Our own Dave McNair told us about the Alta Audio Hestia II going into Capital Audiofest 2022, raving about their sound. Dave had heard the Hestia II recently in Toronto during the Toronto Audiofest of 2022.
Reporting by Eric Franklin Shook
Infigo Audio is still a newcomer to the scene, and in recent years put on a good show with partner Alta Audio. Yet, this is first time I’ve heard the Infigo Audio electronics pushing something as grand as the new Hestia II.
Show Coverage Powered by Audioshield Distribution
Alta Audio Hestia II
The Hestia II is the natural evolution (and upgrade) to the Titanium Hestia. When I spoke with Mike Levy of Alta, he broke it down to having enough improvements on the bench that if implemented would demand the model take a tremendous leap forward in sound. And I think he’s right in both aspects.
The midrange drivers have been upgraded and are now smoother in the upper regions, the woofer is changed, now playing deeper, and the overall package is less room interactive. And despite the small exhibit room, the Hestia II didn’t present any issues with the confined space.
Of note, this semi-dipole four driver array — three mid-woofers and ribbon tweeter (the tweeter is not dipole loaded) — is actually functioning as a D’Apolito array. The two lower mid-woofers sum to equal the energy output of the upper mid-woofer, and doing so aids in overall driver integration with the lower 10-inch woofer.
Infigo Audio
From Infigo Audio is a full suite of high-end electronics, firstly the Method 4 DAC which also pulls double duty as a preamplifier. The starting point for the Method 4 is it’s ES9038PRO Sabre DAC chips, which are governed by ARM based controllers. The 32-bit audio path with digital volume control is robust. But the chip isn’t the whole story, its military grade clocks (which are synched to the music) and dedicated power supplies for each sub-circuit keep unwanted processor signals from tampering with the music.
Notable features include a dimmable touchscreen display and Apple remote compatibility. It is available in silver, gold, or black anodized finishing, housed in a solid milled aluminum chassis. S/PDIF, Optical, AES, USB all included, both SE and balanced outputs as well.
Bringing the outright slam to the party, Infigo Audio’s Method 3 wide bandwidth power amplifiers. Sold as monoblock pairs (62 lbs each) that operate in class-A and output up to 250 wpc into 4-Ohm loads.
Show Coverage Powered by Audioshield Distribution
The Sound
Once again, despite the cramped confines of the exhibit rooms at the show, the Hestia II presented no dislike for the small space. Giving us really solid imaging with a little tow-in and great coherence from the array.
The Infigo pairing as a system: really wonderful and dynamic, with great extension and balance from top to bottom. I’m really excited for what both Infigo and Alta have shown us at CAF 2022.
Dave was right, the Hestia II is really special. Good job Mike!
If you would like to hear even more coverage from CAF 2022, check out our recap report and highlights from our audiophile-oriented show The Occasional Podcast. You can stream the episode direct from the embed below, or from your favorite podcast platform including iTunes, Android, Google, Deezer, Spotify, iHeartRadio and more.
