Hi-Fi: Theophany Signature M5 Floorstanding Loudspeaker – Review
It’s déjà vu time. Only a few months have passed since I was last noting that a revised set of Theophany speakers was better than the previous version.
I’ve been carrying on a love affair with Theophany’s speakers since I first heard a set in 2006; and Garth Murray’s speaker designs just keep getting better. He can’t help it: the man is driven by passion, so he’s always in his lab, trying to eke out more from an already excellent speaker. And so it is with the latest variant of the current top of the range, the M5.
The M5s have been refined over the years – former Tone Editor Gary Steel has a pair of later M5s, which have the new torroidial tweeter and they have a clear sonic edge over the earlier M5 Series 2. There’s a Series 3 that has further enhancements but the M5 Signature has the works: the new tweeter, new six-inch woofers, a redesigned crossover, internal cabinet upgrades and a supertweeter.
The incremental improvements add up to be more than the sum of their parts – the new woofers in particular are outstanding. Developed in conjunction with Matthew Simmons at Arvus Loudspeakers, they offer better control leading to enhanced transient response at low frequencies. They’re not necessarily going any deeper into the bottom octaves but they make a big difference to the way the speakers sound. Driven by a Marantz PM11S2 integrated amplifier and a Plinius CD-101 CD player, the Signatures were super, even in a small demo room with unkind furniture placement. This is a Theophany trait: the speakers seem tolerant of awkward environments.
‘Keith Don’t Go’ from Nils Lofgren’s Acoustic Live was unfeasibly great on the Signatures. Audio memory is both fleeting and treacherous but I can’t recall hearing anywhere near this much detail in the guitar except on electrostatics or speakers costing upwards of $30,000. The vibrations of the strings, the thumps on the guitar body and the awesome solo were exquisite, without the least trace of harshness.
Tracks from Massive Attack’s Protection had enormous levels of detail, making it easy to listen into the layers of the recording. The bass was like something from another planet, sounding as if it were coming from an electrostatic that had been crossed with a very expensive floorstander. Beck’s ‘The Golden Age’ from Sea Change was ethereal and sublime with the same killer bass; anyone who had any issues with the low-frequency performance of earlier M5s should take a listen to these.
In addition to the superb detail and bass, the Theophany character is still in place, so these speakers are emotionally connected, dynamic, expansive and open with a wide soundstage and spot-on imaging. They’re distinctively good looking and well finished in the usual lovely veneer.
In a universe filled with exceptional speakers, Theophany’s products seem to have something extra. The M5 Signatures carry a premium cost, but they’re special and deserve to be heard before buying speakers at anything near the price – or even well above, for that matter.
ASHLEY KRAMER
Theophany Signature M5 Floorstanding Loudspeaker – Specifications
TWEETER: 25mm torroidial with neodymium magnet
SUPERTWEETER: 15mm torriodial with neodymium magnet
MIDRANGE DRIVERS: 2x 130mm glass fibre with neodymium magnet
BASS DRIVERS: 2x 150mm glass fibre with neodymium magnet
POWER HANDLING: 220W RMS
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 28Hz-37kHz (+/- 3dB)
IMPEDANCE: 5.7 Ohms
SENSITIVITY: 91dB/1W at 1m
FINISHES: Various real wood veneers plus painted finishes
DIMENSIONS: 1155 x 262 x 455mm (H/W/D)
WEIGHT: 40kg each
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