Penaudio Charisma
These loudspeakers have the bottom range! This is a quite unusual onset for a review that usually starts with a description of the product and the manufacturer. But it is something certain therefore I write it down!
Penaudio does not have the right relevance in the Italian market and, after having listened to these loudspeakers, I can affirm that it’s a real pity!
Penaudio loudspeakers are very delicate, they are not too big, therefore they are not imposive. It’s something that has to deal with the Nordic philosophy of a good interaction between man and environment. The finishing of these loudspeaker is not one of the best loved here in Italy, it’s a plywood birch that, to be true, after a couple of days in your apartment will result even pleasant to look at. Maybe on a bigger loudspeaker the effect is different but on these small ones the final result is nice. By the way it’s similar to my rack for the electronics and the overall look is fine.
The real advantage with these Charisma is that when they play, they literally conquer you and you forget about the finishing.
Anyway the available finishings are different and you can choose black, laquered or mat wood.
A brief description of the product. They seem small but they are not that small. The front is narrow (14 cm) and the height is 25 cm - a standard for small loudspeakers. The depth is 31 cm.
The reflex port, that is visible on the back, is a 5 cm aluminum pipe perfectly stuck to the wood and that cross the loudspeaker from one side to the other and is very close to the tweeter magnet. The tweeter is a Wavecor with a 2,2 cm textile dome and the woofer is a Seas Excel with a 12 cm Magnesium cone with a reinforced structure. The crossover frequency is quite high, 4.500 Hz. Please note that the tweeter has a small horn that reminded me another loudspeaker - the Fidelio by A Capella - whose sound is very similar of that of the Charisma. The loudspeaker maximum handling power is not declared, the minimum is 30 W up. The declared efficiency is 85 dB but to me it seemed lower, the power necessary to make them play cannot be reduced to the few watts of a small tubed power amp, you will need a good power amplifier. The declared in room frequency response goes from 50 to 20.000 Hz, and this seemed to me more credible this time than other times. The wooden cabinet has a thickness that varies from 16 to 22 mm and weights 6 Kgs.
The binding posts are very well done and the spades are steadily fixed.
Penaudio does not have the right relevance in the Italian market and, after having listened to these loudspeakers, I can affirm that it’s a real pity!
Penaudio loudspeakers are very delicate, they are not too big, therefore they are not imposive. It’s something that has to deal with the Nordic philosophy of a good interaction between man and environment. The finishing of these loudspeaker is not one of the best loved here in Italy, it’s a plywood birch that, to be true, after a couple of days in your apartment will result even pleasant to look at. Maybe on a bigger loudspeaker the effect is different but on these small ones the final result is nice. By the way it’s similar to my rack for the electronics and the overall look is fine.
The real advantage with these Charisma is that when they play, they literally conquer you and you forget about the finishing.
Anyway the available finishings are different and you can choose black, laquered or mat wood.
A brief description of the product. They seem small but they are not that small. The front is narrow (14 cm) and the height is 25 cm - a standard for small loudspeakers. The depth is 31 cm.
The reflex port, that is visible on the back, is a 5 cm aluminum pipe perfectly stuck to the wood and that cross the loudspeaker from one side to the other and is very close to the tweeter magnet. The tweeter is a Wavecor with a 2,2 cm textile dome and the woofer is a Seas Excel with a 12 cm Magnesium cone with a reinforced structure. The crossover frequency is quite high, 4.500 Hz. Please note that the tweeter has a small horn that reminded me another loudspeaker - the Fidelio by A Capella - whose sound is very similar of that of the Charisma. The loudspeaker maximum handling power is not declared, the minimum is 30 W up. The declared efficiency is 85 dB but to me it seemed lower, the power necessary to make them play cannot be reduced to the few watts of a small tubed power amp, you will need a good power amplifier. The declared in room frequency response goes from 50 to 20.000 Hz, and this seemed to me more credible this time than other times. The wooden cabinet has a thickness that varies from 16 to 22 mm and weights 6 Kgs.
The binding posts are very well done and the spades are steadily fixed.
The name of these loudspeakers does not change but they are different from the previous model. This model has a Seas Excel Magnesium cone woofers that have a better low range response and enhances also the timbric refinement, despite the crossover cut that is is quite high in this design. The drivers have been changed in all Penaudio production.
Well, the loudspeakers have been connected to the following system:
Bauer Audio DPS turntable, Mørch DP 6 tonearm, Lyra Kleos cartridge, American Hybid Technology –P phono amplifier and Audio Note AN E Spx loudspeakers, Pioneer PD-9 CD player. Black Noise e Delta Sigma power cables, DH Lab e YBA interconnects, MIT Matrix 39 and MIT SL 12 loudspeaker cables.
I chose GM Audio stands that are heavy and are 70 cm tall. I put some Blue Tack between the loudspeaker and the stand and I have adjusted the stand in order to align the loudspeakers … and off we go, ready to listen!
The first song is Also Sprach Zaratustra by Richard Strauss, directed by Steinberg on Deutsche Grammophon; as soon as the music begins to play there is the pipe organ, double bass and cellos … and big surprise, we hear the bottom range! It goes deep down and it’s well tuned. Of course the pipe organ was not as powerful as if there were two 38 cm woofers but I could hear a lot of energy also down there!
The music played on with the the brass section, at a quite high volume. My daughter walked by but on her way back she noticed that the loudspeakers playing were not my Audio Notes and so she asked with surprise: “are those small things playing?” This is the proof that the low range is present.
I spoke about the A Capella Fidelio, the first series, those with the tweeter and the woofer upside down. They had the ability to disappear from the scene and played very well; a nice low range and a good ability to play loud. The same impression I had with the Charisma. I positioned them in my room with carelessness just to take a listen to them, but I had no further need to move them from that position, because they played well and loud, with a very good timbre and a first class soundstage. Not to speak about the low range that is really powerful.
If compared to other systems, these Penaudio are less persistent in the high range. When I saw them I said “oh gee! another ear-drilling system!” but then, when I connected them, they demonstrated that the high range is extended but a bit lacking in the highest part, therefore the sound is accurate but never annoying or shrilling.
The only downside, keeping in mind their size and their price, is that the soundstage remains quite low, almost stuck to the tweeter. But only in height because as I said as for the wideness the loudspeakers disappears. As for the rest we could say “it’s a lot!”.
Well, the loudspeakers have been connected to the following system:
Bauer Audio DPS turntable, Mørch DP 6 tonearm, Lyra Kleos cartridge, American Hybid Technology –P phono amplifier and Audio Note AN E Spx loudspeakers, Pioneer PD-9 CD player. Black Noise e Delta Sigma power cables, DH Lab e YBA interconnects, MIT Matrix 39 and MIT SL 12 loudspeaker cables.
I chose GM Audio stands that are heavy and are 70 cm tall. I put some Blue Tack between the loudspeaker and the stand and I have adjusted the stand in order to align the loudspeakers … and off we go, ready to listen!
The first song is Also Sprach Zaratustra by Richard Strauss, directed by Steinberg on Deutsche Grammophon; as soon as the music begins to play there is the pipe organ, double bass and cellos … and big surprise, we hear the bottom range! It goes deep down and it’s well tuned. Of course the pipe organ was not as powerful as if there were two 38 cm woofers but I could hear a lot of energy also down there!
The music played on with the the brass section, at a quite high volume. My daughter walked by but on her way back she noticed that the loudspeakers playing were not my Audio Notes and so she asked with surprise: “are those small things playing?” This is the proof that the low range is present.
I spoke about the A Capella Fidelio, the first series, those with the tweeter and the woofer upside down. They had the ability to disappear from the scene and played very well; a nice low range and a good ability to play loud. The same impression I had with the Charisma. I positioned them in my room with carelessness just to take a listen to them, but I had no further need to move them from that position, because they played well and loud, with a very good timbre and a first class soundstage. Not to speak about the low range that is really powerful.
If compared to other systems, these Penaudio are less persistent in the high range. When I saw them I said “oh gee! another ear-drilling system!” but then, when I connected them, they demonstrated that the high range is extended but a bit lacking in the highest part, therefore the sound is accurate but never annoying or shrilling.
The only downside, keeping in mind their size and their price, is that the soundstage remains quite low, almost stuck to the tweeter. But only in height because as I said as for the wideness the loudspeakers disappears. As for the rest we could say “it’s a lot!”.
I listen to Samuel Ramey with the Nozze di Figaro by Mozart (Solti, Decca) and the sound is very accurate and detailed. The beautiful voice of Ramey is full of all the timbric and dynamic variations, if only a bit flattened down and goes back and forth on the stage while counting “cinque … dieci … venti … trenta … trentasei … quarantatrè …”. Susanna joins him on the stage - it’s the late Lucia Poppova - and she moves freely on the stage too. Her voice goes up and down and the echoes are pleasantly reproduced by these Charisma. The orchestra follows the duet between a “din din” and a “don don”. The orchestra too is well placed as before the singers. In the Ouverture we can notice that to reach a certain sound pressure, that is not forbidden to the Charisma, we need a lot of power to have a right low range despite the dimensions of the cabinet.
Also the pipe organ in the Sei Corali by Bach performed by Marie-Claire Alain on Erato, Bonsai series, is clear and correct in the smallest pipes and extended in the bottom range with a mid low range never annoying. To get an unwanted effect you have to put the speakers very close to the back wall but if you keep a distance of at least 1 meter there are no emphasis that disturb and hide the low deep range.
Also with jazz the result is good. The low range in the song Round About Midnight (Manhattan Jazz Quintet) is well evidenced. The timbres of the woodwinds or of the cymbals of the drum set are well reproduced. This small loudspeaker is only a bit limited when it comes to the violent hits on the Steve Gadd's drum that are not what they could be with bigger loudspeakers.
All in all a very nice surprise.
As for the position I advise you to use 70 cm floor stands. I also advise to keep the Charisma as distant from one another as you can. There is no need to point them towards the listening point and they have to be at at least one meter from the back wall. They can play also close to the back wall and the side walls but in this case the mid low range can be excessive. The loudspeakers can also be pointed toward the listener and in this case you have just a bit more of high range but the sound stage is less wide.
I suggest to use high quality and powerful amplifier (the 100 watt for each channel in my room a have been all exploited). Maybe it’s better if you do the first listenings in a shop and with your eyes shut. In this way you will not be influenced by the dimension of the cabinet and their low range performance.
The MSRP in Italy is 2.390,00 euros for the 2 loudspeakers. I think it’s a right price for the quality of the product and also in comparison with the competitors. The Charisma are well refined and can be easily put in any environment. They have performances that can make them the definitive choice for many people that do not want big loudspeakers but want to listen in a good way also to symphonic music.
They may be wrong choice for the 110 dB rock lover, but in life you have to choose.
Domenico Pizzamiglio
Manufacturer: Penaudio
Translation: Francesca Rubino
Also the pipe organ in the Sei Corali by Bach performed by Marie-Claire Alain on Erato, Bonsai series, is clear and correct in the smallest pipes and extended in the bottom range with a mid low range never annoying. To get an unwanted effect you have to put the speakers very close to the back wall but if you keep a distance of at least 1 meter there are no emphasis that disturb and hide the low deep range.
Also with jazz the result is good. The low range in the song Round About Midnight (Manhattan Jazz Quintet) is well evidenced. The timbres of the woodwinds or of the cymbals of the drum set are well reproduced. This small loudspeaker is only a bit limited when it comes to the violent hits on the Steve Gadd's drum that are not what they could be with bigger loudspeakers.
All in all a very nice surprise.
As for the position I advise you to use 70 cm floor stands. I also advise to keep the Charisma as distant from one another as you can. There is no need to point them towards the listening point and they have to be at at least one meter from the back wall. They can play also close to the back wall and the side walls but in this case the mid low range can be excessive. The loudspeakers can also be pointed toward the listener and in this case you have just a bit more of high range but the sound stage is less wide.
I suggest to use high quality and powerful amplifier (the 100 watt for each channel in my room a have been all exploited). Maybe it’s better if you do the first listenings in a shop and with your eyes shut. In this way you will not be influenced by the dimension of the cabinet and their low range performance.
The MSRP in Italy is 2.390,00 euros for the 2 loudspeakers. I think it’s a right price for the quality of the product and also in comparison with the competitors. The Charisma are well refined and can be easily put in any environment. They have performances that can make them the definitive choice for many people that do not want big loudspeakers but want to listen in a good way also to symphonic music.
They may be wrong choice for the 110 dB rock lover, but in life you have to choose.
Domenico Pizzamiglio
Manufacturer: Penaudio
Translation: Francesca Rubino
