Oephi Acoustics Transcendence 2

Go to the Oephi website and its cables, cables, and more cables. However, scroll down to the bottom of the home page, and you get to special-order products. Here, there are not only custom cables but amplifiers and loudspeakers. Joakim Juhl was a speaker guy long before he became a cable guy.

Today, Joakim builds a range of loudspeakers, including stand-mount and tower varieties, several of which employ his tweeters. The Oephi Acoustics Transcendence 2 is the mid-model stand-mount below the flagship Immanence models. The names mirror those found on Oephi cables, with which these loudspeakers are naturally designed to be partnered. I couldn’t do that, but I got some rather exciting results.

Purifi drive

You may have heard about Purifi drive units. One of the designers of Purifi is audio guru Bruno Putzeys. He’s behind Hypex Class D modules and Kii Audio, among others. Purifi drivers have created quite a buzz as a result. However, there are not many loudspeakers on the market that use them yet. The first we saw was the Lyngdorf Cue 100s. This is the first time I have had the chance to hear about them at home. If Transcendence 2 is any indication, the hype was not for nothing.

An uneven or irregular suspension surround distinguishes these drivers, but this is only a tiny part of the equation. Purifi claims its Ushindi drivers have ultra-low harmonic and intermodulation distortion. They also feature constant force factor and constant inductance relative to voice coil position. Ushindi displays ultra-low current distortion relative to amplitude and smooth response with ‘excellent’ dispersion. This is probably why these drivers cost considerably more than most of the alternatives on the market. Oephi has a custom Purifi driver made for its loudspeakers that omits the polypropylene coating of the standard unit. This leaves the paper cones bare, which is common among conventional drivers.

No braking

As mentioned, Joakim makes his tweeter for the Transcendence models, this starts as a SEAS metal dome design, which is stripped down and rebuilt with a non-conductive voice coil former that is said to “decrease mechanical losses and improve transient handling, leaving the diaphragm’s movement to the motor and amplifier rather than having a constant ‘braking’ caused by the voice coil former’s movements in the magnetic gap”. It’s a technique used by other brands, but generally, only larger ones build their drivers from the ground up.

The crossover has been designed for the most accurate phase-tracking between the drivers as Oephi considers the time domain the most critical parameter and “general tonal integration”. They have opted for a flat response rather than the dipping high-frequency response favoured by many manufacturers for its forgiving nature. They use unusual crossover parts, including wax-damped copper foil inductors and a proprietary capacitor technology where multiple parts are combined to emulate a single capacitor. I also asked Joakim about the unusual placement of the tweeter on the baffle, which delivers the best diffraction pattern and a more uniform power response of up to 20kHz. The cabinet is relatively light because Joakim feels that mass slows the sound, while the tweeter is placed lower than usual to close to the main driver and ‘sees’ an asymmetrical baffle.

Thrill power

I dropped the Oephi Acoustics Transcendence 2’s into the system atop 60cm Hi-Fi Racks stands and connected them to the Moor Amps Angel 6 power amplifier. I was concerned because they followed Bowers & Wilkins’ mighty 801 Signatures in the system, with speakers ten times the size and weight, if not the price (just nine times that!). However, it wasn’t long before I was hooked by the most compelling timing I had encountered in a loudspeaker for many a moon. Along with this came a degree of exposure, even ferocity, that meant a bit of positional tweaking was needed to calm the balance. It seems that these speakers are only supposed to be gently toed in to avoid sitting directly on axis. Once that was done, the thrills came pouring out of virtually every piece of music that I played.

The Oephis need a bit of driving. They sound significantly better at higher levels; those looking for background listening should look elsewhere. Transcendence 2 is immediacy incarnate and not for the faint of heart. They have a somewhat uncanny coherence, presumably a result of the driver selection, but Oephi has done everything it can to deliver this crucial quality, and it has succeeded.

Fast substance

They aren’t just about mid and treble either, it’s easier to make a speaker with limited bass extension sound fast but that is not the case here, in fact they have surprising power and extension. This gives the recordings authority and substance, allowing the immediacy and clarity of the mid and treble to captivate the listener in uncertain terms. When the voice comes in on Ryan Adams’ ‘Magnolia Mountain’ after a long intro (live version) it’s genuine magical realism, voices are so well handled it’s uncanny.

Transcendence 2 is very sensitive to tension because of this, you feel what the artist feels if that person knows how to communicate as much, and many do when the conduit is this clear. Tom Waits’s ‘Swordfishtrombones’ is magnetic, its vivacity captivating, and the poetry of the song unusually well defined. You can hear deep into the mix and appreciate what all the instruments are doing, but the message is placed front and centre; this Oephi Acoustics Transcendence 2 combines extreme transparency with perfect timing in a way few others can.

It’s not just about high energy, either. Fragility is equally well served, and an artist’s emotional vulnerability is as clear as day. But the temptation to put music with drive on is powerful. A good example is the Gary Burton New Quartet’s ‘Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly,’ where the brilliance of every musician’s playing is as clear as the genius of the composition and the excitement it generates.

Twisted folk

Modern recordings benefit from the monitor style balance that the Oephi presents. Everything from Nils Frahm’s All Melody to Felix Laband’s The Soft White Hand has a presence and physicality so real and solid that you can’t help but be drawn into the music. I particularly enjoyed a somewhat leftfield album of twisted Scandi folk by the Erland Apneseth Trio (Salika, Molika) that has always had some appeal but seemed to gain a new lease of life.

I tried an Ayre AX8 2.0 integrated amplifier that’s less powerful than the Moor Amps but managed to drive the Oephi Acoustics Transcendence 2’s without trouble. The result was equally compelling, the song and the tune taking precedence over the sound in the best Rega tradition. I was surprised at how convincing the thunder sounded on Michael Chapman’s ‘Rainmaker’ and beguiled by his guitar playing over it, the scale and clarity of the delivery made the tune sound pretty damn special for a streamed CD rip. I found a few tracks where the limitations/character of the recording did not gel with the exposure on offer from the Oephis, synths can sound a bit crunchy for instance and Frahm’s live album Spaces reveals the limitations of cassette recording that are often smoothed over by more forgiving designs.

Who’s right?

The Oephi Transcendence 2 lets you hear a lot more than most but this inevitably shows shortcomings in some recordings. Yet most of the many pieces I played through them made me want to sit up and take notice. The music was given a primary place in the room, just as it should be. Some will find the Oephi’s edge-of-the-seat style challenging. However, no one who loves music will find this anything less than fabulous. They confound expectations and deliver the musical message in all its ragged glory.

Technical specifications

• Type: Two-way, two-driver stand-mount monitor with rear-ported bass reflex enclosure
• Driver complement: In house developed metal dome tweeter, one 6.5 inch uncoated Purifi mid-bass driver
• Frequency response: 40Hz–27kHz (in-room)
• Crossover frequency: 3kHz
• Impedance:8 Ohms
• Sensitivity: 87dB (in-room)
• Dimensions (H×W×D): 350 × 185 × 300mm
• Weight: 8kg/each
• Finishes: Oil treated oak real wood veneer standard. Walnut and custom finishes at additional cost
• Price: from £4,995

Manufacturer:

Oephi Acoustics

www.oephi.com

UK distributor

Airt Audio

www.airtaudio.com

+44(0)1223 344053

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