AUDIUM COMP 8.3 AIR LOUDSPEAKERS REVIEW

Berlin-based Audium started out in 2010 and have grown since then. In this HiFi PiG review, Oscar Stewart looks at their fully active “point-source” Comp 8.3 Air loudspeakers which cost 7000 Euros.

Audium is still quite a young company in the HiFi world, they brought out their first speakers in 2010 which were passive models and the company has learned and grown from there. Based in Berlin, all of their speakers are developed in-house including the drivers, cabinet and electronics. In the UK the brand is distributed by Replay Audio Distribution.

All Audium speakers feature the same ethos of a point source design without any separation of the sound into bass, midrange and treble – instead, they use a full range driver + subwoofer in their speakers. The speakers rear panel is designed to be modular so you can upgrade a passive model to be active or wireless in the future should you wish and I find this a sensible and useful inclusion. 

The current generation of Air speakers, which this Comp 8,3 Air belong to, feature a single master speaker along with a slave, both speakers are fully active and the signal can be sent between the 2 by a coaxial cable or via WiFi.

BUILD QUALITY AND FEATURES OF THE NAME OF THE AUDIUM COMP 8.3 AIR

The first impression upon unboxing the speakers is that they are a very well made, the piano black finish is super glossy and there is a reassuring weight to them. They have an integrated plinth to leave space for the down-firing subwoofer, and the front baffle for the 4” full-range speaker is made from the same material as the plinth, these are made of MDF coated with NEXTEL which gives them a textured feel. They come with M8 spikes and locking nuts as well as come easy-to-remove grilles – as we all know speakers look best without their grilles on. The design is quite room friendly and there are enough colour choices to match your décor, the internal DSP also alleviates some of the typical positioning issues that are common with larger speakers.

Moving on to the features, well, where do we start? First, these feature a single 4” full range driver that is front firing alongside a down firing 9” subwoofer and a bass port on the back has a foam bung (they are tuned to be used with the bung in place, regardless of the placement). Audium recommend that they are positioned with the front baffle slightly inclined by a few degrees, and a minimum of 2m apart. Toe-in is up to the listener, with more toe-in you can expect a little more treble than when they are placed straight on. In my space, I managed to have them 1.8m apart and a settled on having them slightly angled towards my listening position. Audium also recommend the speakers be 80cm from the rear wall, if they are closer than 50cm to the rear wall it is recommended to use the DSP in the app to set them as “near a wall” – I think this is a very useful feature given the size constraints of many people’s homes.

The Comp 8.3 Air have 2 digital inputs along with an antenna for WIFI and Bluetooth (aptx HD). The inputs are optical and coaxial and there is a coaxial output of the master speaker to link it up to the slave. There is no analogue input, the reason being that the signal is kept in the digital domain all the way up to just before it reaches the drivers. This cuts down on conversions and keeps the integrity of the audio signal, but it does mean that you cannot run an analogue source such as a turntable into these without a phono stage with an A/D converter, or an A/D somewhere in the chain. There is a port on the back for an optional IR remote – this is one thing I think should be included as not everyone wants to have to control the volume via their phone all the time, I feel remotes make living with active speakers a lot easier. There is also an optional subwoofer that can be linked to the master speaker, called the Sub 12 Air. 

You can stream via all the main streaming services direct to the speakers, they support Roon, Audirvana, AirPlay 2, Tidal + Qobuz (BubbleUPnP / mconnect app required), Spotify Connect etc. I found the speakers to be easy to set up on my network and didn’t have any issues with streaming playback during my time with these speakers. The app allows you to change the DSP based on the positioning of the speakers (also if one is in a corner, the other close to a wall, you can set this independently). There is a DSP for the room too, depending on if your room is dampened or has reverb – this is one setting I left to normal, the positioning I did set to “wall” though. You have 2 bass boost levels as well as one bass reduction level and there is an EQ function on the back of the speakers (on the active module). It is recommended you link the two speakers via the included coaxial cable – with them linked with WiFi there is a 25ms delay which can be noticeable if you use them with a TV. I have been streaming music over Roon (with local files and Qobuz) along with having them hooked up to my TV via optical. 

I’d like to see the EQ setting available in the app, as reaching around the back of the speakers to setup EQ can be a little awkward depending on where you have them placed, and the lack of included remote is a little annoying. Aside from these little quibbles, these were easy to plug in and get set up for listening to music in my system. 

SOUND QUALITY

I have been using these in my setup for a couple of weeks and the time has flown by, these really did just blend in and I got used to them in no time at all. They have been used for music and TV/Movie duty via Roon (Qobuz and local files) alongside optical from my TV. As mentioned previously, I had these setup as close to a wall in the DSP settings, bass normal and room normal, they were linked via coaxial cable, however, I did test them linked wirelessly and for music playback they work flawlessly without a cable between them. 

The first impression you have of these speakers is just how big they sound. These are a relatively slim speakers with just one visible driver (plus sub), yet they manage to sound quite large and with plenty of scale. I have been doing a Harry Potter film run-through and these handled the movie sound extremely well, with rumble when required and clear dialogue. But, we’re mostly here for the music, so let’s dig in. 

These are a speaker that have a certain groove to them. Positioned slightly toed-in you get a balance between clarity and a wide soundstage, with great detail but without coming even close to bright. The use of a front-firing full-range driver allows for great imaging and coherency. The depth to the soundstage is also immediately noticeable, with a defined centre image that has great depth. These are far from a fatiguing speaker and would easily suit those who are a little sensitive to treble, yet they still have good tonal balance and drive to prevent them from sounding dark.

Thursday – A Darker Forest came on. The kick drum beat has a great balance of punch and depth to give it real presence and the delicate guitar lines are delivered with the detail and poise they deserve. Geoff Rickley’s vocals are well centred and there is air (pun intended) between them and the instruments, and the driving bass line never becomes overwhelming. Cymbals extend well without any unwanted peaks, the treble is, if anything, a little soft for those who enjoy a slightly more exciting sound making these are an effortless and smooth-sounding speaker. 

Chromatics – The Sound Of Silence was next up. I’ve heard this track at a few shows and it’s a great test track, it’s also an interesting take on a popular song. The Audium Comp 8.3 Air do a fantastic job of delivering the deep bass beat with excellent control and extension, whilst the female vocals are beautifully balanced in the mix. These paint a broad image of the song you are listening to, especially with tracks like this, and they envelop you within the soundstage allowing you get lost in the mix.

This Wild Life – History, acoustic tracks work so well on the Audium’s, as it tends to with any speakers that incorporate full-range drivers. You do get a hint of that sub-woofer working at times by adding depth to the recording, yet it is only there when called for. The vocals and guitars are presented in such a natural way, there is plenty of detail from fingers on a fretboard and to breaths between lines, but it is all tied together in a sound that is pure joy to listen to. This is where these speakers really excel, they render vocals and acoustic instruments with such natural tonality it’s hard not to enjoy them.

Nirvana – About A Girl (remastered) comes across with great detail and control on the Audiums. The cymbals are a little more present than some recordings, but they remain smooth and well-extended without any hint of glare or hardness to them. The guitars have good bite to them and Kurt’s vocals (like all vocals through these) are rendered with a very natural tone to them. The bass line is driving, yet never overbearing or overblown – I found these speakers balanced the bass presence perfectly with the rest of the sound. 

Active speakers really are getting very good and the Audiums are very good active speakers. You lose some of the “tweakability” of a separates setup, but with sound this good it is hard to argue for a complicated setup in many situations. I had no expectations when it came to the Comp 8.3 Air speakers, I had only briefly heard them at a show, yet here in my own living room they have shown themselves to be a very complete sounding speaker from top to bottom. Another thing that surprised me is how revealing they are – they show up poor recordings and a few of my tracks sounded a little compressed due to the poor recording quality. It didn’t render them unlistenable, but the change in sound quality was quite noticeable on these. 

QUIBBLES

No remote, meaning you have to use your phone for volume control.

Also, EQ within the app would be much easier than having to tweak it from the menu on the rear panel of the speaker. 

CONCLUSION

I think you can tell from the above that these speakers took me by surprise a little! For a slim speaker they pack a big sound that has excellent detail and natural tonality. The bass from the integrated subwoofer digs extremely deep, yet always remains controlled and well-balanced. The midrange is nuanced and open whilst the treble is smooth and extended.

Audium’s design gives these a slightly different presentation that is coherent and spacious, whilst the tuning keeps them in check and leaves them sounding engaging and well-balanced. 

These are not the most exciting speaker in the world and the best ones rarely are. For their price, though, they give you an enjoyable sound that’s easy to live with and one that will bring you hours and hours of listening pleasure.

When you price in a good amp, streamer, and speakers, with all the associated cabling, these come in at a very competitive price for what they deliver. 

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality And Features:

Sturdy and solid cabinets

The active rear panel has good-quality connectors

Very high quality finish

Sound Quality:

Smooth, natural, and revealing

Full-bodied yet well-balanced

Excellent extension from top to bottom

Value For Money:

When you consider how much a separates system of similar quality sets you back, these are actually very good value. Everything you need is in the box and they deliver very natural sound for the money. 

We Loved:

The effortless sound quality along with the ease of setup

This is an all-in-one solution and works very well, the tuning is just right for those who want high-quality sound at a reasonable price

We Didn’t Love So Much:

Lack of remote in the box

EQ is not available on the app (yet)

No analogue input (for a reason)

Elevator Pitch Review: Whilst these are not a cheap speaker, they are feature-packed and aim to keep the signal integrity right up to the drivers, hence the digital-only inputs. These are flexible in terms of room placement; the DSP helps you tune the sound to your room and the EQ is useful should you wish to fully tune them to your taste. As standard though, they have an easy to listen to sound that is both natural and effortless. The integrated woofer offers up plenty of bass depth without sounding overblown, whilst the front-firing full-range driver gives you detail and space aplenty. Audium have done a fantastic job of showing how good active speakers can sound and with sound as good as this you may find yourself not missing the amp stack you once had.

Price: 7000 Euros

Oscar Stewart

SUPPLIED BY AUDIUM

SUPPLIED TECHNICAL DATA

• Inputs – Cinch SPDIF, TosLink, WiFi
• Fullrange Ø – 100 mm (4″) 
• Woofer Ø – 220 mm (9″)
• Power Fullrange – 50w
• Power Woofer – 130w
• Dimensions (WxHxD) – 250 x 1020 x 340 mm
• Weight – 23,5 kg