Before I turn my attention to the larger Figaro L2 floor-standing loudspeakers, I’m taking a closer look at the new AudioSolutions Figaro BL2 bookshelf speakers in this review.

Figaro BL2

The forward-thinking Figaro MK1 was unveiled at the 2018 Munich high-end audio show and immediately won a large fan base with its performance in its price range.

One of the models presented at Munich 2018 was Figaro XL, an exceptional symmetrical speaker model that received a lot of attention and several awards, and even today Figaro XL still holds its proud and bold position as a mighty performer with little or no peers at its price.

With the MK2 line, the triumph story continues. Figaro is the most successful speaker series ever at AudioSolutions, and in the updated version, the esthetics have changed drastically, making them a more contemporary speaker with the same cross-sectional shape as well as the same proportions.

Despite Figaro’s original virtues, the newly launched models come not only with a facelift but, as you can read further, with significant changes that allow for a radical leap in performance.

Mini Horn Loading

Updating The Mini-Horn was not necessary, but AudioSolutions has made slight improvements that justified the implementation. A small difference in geometry provides a slightly wider working range, especially in the top frequency range. Figaro uses a Mini-Horn loading technology to deal with the notorious problem of soft domes – cone break and cone “excursion”. Cone breakup and “walk” occur when a soft dome tweeter is driven hard at high signal levels. The distortion increases exponentially because:

• when a certain signal level is reached and thus a certain dome acceleration/amplitude, the center part of the dome bends uncontrollably due to the soft nature of the silk
• differences in air pressure behind and in front of the dome create a non-linear environment and overcome the ability of the suspension to prevent axial movement of the cone

AudioSolutions Mini-Horn is based on the acoustic damping that takes place in the area of the front dome. They’ve carefully measured at which frequencies the dome starts to bend and cause an avalanche of distortion. The Mini-Horn is then designed and manufactured to the desired specifications to attenuate these frequencies.

The result is a proportional damping of the movement of the tweeter. The louder it plays, the more damping and air pressure on the front surface it receives from its own radiated sound. This is known as acoustic impedance and is highly dependent on the shape of the mini horn.

Another positive side effect of this process is that the mini horn increases the sensitivity and thus the efficiency of the driver. Extended mid-range. The human ear has different sensitivities to different frequencies.

We are naturally less sensitive to high and especially low frequencies. The exception is sensitivity to mid frequencies in the 1000-2000 Hz range, which is due to evolution. Simply put, in nature, the sounds of life-threatening events are more or less in the 1000-2000 Hz sound range, so we are naturally most sensitive to them so that we can remain alert.

The flip side of this phenomenon in our rather safe modern world is that we can hear and localize the smallest imperfections in sound reproduction at these frequencies. And imperfections in sound reproduction are called distortions.

Special ER cone mid-woofer

The second generation of the Figaro loudspeakers uses newly designed woofers with ER paper cones. ER stands for Extra Rigid Paper. It is visible on the cone surface in the form of flakes of hard pulp and fibers and is a natural component of the rigid cones. ER paper membranes were chosen because of the advantages of traditional paper membranes and the advantages of rigid membranes. Hard cones (metal, ceramic, etc.) provide a smooth push-pull motion where all cone tips act as a uniform piston, which is desirable.

The disadvantage is that hard cones are prone to premature breakup and ringing due to a lack of damping properties in the material itself.

Paper, on the other hand, has no predetermined breaking points as it is quite soft and flexible, but it does not act like a piston, and usually, the edge of the paper cone flutters, and the whole cone bends.

By using the positive properties of paper and introducing hardening materials such as robust fibers and hard pulp, AudioSolutions gets a unique cone that acts like a piston, but at the same time has no ringing or early break-up of the cone. ER cones allowed the Lithuanian speaker manufacturer to introduce new piston-like woofers and of course our Extended Band Midrange.

Crossover

Most manufacturers calculate the crossover point in the range of 1000-2000Hz. Since each speaker has its natural spectrum of distortion, we can hear the crossover from one speaker to another, not to mention the additional distortion caused by the phase shift of the crossover.

The resulting sound is referred to as unnatural or multi-way sound. It is not possible to eliminate the natural distortion of the drivers or the phase shift in the crossover, which is mathematically related to the calculation of the db/oct crossover. The only way to counteract this is to use crossover points that are not in this 1-2kHz range.

Extended Band Midrange driver

For this reason, AudioSolutions has developed an Extended Band Midrange driver. The crossover points from 400-4000Hz are one octave away from the sensitive band. This solution not only helps with the perception of crossover distortion, but the listener also gets a smooth, undistorted sound coming from a driver with virtually no phase shift.

In AudioSolutions’ opinion, a homogeneous sound is one of the most important goals in the audio industry.

The crossover has been updated with thicker air-core coils and a new PCB layout that has slightly less crosstalk. AudioSolutions uses WBT Next-Gen binding posts for Figaro and plans to add a second pair of binding posts for larger models to support bi-wiring or bi-amping.

Cabinet

Figaro MK2 features Virtuoso enclosure technology and is equipped with a cabinet-in-a-cabinet enclosure system. The entire cabinet consists of two intersecting cabinets – a light inner cabinet and a heavy outer cabinet.
The polyurethane layer between the two enclosures serves as a damping material. The thin but rigid inner housing provides the necessary support for the structure itself and transmits the energy radiated as a return wave to the outer housing layers without storing the energy in the material and preventing the return wave from being reflected to the listener.

Fast energy transfer is important to avoid low Q vibrations, which can persist for a relatively long time and affect accurate sound reproduction. From the inner cabinet, the energy is transferred to the outer cabinet, which has a large mass and absorbs the received energy.

The outer cabinet material has low internal stress forces and therefore high damping properties to convert the energy into heat as quickly as possible without generating unwanted, long-lasting vibrations. However, these two layers alone cannot ensure efficient energy exchange and heat dissipation. That’s why the third layer between the outer and inner casing is so important – a thin 0.1 mm layer of polyurethane that connects two casings and acts as a damping barrier between the casings, dissipating any residual vibrations into thin air.

This layer not only acts as an additional barrier to dissipate energy in the form of heat on the way from the inner to the outer housing but also increases the efficiency of the damping properties of the outer housing by mechanically amortizing the vibrations.

The tailor-made Trim

AudioSolutions has introduced six standard colors with the “Bespoke” trim. A modern-looking satin color with brass accents looks stylish and refreshing and suits today’s contemporary living spaces. A completely new approach to color and material matching makes it possible to give the speakers a truly bespoke look.

Exclusive personalization

Perhaps the most exciting news is that AudioSolutions is working on a product configurator that will be unveiled at the Munich 2024 high-end audio show. The Exclusive Personalization program will not only allow users to choose a different color but also combine different metal decorations, different types of outriggers, spikes and feet, upgrade terminals, or internal cabling using the online configurator.

AudioSolutions will also launch some new features that will allow clients to follow the entire process of making their personalized speaker from A to Z and provide users with an overall superior user experience.

Post-purchase and post-warranty tools will also be introduced.

The Music

As with the previous AudioSolutions speakers, the Figaro BL2 speakers continued the balanced reproduction of the music, but I was delighted with the way the BL2 speakers focused on the emotion-bonding instances revealing another dimension to the music with the newfound qualities that were not so apparent with the MK1 version.

Dominic Miller – Ad Hoc

It is true that as observers we are not always very reliable when it comes to the senses, but there is no false deception of the way music touches our innermost being.

This is where AudioSolutions has always shone. With Figaro BL2, “Tisane” by Dominic Miller from the album Ad Hoc was not only presented with true three-dimensional scope, but it extended a real visceral experience that left me lost in wonder and exploration by taking in the whole attention, sublimely underpinning the powerful music message.

Throughout the album, the Figaro BL2 speakers delivered an exquisite acoustic presentation, even when multiple instruments were used as in “St Victoire”.

The AudioSolutions monitor speakers effortlessly expanded the dazzling tapestry of tones and timbres of St Victoire”, escaping the sonic vortex and maelstrom that can all too easily arise when speakers are not properly balanced.

Kirsten Edkins Shapes & Sound

Shapes and Sound by jazz saxophonist Kirsten Edkins is the first LP release from Cohearent Records — the new record label that goes hand in hand with famed mastering engineer Kevin Gray’s latest venture, an all-tube recording studio (Cohearent Recording) connected to his mastering facility in California.

It’s great how Gray has managed to capture the spirit of the past and the sound of the era, and all at the highest level, a super high bar set by Rudy Van Gelder with his iconic recording.

The AudioSolutions Figaro BL2 speakers have retained the original appeal and reproduce the actuality of the living room turned studio with impressive clarity, creating a vivid, detailed soundscape that sounds far more natural than you would expect in this price range.

Figaro embellishes the spirit of the past with modernity, the positively induced qualities, a similarly positive twist to what Kevin Gray achieved with his first release on his record label.

I enjoyed the reproduced harmony and synchronized playability that is only possible when you record a musician live in one take without doing countless overdubs. To achieve such a tonal balance with the given size of the Figaro BL2 is an achievement that alone deserves all the high praise.

Brad Mehldau – Live in Tokyo

It takes a holistically designed loudspeaker to reproduce “River Man” with full richness. The Mehldau cover version of one of my favorite Nick Drake songs always sends shivers down my spine when the system, and especially the speakers, are capable of delivering the essence of this soul-wrenching track.

The melancholic mastery that Mehldau varies brilliantly can too quickly lead to cacophony if the speakers are not tuned properly. I had not the slightest doubt about Gaidelis’ competence, which he has demonstrated time and again over the years, but I was pleasantly surprised at how his Figaro BL2 speakers brought out the poignant emotions of “River Man”, as well as rendering the complex layering of notes and Mehldau’s virtuosity with both feather-light ease and dynamics when called for.

Again, the Figaro BL2 matched the expectations, delivering faster attack times, and more natural decay and delay times of the piano notes, which reverberated longer and more clearly and had greater horizontal and vertical extension than the MK1 version. Not exactly a small step up by all means.

The Conclusion

Gaidelis has found its way into the highly demanding and competitive market for high-end audio speakers. What makes him and his product so different is a refreshing take on loudspeaker design that does not follow what others are doing, but finds its concepts and solutions that make these speakers sound completely different and, above all, musically appealing.

Over the years of research and refinement, aided by forward-thinking engineering, know-how, and yet hands-on exploration of various concepts, Gaidelis found workable concepts that allowed AudioSolutions to pursue its distinctive path.

The speaker manufacturer is known all over the world and its loudspeakers have found a happy home with many audiophiles and music lovers. With each new line and each new product, the sound becomes better, more natural, closer to the real music momentum, and above all with a higher degree of emotional interactivity.

The second bookshelf model BL2 from the Figaro line embodies the essence of the brand philosophy and the well-known, very enticing speaker voicing, one of the key factors in AudioSolutions’ differentiation, which I have always liked and seen as a big step forward compared to the competition.

AudioSolutions’ particular voicing, which has always spanned the entire frequency spectrum with no particular unevenness or bumps, is still not the norm for all speakers in the market, despite being taken for granted.

On the contrary, AudioSolutions’ constant and gradual refinement of proven, musically pleasant concepts over the years and their evolution with each new iteration is a remarkable achievement and part of the success of this Lithuanian speaker manufacturer.

The Figaro line follows the visionary work of Gaidelis, and unlike many other loudspeaker designers, he is not afraid to argue his designs and back them up with technical facts.

It is fair to say that the Figaro BL2 loudspeakers were years in the making. They are not just the result of theoretical technical escapades but have been carefully designed to ensure that the music touches the soul, not just the ears, and appeals to both hemispheres of the brain.

The AudioSolutions Figaro BL2 speakers are emotionally calibrated masterworks that respond musically to the material provided, and a testament to a concept where every small change makes a big difference.

Gaidelis’ proud creations never fail to leave me in awe as they touch the essence of the music and serve as the fuel that brings the music to life, projecting it with a wide sweet spot that exemplifies the macro and microstructure of the music.

Figaro BL2 speakers perpetuate the music with ease and flow and are essentially AudioSolutions. They not only project the mere framework of their ideas (just for the sake of it) but reflect the reality of the music as a whole.

With the AudioSolutions bookshelves, the sound does not lose its holographic presentation, even when you walk around the room. The Figaro BL2 speakers are uniquely equipped in terms of sound, have low distortion, and excellent dispersion, and, as their larger counterparts are designed from the outset to deliver an ode to the music and keep the listener glued to their seat.

Despite their size, the AudioSolutions DNA has not been shirked. The BL2 speakers are no less striking than their larger siblings, and Figaros are equipped with the same extremely potent, musically charged circuits.

They are unique in many ways, pushing the boundaries of what is possible at a very competitive price and creating a strong niche for themselves, with both the sound and the aesthetics having an inexplicable appeal.

The review pair of Figaro BL2 speakers have a fascinating special orange finish that radiates quality with its satin, superbly elegant surface.

But that’s not all. As mentioned earlier, AudioSolutions is working on a brand new online speaker configurator that will allow the customer to choose a custom color scheme or style and match the speakers to the environment.

AudioSolutions’ Figaro BL speakers offer an affordable way to fetch considerable music mojo without breaking the bank. For what they represent technically, esthetically, and musically, I’m more than happy to present them with the 2024 Mono & Stereo Highly Recommended Product Award. ❖

The Price

• 4.500 EUR (including EU VAT)
• 10% + for the bespoke trims

Specifications

• Dimensions (HxWxD) : 400mm x 265mm x 402mm; 15.75 x 10.43 x 15.83in 
• Weight : 15 kg/33 lbs each
• Shipping weight : 18 kg/39.7 lbs each
• Sensitivity : 90.5 dB @ 2.83V 1m
• Suggested amp power : 10-200 W;
• Impedance : nominal 4,0 ohms;
• Crossover frequency : 4000 Hz
• Frequency response (in-room environment) : 39-25000 Hz
• Drivers : 19mm silk dome tweeter, 18.3cm ER paper cone mid-bass driver