SoundSpace Systems speakers from Germany are no strangers to Mono and Stereo readers. I’ve already written in-dept about their 300+ kg flagship Aidoni here and my impressions with Pirol speakers here.
You can also get an insight into the mindset of SoundSpace Systems owner Michael Plessmann in the interview here.
As you can read throughout the review, the recently introduced SoundSpace Systems Robin speakers don’t rest on the laurels of two bigger brothers but take the path of the unnecessarily risqué with the vitality of their own.
There’s nothing remotely resembling taciturn in SoundSpace Systems’ speakers, and Robin embodies all the virtues of Aidoni and Pirol, but with a more room-friendly size and at a far more accessible price point.
MEET THE ROBIN
SoundSpace Systems Robin is a living room-ready speaker integrated into the existing high-resolution sound world of SoundSpace Systems speakers. It shares the DNA of the other SoundSpace Systems speakers, uniting the best technologies for the different frequency ranges. The crossovers are strictly 0./1. order. The speakers have high efficiency and are an extremely light load for any amplifier.
Tweeter
At the upper end of the frequency band, a specially developed AMT is used. Speed, transparency, and resolution are the defining characteristics. The tweeter has a diaphragm area of nearly 10,000 square millimeters, which is necessary for credible, congestion-free reproduction of high frequencies.
The adjustable rear ribbon tweeter provides additional airiness in the highest frequencies. Robin’s tweeter can reproduce high levels of SPL with very low distortion.
Midrange
Midrange purity is essential to SoundSpace Systems’ sonic vision. The Robin’s 7″ midrange driver is based on the same technology as all SoundSpace Systems loudspeaker midrange drivers and consists of an exponentially shaped cone made of the finest cellulose fibers with a silk suspension.
The moving mass of the driver is only 4 grams and has 165 sq cm of effective diaphragm area.
The electrical crossovers are reduced to a minimum and do not exceed the first order.
The configuration of the midrange driver as a folded open baffle makes Robin’s midrange exceptionally fast and homogeneous.
Bass
Contour and timing in the bass are essential to SoundSpace Systems speakers. That’s why, despite the small stature of Robin speaker, the woofers are maximized as much as possible.
Two 10″ carbon drivers are used per channel in a sealed enclosure with impulse compensation. The two woofers provide a displacement volume of 350 cubic centimeters.
A perfect impulse reproduction, as well as a low bass without compression effects, is also a characteristic of Robin.
As with other SoundSpace Systems loudspeakers, differences in efficiency are compensated to the high and mid-range utilizing an active bass with an upstream DSP.
Depending on listening habits or room situation, the bass intensity can be adjusted.
SoundSpace Systems Robin is a very sculptural loudspeaker. The combination of black piano lacquer and rosewood, together with its clean lines, gives it a slender and harmonious form.
The blend of bamboo cabinet and rosewood horn was particularly chosen to offer optimized listening pleasure.
THE MUSIC
Kurt Rosenwinkel “The Remedy” from the beautiful live album, The Remedy (2008), recorded at Village Vanguard was among many reference songs and albums SoundSpace Systems Robin speakers showcasing.
Kurt Rosenwinkel (guitar), Mark Turner (saxophone), Aaron Goldberg (piano), Joe Martin (bass) and Eric Harland (drums) performed in inseparable linkage and interaction before eyes and ears.
This was the first time I could immediately decipher the newfound quality of Robin drivers playing in sync and not detached from their given frequencies.
Robin ensnared Rosenwinkel’s guitar with a refreshing integrated vision, easily facilitating the vector of Harland’s dynamic progression.
Feists’ “The Bad In Each Other” from album Metals offered a surprising return of Peony pleasures with riotus rhapsodic intertwining.
Dead Can Dances “Dionysus” further revealed how SoundSpace Systems Robin can fully inhabit the sonic canvas with absolute presence and traction, where dynamics are always on demand with the requisite gravity.
I loved Robin’s sustained presence that could reveal a multitude of detail and warbly density and ample bass with redoubled impact.
Too often the Dionysus hovers between these two opposing sonic parallels, sounding either dynamically overloaded or smeared in the mid and upper frequencies.
The smallest speaker in the SoundSpace system portfolio, on the other hand, always allows for constructive sound changes that alter the sonic palette at lightning speed without compromising the dynamic effect.
Short and longer song cycles were served up with the elemental fact of the original musical message and with powerful earnestness.
Most dynamic speakers usually bend under the dynamic gravity “ACT I : Sea Borne – Liberator of Minds – Dance of the Bacchantes” where the rich sound image can too easily get out of joint.
Not so with Robins, where the information retrieval was beyond the ordinary and the sonic foundation was formed far beyond the usual density and with a surprising tonal equation.
Fiona Joy Hawkins Heavenly Voices was genuinely heartfelt with SoundSpace Systems Robin speakers in action. Robin’s endogenous DNA allowed the juxtaposition of seductive primaries and unruly dynamics to merge into a zen-like equilibrium without coming under pressure.
The harmonic nucleus was there and the tones sounded cleanly layered rather than a chaotic mess, which can easily be the case even with far more expensive speakers.
The Robin speakers also allowed for a wider aural net with much more air between instruments than I expected.
This was also confirmed on the Akira-inspired Ken Ishii’s “Extra” from the album Jelly Tones.
This iconic IDM techno track doesn’t just come with velocity in spades. It requires a higher-order ability to compute the instances that not only form a gigantic perspective but also embed all the fractal parts of this composition.
SoundSpace Systems Robin’s loudspeakers recreated the dynamics, blending the essentials with ease and infusing Ishii’s intelligible composition with a cinematic quality.
CONCLUSION
Climbing the high-end audio speaker ladder should introduce the “less self” and “more being there” factor. Like it or not, it all starts with the loudspeakers, which are the last link in the high-end audio chain and the first to reach our sensory mechanism.
Whether someone succeeds in this quest or not depends on how well the balance of the entire high-end audio system has been established. This can never be settled without the proper transparent quality of the speakers.
With the gain in resolution, we should experience less noise, distortion, and resonance overall and get closer to the music. Different manufacturers approach this unwanted hubris in different ways and usually, each of them is proud of their particular choice.
SoundSpace Systems’ philosophy embraces different approaches and techniques to achieve its vision of the perfect balance of materials and parts.
With normal, non-active bass speakers, a lot of energy is required to drive the drivers, and my almost 50m2 reference listening room is not exactly a small place to fill.
Plessmann’s particular mindset and physics behind this concept allow the music to unfold with a full dynamic swing and without a siphon effect, which is not uncommon with all types of speakers. Including dynamic, dipole, sealed box, etc.
SoundSpace Systems Robin speakers have a rare, dazzling consistency with a sufficient number of anchor points to allow a rare, Technicolour-like presentation. A spontaneous feeling of music enjoyment with zero delays.
SoundSpace Systems’ smallest speakers are spacious, electric with potency, dynamically swinging back and forth in space with the most refreshing ease, and with the powerful weight and authority of much larger floor standers.
The real question (as some of you asked based on emails) is how they compare to their big brothers. They certainly don’t have the end-of-days mind-blowing performance of the Aidoni flagships. But. For ten times less, Robin will still “bitch-slap” you with a more than hefty dose of dynamics, resolution, and transparency. No worries, they fully embrace SoundSpace Systems DNA down to the atoms.
Robins lay down crystal clear insights into any recording, but require an entire high-end audio chain to stay true to the source to avoid fatigue.
The right system upfront will show Robin’s accountability in terms of full-spectrum reproduction, dynamic headroom, and detail.
Robin’s utter-dynamic mojo far surpasses the usual territories of mediocrity, offering a unique, consensus-sounding meaningful collective without ever resembling a by-product, a quickly rushed, half-finished product, which is all too often the case, even at far higher price points.
Even in the stratospheric league, a lot of so-called high-end audio speakers can disrupt the musical momentum orphans the music of its narrative.
Unlike many other speakers, Soundspace Systems Robins allows for steady dynamic evolution. They are not just dynamic David versus Goliath type of performers. They come with a high-end audio credo that can evoke a lyrical reverence for the music in the right setting.
Robins’ attention to detail offers a widening perspective complemented by the clarity of reality.
With 27dB of the noise floor in my listening room, I can hear my mind nodding on the forehand. When the speakers are properly laid out and potently driven, the room allows for an instant music catapult experience.
Robins fetch a virtual sound portal with their invisibility and lack of coloration and consecrate the music for what it is, but they are never artificially calm. They present compelling dynamics and a completely open sound without being stripped back. From the ground up Robins were designed with a ballsy dynamic intent. And perpetually they can animate forces with a most illustrious presentation.
They are not a whit more massive than necessary but act with a palpable quality and a high credibility factor. SoundSpace Systems Robins can handle system gain and wattage when thrown at them as few speakers can. They do well with both integrated and tube amps, and due to their active bass, they don’t place high demands on wattage.
Robins speakers pair beautifully with the Aries Cerat Ianus Essentia TriodeFet power amplifiers as well as the Hungary Audio Qualiton X-200 integrated amplifier.
Do they bubble under the pressure!? Robins confront music with reality and burst with dynamics without altering tonal and timbral accuracy. In a perfectly balanced high-end audio system, SoundSpace Systems Robin speakers defy improbability.
Robins also avoid imposing themselves unobtrusively and in absence of unfamiliar plumage.
It’s never easy to get all speakers drivers in consonance and that’s especially true with bass, but Robins delivers a deep-seated response with all genres of music, putting reality and credibility first and most importantly in the absence of subwoofer aftertaste.
I’m a big fan of anything to do with the golden ratio. And there’s a reason for that, which was immediately confirmed by my better half, who doesn’t usually go in for the gadgets in my little audio heaven. Upon the first encounter, she immediately commented on the Robin look, “Hmmm, that looks good, what is it?”.
But it’s not just to do with the golden rule. The aesthetic is also additionally refined by adopting Feng Shui rules. The sculptural design, which allows each of the Robins to sit on their own in the room, is practical proof of homework done right. This alone indicates how they were carefully carved.
With Plessman’s latest brainchild, Robins size, and price opens up the windows to the SoundSpace Systems universe to much more music lovers and audiophiles.
Robin speakers confiscate ennobling music presentations and should appeal to the needs of those audiophiles and music lovers who crave pure dynamic recording.
Michael Pleissman has gone to great lengths to create SoundSpace Systems’ most affordable speakers to date, and the Robins offer a real serenade to the music joy, ravishing it for what it truly is. ⧉
Matej Isak
PRICE
– 32.000 EUR
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
- System 3 way
- Power rating 10 – 250 W
- Frequency range 24 – 35.000 Hz
- Impedance 8 Ohm nominal, 6,4 Ohm minimum
- Efficiency 96 dB/W/m
- Maximum SPL 108 dB
- Dimensions (H x W x D) 114 x 27 x 43 cm
- Weight 42 kg per speaker
CONTACT
SoundSpaceSystems GmbH
Sensburger Allee 5A
14055 Berlin
Germany
Email: info@soundspacesystems.com
Web: www.soundspacesystems.com
Tel: +49 (0)30 91 45 99 73