Date: 2024-10-21
The Peak Consult Sonora is actually just a 2-way construction in a stand-alone format. But everything about it is implemented so consistently that in terms of basic virtues it is one of the best that LowBeats has ever played.
The story starts in 1996 and I'm probably doing the company founder Per Kristoffersen an injustice because I won't start looking at it until 2021. That's when Wilfried Ehrenholz and his partner Lennart Asbjørn joined the Danish loudspeaker manufacturer Peak Audio, which - one might say - ran largely under the radar of audiophile perception for 25 years. Ehrenholz is no stranger to this industry: He was co-founder and long-time sole owner of Dynaudio until he sold the flagship company to the Goertek Group in 2014. In 2018 he left the last shares to the Chinese and from then on he could have wonderfully carried out his extensive duties as a grandfather...
But he didn't. He saw this small company with its uniquely consistent cases and great unused potential - and his fingers itched again. So he took over the financially troubled company, left the former owner Per Kristoffersen as production manager in the company, gradually introduced professional structures and formed Peak Audio into the new/old company Peak Consult.
And Ehrenholz didn't come alone: In addition to Jan Geschke, perhaps the best-known advertiser in the European hi-fi scene, Ehrenholz was also able to win over the developer Karl-Heinz Fink as a consultant in order to bring the existing models to an even higher level of sound.
But while the popularity of the new Danish luxury brand is only gradually growing, another goal has already been achieved: With the huge Dragon Legend MK2 (which was already presented at HIGH END 2023) , Ehrenholz and Fink have already set standards in terms of sound. And the new edition The Sonora, essentially the entry-level model at Peak Consult, was so convincing that it made a completely excellent ambassador for the sonic ideals of Mr. Ehrenholz and Fink...
What’s special about Peak Consult Sonora
You can't help but be reminded of Dynaudio. What always set Dynaudio apart was the outstanding harmony of the drivers - especially in their compact speakers with a large tweeter dome and 17 cm woofer. That's exactly what we find here: The Sonora is a 2-way construction with very similar equipment - only that neither the tweeter (Scan-Speak) nor the bass-midrange driver (AudioTechnoloy) come from Dynaudio and that there is no bass reflex opening, but a 20 cm Large passive membrane on the back provides more bass boost.
Both the tweeter and the mid-bass driver are among the best that loudspeaker technology has achieved to date. And yet Karl-Heinz Fink (who develops the drivers himself for other brands) was still able to make crucial distortion-reducing improvements in various areas.
But what was and is crucial for the Danish sound transducers was the mechanics of the housing. There are clearly masters at work here, which becomes clear when you unpack it. Your hands can feel the flawless workmanship. And your back feels that you should definitely not lift these “small beginner boxes” on your own. A Sonora is said to weigh almost 50 kilos. I haven't weighed it, but I think the value is greatly understated and I suspect it's closer to 75 kilos. In short: The Sonora has a delicate shape, but feels like it has been poured with concrete.
And you're not completely wrong with the idea of concrete filling. Housing builder Per Kristoffersen uses three layers of HDF and covers this already extremely massive construction with 14 millimeter thick real wood planks. The walls are up to 60 millimeters thick and simply do not vibrate. The Sonora responded to the usual ankle test with – nothing. A quiet, immediately decreasing “pöck”. That's it. Even the large models from Wilson, Lyravox or Magico resonate a little longer here.
And if all that wasn't enough, the lower quarter of the case, in which the crossover is housed, is completely filled with the finest sand. That alone should be good for at least 15 kilos. Karl-Heinz Fink on this. “We used to do that often. But I had forgotten how much better a sand-damped crossover sounds.”
The crossover separates the bass-midrange and tweeter at 2,500 Hertz with 12 dB/per octave. For the filters, Fink uses the best of the specialists Mundorf, Jantzen and Duelund - complex, but to be expected. What is particularly special, however, is the impedance linearization above 100 Hertz. Rarely have I seen a smoother progression of impedance, phase and EPDR.
Practice
The LowBeats measurement appears to be straight out of a textbook: impedance and phase are linear and virtually without any offset. Such behavior makes things particularly easy for the connected amplifier.
Now no one will come up with the idea of combining a - let's say - 1,000 euro amplifier like the Cambridge CX 61 with this 25,000 euro transducer. But that's possible because the Sonora is completely undemanding in terms of performance and because it's actually completely maxed out at just over 100 watts.
This is mainly due to the low tuning - there is little efficiency left. The measurement laboratory determined 83 dB (at 2.83 volts/meter). This is comparatively inefficient for a modern loudspeaker and at the end of the day leads to a rather low maximum level and not a particularly high load capacity. As I said: 100 watts per channel is actually completely sufficient, because any more will quickly overload the delicate floor-standing speaker. But you always have to keep in mind: the Sonora is actually a cultivated and raised compact box. If you want to provide sound in large halls with a lot of dynamics, you should look elsewhere...
During the Sonora test I once again had a Westend Audio Monaco to listen to for a few days. The Sonora sounded intoxicatingly colorful, fine and open. But this experience is quite expensive because the tube amplifier is almost as expensive as the speaker. The Soul Note A-2 is recommended for anyone who wants a size smaller . This is my current favorite (transistor) amplifier under 10,000 euros and the Sonora also sounded captivating with it...
Hearing test
The Sonora is one of those speakers that captivates you from the first moment. Such a calm, balanced, natural, yet always sensitive reproduction is rare; voices come with a fervor and intensity that you would hope for from all loudspeakers. There is the necessary dash of warmth, but also the multitude of fine overtones. The Sonora doesn't swallow anything up and yet never seems superficial or too present. All the small, very consistent detailed solutions and damping measures seem to be very successful here, because the Sonora simply celebrates vocal passages or individual instruments (solo violins, guitars) more convincingly than almost all other loudspeakers I know.
I recently attended Martin Kälberer's concert and previously discussed his multi-channel recording “Raum” . In a Dolby Atmos configuration the recording is awesome, but even in stereo it shows a wonderfully three-dimensional spatiality. Reproducing this is easy for the Sonora. The position of the percussion sounds (which the sound engineer placed to the left or right of the listener's head) were surprisingly tight and precise. But even in the depth range, the Sonora created a stage that leaves you breathless.
Of course, we were extremely curious to see how the Sonora would fare against our reference FinkTeam Borg - both, interestingly enough, by Grandmaster Fink and both bred to the highest perfection by him. In fact, all points that are more quantitative (gross dynamics, depth) went straight to the Borg. It was also she who sounded even firmer and more threatening during the timpani and who moved the listeners much more during the robust bass drum attacks - or rather made our legs tap along. The Sonora seemed a bit slower here.
But there is so much more. I would like to call it “grace” and “sound elegance”. Kristin Asbjörnsen's wonderfully complex voice not only placed the Sonora almost holographically in the room, but also transported it with an exceptionally cultivated, transparent resolution and immense richness of timbre. Although the Borg is a real finesse in the mid-high range and has long been an incorruptible benchmark for us in terms of naturalness, it only came second in the tonal comparison. To put it simply, the Sonora sounds beautiful and right.
Conclusion
With its imitation leather cover on the baffle and the perfectly made, massive walls with real wood paneling made of American walnut, the Sonora seem a bit out of time. Maybe they are because they bring together a technology that has been known for many years and mechanical tricks that have been known for a long time with the greatest effort and consistency. All of this has its price, but it also offers an outstandingly beautiful result: The Sonora may not be a dynamic world champion, but it has a tonal beauty and authenticity that has hardly any competition even in this class.
Technical data
Concept: passive 2-way floorstanding speaker
Equipment: TMT: 1 x 17 cm, HT: 1 x 20 mm, Passivmembran: 1 x 20 cm
Nominal impedance: 7,4 Ohm
Efficiency (2.83 V/m): 83 dB
Maximum level (duration/short-term): 95 / 105 dB
Minimum power for maximum level (duration): >35 Watt
Dimensions (W x H x D): 113,0 x 28,0 x 38,5 cm
Weight: 48.4 Kilograms