Quadral Aurum, a German audio brand, has been designing and manufacturing speakers locally since 1971. Initially, it wasn’t called Quadral Aurum but consisted of two companies: All Electronic and All Akustik. These companies were involved in speaker manufacturing and electronic product distribution, respectively.
At the time, All Akustik distributed Japanese brands like Luxman, Sansui, and Nakamichi in Germany. However, they didn’t have their own brand. In 1976, Edmond Semmelhaak joined All Akustik, and in 1978, they began producing and selling their own speakers under the Quadral brand, thus establishing Quadral Aurum.
From the outset, Quadral Aurum possessed the capability to design and produce speakers in-house. For over four decades, they’ve adhered to German handcrafting principles. Today, they’ve developed an extensive range of product series and models, expanding into CD sources and amplifiers, becoming a significant player in the German audio industry.
The Aurum Orkan VIII: A Force to Be Reckoned With
The Aurum Orkan VIII floor-standing speaker ranks fourth in the flagship Aurum series. Despite its position, the name packs a punch – “Orkan” means hurricane in German.
Planar Membrane Tweeter: A High-Frequency Marvel
The Aurum Orkan VIII floor-standing speaker, which we auditioned at Pin Le Audio, ranks fourth in the flagship Aurum series. Above it are the Titan VIII, Vulkan VIII R, and Montan VIII. Although Orkan is fourth in line, its name is formidable – it means hurricane in German, equivalent to a typhoon in the Pacific.
One might assume Quadral Aurum intended to portray the Orkan VIII as a pair of powerful mid-sized floor-standing speakers. However, in my listening experience, the Orkan VIII came across more like a gentle giant or a warm winter sun, providing a comfortable listening experience. But let’s delve into the design before discussing the sound.
At first glance, the Orkan VIII has two standout features: the tweeter and the woofer. For the high frequencies, the Orkan VIII doesn’t use a traditional dynamic dome tweeter but opts for a superior planar membrane tweeter. In fact, Quadral Aurum has been using planar tweeters since the 1980s, starting with their flagship Titan model – a no-expense-spared approach.
The Orkan VIII now employs a folded planar membrane similar to an air-motion transformer, easily extending high frequencies up to 65kHz, outperforming many super-tweeters.
Innovative Woofer Design: Power Meets Precision
For the midrange and bass, the Orkan VIII uses Quadral Aurum’s patented Altima cone, made of an aluminum-magnesium-titanium alloy.
You can clearly see the Orkan VIII’s two woofers enclosed in rectangular frames – a unique feature. Quadral Aurum calls this the pressure-chamber/reflex design, claiming it allows for lower frequency extension while maintaining clarity and powerful impact.
Quadral Aurum explains that the pressure-chamber/reflex is typically found in professional speakers and rarely in home audio. It combines a pressure chamber with a bass reflex enclosure. There’s a small cavity with a slightly restricted opening in front of the woofer, generating some pressure, while behind the woofer is a standard bass reflex enclosure (the Orkan VIII also has a rear bass reflex port).
This simple configuration allows for lower frequency extension while maintaining precision, preserving clear sound imaging even at extremely high sound pressures. Currently, five models in the Aurum series use this special enclosure technology: Titan VIII, Vulkan VIII R, Montan VIII, Orkan VIII, and the Base Titan center speaker. The “woofers in a cage” design is instantly recognizable as Quadral Aurum.
Craftsmanship: The Devil’s in the Details
The Orkan VIII’s meticulous craftsmanship is also worth mentioning. Its design is very simple, and without fine workmanship, it could look not just simple but cheap. However, the Orkan VIII is far from that. The Ferrari Red version we auditioned at Pin Le Audio boasts a uniform, rich color, smooth and polished surface, and a silky touch – all hallmarks of Quadral Aurum’s small-batch, handcrafted production in Germany.
Standard Orkan VIII finishes include glossy black lacquer, glossy white lacquer, natural oak veneer, and chocolate oak veneer. What about Ferrari Red? That’s a custom option. The high-end Aurum series, being handcrafted in small quantities, allows for customization. Quadral Aurum offers over 190 color choices. Consumers can select colors from swatches at audio stores and receive their custom-colored Quadral Aurum speakers in about two months.
A Boutique Audio Haven
In Pin Le Audio’s listening room, the Ferrari Red Orkan VIII stands out even more. The store’s decor follows a modern, minimalist style with unadorned concrete walls complemented by wooden textures and metal furnishings, creating a simple yet elegant aesthetic. The red Orkan VIII stands like a crane among chickens – glamorous and noble.
Pin Le is located in the prime audio district of the Zhonghua Audio-Visual Street. Although it’s only been open for just over a year, it’s already a distinctive small shop in the area. The choice of location was largely due to familiarity – all three partners previously worked at Yasser Audio, making this the most familiar territory for them.
Interestingly, each partner has their own area of expertise, covering online sales, social media management, product photography, commercial photography, audio-visual system planning, custom installation, and engineering. With their combined years of experience, they can offer consumers diverse and comprehensive services.
One of the partners, Mr. Jian Shengyi, told me they aim to meet all consumer needs. Therefore, they’ve introduced a wide range of brands and products, each with its own characteristics and personality. Speaker brands include JBL, Dali, AE, Harbeth, Tannoy, and the newly introduced German Quadral Aurum. They have an extensive selection of bookshelf speakers – almost enough for an exhibition.
On Pin Le’s Facebook page, they frequently post information about new products and share installation examples, showing a knack for social media management.
Even more impressive is that besides product distribution, Pin Le develops its own products under the Pinyo brand. Currently, in addition to essential accessories like audio racks and speaker stands, they’ve developed the Pinyo grounding box in two sizes. The large one costs less than 10,000 TWD, while the small one is under 5,000 TWD. These wooden boxes contain obsidian, achieving power grounding effects through minerals.
They’ve also recently developed metal isolation spikes and pads, all serving as attractive offerings for customers.
Sound Quality: Warm, Clean, Pure, and Distortion-Free
The audition setup included an Esoteric K-07X SACD player with a G-02 master clock generator and a Trigon Energy integrated amplifier. I started with Pogorelich’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” The first impression from the Orkan VIII was a very warm, clean, pure, and almost distortion-free piano tone. Although the key touch and granularity weren’t particularly pronounced, the piano notes were quite substantial, capable of conveying the piano’s grand scale, filling the not-so-large listening room.
Due to space limitations, the left and right speakers couldn’t be placed far apart. However, given the Orkan VIII’s capabilities, it should be able to maintain a full sound base and substantial thickness even when placed far apart in a spacious room, without being easily diluted by the space.
I also discovered that the Orkan VIII is like a nice guy – smooth and gentle, with almost no distinct personality. It’s practically a gentle giant. I believe this is due to the neutral German amplifier pairing with the neutral German speakers, resulting in an unbiased sound. It also demonstrates the Orkan VIII’s broad expressive capabilities, suitable for various users’ needs.
Next, I played PMC’s “Closing the Loop” test disc. From the first track, “Pacifist,” a world music piece featuring plucked instruments, strings, flute, and a profound sense of space, I fully appreciated the excellent performance of the Orkan VIII’s ribbon tweeter. The high-frequency musical notes appeared in an extremely light, delicate, smooth, and fluid manner. The spatial reverberations were rich and lingering, and even at low volumes, high-frequency details flowed effortlessly, truly showcasing a high-performance driver.
Bass Performance: Deep and Effortless
As the prelude of this track passed, another advantage of the Orkan VIII couldn’t be hidden – its low-frequency performance. The Orkan VIII’s pressure-chamber/reflex enclosure design indeed effortlessly creates very full bass. However, the Orkan VIII’s low-frequency presentation isn’t forceful but relaxed and deep, presented with a casual attitude. As a result, it sounds soft, easy-going, yet maintains contour and trajectory.
Perhaps this listening impression differs from Quadral Aurum’s claim of “punchy” bass with power and transients. The main reason is likely the space – Pin Le’s listening room isn’t large and can’t absorb so much energy, causing front and rear low frequencies to overlap and slowing down the sense of speed. To address this, I increased the toe-in angle, reducing side reflections. While sacrificing some liveliness, this allowed for more focused bass and clearer imaging.
Handling Complex Music: A Giant with Cotton Swabs
I then played Brahms’ Fourth Symphony conducted by Carlos Kleiber with the Vienna Philharmonic. The breathtaking momentum and scale were astounding. The strings built up layer by layer, surging like waves, with the music’s passionate ups and downs rising freely on a solid low-frequency foundation. The emotional climaxes were moving, and the Orkan VIII faced this grand scene fearlessly, showing a relaxed attitude, demonstrating its profound capabilities.
Even better, when reproducing this 1981 recording, the Orkan VIII almost completely eliminated the treble’s roughness. The strings were smooth and fluid, remaining relaxed and comfortable even at high volumes.
Finally, I played “The Piazzolla Project” album by the Artemis String Quartet with pianist Jacques Ammon. The string performance, which can sound tense and nerve-wracking on many systems, was as smooth as water through the Orkan VIII, soft and sweet, without any discomfort or pressure.
I believe it’s because Quadral Aurum uses high-performance drivers that allow the Orkan VIII to handle sound so effortlessly, like a small giant wielding cotton swabs without any burden. Naturally, the music sounds comfortable and relaxed.
Equipment Specifications
Quadral Aurum Orkan VIII
– Type: 4-driver, 3-way bass reflex floor-standing speaker
– Drivers: Aluminum ribbon tweeter, 1 × 170mm Altima midrange, 2 × 170mm Altima woofers
– Frequency response: 28 Hz – 65 kHz
– Sensitivity: 89 dB
– Impedance: 4 – 8 ohms
– Crossover points: 330Hz/2.7 kHz
– Dimensions: 1,022 × 222 × 448 mm (H × W × D)
– Weight: 31 kg
