One of the many things that puts Adelaide on the map (the AV map, that is) is its fair share of locally-based Australian loudspeaker manufacturers. Most of the big names are located in our Festival State, including one of the more established, VAF Research.
The company has been in the business of speaker manufacturing for the past two decades and tends to do things a little differently, by way of offering all of its speakers in kit form or ready-built direct from the factory - you won't find them in any dealer's demonstration rooms. The idea, according to VAF Research, is to save you money - buying direct from VAF cuts out the old middleman, and if you fancy assembling them yourself, the kit form is less expensive than buying the speakers already assembled.
Luckily the pair of Signature I-93s I received were pre-built, arriving in two huge wooden crates on a large delivery truck. The I-93s are the flagship of the VAF range and they are big. Very big! Tipping the scales at around 100kg each, these are a serious bit of hi-fi and no mistake. VAF are keen to point out that the speakers substance does not comprise any lead or sand damping, simply a lot of drivers, cabinet material and conventional foam and cloth damping. They stand more than a metre and a half tall and are almost half a metre deep, so anyone contemplating accommodating the I-93s shouldn't be short on living space. Each cabinet holds five drivers arranged around a centrally mounted tweeter. There are two midrange drivers and two larger woofers to deliver the lower frequencies. All of these are hidden behind a removable front grille exposing an interesting baffle arrangement. A layer of felt surrounds the midrange drivers and soft dome tweeter, controlling the dispersion and diffraction characteristics of the drivers. VAF imports the midrange and bass drivers from SEAS in Norway, who are one of the world's most prolific driver manufacturers, while the tweeters are sourced from Sonotex. The drivers all boast high quality construction including solid copper phase plugs on both the mid and bass drivers, while the tweeters' voice coils are wound from pure silver wire. The expansive cabinets are constructed from Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) up to 52mm thick and include plenty of internal bracing. They are a bass reflex design with a large rear firing port allowing air to move from the cabinets. And VAF offers a wide range of finishes from a variety of native woods to the most expensive and sumptuous piano finishes, such as the piano gloss ebony our review pair was sporting. VAF also offers custom finishes and encourages customers to "indulge their fantasies."
The technical specifications of the Signatures makes equally impressive reading. The frequency response dips to a very low 17Hz, which on paper is serious bass. The speakers' sensitivity is an amplifier-friendly 89dB, making them relatively easy to drive. And, as far as driving them is concerned, you will need an amplifier with sufficient guts, although VAF states a minimum of 10 watts and valve-based amps will drive the I-93s quite happily. On the other hand, a maximum of 500 watts per channel means you can also drive these speakers very hard indeed. I tried the I-93s on the end of a couple of different amplifiers though mainly with a Naim NAC92/NAP180 pre and power combination which comfortably handled the Signature's load. The speakers' nominal impedance is a very low 3 ohms, which presented no problems for the Naim power amp. Even my 50watt Audiolink integrated didn't seem too fussed, although at higher levels the amp started generating a bit of heat.
Fire up the I-93s with some hefty amplication and the first word that leaps to mind is 'scale.' They're endowed with the kind of deep bass slam that makes prefabricated walls shudder in terror, fused with awesome dynamic power. Crank up the volume on Angel from Massive Attack's Mezzanine album and the UK band are right in front of you, complete with ear-slapping percussion and menacing bass. This low-end extension is wonderfully firm and weighty, pumping out the bass lines on Fun Lovin' Crimminals' 100% Columbian with pace and panache. As well as quantity, the I-93s have an uncanny ability to convey a realistic impression of more delicate low-end timbres. And when it comes to unearthing the fine detail in Rain Tree Crow's self-titled album their portrayal of steely guitar strings and brush on drum skin is both sumptuous and vivid. Allied to this is a wonderfully open and detailed midrange, full-bodied and informative. These speakers have a pure and natural effortlessness that draws you in without seeming to try or you even noticing. They strike a sublime balance between musicality (the ability to convey the musical whole in a thoroughly enjoyable fashion) and analysis (the precision with which individual details are conveyed). With natural instruments they're particularly stunning. Just listen to the remarkable realism with which they convey the buzzing cello in KD Lang's Tears of Love's Recall. Voices are just as impressive, presenting everything from a rich baritone to a sweet soprano with strain, and the entire image has a truly tangible height, width and depth. If you want a big soundstage, the I-93's almost re-invent the term, producing an ample and massively girthed arena in which the music performs. This is none more evident than with big classical pieces. Spin Faure's Requiem and you'll find the I-93s at their spellbinding best. They capture the ebb and flow of the piece brilliantly, their free-breathing dynamics ensuring choral voices rise and subside with effortless grace. The recording contains a tremendous array of sounds, from soaring strings to rumbling organs and all are conveyed with intoxicating realism. With Mahler's Fifth Symphony their free-breathing dynamics really hit home, propelling its scale with gusto. Both brass and cymbal sound clear and true, while timpani are supplied with superb weight.
As I mentioned earlier, these aren't the sort of speakers that are designed for a two bedroom unit living room. They need plenty of operating space, including at least a metre from the rear wall, so the rear-firing port doesn't induce any boom into the powerful bass. And place them between two and three metres apart to create the ample soundstage and stereo depth that they are easily capable of. Some thought will also have to be spared for the rest of the system. It's worthwhile carefully matching the amplification, which needs to produce a good, clean and sufficient output. A decent pre/power is required at least, although the I-93s will happily run from a bi or even tri-amp power configuration. The same goes for the source, they'll only put out what's being put in.
The only criticism I would levy at the I-93s is simply because of their extremely revealing nature. They aren't particularly forgiving of average or poorly recorded material. Some mainstream pop and rock CDs can sound tiring after a while with the speakers merely showing shortfalls in the discs' production quality. Other than this, no matter what type of music you listen to the I-93s will reproduce it accurately. Provided the rest of the system is up to scratch, these speakers will get to the heart of any recording and tell you the truth about it, good or bad. They're not cheap, though if you're comfortable with assembling a pair yourself, there are big savings to be had from buying direct from the factory. The cheque's in the mail…WLS2000.
