Audiovector SR3 Signature Loudspeakers

The Audiovector SR3 Signature is the second model in the SR3 range and is a compact floor standing model. They are a Danish company based in Copenhagen and each model is hand built in Denmark. The tweeter, midrange, and bass units are designed and built in Scandinavia as are the cabinets which are beautifully built and given their retail price of £4190 are seriously impressive.

Audiovector are a family owned business run by father and son Ole and Mads Klifoth having been originally founded by Ole in 1979. Ole still runs the R and D side of the business and is the chief designer while son Mads is the CEO of the company and in charge of Worldwide sales.

The company have six model ranges starting off with the QR series which incorporate a stand mount, two floor standers, a wall mounted speaker, a centre speaker and a subwoofer. The SR series which incorporate three ranges the SR1 stand mount speakers, and the SR3 and SR6 floor standing speakers of which there are seven models as well as centre speakers and subwoofers. Finally the High End R8 and R11 models which are both floor standers. The company covers a very diverse range of prices which models from under £1000 right up to over £150,000. However all the speakers are hand built in Denmark.

Sound Quality

While I was expecting a good sound from these loudspeakers I was really surprised by how good they are. It is rare to find a speaker which really has no significant faults as generally, I find speakers are really easy to find fault with. Usually, there have some glaring weakness like being too bright, bass light, two dimensional, or are interacting with the room acoustics in some way. I have to say the Audiovector SR3 Signature suffered from none of these and was open, detailed, dynamic with really surprising bass weight especially from such a compact floor stander. The soundstage is also really large for such a relatively small speaker.  I played all sorts of music, from simple acoustic to heavy rock and large scale classical and even some blues and jazz and it played everything with no drama whatsoever.

The speakers are very unfussy about room and room placement, they worked well both close to and further away from the rear walls. In other words they don’t need the rear wall to produce good bass but they can also be placed quite close to the rear wall without overblowing the bass. Bringing them out from the rear wall did help the three dimensional soundstage but that is pretty normal.

Upgrades

Upgrades for a loudspeaker is pretty rare but Audiovector apparently have that covered as well. Apparently according to Audiovector you can upgrade this model to the more expensive Avantgarde and the Avantgarde Arrete models. This can be done through your local dealer and the speaker is send back to Audiovector and is refurbished by them and they then fit the upgraded parts and send it back to the dealer. Pretty clever as this is much less expensive than trading in your speakers and upgrading. Another plus for Audiovector

Build Quality

The built quality of the cabinet and drive units is absolutely first class. Firstly the Cherry cabinet sides ( other finishes are available) are curved and swoop back to a narrow rear spine in a nice grey finish which matches the bass of the speaker and also the front panel. The tweeter is housed in a beautifully machined aluminium surround and the midrange and bass drivers also have an aluminium surround. The rear of the cabinet also houses some very serious banana sockets which allow for use of 4mm plugs or spades. There are unusually three sets of speaker terminals on the back connected by bus bars. I suggest removing these and either using bi or tri-wired cables or using speaker cable links.

Faults

The Audiovector SR3 is not perfect, it is also not the best loudspeaker I have ever heard. There are small issues like the magnets on the front panel which attach the speaker grills are a bit ugly. I don’t like the bus bars connecting the speaker terminals. While there are four finishes available , cherry, rosewood, black and white you have to pay extra for any other finish you want. The tweeter is not the most detailed I have ever heard and the midrange could be slightly more open. 

However at its price point these issues are extremely minor and its plus points far outweigh the minus points. 

Overall

Overall this is a simply exceptional speaker for its size and price. It is extremely musical which I value highly and the sound quality is superb. It has no glaring faults and is not room fussy. Really what’s not to like. Highly recommended.