Harald Hecken's goal was to design a straight forward speaker with drivers that should have an extremely balanced frequency response in order to keep the crossover simple.
After many requests, this speaker is now available as a kit in two versions: with the Scandinavian Newtronics HAT 26 tweeter or the Newtronics HT 1 super tweeter.
Review in Klang+Ton 5/2007: "Despite their fundamental differences, the two sister speakers performed extremely well showing their own distinctive characteristics. To confirm what the lab results already suggested: yes, these two Empress versions are really different. Initially, the passive Empress seemed to have a more pleasant and richer sound. The bass is powerful, the slight emphasis noticed in the lab result is also reflected in the sound reproduction - the broad dip with slightly increasing tops leads to a transparent and relaxing sound that still has plenty of details to show. The staging by the passive Empress is extremely detailed and deep, and besides a homogenous sound the vocals are separated clearly. So what can be done better by the active Empress? Quite simply: nothing. The active version just does things differently. While the passive one is somewhat reserved the active speaker just gets going. Bass is a little less present, but is still tight and dynamic. The midrange is absolutely open and transparent, but might turn slightly aggressive. That's, however, not the speaker's fault since every recording is reproduced the way it was recorded. The midrange drivers resonance is not noticeable - to be on the safe side we didn't angle the speakers towards the listening position. The tops complement the transparent sound, particularly due to the more refined HT1 tweeter, besides the slightly less favourable lab results. The depth is not as impressive as the passive one's, but appeals due to an outstanding width and resolution. It's now up to the customer to decide which of the two is more suited. And if we include the two high end versions then there are even four versions. Which one now - the agile active or the elegant passive? Well, that's just a matter of taste."
Verdict by Klang+Ton "Active or passive, dynamic or elegant – that's the fundamental decision for the consumer. Both version sound excellent in their own way, especially when considering how little they cost."
Empress Building Instruction
Empress Building Instruction Lab Results
Please note: due to the four midrange / bass drivers in parallel, we recommend to use a stable and solid amplifier since the impedance within the bass range drops below 3 Ohm. A suitable amplifier is e.g. the Newtronics AMP 7293. Building Instruction Lab Result Home