Despite the slim cabinet (198mm wide by 435mm deep, or a little under 8” wide and 18” deep) the three-way Liszt offers a claimed (and in this instance credible) bandwidth of 28Hz to 35kHz – at the price of a 4Ω load and a somewhat less than friendly impedance characteristic. The mid-range head is rear ported, while the bass cabinet has two differential ports, helping to support the claim of a healthy 91dB efficiency, although there’s no escaping that this, like other VA speakers, is happiest in the company of beefy driving amplifiers. The single-wired crossover employs a mix of 6 and 12dB Bessel slopes, keeping the whole thing clean and phase coherent.
Handle the Liszt and you soon realise that it can be an awkward so-and-so. At almost 50kg/110lbs it is heavy enough to command respect, but at the same time comes with a strict diktat to avoid lifting or grabbing it by the pivoting section. Rather like a baby, you end up juggling it so that you lift by the body but still support the head. Along the way you also have to bolt the substantial cast out-riggers to the base of the cabinet, best achieved by laying it on its side, supported by blocks of packing foam. However, once stood upright, the cabinets are easy to move, helped by the finger holds offered by the rear ports. Once the speakers are roughly in position, insert the spikes. The threads are reasonably fine, with a reassuringly large diameter, so make sure you grease them – or better, use Copaslip (being careful to avoid inadvertent ‘transfer’ of the bright orange paste) to ensure smooth rotation allowing really precise adjustment.
By now, you might well be wondering about the wisdom of pivoting heads and spikes and outriggers, all of which make initial contact with the speakers more challenging than it might be. But with assembly complete, you are now ready to move on to the set up phase, which is where those features come into their own. Assuming that you start with basic positioning for best bass balance, you’ll quickly appreciate the value of the outriggers and the long, threaded spikes. They’re not just there to add stability to the tall, slim cabinet. They also give you extremely precise control over the cabinet’s rake angle, azimuth and a far wider than usual range of adjustment when it comes to its height off of the floor. Now consider that the Liszt reaches deeper and does so with more weight than most speakers in its price range and believe me, you are going to appreciate the adjustability offered by those spikes. Furthermore, the ability to rotate the midrange axis independent of the bass cabinet means that you can locate the ideal positioning for low-frequencies and then adjust ‘toe-in’ to optimise mid and treble without having to adjust or alter the placement of the bass drivers. Okay, so the cost and complexity of the cabinet precludes the statement, “One day, all speakers will be built this way…” but it doesn’t stop me wishing it were true!
With the Liszt, the approach to placement allows you to concentrate fully on the bottom end, first for fore, aft and lateral positioning and then height off of the floor. Before you start, set the spikes at one-third height and check that both speakers are exactly the same distance off the floor. With my floorboards, the excellent footers that come with the speakers makes nudging and noodling them into the best position pretty straight-forward. On carpet, depending on the nature of pile, try moving them on the outriggers with the spikes barely touching. Get the bass as good as you can like that and believe me, when you wind the spikes down things are going to get a whole lot better! That’s a process in itself, whether you are starting with the spikes supporting the speaker or not. First level both speakers and re-check their height off of the floor. Then start adjusting the speakers with a simultaneous full turn on each spike, listening as you go. The bottom end of the Liszt is sufficiently weighty and textured to make small shifts in height readily apparent, especially when it comes to pace, articulation and phrasing. Too low and the bass will be thick, slow and changes in pitch will be hard to detect or follow. Too high and the sound will be fast and agile but lacking body, colour and dynamic impact. Getting in the zone is fairly easy. Getting it spot on takes time and often a few revisits to refine or tweak the height, as the system settles in and you listen more
