I have just returned from a press trip to Audiovector’s HQ in Copenhagen. The Danish loudspeaker manufacturer invited a selection of European journalists to spend two days to learn about the company’s manufacturing methods, listen to a selection of its speakers and to witness the unveiling of a stunning new product.

If you are unfamiliar with Audiovector, the company was founded by Ole Klifoth in 1979 with a desire to make the perfect loudspeaker for the global high-end market. Today, the company vision remains the same and its high-quality, natural-sounding loudspeakers are sold around the world. 

2024 marks a year of transition for Audiovector as Ole has passed the running of the company on to his son, Mads. This is one of the reasons why there was an invitation to travel to Copenhagen.

I have been lucky enough to experience excellent Danish hospitality in the past, but on this trip Audiovector significantly raised the bar. Together with the UK press, I was met at the airport by a double-decker bus (Cliff vibes) and was whisked to the company’s modern HQ in the northwest of the city. 

The Audiovector operation runs across two floors of a glass-fronted building. We were met in the reception by Mads and then taken to the first floor where we offered a complete range of Danish drinks and snacks and were introduced to the members of the European hi-fi press who were joining us. Once we had all settled in, we were given a tour.

On the ground-floor there is a cavernous loading bay where all the raw materials are shipped in, and from which the finished loudspeakers are shipped out. A heavy-duty lift runs up to the first floor where the Audiovector action takes place.

A suite of office rooms run across one side of the building, with a large kitchen and dining area beside them. Next to this there is a large seating area where every Audiovector loudspeaker is on display (one could easily spend an hour looking at these beauties) with two real-world listening rooms at each end. These rooms have the dimensions and specifications to match a home environment. The engineers know that the performance of a speaker in one of these rooms will be replicated when a customer places them in their own home – I am a huge fan of this approach, I don’t want a speaker in my home that has been tuned to play in a concert hall. 

The rest of the floor is devoted to the design, development and finishing of the loudspeakers. Storage racks along the walls house the precision components used in a speaker’s construction, state-of-the-art testing equipment is on hand to evaluate signal pathways, and a huge area features assembly benches where cabinets are transformed into beautiful Audiovector products.

The company’s founder, Ole, talked us through the principles behind the development of his loudspeakers and explored proprietary technologies such as Freedom Grounding which eliminates any possible motional feedback distortion in the housing baskets of the drive units. A dedicated separate crossover tailors the feedback signals to perfection and routes them to the ground pin in the wall or the mains distributor. This delivers more detail and accuracy from a performance.

This is the kind of technical detail that separates an Audiovector speaker from the mass market. The attention to detail applied by its craftspeople is extraordinary. One person manages the creation of each pair of loudspeakers and has the skill required to do everything in the process – from installing a driver to applying the Audiovector badge, each highly-trained member of the team can do it all.

After our tour, the group divided, and we went into the listening rooms to hear presentations from Mads and Ole. After this, we were left to select our own music and given the opportunity to really assess the loudspeakers that were set up.

One listening room featured a pair of Audiovector R 8 Arreté loudspeakers which were powered by a Class-A Gryphon amplifier. The performance was astonishing, the speakers delivered an extraordinary soundstage that impressed even the most hardened of audio journalists in the room. I can confidently say that I have never heard Bob Dylan’s voice sound so clear and true, or the Pistols’ Holiday in the Sun (terrible recording quality) sound so accurate and powerful.

Now, we all know about the Scandinavian love of a Sauna and after an hour or two the listening room really began to warm up. The joy of a Class-A amplifier like the Gryphon is that one does not need to heat the room it is in. When it is working to the max it can certainly push out some heat.

The other listening room featured a pair of Audiovector QR 3 SEs hooked up to a MOON 761 power amplifier and MOON 791 network player/preamplifier. Again, all the writers in the room were captivated by the speakers’ abilities. Whilst they are at the other end of the price scale to the R 8 Arretés, they delivered an enjoyable performance that was heaps of fun. At £2,400, they are probably (as they say in Denmark) the best value loudspeakers on the market.

The second day was all about the launch of Audiovector’s Trapeze Reimagined loudspeaker. The company’s statement explains it all, ‘In 1979, Ole Klifoth launched the Trapez – his very first commercial speaker. The mother of all future Audiovector speakers, the Trapez was created to reproduce the true sound of the concert hall as closely as possible. The new Trapeze Reimagined brings together that very same principle with the most innovative technology available today. A homage to the company’s very first loudspeaker. The embodiment of 45 years of passion, innovation, and love of music. The new Audiovector Trapeze Reimagined is, quite simply, a thing of beauty.’ 

These words totally reflect what we experienced as the speakers were unveiled. They have a unique design and I believe that they are a pair of loudspeakers that do it all. In next month’s article, I will reveal more about them, and, until then, I will say that if I could have any pair of loudspeakers in my home, then these would be the ones.

To conclude, as I mentioned before, Danish hospitality is exceptional. Across the two days we were provided with the finest food and drink, most of which was locally sourced. This is a small country that is proud of what it produces, and each Audiovector loudspeaker that leaves the factory undoubtedly demonstrates this.

Matt Tasker (Ammonite Media), April 2024