Vanatoo is a deceivingly simple solution — like Prego tomato sauce, everything is “in there”.
Pricing or their Transparent One loudspeaker starts at $499/pair. And for that, you get … well, quite a lot.
There’s the two-way speaker part, sure. But there’s also a 60wpc integrated amp and analog inputs. Yes, there are digital inputs too — this thing carries an on-board DAC. A 5¼” aluminum mid-woofer is matched to a rear-mounted passive radiator and a 1″ silk-dome tweeter, and yes, there are tone controls. There’s even an optional subwoofer output (with crossover!).
There’s a couple of options. One, you can get the Transparent One with an included Airport Express from Apple — you just hang it directly off the outlet plug on the back of the speaker. Two, you can get your set with an AptX Bluetooth controller — you just hang it directly off the outlet plug on the back of the speaker. Or you can just get your Transparent One and get neither wireless doohickey and just figure that part out later.
The stands aren’t included, but I suspect that most folks looking at these speakers are also thinking about desktop or some kind of bookshelf arrangement, and not necessarily out-in-the-room, but placed that way, the sound quality from this $500 speaker is surprising — there’s a lot of kick coming out of these little guys.
These little guys were able to move a lot of air! Also at the end of the show we hooked them up to a Nomad for fun and it was a great combo!
Thanks for the hookup Mat! The vinyl combination was a lot of fun, and made a really good-sounding entry level system without a lot of pieces!
One of the best values I saw at the show this, IMHO.
Besides the feature list, what I liked most about these great little bookshelves was what they did not do. Unlike most ‘Audiophiles’ who tend to overcompensate for certain ‘deficiencies’ the Vanatoo’s never strayed outside their capabilities. Their bass was pretty big for a tiny tot, but never bloated, flabby or reaching below what they could reproduce without loosing their composure.
I second…one of the best values at the show.