Several decades ago, the first Apogees stood the audio world on its ear(s). These days, the audio landscape is very different – as are the prices being asked for state-of-the-art equipment – but the Clarisys Auditorium does more than enough to remind us why the Apogees made such an impact, while also improving on every single aspect of those earlier designs. That makes the smaller Minuet and Studio models a particularly enticing proposition. But it also makes the Auditorium worth every penny of its considerable asking price. Yes, you’ll need to invest in suitable matching amplification – although the choice is far wider than it ever was with the Apogees. Yes, you’ll need to take care over setting them up – but then the manufacturer will help/takes responsibility for that. Yes, you’ll need to give them room to breathe – but if you can afford the speakers you can probably afford to house and feed them properly too. Do all those things and you’ll be rewarded with a musical performance that’s as singular as the speaker that’s responsible for it. Just as those early Apogees showed audiophiles new aspects of audio performance, revealing the shortcomings in existing designs, so the Clarisys speakers offer a revealing, beguiling, welcome (and necessary) alternative to more familiar loudspeaker brands.
Like that other great high-end audio disruptor, the AvantGarde Trio G3, the Clarisys Auditorium is a speaker that you need to hear. Ultimately you might choose something else, but choose something else without appreciating what speakers like the Auditorium or Trio G3 bring to the musical party and you could be in for a severe bout of buyer’s remorse! Thus far, time spent with the big Clarisys speakers has been a seductive, engaging and enticing voyage of musical adventure – and the novelty is yet to wear off. I’ve run the Auditoriums from a single, stereo amp and I’ve bi-wired them – to considerable musical effect. But the option to ‘go active’ is still available. Seriously – I can’t wait!
Price and availability:
Clarisys Auditorium (Passive) $146,000 USD (Inc. tax, shipping and installation)
Manufacturer:
