DOMEPHASE Poison I

TR21.11.2016

Stand mount monitors

The Domephase surprised me with perfect build quality - looks like Chinese manufactures are now becoming benchmarks as far as the craftsmanship is concerned. On top of that the Poisons use quite unusual design principles to deliver the goods.

Function and form

90%
Ease of use
54%
Sound
98%
Appearance

The Domephase is a brand of Chinese Microlab Electrical. The know-how is German, so is the coaxial driver. The reasoning behind coaxial drivers is simple: if a tweeter and a midrange driver share the same acoustic center they should approximate the holy grail of hifi, the one-point source. In classical coaxial designs the tweeter is mounted in the middle of the midrange tweeter (KEF, TAD and some others). Thus the tweeter actually resides in the center of a "waveguide" that is represented by the midrange cone. This results in usual dips and peaks in the tweeter's radiation pattern as it sees symmetrical environment around.

The coaxial driver of the Poison  is inverted, i.e. the dome tweeter (28 mm) sits in the center of an inverted cone (180 mm). Thus the surroundings of the tweeeter are convex and the sound is dispersed rather than waveguided.

Sensitivity 86dB, impedance 4 ohms, no bi-wiring.

 

Bass management

Weight
30
Slam
45
Articulation
54

The Poison are relatively small speakers (480 x 256 x 368 mm) so no surprise the bass I heard was not deep - it was pretty flat down to 50Hz with quick roll-off below this point (measured with Nordost Tuning & Set up Disc), so below 40Hz I could not hear anything. There is no reflex port, the Domephase are closed speakers.

On the other hand, though not deep, the bass was very punchy. It reminded me of the  Wilson Benesch Discovery in how it was articulated and energetic. No wonder that Rolling Stones were the right food for the Poisons.

Clarity & delicacy

Detail
68
Air
56
Transparency
58

As mentioned, the coaxial driver components are made in Germany (Reckhorn). It is the type of technology that - alike Class D amplifiers - will need few years to refine. Thus the voicing of the Domephase was quite forward despite the speakers were driven by Reimyo electronics that is exactly the opposite with its Japanese sweet sound. I missed more liquid textures of highs, a piano was a bit rough to my ear. This is not the case with aforementioned Rolling Stones that were re-energizeed through the Domephase as if the decades old recordings were made yesterday.

Tonal accuracy

Timbre
47
Dynamics
52
Temporal resolution
58

What they missed in textures they tried to make up with timing. The enclosures of the Poisons are rigid and they do not store energy. The sound did not stay in the speakers, it was fast and efortless, so I could savour percussive instruments (Sting) with vigour of a machine gun.

The same thing that I observed with the textures applied to harmonies - I missed more believable envelopes of instruments, more colours.

Spatial resolution

Holography
65
Soundstage width
64
Soundstage depth
61

I found the Domephase Poison I to be less sensitive to placement. They are closed speakers so you may them put closer to a corner than usual. Not that they would not benefit from the walls far away from them, but at least the bass did not become too boomy when placed near the front wall.

Imaging of the Poison was less precise than I am used to with small stand mounts. It resembled more diffuse character of sound, close to what I heard in past from Mirage omnipolar speakers. Comparing the Domephase with my resident Revel Ultima Studio2 was like comparing apples and pears. Is the diffuse sound more natural? Perhaps it is... give the Poison I a listen and make your own judgement.

Price as reviewed:98 000,- Kč

Recommended resellers

K datu zveřejnění této recenze se nepodařilo lokalizovat oficiální zastoupení pro EU.

Associated components

  • Sources: Reimyo CDT-777 transport and  DAP-999EX D/A DAC
  • Amplifiers: Reimyo CAT-777 MK2 preamplifiers and KAP-777 power amplifier
  • Interconnects and speaker cables: Harmonix HS101S, Exquisite
  • Power conditioning: Reimyo ALS-777 power stabilizer, HIJIRI X-DCH Nagomi power cords

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