Specials, Passive Speakers Reviews

PUUR hifidelity Company Visit and Clarisys Audio Minuet Review

Christiaan Punter 8 April 2023 No Comments

Clarisys Audio Minuet

Having a long history with various dipole speakers and Apogee Acoustics in particular, I was particularly interested to hear these new speakers that are labeled by some as “reinvigorated” or “improved” Apogees.

As a historical backdrop, the original Apogee Acoustics was active since 1981 and sadly went out of business in 1999 due to several successive events, among which rising costs and increasing competition in a shrinking market. Later, a new company was founded by an Australian named Graeme Keet (Graz), that offers replacement ribbons, re-released a range of speaker models under the “Classic” label, and developed a brand new model named Synergy 1.5. Alas, both speaker ranges are available only by special request and I have never personally seen or heard a current model Apogee loudspeaker.

Now, Clarisys promises to fill the gap.

The Clarisys Minuet has roughly the size of the Apogee Calipers which can be seen as smaller Duettas, minus the double-bass panel that is actually more reminiscent of the Apogee Stage. The Minuet uses a double-sided bass panel, which allows for more current to flow through the panel and react more accurately in the magnetic field, plus achieving an easier-to-drive impedance. The ribbon tweeter starts at 500Hz (250Hz @-6db) and is a multi-segmented 5-trace design. High-quality point-to-point copper foil is used for internal wiring. The speakers can be ordered in any RAL color at no extra charge.

I will be honest and admit not expecting what I heard this day. I figured that at best, the Clarisys models would replicate what the Apogees did so well. And sure enough, they do indeed deliver in all the ways the Apogees did, but to my surprise, they actually improve on them in some aspects. In terms of physical size, the Minuets may be reminiscent of the Apogee Caliper or Duetta, but in terms of sound, they are actually closer to the (in)famous Scintillas! There’s a very important difference, though: the Minuets are most definitely not amplifier-killers! Their nominal impedance is acceptable at 3.5 Ohms but what makes them particularly easy to drive is that the foils behave very linearly and exhibit no changes in impedance across the frequency range. In addition, no enclosure and no bass-reflex port means no trapped-air-volume-induced dips or peaks and this leads to magnificently linear behavior that is similar to listening to very high-quality headphones.

With the special mood lighting, the foils proved hard to photograph right. What might appear as a floppy or wrinkled foil is in reality an effect created by the decorative patterns on the protective mesh.

As can be seen in the above and below picture, the slits in the bass panels are curved in a wavey pattern, rather than straight.

Right from the very first seconds, I was pulled into the music. There and then, it was no longer a question of whether or not these were great speakers, but what precisely they could do. The Minuets sounded so effortlessly dynamic, immediate, so beautifully differentiated, and expressive, that I blindly assumed I was hearing a Neodymium motor system. As it turned out, the standard version of the Minuet that I was hearing does not employ Neodymium magnets.

There is also a more upscale version of the Minuet with Neodymium magnets, along with an aluminum Subframe base like with the Auditorium, a wider midrange opening with wider midrange ribbons, and a grounding system that was designed in cooperation with Shunyata Research. This is a “super” version of the Minuet, not a replacement of the standard Minuet.

What the Neodymium version brings to the table is an increased efficiency of about 90dB per Watt at 1m which allows the use of tube amplifiers with a matching 4-Ohm output transformer.

But clearly, the Goldmund Telos 590 NextGen II integrated amplifier is more than capable of driving these speakers just perfectly. As would any decent transistor amplifier, by the way. But the Goldmund has more up its sleeve than mere control and power, it is also magnificently well-balanced between precision and transparency on the one hand and tonal saturation, poise, and flow on the other. The sound ticks all the audiophile parameters while being effortlessly fluid and organic.

Above: ClearAudio Innovation turntable with 12″ Universal tonearm and Stradivari Cartridge, on a Panzerholz and Aluminum Rack. Below: Goldmund Telos 590 NextGen II integrated amplifier.

It has to be said that the room acoustics and the amplifier pairing are probably also a match made in heaven. I’ve heard the Minuets on another occasion in a very small room that was covered with heavy curtains on all walls where all the liveliness was gone and I felt that the ribbons’ greatest assets were not unfolding quite as they should. As I know from earlier experience, Apogees, and Clarisys speakers alike, prefer an acoustic that is more lively than deadened. In this PUUR demo, the back wall was covered with heavy curtains and a hard diffuser behind each speaker which together lend some warmth and smoothness to an otherwise super-transparent and utterly uncolored sound.

I would say the balance was beautifully neutral and made just right. Those who wish to obtain a more direct sound can achieve this by placing the speakers at a larger distance from the rear wall or having no curtains behind the speakers. And those who wish to have a sweeter and more relaxed sound can obtain this by applying more soft materials in the room.

From experience, I know that a crisper and more focused central image is possible, as well as a deeper soundstage. I don’t doubt for a second that the Minuets are also capable of this. Upon checking with Robert, he confirmed that it was a matter of obtaining perfect bass or better center imaging and they opted for the former. If the room had been slightly wider, perhaps it would have been ideal. But this was of no consequence because the performance was just so utterly convincing in all other parameters.

To my delight, it did not turn out to matter what kind of music was played. Robert and Daan took turns during a 2.5-hour demo playing all kinds of music using the Pink Faun server as well as the ClearAudio turntable, but no matter what they played, it always sounded technically outstanding as well as effortlessly musical and highly realistic.

At some point, I remembered that my car was parked for a predetermined finite duration after which the period needed to be extended. When parking, I figured I would be back well before the deadline but as it turned out, I went well over it! While still listening, I opened the parking app, extended the parking time, and hoped for the best. Fortunately, I did not get fined. What this illustrates is that you can literally forget the time when listening to beautiful music on a superb audio system.

ClearAudio Balance phono preamp

I almost forget commenting on the bass. Oh my… When you’ve heard Apogees before, you will know that these big foils produce bass that is absolutely incredible. The same is true for Clarisys, but even more so! Forget what you’ve heard from most other dipole ribbons speakers, this is something else. Not only do the speakers go as low as 25Hz (remember the Minuet is the entry-level model), but they also have the kind of bass that makes one wonder where the subwoofer is hidden. Apogees already did this party trick but most models had a resonance (a bump) that would make for “loud” and “impressive” bass that was actually a little rough and not really linear. The Minuets have the same royal bass power but now it’s ruler-flat and super-articulate. Indeed, throughout the entire listening session, I could not detect any dips or peaks in the frequency range. That may seem trivial but I find that I am at that point in my audio journey where I greatly value these aspects and this is why I chose the closed-enclosure Magicos. Of course, you will forever have fans of closed cabinets and fans of bass-reflex designs. In reality, both have their pros and cons. But the Clarisys Minuet’s double-sided bass ribbons offer the best of both worlds. They sound utterly free-breathing (as reflex designs tend to do well), yet, they also sound well-controlled, highly accurate, and fantastically linear (as closed cabinets tend to do well). More so than most loudspeakers I’ve heard, the Minuets sound amazingly coherent. If you play any type of instrument, it will have the same harmonics over the entire spectrum. Each driver is made from the same material and this does really pay off.

Obviously, speakers at this level are not going to be cheap. Certainly, a lot has happened in 23 years and the cost of materials and labor has multiplied many times. The Minuets as heard in this demo retail for 27.450 euros. Not pocket money, but on the other hand, my pair of Magico S1 MkIIs are in no way full-range but still retail for 30.000 euros these days. And I’ll be honest, the Minuets are more impressive in many ways.

Clarisys Minuet Specifications

Height: 121cm
Depth: 9cm
Width: 70cm
Weight: 95 kg a piece without flight case packaging (215 kg shipping weight)
Inputs: 4 Inputs (Bi-Wire) with Jumpers included.
System: 2-way design, passive internal crossover using custom-made inductors, multi-cap capacitors, and custom-made resistors with pure copper foil cabling
Nominal Impedance: 3.5 Ohm
Frequency Range: Below 25Hz to over 25kHz

In Closing

In closing, I wanted to share some more pictures showcasing other systems in the same listening rooms at PUUR hifidelity. Note also the tasteful lighting!