Acapella La Campanella
full range loudspeaker system
$26,000 per pair
 
FOREWORD
 
by Constantine Soo

August 30, 2005
 
Specifications:
Horn: 15-inch hyper spherical wide band
Weight Mass: >0.3g (horn)
Bass drivers: 4 x 6.5-inch
Frequency range: 20Hz to 30kHz
System efficiency: 93 dB / W / m
Impedance: 8 Ohm
Crossover: Phase-locked, 6dB custom designed high pass filter, 750Hz lower crossover point
Load capacity: 100 W - 1000 W / 10 ms
Dimensions H x W x D: Body 51 x 10 x 21 inch
Total (Horn ): 55.5 x 15 x 24 inch
Weight: approx. 187 lbs per speaker
Recommended power output of the amplifier: from 15 W
 
Manufacturer:

Acapella Audio Arts
Koloniestr. 203
47057 Duisburg
Tel: +49 203 36 12 22
Fax: +49 203 36 11 11
E-Mail: acapella@acapella.de
Internet: http://www.acapella.de/
 Distributor:

Brian Ackerman
Aaudio Imports
27591 Kathy Court
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Tel. 949-643-0800  Fax. 949-362-3933
Website: http://www.aaudioimports.com
Email: brian@aaudioimports.com
 



FOREWORD

There  are  many forms and variations to being a music lover, and one of them
certainly requires a good ear.

We  all  remember  that   moment   when  we  first   experienced  the  power  of
music  reproduction via  a high-end audio system.  For a good  number  of  us,
our  continuing  passion  in  this  hobby,  after decades  of  buying  and  selling
equipment,  is  inspired  by  that  special ,  spectacular   moment  of  spark.   In
a  very  important way,  by  our  financial and time investment,  we are the most
ardent of music lovers.

Then,  there  are  those  orchestra  conductors and players that, by the virtue of
their   career   accomplishments,   are   the   fiery   declarations   for  being  the
purveyors of music.  Of course, there  are  always other  professions  in  music,
such   as   research,   music   publishing   and   retail,   that   will   make    those
practitioners no less music lovers than others.  

Therefore,  Acapella  Audio  Arts,  a  high-end  loudspeaker manufacturer, can
also be classified as a  music  lover of the high-end audio industry.  In fact, this
company  has  a  philosophy  of  such  breadth  and  scope   that  connotes  an
affluent understanding of the  art  of music appreciation and reproduction.  The
company  believes  that  the mark of a music lover is one of a musician whose
drive  for  performance  excellence is as great as his passion for experiencing
the   intrinsic   beauty   of   music   itself.    This  is  a  stringent  requirement  for
qualification as a music lover.

For  there  are  musicians  in  professional orchestras whose proficiency in the
performance  skills  and  techniques never take them beyond the level of being
a  craftsman  of  it,  relying  on passionate,visionary conductors to lead them to
connect with the audience.  By that same definition, also, I can proclaim myself
only as a music admirer  at  the  most, which means I have neither attained the
skills  pertinent  to  servicing  music  in a performance of it,  nor was I fortunate
enough to have been a pupil of the dogma of music.

On music listening, Acapella Audio Arts is of the opinion that the role of a high-
end  audio  system  is  to  reproduce the meticulously preserved  sonic  flavors
indigenous  to  specific concerts halls and churches, with the higher mission of
accompanying its listener in a  lifelong  discovery and understanding of certain
music’s inter- pretive variations and structures.  

I  reckon  that  my abilities of understanding the music stops at flavor sampling;
but surely even that  can take a lifetime to bring to  fruition.  In  Roger Vaughn’s
biographical  portrait  of  the late Herbert  von  Karajan,  the  conductor quoted
Goethe in saying that, “if  I have so many things to think, to do, and to meditate
upon,  and  my  body  refuses  to  follow  me, then nature must give me another
one.  Must give me another.  Not maybe.”  Ditto.



“LITTLE BELL”

Acapella  Audio  Arts  also  have  music  in mind when coining product names.
It  adopted  the  16th  century,   unaccompanied   choral  musical  form  as  the  
company  name,  and christened  its  entry-level, $6,800 minimonitors after the
great  Beethoven opera,  Fidelio,  and  its  upper-level,  $13,700  minimonitor,
La  Musika  (Italian for Music).   Acapella  also  coined its $26,000, third upper
model,  the   LaCompanella, meaning  “the little bell”  in  Italian,  and named its
$35k sibling the Violon, French for violin.  

From  that  point  up  are  three  large  systems, namely the $58k, 94-inch  high
Campanile (“the bell tower”), the $145k,  88-inch Triolon Excalibur  and the top-
of-the-line,  $325k,  90-inch  Spharon Excalibur.  Weighing over 1,300 pounds
per   speaker   and   sporting   100dB   sensitivity,     the Spharon   Excalibur is
described as in the following from the Importer’s website:

“This  loudspeaker  system has no limits:  with a 15 watt power already, music  
will  be  reproduced  three-dimensional,  thus  giving  you  the  illusion  to  be  a
member of  the orchestra or the band.  From  the  softest,  perceptible sounds,
these   loudspeaker   sculptures    can  accelerate   the   music   like   lightning,
comparable only with the spurt of a racing car.”

The   subject   of   this  review  is  the   $26k,  55  inches  high,  93dB  sensitive
LaCampanella.   Despite  its modest position among its super-sized  siblings,
the  LaCampanella  remains  the  most expensive  horn  speaker  I’ve  listened
to,  as well as the fourth loudspeaker of its kind I’ve reviewed.

Featuring  a  15-inch,  hyper  spherical   wide  band   horn  of  a non-concentric,
downward-opening   mouth,   the   LaCampanella   single  horn   traverses  the
enormous  frequency range of  700  to  the  ultrasonic-30kHz,  and  is  the  one
most  encompassing  horn  in  spectral  fulfillment.   The drive and logic behind
this accomplishment  is  Acapella’s  goal  of  creating  an  acoustic transducer
to  generate a comprehensive range of overtones within the human ear’s most
sensitive auditory region of  1kHz  to  4kHz.  The  benefit of which is described
in the following line from Aaudio Import’s website:

“ The  achieved  result  is  a  dynamic  and  musical  loudspeaker with  a  
high  level  of  clarity  and  speed, compatible with best of live music. ”

Visually,   the  15-inch   sphere  is  grown  seemingly  from  a  long, rectangular
column  behind  it,  which  rested  on  one of the four long edges and protruded
21 inches towards the back, atop a rectangular woofer tower at 40 inches high
and 24 inches deep. The  Acapella  LaCampanella’s lacquered burgundy horn
and lacquered  black  tower conjure up an irresistibly modernistic appearance
and an impossibly artful visual statement.

Acapella  claims  exceptional  sonic  feat  of  sorts  from the horn, accorded by
the  use  of a low-mass membrane less than 0.3 g in weight,  while each of the
four woofers is endowed with a 2.6 lb Tesla magnet.

The  German  manufacturer  identifies itself as the inventor of spherical  horns,
and   maintain s  a  strict  degree  of  confidentiality  on  the  company’s design
specifics.    My  attempts  in  getting  the  company  to  voice  off  on  the  lower
crossover points, enclosure construction and other design aspects have never
been addressed.  The LaCampanella’s topmost woofer produces a frequency
range  distinctly  above 100Hz,  and  I  suspect  that  any given one of the other
three,  front-firing  woofers  is  tasked  with  reproducing  more than just bottom
octaves.
 
 
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©Dagogo 2005