Pre-Owned and Ex-Demo
About The Alta Audio Hestia Titanium
A serious pair of speakers from New York based company Alta Audio, the Hestia Titanium has many standout feature that result in a listening treat, and in this case, an audiophile bargain. The upper section of this speaker is an open-baffle design. The tweeter and midrange drivers are mounted in a verticle baffle panel made from a multi-layered epoxy construction which is incredibly inert, and the rear of the drivers are totally open – creating a dipole radiation pattern. The bass driver is mounted into a hybrid transmission line/reflex loaded box that is carefully acoustically matched to the dipole behaviour. But that bass driver is unusual in that it uses a titanium voice coil former (hence the name) rather than the usual aluminium former – a measure that provides increased strength, even lower weight and because titanium is a poorer conductor than aluminium, eddy currents are lower. Overall this change is said to significantly improve transparency and dynamics.
Specifications
Frequency response: 28Hz–47kHz.
Sensitivity: 90dB/2.83V/m.
Impedance: 4 ohms.
Recommended amplification: 50–400W.
Dimensions: 53.75" (1365mm) H by 15" (381mm) W bottom by 8.5" (216mm) W top by 18" (457mm) D.
Weight: 135 lbs (61.25kg).
Finish: Gloss Black.
The Winters Audio Experience
Okay, hold on to your hat. Yes, these are an amazing set of speakers for someone with lots of space and a strong system to do them justice. And they're an 'under the radar' product that gives something like the Wilson Audio Alexandria a serious run for their money – really! We think it comes down to the simplicity of the open-baffle design which is a huge cost saving in material terms that doesn't seem to create any downside to the sound. Indeed it's the openness, soundstage and unfettered reaction to dynamics that brings to mind the Wilson designs. The bass is brilliant too, bringing immediate presence and depth of structure to the sound, with amazing bass layering that is not often heard outside the concert hall.
With a 4 Ohm impedance but a slightly above average sensitivity, these speakers should work well with a good 50W+ amplifier. And when you connect them up, they seem to bring out the best of any type of amplifier – their tonal vibrancy, transparency and imaging capabilities are not hard to extract. Hook them up, spend a bit of time positioning them and the view into the rest of your system, and your recordings, just seems to snap into focus right in front of you. Brilliant for the money.