Amphion Argon 3S is a stand-mounting loudspeaker of a Finnish manufacturer that can be seen as a more home-dedicated and audiophile version of the One18 which were previously reviewed on hifizone.pl. While the latter speakers were definitely dedicated for a professional use, the aesthetics alone of the Argon 3S will suggest that their design goals were somehow different. Obviously, we could argue whether the Argon 3S that we review here are more or less sibiling of the One18. Or maybe whether isn’t it that the Argons have – compared to the professional line – only the name and the design aesthetics changes.
Well, not. We would only need a closer look at the front baffle in the two stand-mounting models. A keen eye would definitely see the difference between the diameters of the waveguides in the front of the tweeters. And such a difference would implicate different tuning of the speakers. We will get back to this, and now let’s take a look at the Argons 3S by themselves. In a sense that it’s worth looking at them not only as a sibling to the One18. And more as a thoroughbred loudspeaker with audiophile inclinations and ambitious design choices. It also worth looking at them through the prism of the current market at their price point. Because, let’s be honest, the competition here is quite strong. The other side of the coin would here be the fact that the Amphion is not a novice by any means in the field of loudspeakers design. And its founder and chief designer – Anssi Hyvonen – knows quite a bit about making speakers. Those more interested can take a look at the interview with Anssi that was made when reviewing the One18. There’s a core philosophy outlined here in quite a great detail there. Now let’s get back to the Argons and see what they’ve got for us.
Amphion Argon 3S – before we get to the design
At this point I would like to emphasize one thing. The stand-mounting Argons are really interesting example for a intriguing and quite often found regularity. It may be worth to put this into some wider context here, also including the Burchard S400 that we reviewed some time ago. Both of those speakers are bookshelf designs which sport a metal-membrane midwoofers. This is one thing here. And the other is that they both have a passive radiator at the back of their enclosures.
Why do I mention this? Because looking at some design choices that are visible from the outside, one could draw possibly not quite clever conclusions. One of them would be that they both (I mean the Amphions and the Burchards) would sound in any way similar. Yet its here where we are actually met with the whole charm of the today’s variety of audiophile market. And its because the difference between the Argons and the S400 is much bigger than anyone might think. And even more, the similarities are also not there, where we could expect them.
Now let’s get back for a while to their design.
Argon S3 is a two-way stand-mounting monitor. The base and the midrange are reproduced by a 16 cm mid-woofer that is made by a Seas of Norway. This driver has a phase plug in the place of a dust-cap and aluminium membrane as well. The high frequency transducer is a titanium dome. It is also placed in a Corian waveguide and protected with a metal mesh. As I mentioned earlier, the lower frequencies are reinforced with the help of the passive radiator that is at the back.
It’s not the end of interesting design choices here by any means. At the back we will find a very interesting, though single, set of speaker terminals that are made by Argento Audio (this company makes such things for some really serious players like the CH Precision amplifiers). Those used here have an interesting design trait. They are made from the solid silver. And while they may seem inconspicuous, they will guarantee a great contact from an electrical point of view. The only thing here that we will need to consider would be the spade connectors size if we choose to go with spades, because these connectors also accept banana plugs.
The enclosures themselves are reinforced internally, and there’s also a switch that is at the back of each speaker. It is for setting the level of tweeters and it offers only two positions – zero and plus one dB. While we will get back to that regulation in a moment let’s mention one thing that is an intricate part of these speakers. It’s the speakers’ grilles, which are glued to the enclosures. We can de-glue them, but I would advise against doing this too often.
It’s worth mentioning here another, more technical side of the coin here. Such a choice regarding the grilles was certainly made because of their acoustical properties. In the case of the tweeters, which are surrounded by their waveguides, your typical grilles would just simply not work. And speaking more in technical terms, they would definitely interfere with the meticulously designed directivity patterns. So, the manufacturer here chose to protect the tweeters with small metal mesh and the mid-woofers with the same means. While someone may like such a solution from an aesthetics point of view or not, such a choice was made with the sound in mind.
Amphion Argon 3S – the sound
It just happened so that while beginning the listening sessions of Argons I put one of the more easy-going playlists without any special goals or inclinations towards any particular music genre. And practically right from the beginning it was pretty obvious that the Argons are not only quite different from the S400 from Buchardt, but they also – which may be a bit surprising for some – quite different sonically from the more studio-related One18. Those last speakers were at out premises some time ago and we remember them well. They also turned out to be a very serious piece of studio kit which made the interview with their designer, Mr. Anssi Hyvonen really justified.
Let’s bear in mind though that the One18 is actually a studio monitor (and also a peculiar one at that, because they are passive ones) and the Argons are more destined to play at home. Or, putting it in other way, more targeted at the audiophile market. Obvious here would be a following question then: did the manufacturer choose a really different tuning here? And how much do we still have of a studio monitor and how much that musicality factor? And while we will get to this just in a moment, let’s answer the latter question straight away: well, there’s surprisingly much.
Musicality has more than one name
Moreover, the Amphions are a great example, a great confirmation of the fact that a speaker designer can get to that musicality element by a really different and sometimes even less frequently used means. And that some of those means would be such that they would stand the test of time really well and be really universal at the same time.
Listening to a few better made from a technical standpoint records and keeping in mind the interview with the Amphions designer I have not only a feeling, but rather I am practically sure that this is a really experienced designer. And that the sonic character of the Amphions is no mere coincidence. I listened to the Eurythmics “Here Comes The Rain Again (Remastered Version)” and the first thought was that this is a really well-polished and well though-out sound that is really easy to live with on a daily basis.
I believe that this is because of two main reasons. It’s the general balance and the coherence of the Amphion sound. Those speakers have such an innate, inherent balance to their reproduction. And while I might be searching for some studio-related traits here, it’s that balance which also includes one other important virtue of the Finnish speakers. That would at the same time be something that we would realize when comparing the Amphions to other similarly priced speakers. The thing here is that the Amphions get the tonality right without attenuating or emphasizing the mid-to-high transition. There’s no harshness in that region, that line is never crossed there. And all the metallic and crude sounds are always under control.
And in this one particular trait of the Finnish speakers I would see as their really important virtue. The midrange here is projected directly and with a fresh manner. Thanks to that Argons have the ability to draw listener into what’s happening in the soundstage. This also means that if there will be any harshness that is intended in the recording, any king of more direct or even aggressive sounding – that will be an inherent part of the recording – the Amphions will show it. But please don’t mistake that ability for sounding bright or metallic by any means.
There’s also another really important for the whole aspect of their presentation. And that would be this combination of presence, that very peculiar kind of non-compromise midrange presentation coupled to the coherence of its sound. These two things actually rarely go together and such a combination is really rare in the loudspeakers’ world – irrespective of the price.
Please let me address the following in the wider context here. I have an irresistible impression that in the current speakers’ market there are many products where the connection between the midrange and the tweeter is really far from being perfect. And that the overall tuning tends to be too much on the safe side so that the mid-to-high transition is a bit behind the rest. I mention this because it’s when you listen to Amphions you realize that this can be done really well, without overemphasizing and, more importantly, without going too much towards what you could call a safe-side. This is especially important when we additionally consider the price of those speakers, because looking from this perspective, the Amphions should be treated as a benchmark here.
Of no less importance would definitely be the overall coherence here. Which also makes the whole holographic projection of space possible. This space that is generated by Amphions in their entire frequency operating range. On Beyonce “Mine” the singers voice was very firmly suspended in the air, yet there was palpable and atmospheric aura of this recording always present. Fleetwood Mac “Everywhere” was rendered with its specific timbre, which was so different than the Beyonce modern-day recording. On “Isn’t It Midnight” the Chritine McVie voice was properly pulled into the back, just right behind the first plane, and was surrounded by are and reverberation aura.
Another important thing. These speakers are very good at providing space-related information. The openness when it comes to showing what’s actually going on in the soundstage and the throwing that soundstage, those both aspects are on a very high level. And what’s even more important is that these Amphions, when properly positioned have that uncanny ability to just disappear from the picture. Not in part, not in 90%, but completely.
Let’s mention two opposite ends of the audio spectrum here – the base and the upper registers. And in regards to how the Amphions reproduce those quite important parts of the spectrum. Regarding the treble in Argon 3S, that titanium driver is somewhere between the colourful yet usually a bit chaotic at the same time sound of the most of the textile domes and more precise yet also often dull and cold sound of their metal counterparts. At the same time, the higher registers are firmly integrated with the rest of the audio band. That’s why this is one of the rare situation, where having that +1 dB switch at the back will actually make the treble sound brighter and the “0 dB” should be treated as a default setting.
So now it’s time to say a few words about how do the Argons fare in the bass region. As I mentioned previously, even more than one time, Argon 3S is a design that sports a passive radiator at the back of the enclosure. Yet the sound in that area to that offered by the Burchard S400, which also use that design choice that can be somehow seen as something between the closed enclosure and a ported one. In the Danish speakers there was generally a bigger bass cushion, yet what’s also interesting is the fact that in the lower registers it the Amphion that sound bolder. I also feel that in this particular case the tuning is a bit different than in both the S400 and most of the stand-mounting speakers with the bass-reflex port. I believe that the designer opted not to emphasize this region, but to provide as much contour and extension as possible with keeping the definition on a good level. And also the ability to reach as low as physically possible seemed to be another goal here. Amphions are actually pretty capable when it comes to play that low-frequency impulses. Of course within what’s implied by their physical side. The limit of their abilities here seems to be stretched as far as it’s possibly for such a design. Yet they can very starkly indicate that we are reaching them. If I had to generally characterize that part of the spectrum, I would say that Argons go towards the full frequency sound that is also coherent throughout the entire audio band. And that the designer didn’t try to conceal the size of the speakers by emphasizing the mid-bass, but those for the reach, contour and control instead.
Amphion Argon 3S – summary (and a few words about the speaker design)
Let me tell you this: if I had to pinpoint two main aspects of these speakers sound, then that would be the ability to provide an insight into the recording and their overall openness for the music. Yes, that’s true, the Amphions have that monitor trait, because they are much more linear and also show more than most speakers at their price range. They also sound completely different than the Buchardts S400.
And at the same time this is such a sound that is just easy to live with. Because the Amphions are speakers that will show us what’s really going on, they will also be sensitive to some changes in the playback chain. Yet they will also just play music. And allow us to take delight in this, without unnecessary picking out everything apart. And here I would see the biggest thing with them. What’s even more interesting is the fact that this is not a mere coincidence that while having that monitor-like prowess, they can still play real music. Because this is by the virtue of their really clever construction.
And while we’re at tit – I will allow myself for a more general though here. You see, I am very glad that the Amphions are also available in a more domesticated version. Really. Because they are a great example of bold design choices that actually work in real life. They are also a case in point where such design choices are well put together, where the whole is much more than the sum of its parts. Amphions offers to the listener a complete, well thought-out recipe for the sound. The thinking behind them is really something and this can be heard. Editor’s Choice.
Adam Kiryszewski
Manufacturer: Amphion https://amphion.fi/
Price: 3000 Euro / pair