Audiophilepure

One might still question whether the very efficient Ensiums need all the power that the SPA-8 has to offer. As mentioned in part 1 of this review, contrary to popular belief, it is usually the midrange that consumes most power, not the bass, which answers part of the question. But even if these speakers do not require much power, knowing firsthand how revealing they are, this sure says a lot about the amplifier’s refinement, fluidity, and neutrality, and the SPA-8 passes these tests with flying colors.

Even so, I will admit that audiophile prejudice remains hard to suppress, and I kept wondering how much different the amplifier would behave when driving a fully passive speaker. Aequo Audio also offers the Ensium as a passive version without the assisted bass section, and I was pretty sure it would sound very different, since the crossover’s additional capacitance for the passive woofer loads the amplifier differently and demands more of it. Even though Ivo at Aequo Audio had already assured me the two models sound very similar, I’ve been eager to directly compare the Ensium to the Adamantis to judge this for myself. Alas, the Adamantis was not yet ready for that initial visit.