D’Von Aurora SQ-40 speakers
Unusually for me I’m going to start with a spoiler alert: these floorstanders from D’Von Audio are stunningly good. In fact, for the price, and the quality of the product I would be hard-pushed to find another speaker which delivered such performance at a similar price point. Especially one that combined all the ease of drive and ease of positioning elements which so many find elusive.
The beginning
I first heard D’Von at the Bristol Show earlier this year. I’d had a vague memory that these were speakers which had garnered some interest but hadn’t had the opportunity to hear them in real life. A trip to the room and a fairly short (it was busy busy busy) conversation with Chris Priddle, (owner and founder) left me in no doubt that further listening in a known environment was needed.
At the Show I managed to hear the stand-mount model, but lurking in the corner was a same-footprint floorstander, the Aurora SQ-40. Having worked on the basis that if you’ve allocated floorspace for the stand, you might as well reap the benefits of a larger cabinet for enhanced bass response, I opted for the larger floorstander for review, and on my return from Devon a couple of weeks later I collected said speakers from Chris and headed home.
The Aurora SQ-40s are normally supplied with spikes but the review samples came with Stack Audio Auva speaker isolators, and there is no doubt that they help clean up the bottom end (not that the speaker isn’t clean, but they just add that extra level of refinement).
The speakers sport SB Acoustics drivers, Jantzen audio components in the crossovers, and are available in a wide variety of colours (or birch-ply fronted). A ported design (and supplied with port bungs should you need to tune their effect) their nominally 4 ohm load is relatively benign, and efficiency quite high at 90dB. A measure of the quality of their construction is their weight, at some 24kgs each they’re no lightweights.
As for placement, while they perform very well about a metre from the rear wall, with the option to play with the port plugs (or remove them altogether, usually this helps), they will sit happily much closer to the rear wall without compromising either clarity and definition or bass weight (which was excellent, by the way).
Amplifier choice ranged from quite low-powered valve affairs (15 watts) through to major (200W) solid state, and a variety of sources including streaming, vinyl, actual CDs and my beloved FM radio (yes, I know it’s flawed, but is still one of the most engaging mediums out there).
Sound quality
As it’s so flawed, I’ll start with FM. Early morning listening at the weekends is a real treat on FM, and particularly Radio 3. With the sheer variety of musical genres and the various presenters gently guiding us through the choices, if a speaker is to hold sway with me it must keep pulling me back from getting bored and going to make another coffee. The variety of genres covered in those programmes is also very wide, giving a single source the opportunity to almost cover all bases, an important criteria when trying to evaluate the speakers.
Speech, an underrated yardstick of a speaker’s naturalness, can be a make or break for some. After all, if someone speaking doesn’t sound like someone speaking then the whole premise of that loudspeaker design is flawed. It’s also relatively easy to set the volume at a realistic level such that you feel as if you’re having a conversation with the presenter. On both Radio 3 and Radio 4 the Aurora SQ-40s allowed presenters to come across with an amazing clarity. There wasn’t any chesty bloom signalling upper bass excess, and yet there was nice air and space. The different studio environments were also very easy to detect.
On chat shows and my favourite I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, or Just a Minute the different audience acoustics were also markedly different which reflects well on the Aurora SQ-40’s ability to resolve critically small acoustic details which make it possible to tell the venues apart. Classical concerts were markedly different from the more intimate jazz ones, and the acoustics of the Wigmore Hall (for instance) were very different from other venues, the lunchtime concerts were also very revealing of the different locations.
So far, so good.
The real test, though, is playing music and recordings that I know well, and where speakers have an opportunity to shine.
A relatively cheap but nonetheless fantastic recording is Mussorgsky’s Night on a Bare Mountain (CFP 101) with the LPO under Charles Mackerras. The orchestra at full tilt, the rasp of the brass, the driving deep double bass rhythms, and with the volume turned waaay up really put you in the centre of the orchestra. The Aurora SQ-40s handled the dynamics and timbral contrasts exceptionally well, with easy differentiation between the louder passages and the quieter internal themes, instrumentation was easy to hear as well.
A change of pace saw the Jayhawks hit the turntable. Beloved of my late friend Art Dudley, I had the pleasure of seeing them live with Art, and he gave me one of their LPs – to which I have added a couple more. The one auditioned in this review is the studio album Tomorrow the Green Grass (American Recordings 1-43006). With a variety of bluegrass-style tracks on the album, what came across clearly was how well laid-out the group is, and how well and easily the Aurora SQ-40s allowed you to put each artist and their instruments in their own space. Everything was crystal clear, when necessary punchy and dynamic, and in other passages gentler and with more subtlety. The bass was nicely weighted, clear and with appropriate heft when needed. In fact, while not overpowering, the bass was so obviously there in a way which supported all the musical material going on above. It wasn’t intrusive, but gave the performances that solid feel which really cemented them in reality.
Somehow the bass presence also relieved the voices of anything overly chesty – so it goes nicely deep without colouring the upper-mid bass which gives an overall much cleaner presentation. One thing I was rapidly learning was that clarity and cleanness was a hallmark of the Aurora SQ-40 speakers, without losing any of the oh-so-important musical qualities.
Heading back a couple of decades – 1963 in fact, Ellington and Coltrane made a self-titled album (Impulse A-30) with a few tracks which really no-one should miss out on. The opening In A Sentimental Mood is atmospheric, full of pathos and has that smokey feel so beloved of many jazz aficionados. Through the Aurora SQ-40s Ellington’s mid-keyboard ostinato punctuating the opening track is just right, supporting Coltrane as the melody ebbs and flows. Again, with Aaron Bell on the bass, his deft, but full and weighty playing was reflected and presented well by the Aurora SQ-40s. Take the Coltrane – a much more angular and be-bop-style track had the running bass keeping everything on track and up to speed while Coltrane wove his magic – this is probably the best listening experience I’ve had of this LP, and it’s thanks to the Aurora SQ-40s doing their stuff. They really put you right there in the mix with everything laid bare to enjoy, but without being ruthless.
As always there are those for whom no review would be complete without some female vocal. I’ve had some fun with Florence Foster Jenkins in the past – and again I played her through the Aurora SQ-40s much to the delight and astonishment of my wife’s granddaughter (who I think thought that the world was about to end). However, with the recent passing of soprano Felicity Lott, it would seem appropriate to devote a little listening to her amazing forty-year recording and performing legacy. Of those that I have heard my favourite is perhaps La Fleur des Eaux by Chausson, recorded in 2003 with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (AECD 0314). The timbral qualities of her voice, the sympathetic orchestration, and the massively wide range of emotion and dynamics makes this wonderful recording something rather special. In fact the whole CD is really worth a listen.
So what do the Aurora SQ-40s bring to the party?
Well, in the context of my listening room they absolutely filled the room with sound. The whole performance became an immersive exploration of the wonders of the classical soprano voice. While there may not have been the (some might say) extremes of Wagner, the disc captures perfectly Lott’s abilities, the quality and range of her voice and the programme is something which seems to be rather close to her heart. The emotional content of the works, and her portrayal of those emotions is very obvious to hear and savour. In fact this is a disc that almost required repeated listening.
In fact the Aurora SQ-40s are particularly good at revealing the emotional content of whatever is being played, whether it’s Meat Loaf (yes, there’s emotional content there, even if it’s rather melodramatic) string quartets, lighter-weight folk music or any other kind. The SQ-40s manage to lay out the musical stall and keep revealing more and more about what’s there.
As I mentioned right at the start, I used a variety of different amplification throughout the review process. While the larger amps were better able extract more bass at the bottom end, the Aurora SQ-40’s load is so benign that even using a 15 watt tube amp in a nearfield-listening situation the bass wasn’t at all lacking. Once the volume was really wound up it eventually ran out of steam (most noticeably in its ability to cover the dynamic range that was required) and the ultimate volume it was capable of producing. However, with 200W behind them the SQ-40s never became confused or distressed at really quite high volumes.
Any shortcomings?
No. As a first foray into the market, and having heard D’Von’s standmounts at a Show (not an ideal listening environment) the Aurora SQ-40s went well beyond what I had expected for a first product from a relatively new company.
Chris Priddle has done his homework and listening/voicing particularly well, chosen a design and kitted it out with components which do more than justice to his efforts. In fact, the Aurora SQ-40s are the sort of product that you’d expect would have come from a far more mature and dare I say sophisticated manufacturer.
Aesthetically there is a colourway which would suit pretty-much every environment, and being a slim floorstander they are unobtrusive, so should be easy to accommodate in the home.
As a last comment, one of my favourite discs is The New York Scene by Marty Paich’s Big Band on Discovery (DS-844). This is definitely a foot-tapper, and perhaps on the slightly schmalzy side of things, but a good fun album and full of different things to hear. There’s fast-paced and slower ballads, and a whole range of stuff in between. With this playing, wound up to nearly obscene levels filling the room with sound the Aurora SQ-40s absolutely sang their hearts out. It’s a good fun album, great recording despite its age (1959) and for me one of the best reasons why we have home music systems. The D’Von Auroras certainly know how to boogie, and if ever you need an excuse to find out, play this album loud and you’ll see what I mean.
Conclusion
The D’Von Aurora SQ-40s are an absolutely superb speakers. While not cheap their performance is amazing and almost what might be expected at a much higher price point. It’s one of those carefully-crafted and honed designs that performs exceptionally well, and will fit in to a wide range of systems, with the potential to give long-lasting musical satisfaction for many years.
Musically and emotionally the Aurora SQ-40s are utterly engaging. Aesthetically they are adaptable enough to fit in almost wherever you want, and the size of their sound relative to the modest size of the cabinet is astonishing.
At this price point, in my view, they want for nothing. It will be very interesting to see how D’Von builds on the undoubted success of this design going forward. A fantastic product from a company with a great future.
Pros
Exceptionally engaging, natural and dynamic sound
Easy to drive and forgiving of amplifier matching and placement
Deep, controlled bass with excellent clarity and imaging
Outstanding value for the level of performance and build quality
Good range of finish options
Cons
Large amplifiers deliver greater bass authority and ultimate volume
Premium price, despite strong value for money
Relatively young company with limited track record