VULKAN VII

Rating: Reference class 1+ outstanding

"Sound:

The title’s voluminous and widely tiered basses come over with impressive power without tranquilizing or overwhelming the listener.

Right from the start the duo amazes me with the agility with which it goes about its work, and effortlessly reproduces the song with vigour and emotion without laying it on thick.

Especially the crisp, almost dry-as-dust aural depiction of the bass drum and the clean and precise performance of the instruments prove that the big Vulkans can not only generate a superb deep-down bass response but also offer an equally musical reading.

The bottom line:
In quadral’s AURUM series the name delivers what it promises. As expected, the VULKAN’s performance in our test room was very fiery and dynamic with acoustic consistency at all volume levels, and it impressed above all in the more deep-down, intense passages. However, the unit surprised me with its sensitiveness and agility in terms of acoustic detailing, two qualities that will not only make the VULKAN interesting for aficionados of rock music but also for musical aesthetes as well."

Rating: 1.0 reference class

"Sound:

The title’s voluminous and widely tiered basses come over with impressive power without tranquilizing or overwhelming the listener.

Right from the start the duo amazes me with the agility with which it goes about its work, and effortlessly reproduces the song with vigour and emotion without laying it on thick.

Especially the crisp, almost dry-as-dust aural depiction of the bass drum and the clean and precise performance of the instruments prove that the big Vulkans can not only generate a superb deep-down bass response but also offer an equally musical reading.

The bottom line:
In quadral’s AURUM series the name delivers what it promises. As expected, the VULKAN’s performance in our test room was very fiery and dynamic with acoustic consistency at all volume levels, and it impressed above all in the more deep-down, intense passages. However, the unit surprised me with its sensitiveness and agility in terms of acoustic detailing, two qualities that will not only make the VULKAN interesting for aficionados of rock music but also for musical aesthetes as well."

“... The sloping walls of this very heavy piece of sound furniture are perfectly joined and veneered... – not at all easily achieved with this ambitious shape. Everywhere the unit shows quadral’s dedication to quality craftsmanship “Made in Germany”. Rightly so.

... The 32cm dome of the new VULKAN, on the other hand, is assisted on the cabinet side by a bass reflex design; in the forwards direction, it works on a small pressure chamber. This arises through the rearwards displaced bass, and is aimed at equalising the pressure conditions that act on the diaphragm as a result of the cabinet – and thus prevent the ALTIMA diaphragm (a hard mixture of Aluminium, Titanium and Magnesium) from floundering. It obviously works well, because in the bass range, in particular, the VULKAN VII showed its best side with low distortion and immensely stable volume levels.

.... Yes, there are speakers that are more neutral and more finely resolving. But you would be hard-pressed to find a box in this price range that delivers such a magnificently powerful and clean performance.

With properly crafted rock music, this VULKAN really has a ball! ...“

Unreservedly high-end: The speaker’s profound, room-filling sound makes up a perfect symbiosis with its extravagant look and excellent finish. The VULKAN VII presents itself as a loudspeaker in top form for the enormously demanding audio aesthete.

Masterpiece Loudspeaker, High-end Category
Value for money:

+ Extreme volume reserves
+ Immense spatial effect
+ Depth of the highest level
+ Excellent sonic definition
+ Outstanding coarse and fine dynamics
+ Extremely pleasant characteristic even after long listening sessions
+ Virtually non-problematic where positioning is concerned
+ High-grade materials selected with the greatest of care

"... Very exciting reading, impressive coarse and fine dynamics, it delivers an immense sonic volume and is at home with practically any style of music. …

Even the highest volumes can be optimally realized without any problem in listening rooms of over 50 m2. The various dynamic leaps in Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”, made for enormous listening enjoyment. Without any effort whatsoever, the VULKAN generated a multifaceted, differentiated, room-filling sound impression; the music seemed to separate itself from the speaker units and permeate freely in the listening room. The impressive symphony came over like a carefully measured, excellently accentuated musical tapestry. ...

“Musica é” was given an emotional, profound and very accurately contoured reading in the listening room. Highly sensitive shaping of the voice, precise fading of the instruments and the aggressive yet never obtrusive delivery are the big plus points the AURUM speakers are able to gather here. The entire sonic picture comes out as a perfectly rounded piece of work, giving listeners the opportunity to immerse themselves completely in the music. …

The VULKAN VII is also superbly suited for forming the core of a powerful, high-end surround system. In which case an additional active subwoofer is hardly necessary, given the extreme possible depth and massive bass power this speaker generates. … Its exciting, impressively dynamic way of delivering sound at any rate optimally qualifies the VULKAN VII for the extremely demanding field of home cinema sound reproduction. ...

What the VULKAN VII brings with it in terms of fascination potential is already significantly more than what even the demanding music enthusiast looking for a versatile loudspeaker is likely to have encountered. Sonic structuring, spatial impression, fine dynamics and liveliness are already at an extremely high level where the VULKAN is concerned. ...

The VULKAN is more likely to appeal to people of an unmistakeably direct emotional nature who attach priority to artistic talents because their own profile tends to orientate them in this direction. Deeply felt emotions, coupled with an optimally harmonious overall sonic picture – this is one of the VULKAN VII’s prime disciplines. ...

The VULKAN VII follows in the footsteps of the TITAN VII in bringing the second “Masterpiece” for AURUM to Hanover. ...
Profound, emotional, impressive fine and coarse dynamics, the VULKAN clears a path for itself into the international loudspeaker elite with astoundingly effortless ease; this loudspeaker is not a hard-to-handle diva, and instead simply comes up with top performances just like that – and without any side effects. It neither calls for shockingly expensive co-equipment nor any enormous outlay in terms of setting it up.
And: where volume stability is concerned, you’re hardly likely to find anything better for the money. … Superb craftsmanship and technology further underline the special position this speaker from Hanover has made its own. Its look is that of a superbly crafted musical instrument, putting it in a class of its own; and the materials used to build it impress right down to the very last detail. ..."