate fast. The ribbon tweeters inherently exhibit directionality. With the Leisure properties, with very wide horizontal dispersion 3SE I did not have any issues neither in horizontal nor vertical planes.
The midbass driver (16,5cm) has a non-woven carbon & kevlar cone that is driven by a sizable 2" coil - the coil is cooled through its perforated rear part. The driver's basket is a heavy iron cast, the enclosure is thick, heavy and damped from inside. In result the loudspeaker is inert and heavy as a piece of concrete. There is a rear-firing reflex port (tunedd to 48Hz). In the MkII version the speaker's crossover assembly was modified.
Bass management
The bass of the Leisure 3SE MkII was quite understated and therefore not immediately apparent. However, when I listened to good recordings, like Mari Boine, the bass became energized and shattered my room with deep shamanic drumming. I used the speakers with the Vincent and the Densen amplifiers - the former combination was much better in sound control and separation. I could clearly hear it with Nine Inch Nails's multilayered electronic sound of their Ghosts album. The bass pulses (that resonate on the fundamental frequency of 65-75Hz) are accompanied by a banjo and an improvised electric guitar - with the VIncent in the set up the bass became better articulated and textured. The Densen's sound paintings were a bit smudgy and the bass stayed a bit longer than it should have.
Clarity & delicacy
The ribbon tweeter highlights music background - noises, tape hiss, artists breathing. Though there is this audible tilt in highs the Aurum Cantus never sounded harsh, too much agile or overexposing sibilants. Fanfares in capricccio were brilliant and fiery, not ear-splitting or piercing.
Tonal accuracy
The Leisure 3SE MkII's sound is tonally rich and saturated. Human voice (Test CD of Chesky Records) was natural and warm, the music was natural, warm and musical. The listening sessions represented joyful moments for me, not a reviewer's chore.
Spatial resolution
As mentioned, due to the presence of the ribbon tweeter, I suspected the Leisure 3SE MkII to be sensitive to toe in. They were not. Of course, if you listen in near-field you may experience the directionality, but from rather standard listening distance of two to three meters I did not have to work hard to get proper balance.
Recommended resellers
Hifi studio MeLissa, Brno, tel. +420 777 04 1313
Manufacturer's website: http://www.aurumcantus.com
Associated components
- Sources: Vincent CD-S3
- Amplifier: Vincent SV-238 Mk, Densen B-110, TAC
- Interconnects and speaker cables: Vincent cables, Monster Interlink 300
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