Audiophilepure

When designing a speaker with a strong focus on coherence, the assumption might be that the best position for the woofer would be as close to the midrange as possible. However, as Ivo explained, the speakers behave much more predictably across a wide range of rooms when the woofer is positioned near the floor. This is because room modes become twice as severe with equal wall distances, and if a woofer is placed at the top (where the midrange and treble need to be to produce the proper stage height), it’s also almost halfway up the room’s height. Thus, it would excite far more severe room modes in that position than if it were vertically asymmetrical. Careful attention was paid to the crossover and the speaker’s phase behavior. To time-align the drivers relative to the listening position, the midrange and tweeter are positioned farther back than the woofer. To accommodate various seating heights and listening distances, the rear spike is height-adjustable.

According to Aequo Audio, the Ensium’s maximum linear output is higher than that of a typical dual-10-inch closed-cabinet speaker or even a triple-9-inch ported speaker, and in practice, more comparable to a closed-cabinet speaker with three 10-inch bass drivers. While it’s tempting to take such claims with a grain of salt, I can confirm that the bass does actually dive right down into what’s normally considered subwoofer territory with utter authority. The Ensium is specified at an absolutely ludicrous 16 Hz – 45 kHz (-3 dB in-room response), with a nominal impedance of 8 ohms.