Hello all,
About half a year ago, I reported in here
my experiences of using the RWA Sig 16 to drive Audience ClairAudient 'The One' speakers for an amazing desktop system. I'm still in love with this combo, so much so that, anticipating a larger space in the future, I jumped on a great deal for Audience's larger monitor, the 2+2. While 'The One' contains a single of Audience's proprietary (and seemingly crazy over-engineered) 3" driver paired with a single passive radiator per tiny cabinet, the 2+2s are larger (closer to what I think of as a compact monitor vs. a desktop or bookshelf), and have 4 of the 3" drivers per cabinet, two front- and two rear-firing in a bipole configuration, with one passive radiator aimed in.
Now, I figured the Sig 16 would be good enough to test these out with, and when I eventually got them installed I'd either have to a) settle for a lesser, but more powerful amplifier; or b) show some restraint and save for a Sig 57. Now, I suppose I should have put my head together and realized that the Sig 16 would be more than capable of driving a 90dB efficient 4 ohm load, but alas that wasn't the case. However, as soon as I started putting the speakers through their paces, my head snapped right into shape. Plenty of power, and what I love about my desktop setup was all coming out of the 2+2s as well, just... grander! Something about the clean, musical sound of the RWA just really works with these funny little full-range Audience drivers. I didn't have test tones on me, unfortunately, but I know my 'The Ones' are pretty sensible down to around 40hz. And I know that the 2+2s hit me when I needed them to - from the rhythmic impact of Prokofiev's 'Dance of the Knights' (Gergiev: Kirov) to the bass drops on Beyoncé's 'Partition' (had to be done!).
Alas, the last time I checked, the 2+2 was the largest model on Audience's website (they used to sell some rather exorbitant arrays), and as of right now when I went to double-check on something, the 2+2 is now absent, leaving only 'The One' and the 1+1. I don't know if Audience is leaving the loudspeaker game or merely focusing on the more affordable versions or what (personally, I think if there were only two models, 'The One' and the 2+2 would make more sense... but that may be because I find the 1+1 ugly as sin!). I do know they haven't gotten nearly enough press, and have remained largely ignored. I also know that if you see a good deal on some of their speakers, and you like the sound of full-range, crossover-free designs... your RWA gear will love them.
I don't mean to be such an Audience fanboy in the RWA forum here, but... there's a really magical synergy at play with these pairings, and also I think it's always good to have more examples of what a 16wpc amplifier is truly capable of. The Sig 16 may be leaving my desk to power these one day (hopefully by then the Sig 8s will be out... hint, hint!)
Cheers!
