A few weeks before Christmas, I got my hands on a brand-new pair of Roth OLi RA2 speakers. I am planning to write a more detailed review of these when I have had a chance to do more testing on a wider range of my equipment. But here is a little preview.
You may recall that Roth’s previous range of speakers received very mixed reviews – WHF tested several of the models and liked some, disliked others. Then we saw a news item that Richard Allen of EB Acoustics had been contracted by Roth to tune their latest speakers. Richard has got quite a reputation and so when I was offered a pair of these new speakers to play with, I could not resist. (Richard has been busy – maybe this means he finally found someone willing to wind his coils, LOL).
Since these speakers cost £149 brand spanking new, how good could they possibly be? Keep in mind that at those prices, the budget for the woofer and tweeter alone can’t be much more than twenty quid or so, and probably a lot less. As a speaker builder, I recognize that real genius in speaker design is getting amazing sound out of cheap materials – this is what Richard has done with modest HiVi drivers at EB. But his most affordable speakers cost four times as much as the Roths. Would it be possible to impress someone like me, who has a house full of higher-end kit, with speakers this cheap?
Keep in mind that I am also a big fan of the Boston A25 speakers – I own a pair and think they are quite a bargain. I saw them recently on sale for £99 a pair. Boston Acoustics is a huge company, relatively speaking, with a huge presence in the US and volumes that a company the size of Roth Audio probably can only dream about. My thought going in was that even equaling the A25s would be impossible, and what sort of fool would even try? Who can make money at those prices, unless they are selling rubbish?
Well, as you might guess from the long lead-in, these Roth speakers are spectacular value for the money and at £149 (or maybe even twice that) you are going to have a hard time doing much better. I have to say, it was extremely surprising. I have them sitting on my desk right now, on heavy steel stands from Item Audio which lift the speakers about 22cm off of the desk. This puts the tweeters just above ear level. They are connected to a Naim Nait 5 amp, purchased in 2002, and an original Cambridge DACMagic, connected to a Windows PC via optical.
The speakers themselves are about the same size as the Bostons. They are solid black, built in a very smooth, contemporary style. The fit and finish is excellent, with no visible seams or joints (it’s a very Apple-esque industrial design). The tweeter is a shiny soft dome, and the woofer is made of a woven fibreglass material – sort of a lightweight, poor-man’s version of the woven polypropylene seen on the ProAc Response D18 or the Seas Curv drivers. The speakers come with magnetic grills that have no visible attachment points.
Like most small speakers, the sensitivity is rather poor – Roth says that it’s 84dB but does not elaborate on the units (I suspect the actual sensitivity is around 81 or 82 dB/2.8V/1m, but I can’t really measure it properly). But what makes these speakers special, I think, is that both drivers are mounted inside waveguides. This is typical for tweeters, but the RA2s’ tweeters’ waveguides are quite deep, little horns that curve all the way to the outside of the plate. The midbass units, more unusually, are mounted inside little rings as well. They extend about half an inch from the outside of the drivers’ rubber surrounds, and the driver is recessed a similar amount.
I believe, based on my initial listening, that these waveguides are a big part of the reason these speakers sound so good. The adjective that best describes these speakers is ‘clear.’ Comparing these to the Bostons, I have the impression that I am listening to the Roths through the audio equivalent of a magnifying glass. There is a vivid, detailed, and clean presentation that is quite remarkable for speakers of this price. I’m not sure they quite have the ease of the Bostons, the relaxed presentation, but their startling clarity is in another league.
I am sure that the bass response is helped by the waveguides as well. Listening to a bassy track such as Kanye West’s ‘Heartless,’ the necessary oomph is there in spades. On a slightly more challenging track, such as the Wood Brothers’ ‘Luckiest Man,’ the vocals and guitar strumming are coming from the exact centre of my computer’s monitor, and when the acoustic bass comes in, there is enough bass to not just follow the line, but to actually feel a bit of the attack. Sure, there aren’t the dynamics that you get from a bigger speaker, and it isn’t quite as loud as I get from my PMC DB1s, but it isn’t the popgun joke that you get from most speakers at this size – the bass has a bit of texture, there are some dynamics, and most importantly, there is no boominess from the port – a near-miracle if you ask me. I measure an F3 of around 73Hz with my crude equipment – not bad at all for the size.
The comparison with the DB1s is quite interesting, in fact. The PMCs have exemplary imaging and are well known for having excellent (as in, refined and realistic, as opposed to copious) bass. It is a little bit scary how close the RA2s come to equaling the PMCs, which cost six times as much. The Roths’ imaging is very close, and the bass only another step behind. But in the all-important midrange, the Roths really shine – they give up very little to the PMCs and piano, female vocals, and acoustic guitar on the Roths is just outstanding, right there in front of you.
I have not seen any reviews of this speaker yet – our old friend Andrew Everard reviewed their little brothers, the RA1s, in Gramophone magazine (and loved them) but I have not seen a review yet of the RA2s. I still have not brought them into the living room and put them on full stands, which I will do, and maybe some of their qualities will be diminished in the bigger room, we shall see. I also will try them with a lower-end amp – I have a NAD 326Bee I can try, though I would not describe that as low-end, and a friend with an old Yamaha home cinema receiver that we’ve had some good times playing with. I will follow up.
So it’s hardly a full review but considering how good they are for the price, and how many people come to this forum asking about low-end recommendations, I thought it worthwhile to share my experience. At £149 quid they are shockingly good, and a testament to how new driver materials – and a talented tuner – can shake up the market.
You may recall that Roth’s previous range of speakers received very mixed reviews – WHF tested several of the models and liked some, disliked others. Then we saw a news item that Richard Allen of EB Acoustics had been contracted by Roth to tune their latest speakers. Richard has got quite a reputation and so when I was offered a pair of these new speakers to play with, I could not resist. (Richard has been busy – maybe this means he finally found someone willing to wind his coils, LOL).
Since these speakers cost £149 brand spanking new, how good could they possibly be? Keep in mind that at those prices, the budget for the woofer and tweeter alone can’t be much more than twenty quid or so, and probably a lot less. As a speaker builder, I recognize that real genius in speaker design is getting amazing sound out of cheap materials – this is what Richard has done with modest HiVi drivers at EB. But his most affordable speakers cost four times as much as the Roths. Would it be possible to impress someone like me, who has a house full of higher-end kit, with speakers this cheap?
Keep in mind that I am also a big fan of the Boston A25 speakers – I own a pair and think they are quite a bargain. I saw them recently on sale for £99 a pair. Boston Acoustics is a huge company, relatively speaking, with a huge presence in the US and volumes that a company the size of Roth Audio probably can only dream about. My thought going in was that even equaling the A25s would be impossible, and what sort of fool would even try? Who can make money at those prices, unless they are selling rubbish?
Well, as you might guess from the long lead-in, these Roth speakers are spectacular value for the money and at £149 (or maybe even twice that) you are going to have a hard time doing much better. I have to say, it was extremely surprising. I have them sitting on my desk right now, on heavy steel stands from Item Audio which lift the speakers about 22cm off of the desk. This puts the tweeters just above ear level. They are connected to a Naim Nait 5 amp, purchased in 2002, and an original Cambridge DACMagic, connected to a Windows PC via optical.
The speakers themselves are about the same size as the Bostons. They are solid black, built in a very smooth, contemporary style. The fit and finish is excellent, with no visible seams or joints (it’s a very Apple-esque industrial design). The tweeter is a shiny soft dome, and the woofer is made of a woven fibreglass material – sort of a lightweight, poor-man’s version of the woven polypropylene seen on the ProAc Response D18 or the Seas Curv drivers. The speakers come with magnetic grills that have no visible attachment points.
Like most small speakers, the sensitivity is rather poor – Roth says that it’s 84dB but does not elaborate on the units (I suspect the actual sensitivity is around 81 or 82 dB/2.8V/1m, but I can’t really measure it properly). But what makes these speakers special, I think, is that both drivers are mounted inside waveguides. This is typical for tweeters, but the RA2s’ tweeters’ waveguides are quite deep, little horns that curve all the way to the outside of the plate. The midbass units, more unusually, are mounted inside little rings as well. They extend about half an inch from the outside of the drivers’ rubber surrounds, and the driver is recessed a similar amount.
I believe, based on my initial listening, that these waveguides are a big part of the reason these speakers sound so good. The adjective that best describes these speakers is ‘clear.’ Comparing these to the Bostons, I have the impression that I am listening to the Roths through the audio equivalent of a magnifying glass. There is a vivid, detailed, and clean presentation that is quite remarkable for speakers of this price. I’m not sure they quite have the ease of the Bostons, the relaxed presentation, but their startling clarity is in another league.
I am sure that the bass response is helped by the waveguides as well. Listening to a bassy track such as Kanye West’s ‘Heartless,’ the necessary oomph is there in spades. On a slightly more challenging track, such as the Wood Brothers’ ‘Luckiest Man,’ the vocals and guitar strumming are coming from the exact centre of my computer’s monitor, and when the acoustic bass comes in, there is enough bass to not just follow the line, but to actually feel a bit of the attack. Sure, there aren’t the dynamics that you get from a bigger speaker, and it isn’t quite as loud as I get from my PMC DB1s, but it isn’t the popgun joke that you get from most speakers at this size – the bass has a bit of texture, there are some dynamics, and most importantly, there is no boominess from the port – a near-miracle if you ask me. I measure an F3 of around 73Hz with my crude equipment – not bad at all for the size.
The comparison with the DB1s is quite interesting, in fact. The PMCs have exemplary imaging and are well known for having excellent (as in, refined and realistic, as opposed to copious) bass. It is a little bit scary how close the RA2s come to equaling the PMCs, which cost six times as much. The Roths’ imaging is very close, and the bass only another step behind. But in the all-important midrange, the Roths really shine – they give up very little to the PMCs and piano, female vocals, and acoustic guitar on the Roths is just outstanding, right there in front of you.
I have not seen any reviews of this speaker yet – our old friend Andrew Everard reviewed their little brothers, the RA1s, in Gramophone magazine (and loved them) but I have not seen a review yet of the RA2s. I still have not brought them into the living room and put them on full stands, which I will do, and maybe some of their qualities will be diminished in the bigger room, we shall see. I also will try them with a lower-end amp – I have a NAD 326Bee I can try, though I would not describe that as low-end, and a friend with an old Yamaha home cinema receiver that we’ve had some good times playing with. I will follow up.
So it’s hardly a full review but considering how good they are for the price, and how many people come to this forum asking about low-end recommendations, I thought it worthwhile to share my experience. At £149 quid they are shockingly good, and a testament to how new driver materials – and a talented tuner – can shake up the market.
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