PENAUDIO, a renowned Finnish speaker brand, has always been known for its noble, transparent, and lively characteristics, captivating countless discerning ears. From its famous work, Charisma, to the currently popular Cenya Signature, this principle has always been upheld.
Of course, for friends with limited budgets, it may not be easy to own PENAUDIO’s Hi-End works. PENAUDIO is clearly aware of this issue, so in 2023, they launched a very affordable series – the Ambient series. This series includes three models: Ambient One, Ambient Two, and Ambient Three. The former is a bookshelf design, and the latter two are floor-standing designs.
The product under review today is Ambient One. So, to what extent is this speaker value for money? The price of Ambient One is only 12,000 yuan! As a speaker originating from Europe, such a price is arguably unmatched in the market.
Objectively speaking, due to cost constraints, the Ambient series cannot use PENAUDIO’s high-end model’s cabinet structure, units, and crossover. We know that PENAUDIO is most famous for its “multi-layer structure board” cabinet, which is to alternately glue very thin birch plywood and medium-density board, and then press and glue them. When making speakers, you can cut the “multi-layer structure board” from the side piece by piece and apply it to each plane of the cabinet. This entire process is done entirely by hand, which is very time-consuming and costly. Therefore, the cabinet of the Ambient series still follows the practice of most speakers – using medium-density boards. In terms of units, SEAS’s Excel series is also not used. For Ambient One, it uses a 22mm silk dome tweeter and a 168mm (6.5-inch) cone mid-bass unit. Bookshelf boxes use a 6.5-inch woofer, which is relatively large. Ambient One also adheres to PENAUDIO’s tradition of making the cabinet quite deep to increase the cabinet volume to improve low-frequency performance. In the end, Ambient One achieved a frequency response of 50-30kHz-3dB. It should be noted that this fluctuation range is -3dB, not the industry standard of +/-3dB. The fluctuation amplitude of Ambient One is half less. If calculated according to +/-3dB, the extension indicators of Ambient One at both ends will be even better. For a bookshelf box that sells for only 12,000 yuan, this is not easy.
During the test, in addition to Ambient One, there were also French ATOLL (coral reef) IN200 Signature integrated amplifier and CD200 Signature laser player.
First, play the song “Your Eyes” in the album “Tsai Chin. Folk Songs”. As soon as it started, I found that the saxophone in the middle of the sound field was particularly pleasing to the ear. In the past impression, the sound of this record was a bit thin and light, so I didn’t expect much from an accompaniment instrument in the production of a pop song. Unexpectedly, the saxophone presented by Ambient One this time will have a faint golden hue, the texture is soft and full, and the energy in the mid-frequency band is quite abundant. Listen to Tsai Chin’s singing again, it also has the characteristics of thick mid-frequency, which makes me feel comfortable enjoying music under the gentle spring breeze, completely without the previous traces of dryness in the voice, and the thickness of the voice has approached “Tsai Chin. Old Song”. In terms of sound style, Ambient One continues the characteristics of low sound staining of high-end models. Although it does not use the “multi-layer structure board” cabinet, the cabinet resonance is still very low, and there is no slightly yellowish sound background common in cheap speakers. The background is still relatively quiet and black, so on Ambient One, you can still appreciate PENAUDIO’s unique noble beauty to a certain extent. It is also thanks to the low sound staining that I can feel the sweetness and warmth contained in the singing and instruments in the song, and it also creates a good sense of imaging lines.
How about listening to the violin? Just play the “Drinking Song” in the “Verdi and Variations” of CHANDOS. The violin sound presented by Ambient One appears dense and long, and it is quite cohesive and smooth. The sweet and juicy characteristics are particularly attractive, such as sharpness, brilliance, and stiffness are insulated from Ambient One. I think Ambient One’s slightly sweet violin sound is somewhat similar to the typical British box, but its transparency, linearity, and vividness are much better than these British boxes, obviously related to Ambient One’s lower sound staining. I feel that the violin sound at this time is more mature, the color is slightly “dark”, slightly sticky, lingering, and the glossiness of the sound is quite good. In terms of sound style, it is first of all solid and full, telling a story, and it is intriguing; at the same time, it also gives me a sense of restraint and restraint. The violin sound presented can be said to be very neat on the basis of sweetness, and the expression of this beauty is not exaggerated, just right.
Then play the first “Clown Dance” of “Tutti!”. Only the stringed instruments and brass instruments are full, and the performance is completely different from some speakers with a certain amount of stimulating ingredients. The stringed instruments exude a silky luster, and the brass instruments are deep and thick without losing their explosive power. Ambient One’s performance of classical music is introverted and restrained, with taste and cultivation. It gives me a feeling of being relaxed, smooth, and natural, and it can also express the elegance and dignity of classical music very well, creating a harmonious and warm atmosphere of harmony. However, due to the low cabinet resonance, the sound bottom of Ambient One is a clean and quiet type, without any vague ingredients, which is different from some traditional British boxes. This makes the background of the music very black, and it is easier to present the sweet and dense texture of the string group. The performance of various percussion instruments in the music is also quite “accurate”-cymbals, triangles, bells, etc., when they are knocked down, the rise and fall are clear and sharp, and there is enough high-frequency penetration, and the tone is also brilliant, but it will not There is a sense of bifurcation and “dazzling”. Under the strong drive of the ATOLL IN200 Signature amplifier, Ambient One instantly creates a good momentum, with a certain sense of authority and scale, and can feel the low-frequency paving composed of cellos and trombones²[2]. At the climax, it can also bring the “ringing of bells and drums” The feeling of exhilaration. Low cabinet resonance also helps Ambient One to build a better sound field transparency, each instrument group has a clear sense of form, various sound image positioning is clear, the separation degree is good, and the artistic conception of “both points and points” and “clear points and real points” in the performance of classical music works is well expressed. The presentation of various instruments is not only good in separation, but more importantly, it presents the inherent and organic “organization” between the instruments and the instruments that echo each other and communicate with each other.
Play the fifth “Firebird” suite excerpt again, I deliberately increased the volume of ATOLL IN200 Signature as much as possible, Ambient One showed good quality at this moment: the sound is still not rough or rough under loud pressure, with enough smoothness and smoothness, as if the volume has never been increased. As the sound pressure gets bigger and bigger, the “ringing of bells and drums” seems to surround people. Suddenly, a sudden drum blast suddenly exploded in mid-air, and even I was taken aback- Wow, how can Ambient One have such an abundant low-frequency sense of volume?! Then there were several consecutive drum bombings, Ambient One was still calm and composed, without any panic, showing its low distortion advantages.
This newly released Finnish PENAUDIO Ambient One bookshelf speaker is similar to the British box in some respects, mainly reflected in its connotative mid-frequency, so it feels intimate and moving. However, Ambient One still adheres to PENAUDIO’s tradition of low sound staining, the sound background is clear, full but not bloated, and it is easy to push and easy to produce results, and you can faintly smell the fascinating fairy spirit of PENAUDIO’s high-end models, with a price of 12,000 yuan. It is still quite attractive.
源: 与必应的对话， 2024/1/21
(1) 测试时除了Ambie…. undefined.
(2) 在ATOLL IN2…. undefined.
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