Oephi Lounge 2.5 speakers
Regular readers may have enjoyed reading about the event, hosted by local (ish) dealer Audio Destination, Oephi, and their distributor Airt, a few weeks ago. I was so impressed with what I heard that I felt compelled to arrange a review of these newly launched, relatively affordable speakers at the earliest opportunity.
I had read reviews of some of the more expensive speakers in the Oephi range, which included the Transcendence 2 and Immanence 2.5 and the Immanence 2, which, I believe, still resides in David Vivian’s system. While I was intrigued, I may have mistakenly got the impression that these speakers might prove a little fussy for my tastes. The time spent at the dealer event alleviated those fears somewhat, as I heard the range of speakers sounding fantastic in a variety of setups. It appears that timing integrity and musical coherence from the electronics are the key factors in getting the best out of Oephi speakers.
The Lounge models currently sit at the foot of Oephi’s range of speakers, designer Joakim Juhl considers it a gateway speaker to entice people not just into the Oephi fold, but also the world of true musical enjoyment. Indeed, the £2,700 Lounge 2, which is the smaller, standmount sister to the speakers we are looking at here, could be heard sounding rather wonderful when paired with a circa £5k Goldnote Streamer and amplifier at the aforementioned event.
The Lounge 2.5 speakers we are looking at here retail for £4,500, which I must say seems excellent value for a speaker designed and built in Denmark, a country that’s not exactly renowned for its low manufacturing costs. Oephi have been able to reduce costs by sharing cabinets across the range. Indeed, it takes a keen eye to spot the visual difference between the models in the Lounge, Ascendence and Transcendence models. While there are various internal differences, the most obvious visual clue is the different bass/mid units used in each model.
It is far from unusual for hi-fi distributors and manufacturers to make extravagant claims about their products. I found it hard, however, to brush off the claims made by Joakim Juhl who comes from a scientific background and told me he had been designing speakers for many years, but that doesn’t make him unique in the world of designers. What makes him different is his depth of knowledge and open-minded approach to the task. Dr Joakim Juhl, to use his full title, has an extensive resume as a lecturer and researcher.
It was during the COVID lockdowns that Joakim and his wife decided the time was right for him to pursue his lifelong passion for hifi, which he began as a cable manufacturer. You will find the slogan ‘timing is everything’ sprawled across Oephi’s literature and packaging notes. This philosophy is reflected in all of the company’s products. Joakim believes it is of the utmost importance to maintain the timing integrity and phase transition of the signal throughout the signal chain. If there is any buffering in the signal chain, this information is lost forever. Regardless of how tonally pleasing or how impressive the soundstage is, if the timing of the signal is distorted, the system will inhibit the musical message.
Build and design
The Lounge 2.5s, like the other speakers from this brand, appear surprisingly conventional, especially considering the claims made about how their performance is achieved. As indicated by the name, Lounge 2.5 is a two-and-a-half-way design featuring twin paper cone bass/midrange drivers with 25mm voice coils. The metal dome tweeter was sourced from SEAS, and is heavily modified by Oephi. The design features an aluminium/magnesium dome and a titanium voice coil. The result is said to be a unit that avoids the pitfalls of simpler metal dome units, which often have a reputation for sounding unpleasantly bright and harsh. The quoted in-room frequency range is 35Hz to 27kHz, with a sensitivity of 89.5dB at 6 Ohms, which seems on the money subjectively.
In the vast majority of cases, the speakers should be positioned so that the tweeters are positioned on the inside of the speaker, so they are close to each other. However, in cases where the speakers are placed closer together than would generally be considered ideal it’s worth experimenting with this. The offset follows computer-based calculations with the aim of minimising diffraction across the front baffle.
The Lounge 2.5 crossover features point-to-point wiring. A significant amount of work has been invested in addressing phase deviation at the crossover stage, with the goal of achieving accurate driver integration and minimising time-domain distortion. Oephi call this Time Compensated XO technology.
The cabinet has been designed to be as light as possible, in pursuit of rapid energy dissipation. My samples are in ‘light oak’, with three other colours available. The Lounge 2.5 is a twin rear-ported design, but it seemed to work well at a distance of around 30cm from my rear wall. These speakers follow my preference for single-wired inputs, which saves customers from having to purchase a second set of cables or additional ‘jumper’ cables – the links supplied with bi-wirable speakers rarely pass muster. The Lounge range is equipped with high-quality, solid-core internal cabling sourced from a reputable external supplier, rather than Oephi’s own cables, as seen in the more expensive models.
The bases of the speakers are a notable feature, as they are screwed onto the main body of the speaker at low tension, intentionally allowing for some movement. I was given strict instructions from Oephi’s Joakim Juhl not to tighten them as it degrades performance. Whilst I did obey this instruction, I confess to ignoring the next, which was to use them on the supplied spikes, rather than place them on my Townsend Audio Seismic Podiums. I tried them on the spikes as well, in my room, as with every other speaker I have used with the Podiums, the results were far superior in terms of bass control, openness, and sound staging. That is not to say the speakers didn’t sound good on the spikes; they simply sounded better on the Seismic Podiums.
A thrilling performance
I began listening to the Lounge 2.5s in combination with my resident Moon 600i amplifier, with a Moon DAC and a Melco source. Airt, Oephi’s UK distributor, kindly sent me some cables from Oephi’s Ascendence range, which included a pair of mains cables, RCA and XLR interconnects and a 3m pair of speaker cables. I began with my usual Titan Audio mains cables and Townshend Audio analogue cables, then introduced each of the Oephi cables one by one. I must say that the mains cables had the most immediate positive effect, but each of the cables was successful in its own right, with the complete Oephi loom bringing a wonderful coherence to the music; so, they stayed. During the course of the review, the Moon 600i gave way to the Moor Angel 4i integrated amplifier, necessitating a change from the Oephi balanced XLR interconnects to the single-ended Oephi RCA cables.
One often has preconceptions about the anticipated performance of a speaker, based on its size and retail price. As I experienced during my previous acquaintance with these speakers, such preconceptions proved unfounded. In terms of soundstaging, dynamics, transient performance, timing and consistency across the frequency range, the Lounge 2.5s deliver well beyond their price level. On top of this, I found them extremely easy to live with; while impressively neutral in balance, there is a subtle, pleasant softness to the music, which I found worked well with a variety of recordings, yet still made it clear when I was listening to something exceptional. One of the reasons I bought my resident Totem speakers is their ability to preserve the human quality of a performance. When this is the case, they sound like instruments within a recording are played by human hands, which is a quality the Lounge 2.5 also possesses.
The Lounge 2.5 is one of those speakers that sounds, well, right. This is due in no small part to the timing, which allows the music to flow without interruption, yet without forcing the point home by exaggerating the leading edges of notes, as is often the case with some speakers, and indeed other components. The first album to really floor me was Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters (24/96 download). This pioneering jazz fusion album requires a system with dynamics, grip, control and above all, accurate timing if it is to keep you engaged and your feet tapping over its full duration, which my system managed in spades with the Lounge 2.5s hanging on the end of it.
The Lounge 2.5 is not a superficially detailed speaker, but it delves deep, and I became aware of previously unnoticed small details in certain recordings. This is due to the low noise floor in both the speakers and the accompanying Oephi cable loom, the latter bringing calmness and an increased level of dynamic differentiation. A recent purchase of the Mofi SACD version of Love’s Forever Changes, which I’ve ripped to my Melco server (DSD layer), has received a surprising amount of play. I’ve always loved the album, but this is an incredibly good master. The Lounge 2.5 conveyed it with delicacy, poise and drama. Hailing from 1967, there’s some obvious compression, especially in some of the louder passages; yet, this never sounds unpleasant or edgy, which is often the case with lesser speakers. This is an easy trick if the transducer smooths over detail, but the opposite was the case here; I enjoyed new levels of texture and delicacy.
Upping the pace somewhat, King Crimson’s prog epic, part one of the title track from the album Larks’ Tongues in Aspic(40th anniversary version in 24/96), with the Lounge 2.5s, proved to be the dynamic and rhythmic extravaganza that I expected it to be. However, it was the delicacy and poise during quieter passages of this piece that surprised me. This speaker’s handling of the chimes and bells during the intro revealed a polyrhythmic effect which had previously gone unnoticed. Up until now, this track had been all about waiting for the drums, bass, and guitars to kick in, but the Lounge 2.5 held my attention throughout the entirety of this thirteen and a half minute track. Even the electric violin at the end of the track sounded more expressive than I remembered it being. Interestingly, the band’s follow-up album, Red (also celebrating its 40th anniversary in 24/96), didn’t work as well, sounding rather thin and edgy by comparison, which highlights the Lounge 2.5’s truthful nature.
The Lounge 2.5 worked well with every kind of music I played through it. Acoustic, live recordings, such as CSN&Y’s Four Way Street (CD rip), allowed me to revel in the interplay between the musicians and emotional content of the vocals, along with a sense of acoustic that is quite astonishing for a near full-range speaker at this price point. When you are in the mood for something livelier, the Lounge 2.5 has enough kick and bass power to do justice to dance music, such as Thievery Corporation’s The Richest Man In Babylon (Qobuz 16/44), an album I discovered after watching one of Dave Denyer’s online videos – spoiler, don’t bother with the latest vinyl release. When the drums came in on the second track, Facing East, I genuinely jumped out of my skin.
Conclusions
To cut to the chase, the Lounge 2.5s are the most enjoyable speakers I have had at home, at anything remotely close to their price point, and some way beyond. They really do fulfil Oephi’s aim of getting as much of the musical message as possible through to the listener, at a more affordable price than their other models.
While they respond to great recordings, they are not so demanding as to spoil the less-than-stellar tracks in your collection, although they will still point out what is wrong with them. Of more importance is to pair them with electronics that can provide a clean signal and temporal accuracy to realise this speaker’s potential. There may be speakers that are superficially more refined in this area of the market, but the Oephi Lounge 2.5 will tell you more about your recordings and engage you in the music like few others, at any price.