Sigma Acoustics and Aldo Zaninello, respectively company and manager, are rightfully part of the history of the Italian High End. For more than twenty years, all the models of Sigma Acoustics’ loudspeakers, have been arousing interest and curiosity in the audio enthusiasts worldwide. The notoriety of the brand, especially in the East, comes from the quality of the materials, the good sound of the speakers and the voluminous liking of the North Italian designer and entrepreneur.
The occasion has been the launch of the new line, simply called Orchestra. The models are five and dedicated to the various dimensions of the listening rooms. They are based on the AMT tweeter. The 2.0 are a two-way for small rooms, the 2.1 are a three-way for medium-small rooms, the 2.2 a three-way for medium rooms with a twenty-two cm woofer and an Accuton ceramic midrange. The 2.3 have a twenty-six cm woofer and a Nanotech or ceramic midrange and are designed for medium-big rooms. The 2.5 are for big rooms and big systems. They have a thirty cm double woofer, an eighteen cm custom-made midrange in carbon fiber and an AMT tweeter. Go without saying that the internal wiring is made with the precious and expensive White Gold cables, directly distributed by Extreme Audio.
The Orchestra 2.5 are the protagonist of the launch and of a brief listening session. They are the first definitive model I had the chance to listen to - exclusively - before their departure to Singapore together with Mr. Rick Ong, local dealer of the Sigma Acoustics, who I had the chance to meet during his visit to Italy in the company premises.
The Orchestra 2.5 are a three-way bass-reflex floorstanding speaker with a double woofer in paper and polymers and a midrange in nanocarbon fiber made to Sigma Acoustics’ specifications. The tweeter is an AMT, Heil Air Motion Transformer, supported by a harmonic wood structure, which, thanks to the aerodynamic design and to the brass resonators, can cancel any resonances and tune the anterior emission with the posterior.
As I said before, during my visit, I had a short listening session. Short but exhaustive and I have been deeply convinced about the great quality of the Sigma Acoustics Orchestra 2.5.
The dimensions of the 2.5 are very important. The double woofer with its thirty centimeters and the AMT tweeter have made me doubt about the correct temporal and phase alignment of the drivers. Wrong. The sound is homogenous and aligned, with fast frequencies in all the ranges and a great balance in the temporal emission.
As a tester, I have played the disc made by ReMusic for the Munich High End 2015. With the first track, you can feel the correct reproduction of the acoustic scene. The xiloaerophone draws a circular sound with an excellent thee-dimensionality of the image. The mid frequencies are fresh and fast. The percussions in the second track show the great dynamic control of the 2.5, which tame all the emitted frequencies. The female voices in the fifth and sixth track, as well as in the tenth and eleventh, are concrete and natural, very correct under the tone parameters. The sound is liquid and detailed. It moves and gets you close to the registered event with a good effect of plasticity of the instrumental subjects.
The Fender Rhodes in the seventh track seems to sound and vibrate in the room. The same happens with the voice and with the fast dynamic peaks of the drums. Wow! They are in front of me singing and playing with an amazing sensation of matter and roundness.
The track seventeen is rock music. The 2.5 show how much power and dynamics they can express. The dynamics is on the entire frequency range. It is the first time that I have the sensation of a sound pressure not only of the low, but also of the mid frequencies that hit my belly like the low do.
Now it is time for classical music. Not for nothing, the name of these loudspeakers is Orchestra. The scene is very high, with well-focused sound stages, both vertically and horizontally. Furthermore, detail and depth validate the excellent quality of these important loudspeakers by Sigma Acoustics. I think that the Orchestra 2.5 are extremely revelator huge monitors, with all the merits of the monitors: detail, tone, presence, etc., but without the faults: lack of low frequencies, poor dynamics, and lack of sound pressure.
From the aesthetic point of view, the Orchestra 2.5 are beautiful and well-finished loudspeakers without trying to fascinate with an extreme look. The delicate balance between the wood and the shiny black lightens the line and creates a perfect compromise between the technical requirements and the need of style, grace and elegance. They appear to be real pieces of furniture with great sound performances.
What else? The only fault of the 2.5 is that they are very difficult to move. I will be satisfied with the test of the minor models that Aldo Zaninello has promised to me. Be sure that we will talk again of the Orchestra.
Official technical specifications
Speaker Type: 3-way bass-reflex
Tweeter: Heil Air Motion Transformer
Midrange: 18cm with cone in nanocarbon fiber
Woofer: 30cm double woofer in paper and polymers with 80mm large voice coil
Weight: 110kg each
Dimensions: 400x1460x700mm (WxHxD)
Crossover frequency: 150-1900Hz
Frequency response: 20-30.000Hz
Sensitivity: 93,5dB at 2,83V/m
Crossover: 6dB/octave
Power amplifier: from 40 watts to 500 watts
Max power: 500watts
Impedance: 6ohm
Official Italian dealer: to Extreme Audio website
Official current price in Italy: 55,000.00 EUR per pair
Associated equipment: to Roberto “The Rock” Rocchi's system
