We used to make all sorts of things in Australia as diverse as electronics, clothes, watches and cars! There were a host of Australian made loudspeakers too, including some names still around such as Richter, Duntech and Krix. Unfortunately many have gone…forever. Of those that remain, I suspect that many components of these brands are sourced from overseas. In many cases they may even be assembled overseas. It might be a stretch to regard them as still ‘Australian made’? For many buyers though, it doesn’t matter where it’s made and for the manufacturer the choice may well be to go offshore, or go out of business. I fully understand this but Scott Wilkinson at Alderwood Speakers is ignoring this trend. He loves the concept of making things here in Australia. He has designed a particularly cute speaker AND makes the vast majority of the component parts on the premises at Alderwood HQ in Victoria.
Digging further into how the Alderwood Eros Pro was designed and made Scott tells me, that the drive unit (there is only one per box) is of his design. Particular care was taken with the cone and roll surround materials to get just the tonal balance he was looking for, plus durability and moisture resistance. The driver is assembled at Alderwood HQ and magnetised on the premises. The enclosures are also crafted in-house on various CNC woodworking machines. Hand finishing, assembly, careful testing and packaging for shipping all happens at Alderwood’s Cobden facility. A stunning part of country, very near the 12 Apostles on the Victorian coastline.
And they arrive very nicely packed indeed!
It is great to see an Australian built product arrive so ‘complete’. There was proper packaging, labeling and an instruction manual. Within minutes I had the Eros attached to their brackets and stands, cables plugged into the ever-ready Naim Star and music playing. Mmmm but there was a catch…
The Alderwoods are obviously very well made. Well made enough that they sport an IP67 rating which in ‘English’ means you can use them on a boat. This boat could be off the 12 Apostles taking a lot of green water over the bow and they will keep on playing. I’m not sure I would want the green water smashing into the speakers directly but the point remains that they are marine rated. In fact the IP67 standard suggests they could play under water for up to half an hour! They are offered in a range of finishes including the clear coated finish on display here but also a textured black or white painted finish. In fact if you are willing to wait Scott can organise a pair in any colour you like. I’m guessing this ‘customisation’ might come at a small premium, but the clear, white, black option all retail for $1900pr. For me the clear is definitely the go, they look stunning. Included in the box are a pair of rather handsome machined brass swivel brackets. These are included in the price and yet look very ‘bespoke’ (and pricey). Scott also supplied some appropriate cables and his new speaker stands. Both are $99 optional extras (a bargain!).
And the catch is…
When I say these loudspeakers are tiny I’m stretching the truth as they are in fact, miniscule. Take a look at the picture below for a scale shot to give you an idea just how small they are. To the uninitiated it might seem they could not possibly produce serious volume or great sound quality. The catch of course is that they do not even attempt to produce any low bass notes. In fact the lowest bass is gently filtered out by a built in simple passive crossover. This leaves the vast majority of the audible spectrum intact but the need for high excursion cones and big boxes is removed. Those lower notes that require real power and authority are handled by a subwoofer of your choice. Alderwood manufactures a few, but I was interested in what an inexpensive solution might sound like. With this goal in mind I sourced an REL T Zero on short term loan from my friendly neighbourhood HiFi store – The Audio Tailor. (Also currently Australian HiFi Retailer of year!) The REL is a highly regarded incredibly small powered woofer that is both fast and musical but also rather well priced at only $699. It was a guess on my part that this little sub would work well with the Alderwoods, as it turned out I guessed correctly. I wired them directly to the HiFi and Stereo resident Naim Star, using cables Scott at Alderwood supplied with the correct connectors fitted at each end. I connected the REL subwoofer directly via an RCA lead to the pre outs of the Naim. I tweaked the low pass filter on the rear of the REL to its highest setting, adjusted the level control to the middle and powered everything up. Now I had full range sound.
And the sound?
The Alderwoods have an immediately appealing light and bright balance which causes instruments such as acoustic guitar to sound exciting and dynamic. The obvious pace and detail of the Alderwood’s sound also adds fruity colour to husky male vocals such as Joe Bonamassa and Robert Cray on track 4 of Lee Ritenour’s Six String Theory. The overall effect is a little like feeding acoustic instruments through a Concert PA, they become larger and louder. Through a PA they also become somewhat less clean and a bit harmonically challenged. In other words, their frequency range is perhaps ‘enhanced’ or some would say ‘coloured’. For many this is no bad thing and frankly for their (the Alderwood’s) incredibly small proportions and price, a damned fine outcome.
I do note that the instrument most effected by their exuberant performance is the female voice. For those looking for a particularly sweet and seemingly accurate rendition of your favourite lady singer, you might need to buy larger and probably more expensive loudspeakers. I still very much enjoyed the likes of Janis Ian’s ‘Breaking Silence’ Album (an album I should have put in our 10 hot demo tracks article?). Her easy to get along with voice does not shine a light on any limitations the Alderwood’s incredibly tiny full range driver may cause.
I should mention that the integration I easily achieved with the REL T Zero powered subwoofer was perfectly seemless. The full range of sounds appear to come only from the tiny enclosures. I experienced none of the old ‘Bose-like’ boom-boom from one corner, a hole in the response and then tish-tish from the main speakers. I should also say that the quality of stereo imaging was impressive with great accuracy of placement and significant width and depth.
So, overall an enjoyable sound if not the last word in audiophile perfection. But then, seriously, at this price and size that was unlikely. The laws of physics are almost certainly impossible to break, but Alderwood have come very close with the Eros model. Their slightly brightly lit and mildy coloured response is likely to be just what many want to hear. If you were to consider them a loudspeaker more in the ‘lifestyle’ category rather than an outright attempt on HiFi world domination, then I reckon they are a great success.
And to Sum Up !
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with these hand crafted gems. In a situation where you really do not want to see the source of the beautiful music in the room, these Alderwoods can be highly recommended. They can also be highly recommended for those that want their cash to stay in Australia. You can support a small local business trying very hard to manufacture something here. Australia is a very harsh environment for those designers who would also like to make the product locally. Good luck to Scott Wilkinson, I wish him well on his quest to bring back real ‘made in Australia’ manufacturing and from what I see and hear with the Eros model, he is likely to succeed.
- For – A very high quality product designed and made in Australia.
- For – Rather stunning aesthetics.
- For – Impressive sound quality and scale for their size.
- For – Impervious to dust and moisture.
- Against – You will also need a subwoofer to obtain full range sound.
- Against – Slightly exuberant nature of the tonal balance may not suit some listeners or all material.
- Manufactured by – Alderwood, 56 Curdie Street Cobden, Victoria Australia – www.alderwoodspeakers.com.au
- Price – $1900pr inc brackets (stands and cables extra at $50 each)
- Tested with Naim Star and REL T Zero (on loan from The Audio Tailor)
Beer! The stereo is on, favourite album queued….
Today I’m going down the West Coast IPA path again. They may not be everyone’s favourite style, but I like them. A good one has lotsa mouthfeel and a great whiff of fresh hops when you pour it. The hop bitterness, of which there should be plenty, is balanced generally by big biscuity malt. It may well be that this local one from Sea Legs brewery is as close as most crafties get to making it right. I have had better but this was very enjoyable. Superbly balanced with reasonable complexity. A thoroughly enjoyable drink that annoyingly you could just throw down. The highish alcohol for the style is very well disguised. This makes for a sessional, right up to the point where you fall down and your wallet is empty. Which brings me to another point – price? I have bought 3 of these, at three different locations. One at the brewery itself and the other two in cans at local bottlo’s. $8.50, $10 and $12.50, all for the same quantity. One of the prices they throw in a stool and a glass… So what is the real price of beer? For that matter how can there be one price 50% more than another. The answer is, I have no clue, but wow things have changed. There was a time when a beer in a bar or restaurant was $7 – $11. This time wasn’t long ago and it still exists now.
I reckon the $10 I paid at the brewery was reasonable value. As mentioned you get a free chair and container to drink it out of and its super fresh straight out of the keg. So the real question is what has happened with bottle shop pricing? Take home beer used to cost a third or maybe even a quarter of the restaurant price. Well we know that bottle shop B is taking about 47% more than bottle shop A in turnover. Assuming A is making money and the two shops have similar overheads (which they do, based on size and staffing), B is making some serious bucks. For how long I’m not sure, as unsurprisingly I don’t shop there anymore. The guy at A is a much friendlier bloke too. There is possibly an analogy here with the HiFi world.
B is owned by a large business with half a dozen pubs and no doubt many bottle shops. As part of this ‘corporate’ structure we as customers get the same product, coupled with poorer service and pay a premium for it. The winner is some faceless corporation which probably runs it’s business less efficiently. They no doubt also own a much bigger boat than old mate the independent. All this makes me wonder about the mass corporatisation of the brand name HiFi landscape that has been going on for the last few years. Are we as consumers getting more or less for our money as our favourite brands get gobbled up. Mostly by groups of accountants who couldn’t give a toss about fidelity and good music?…..
If you get a chance give one of these WC IPA a go. Sea Legs make excellent beer under the Story Bridge in Brisbane. Drink up!
