ENIGMAcoustics has had their fair share of two channel options on the market for a few years now. At the newport show the 180mm cone Mythology M1 complemented their Sopranino standalone tweeter nicely ($14.7k for the package) in a side room off of the main Questyle & The Source A/V mega suite on the 13th floor. Along with Woo audio and Westone, the multi room listening area had quite a load of options for attendees to behold, including the new Focal Sopra No.3 ($20k) attached to Questyle’s wireless amplifier solutions.
But what really grabbed my attention on Friday afternoon was the beckoning call of Adele’s Hello from the other side. Strapped to the Mythology M1’s via a 700i Moon Audio integrated ($15k) and 650d DAC transport ($5k) the popular ballad floated on air across the room to my ears. Much of this added air and space appeared to be due to the add on Sopranino electrostatic super tweeter which offers three crossover points (8/10/12 kHz) that you can set with a manual dial in the back.
My listening experience had the dial firmly set to 10k kHz and representative Wei Chang from ENIGMAcoustics was generous enough to allow me a live action A/B demo with and without the super tweeter incorporated into the system. The air was there. It was particularly noticeable during the percussive drum addition mid way through the song. More dimensonality and information could be discerned along with an additional vertical extension to the sound stage, very cool stuff.
Of course ENIGMA has been making waves in personal audio as well. With the release of their hybrid electostat/dynamic Dharma D1000 headphone ($1,200) to rave reviews and rumors of a new flagship contender, the company has been a hot one to keep an eye on. You can see our coverage featuring the headphone (and amplifier) from previous shows [here] and [here].
The new news that is good news is that ENIGMAcoustics has a new super tweeter in the works called Arioso. The new add on product runs in parallel and will cost a more modest $2k for the pleasure of its company. While still in prototype form at the show, the new device will eventually include a two tier crossover option similar to the Sopranino. The electrostatic panel this time around fires upward and the cone-shaped design of the unit allows for a 360 degree dispersion of sound. Early looks make it easy to believe that ENIGMA take as much pride in aesthetics as it does its sound quality.
More information: http://www.enigmacoustics.com/index.asp