Aequo Ensium Loudspeakers.
Aequo Audio
Proud Member of The 2WA Group Brand Family
The Aequo quest for the ultimate loudspeaker design began as a spark of an idea—quickly becoming a flame, growing into a fire, then exploding in a raging inferno. That is the level of passion that drives Aequo Chief Technologist and Founder Ivo Sparidaens and Partner Paul Rassin in their shared pursuit. Latin for “I hear the same”, Aequo Audio struck the pair as the perfect brand name for loudspeakers designed to capture every aspect and nuance of the audio spectrum—while rendering accurate, uncompromising reproduction of music—in short, audio realism.
The Back Story
In 2011 Ivo made a sizeable investment. He bought a new pair of high end loudspeakers from the same manufacturer of the pair that he bought 10 years earlier—fully expecting to be blown away by a plethora of improvements. However, his bitter disappointment was compounded by the fact that while subtle improvements were noticeable in some respects, other aspects of his new speakers’ performance had deteriorated. And so the quest began—sparks were flying. Ivo had a graduate degree in tribology* and a successful career—optimizing industrial plants for Royal Dutch Shell by day, and producing music by night. Additionally, he had automotive racing experience as a pit crew member. With his considerable expertise, and depth and range of experience, Ivo made the life-changing decision to redirect his talents in the pursuit of his passion: designing loudspeakers that excel at achieving audio realism.
*The science and engineering of interacting surfaces in motion—encompassing friction, wear, etc.
(Left): Aequo Room & Placement Extension Controller (ARPEC™) System Control Panel – ARPEC allows the music enthusiast to adjust bass in any room or listening area while staying fully in analog mode.
(Right): Cutaway view of an Aequo Ensium Loudspeaker enclosure side panel – optimally designed and cast in Aequo’s game changing, low-to-no-resonance material, Diluvite MMC™.
(Click to enlarge photos).
(Above): Aequo Room & Placement Extension Controller (ARPEC™) System Control Panel – ARPEC allows the music enthusiast to adjust bass in any room or listening area while staying fully in analog mode.
(Below): Cutaway view of an Aequo Ensium Loudspeaker enclosure side panel – optimally designed and cast in Aequo’s game changing, low-to-no-resonance material, Diluvite MMC™.
(Click to enlarge photos).
A Decade+ Of R&D, A Series Of Breakthroughs—And A Quantum Leap In Nanotechnology
Two years after igniting the spark that would become Aequo, ground breaking developments starting occurring on a regular basis—propelling the company to a leadership position in speaker design and performance.
- 2013 — Aequo introduces its low-frequency Analog Room & Placement Extension Controller (ARPEC™), making adjusting bass in any room possible while staying fully in the analog domain.
- 2014 — The advent of Aequo’s high-frequency Enhanced Horizontal Dispersion Lens (EHDL™) system, greatly enhancing holographic soundstage capabilities.
- 2015 — Working closely with the Skaaning family (founders of Scan-Speak, Dynaudio, etc.), Aequo introduces a midrange driver combining lightning-fast motor movement with highly natural, non-ringing membranes—thus completing the 3-way driver set in the Aequo Ensis loudspeaker.
- 2018 — With Paul at the organizational hub of Aequo’s growing team of passionate specialists, the company debuts its Stilla loudspeaker—often referenced as ‘the little giant’ due to its compact size, yet huge performance. Universally acclaimed by reviewers, dealers and consumers alike, Stilla has won many awards and best-of-show achievements—attracting a global distribution and dealer/partner network.
- 2023 — Thanks in great part to the success of the Stilla, Aequo builds and occupies its current home—a hi-tech, 14,000 sq.ft. R&D laboratory, design studio and manufacturing facility.
- 2025 — Most notably, Aequo has pioneered a ground breaking advance in nanotechnology with its introduction of Diluvite MMC™—a castable, low-to-no-resonance material that is extremely difficult to make vibrate—and when it does, it immediately transforms vibration into heat. Diluvite is the world’s first material capable of eliminating any resonance as measured anywhere from 0.1 to 100,000 Hz. Twice as stiff as aluminum, with 10x better damping and excellent thermal conductance, Diluvite is indeed a true, acoustic super-material. In addition to its superb acoustic qualities, Diluvite catapults 3D-shaping to new, heretofore unattainable heights. Diluvite enables a truly ‘form follows function’ design method that many loudspeaker designers rave about, but very few actually have the luxury of implementing. Diluvite frees Ivo and his team to design with optimal acoustic shapes and perfect driver time alignment, while overcoming a phalanx of technological challenges. The result is the creation of complex, organic shapes, ultra-low baffle diffraction, and acoustic/phase/distortion/ dynamic linearity levels as never seen before. Many other advances are in the works, all under the branch name, Diluvite—including an ultra-light Polymer Matrix Composite—just as light and stiff as berylium, however with 50x better damping. The inaugural implementation of Diluvite is in the enclosures of the brand new Aequo Ensium and Adamantis Loudspeakers.
Aequo Ensium and Adamantis Loudspeakers.
This is exactly how nature intended sound to be reproduced. And quite serendipitously, the science that accomplishes this has also led to speaker enclosure designs that are at once extraordinarily beautiful, while complementing any décor.
Aequo Ensium and Adamantis Loudspeakers have a paradigm-shifting impact on the emotional aspects of enjoying music—not only enabling people to hear audio realism for the first time, but also to experience the magic of a very real, palpable, holographic soundstage.
Excerpts from Reviews
Aequo Ensium Loudspeaker
“ONE HELL OF A DEBUT…
“Impressively full-range sound was the hallmark of a fine system dominated by Aequo Audio’s new three-driver Ensium speakers with active, room-corrected bass… the Dutch company’s speakers absolutely sang! … When I was handed the controls and cued up Sandrine Piau’s gorgeous rendition of a Loewe song, I discovered how moving this system could be.”
—Jason Victor Serinus
Aequo Ensium and Adamantis Loudspeakers
“ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PRODUCT INTRODUCTIONS…
“Rich organic textures, great imaging, plenty of musical detail… not only easy on the eyes… unfamiliar to many North American audiophiles, me included, but this could be about to change.”
—Andrew Quint
“BOLTS FROM THE BLUE…
“Very impressive. Very good. Definitely something to keep an eye on. When listening in Munich, their speakers are like bolts from the blue on a fresh, clear morning…”
—Guiseppe Castelli
The Aequo commitment to R&D and a thorough understanding of the physics of sound are unparalleled. The company partners and conducts research with members of the Brainport Industries Campus in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Known as “the smartest square mile in the world”, Brainport is home to more than 10,000 researchers, developers and entrepreneurs.
Visit: www.aequoaudio.com
Download: Adamantis & Ensium Loudspeakers — General Info (pdf)
Download: Adamantis & Ensium Loudspeakers — Technical Specifications (pdf)