Description
A true floorstanding speaker that makes no apologies and hides nothing: a bigger speaker, deeper bass, a bigger soundstage. This is the pinnacle of the Academy line - and at the same time a speaker that makes it hard to go back to anything that came before.
The heart of the Academy II is a 15-inch Lockwood Green HPD/SL coaxial driver, with the tweeter dome positioned directly in the center of the massive woofer. The sound comes from a single point: no spatial separation between the bands, no familiar phase compromises, no feeling that bass and treble “live separately”. The paper pulp cone retains the geometry of the 1970s original - but with a modern composition that is resistant to aging. The alnico magnet in the motor remains unchanged: it is responsible for that warm, lively delivery that cannot be reproduced on paper or other materials.
The sensitivity of 94.9 dB is exceptional for a speaker of this class. The Academy II is efficient enough to fully open up with a tube amplifier, and large enough to fill a large room without any strain.
A closed case without a phase inverter made of 18-millimeter birch plywood is a solution that requires serious calculation for a 15-inch speaker. No “buzz” from the port, no artifacts of group delay time in the lower register: the bass is dense, fast, athletic. The playback range is from 30 Hz to 20 kHz, and the lower limit here is felt physically, not only by ear.
The Lockwood A series crossover is assembled by hand, the internal wiring is OFC cable. Terminals are Tom Evans Audio Design made of pure copper: connecting to acoustics of this level deserves the appropriate quality of contact. The case is covered with a unique walnut veneer - no pair repeats the pattern of the wood of another.
38 kilograms per speaker is not just mass, it is a physical manifestation of seriousness of intentions. Academy II doesn't "play" music—it reproduces it on a real scale: an orchestra sounds like an orchestra, a live concert sounds like a live concert. The three-dimensional stage it builds has a depth and width that goes far beyond the physical position of the speakers in the room.