ESTELON X Diamond MkII

MJ12.02.2022

Floorstanding loudspeakers

The brand-new addition to the “X Diamond” collection is an evolutionary change. Therefore, Estelon has decided to use MkII designation rather than a new model name. Unlike evolutionary changes of other audio brands, where the new sound is merely a facelift of the old sound, the sound of the MkII is a significant upgrade to the already excellent predecessor.

100% reference

Function and form

98%
Ease of use
93%
Sound
99%
Appearance

Like their predecessors, Estelon X Diamond that Audiodrom reviewed 5 years ago, the X Damond MkII uses the high-density curved die-cast cabinets made of marble powder and resin composite. The silhouettes, as well as internal shapes and chambers of the X Diamond MkII, were designed to give the speaker excellent acoustic properties and rock-steady stability, and to provide a solid foundation for the explosive acceleration of the driver membranes, as the manufacturer puts it.

This all, however, is not new. So, in which details the MkII differs from the predecessor? Apart from the different color of drivers that turned white into black (Estelon continues using German Accuton), the MkII features four improvements. One, there is a new ultra-hard inverted dome diamond tweeter, optimized for clean and mode-free extension to 60,000Hz. Two, the crossover was redesigned with improved components for a wider dynamic range and transparency. The crossover filters are in their own isolated chamber to reduce the microphonic effects and vibration influence. The crossover filter slopes between woofer and mid-woofer are 3rd order, and 2nd order between mid-woofer and tweeter. Three, the Diamond Mk II uses Kubala-Sosna cabling throughout. Four, the large bass-reflex port is now equipped with a partition. The partition is a heavy flat-shaped object made from what looks like tar-like granulate; it should be inserted into the reflex vent, while you can choose its orientation to adjust the direction of the air flow according to the speaker placement.

Like the original X Diamond, the MkII come in beautiful finishes that include “Violet Night”, “Red Rocket”, and “Blue Cobalt”, all these – although for extra money - look particularly attractive in the Estelon’s ‘liquid gloss’.

Sensitivity remains 88dB, and although the MkII is specified as a 6-ohm speaker, its minimum of 3.5 ohms at 50Hz should – in theory - be quite challenging for amplifiers. On the other hand, I auditioned the X Diamond also with Audio Research Reference 80S tube power amplifier that delivers 70 watts per channel of continuous power, and although the amp was short of breath at high listening levels, it delivered much better sound through its 8-ohm taps with the X Diamond.

Bass management

Weight
95
Slam
94
Articulation
95

Camille Saint-Saens and his organ Symphony No.3, in reading of Philadelphia Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach, and Olivier Latry (Ondine SACD) collected praise and awards from both professional critics and audiophiles. Andrew McGregor of BBC Radio 3 enthused: The playing is jaw-droppingly beautiful, and the organ so well-integrated into the sound (...) The balance is utterly realistic, and the bass is staggeringly good if your system can reproduce it. Ted Libbey of The Absolute Sound confirmed: “Ondine provides a recording of weight and immediacy, capturing the distinctly expressive sound of the massed Philadelphia strings - substantive, meaty, a living tissue - across a soundstage that is wide and coherent, and that puts organ and orchestra in the same space.

And this is what I heard through the X Diamond MkII. It was like two massive subwoofers were attached to the speakers, perfect in phase, perfect in crossover, perfect in volume. The depth, power, and sheer volume of the sound were utterly convincing from the very bottom octaves (~20Hz with the help from the room). The very same realism was heard on the STS’ field recording of Harley Davidson engines bubbling – it was an amazing and experience to share the room with the five big motorcycles.

Clarity & delicacy

Detail
95
Air
97
Transparency
98

The level of insight into recordings was improved as well in the MkII version vs the original. Com 4 (Rouzbeth Asgarian, Neu Klang) sounds spontaneous and live, it is not a studio live take, however. The X Diamond MkII let me hear the multitracking, as well as the corresponding hiss of each track. That way the noise floor was moving up and down with how discrete instruments appeared and disappeared again. I was a bit afraid that the MkII upgrade will introduce typical audiophile spice, like too much presence, spotlight, and overdamped bass. Nothing of it has happened, and I was happy to hear that all the improvements were in the direction of hearing more of the natural sound that I liked so much with the original X Diamond.

Tonal accuracy

Timbre
86
Dynamics
92
Temporal resolution
94

The Estelon X Diamond MkII are among those rare loudspeakers that you can listen to from any distance and have no chance to find out where the left and right speakers are and how many drivers are in each. Even in near field and despite their size the MkII completely disappeared and – with my eyes closed – there was nothing to indicate that the sound comes from the speakers. I used the one-microphone recordings of drums and an acoustic bass from Chesky’s test disc that features uncompressed dynamics and no post-production and was not able to say whether I was listening to an audio system or a live drum kit in the room. This is an amazing top-to-bottom coherency and transient speed from the speakers of the X Diamond size.

Spatial resolution

Holography
94
Soundstage width
94
Soundstage depth
94

I had the unique opportunity to audition the X Diamond MkII while the original X Diamond were still available in the studio. Nothing was easier than swap those two and listen to them at 100% identical conditions. It became clear soon that the biggest difference between the two is how they ‘contour’ the sonic images. While the outlines of sounds were thicker with the X Diamond, as if they used a marker, the MkII were using a fine liner. The MkII were also better in start-stop movements of driver cones. This way the blurring of the edges, images and transients was more precise with the MkII, and the greater accuracy resulted into better delineation and greater transparency.

The Persuasions and their a-cappella Angel (Chesky Records) was smoother and silkier through the original X Diamond. As much as it was pleasant, after while my ears asked for more see-through quality of the MkII and their dynamic freedom. The silkiness of the original X Diamond was also heard on the acoustic guitar that accompanies Youn Sun Nah in No Other Name (She Moves On, Act). The strings as if were less metallic and the guitar became kinder and a touch fuzzier.

It is easy to live with the X Diamond, and there is a reason why these speakers are one of the best ranking speakers of our magazine. However, it is even more rewarding to enjoy the new Estelon X Diamond MkII. This evolution was definitely for good.

Price as reviewed:1 750 000,- Kč

Recommended resellers

HI-FI studio TYKON, Ostrava, tel. +420 723 449 894

Associated components

  • Sources: emmLabs Meitner DV2 DAC, xDuoo X10T II digital transport
  • Amplifiers: emmLabs MTRX2 monoblocks
  • Interconnects and speaker cables: emmLabs, Shunyata Research Sigma v2, InAkustik Toslink
  • Power conditioning: Shunyata Research Everest 8000, Shunyata Research Alpha NR, Omega XC v2, Sigma XC v2, Acrolink Mexcel 8N-PC8100

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