STEREO GUIDE verdict
With the Econik Six, the young company HiFi Pilot has enriched the not exactly small range of speaker systems with a full-active solution that is as powerful in sound as it is versatile in use. Even wireless surround systems are possible with the compact speaker developed and manufactured in Germany.
Advantages
- Exceptional bass response for its size
- HDMI ARC input for TV sets
- Excellent imaging precision
- Bass calibration and sound presets
Disadvantages
- Made in Germany has a certain price
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Sound: tonal balance / transparency9.3
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Sound: Bass / Dynamics9.4
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Sound: Spatial imaging9.5
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Usability / Connectivity9.5
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Price/Performance9.3
As far as this review of the Econik Six is concerned, the whole chain of effects of test reports was once turned on its head. We are following the recommendation of a reader who wrote to us to convince us that we should test the Econik Six. The interesting reasoning: because we had reviewed the Piega Premium 301 Wireless Gen. 2 he was considering buying and it was practically impossible for him in Switzerland to review the Econik Six Probe we would definitely have to do him this favor. It was neither the self-confident appearance of the Confederate nor the accolade it brought to the review ratings of our online hi-fi magazine, which is only two years old. After reading a test sent to me via a link from another online magazine, I was really interested in trying it out for myself.
But last fall, we had so many Bluetooth speakers, smart speakers and headphones in the pipeline that this idea had to take a back seat for the time being. But as the saying goes? There are no accidents in life. Things got moving at the Frankfurt HiFi Days at the Hotel Kempinski. There, the two managing directors Jens Hörmann and Berthold Daubner demonstrated the Econik Four, the smaller offshoot of the Six, in a hotel room.
Lasting impressions
I was deeply impressed by the fullness of sound and dynamics offered by the cute little active speakers. Surprised and impressed by the small, fine speaker, as well as by the entire new trade fair, I seized the opportunity to write a detailed report for LowBeats (at STEREO GUIDE we are currently focusing on reviews and guides). But there was also something for these sectors: In the relaxed atmosphere of the Kempinski, I was also able to talk to the audio entrepreneurs about their speaker line. And the best thing is that I was able to use the LowBeats listening room to review the Econik Six thanks to a cooperation.
Blind date in Munich
I hadn’t heard the Six before I met them in the LowBeats editorial office shortly before Christmas. But it didn’t take much imagination to imagine what the compact speaker with the wireless active technology according to the WISA standard was capable of when the tiny Four was experienced in a larger room with a trade fair audience. The WISA technology in question and that was absolutely nothing new to me. For STEREO GUIDE I reviewed a pair of stereo speakers based on the same stereo hub from Danish manufacturer Platin: the Piega Premium 301 Wireless Gen. 2 mentioned at the beginning. Mission LX Connect also uses the WISA standard. In addition, there are several other WISA variants that I have reviewed for AUDIO or stereoplay.
Regardless of when, where and why I encountered WISA-based wireless speakers, the coherent concept, sound and handling were convincing – apart from a few bugs in a new app version. If you only have wireless streaming with your speaker in mind, you may consider the small stereo hub more of a detour to your wireless speakers. However, if you want to connect anything with a cable to the Six, which is only equipped with a balanced XLR input for sound gourmets, this is a blessing. The inconspicuous black box, available individually for 700 euros or 300 euros in a bundle, can then be positioned inconspicuously next to the signal sources. This keeps the signal paths short and avoids annoying cable clutter on the loudspeaker boxes. Up to eight speakers can be supplied with 2-channel sound using the stereo hub.
Pretty much everyone can find a connection here
Each of the two Econik Six really only needs one power cable for operation with the full range of functions. The audio signal reaches the speakers with a resolution of up to 24 bit/96 kHz via a proprietary radio link from the WISA hub. 7.1-channel or 5.1.2-channel operation is also possible wirelessly in the Surround Hub X, which is available for EUR 1,100 (with the speakers for EUR 500) in the young company’s online store – for example with the Econik Four as the rear speakers and the Econik 7 as the center speaker.
The hub has the following connections: three optical Toslink digital inputs, a coaxial S/PDIF, a line input with RCA sockets, one with a 3.5 mm jack, a USB-B connection for computers and, as a highlight in terms of versatility, an HDMI ARC connection for playing TV sound. There are also interfaces for AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth 5.2. The hub also provides access to the Internet via WLAN. So far, so smart.
It began with Buchardt
These connections are also provided by the WISA hub of the Danish Buchardt boxes. But the brand, which is also distributed by HiFi Pilot, Econik’s parent company, wants to focus entirely on stereo playback. The two very customer-oriented hi-fi pilots regularly had to turn down the request for a center speaker. This was the starting signal for their own speaker line, which they market under the name Econik Speakers. Buchardt was made aware of the plans early on and obviously had no problems with the unequal twins.
Jens Hörmann recalls: “Once we had started designing our own loudspeaker, we also had ideas about what we could improve at the same time.” The team from Baden went the extra mile in three important areas:
Particularly high-quality drivers
Firstly, the chassis. Here the team was looking for better drivers, for example with more powerful drives for the bass-midrange drivers and generally better technical specifications. Hörmann: “You can tell by the weight. While the Buchardt A500 weighs in at 6.5 kilograms, the comparable Econik Six weighs in at an impressive 12.1 kilograms.”
Solid, optimally dimensioned housing
Secondly, the measures apply to the housings, which are also reflected in the weight through thicker walls and more bracing. The purpose is to increase the low resonance to reduce coloration and for purer reproduction. Econik also emphasizes the fact that a slightly larger cabinet volume was created in order to provide the woofers with optimum working conditions. Anyone with in-depth knowledge of loudspeakers will confirm that enclosures that are too small may score points visually, but require acoustic concessions.
Custom sound tuning for different applications
The third change was the tuning of the sound presets, which are also a special feature of the Buchardt loudspeakers. In the meantime, the Danish manufacturer has also fine-tuned this point, explains Jens Hörmann.
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The trick with the stick
The aforementioned sound presets are part of the immense possibilities of the active speakers, which are driven by three Class D amplifiers with 150 watts of power each. Before they can be used, however, some preparatory work is required to get the two speakers up and running. Setting up the speakers requires a number of steps. However, they are also easily affordable for non-professionals, especially as Econik is miles ahead of better-known and much larger loudspeaker manufacturers in one important respect. The website provides a wealth of information and, above all, video instructions in which Jens Hörmann explains all the steps in an easy-to-understand way.
I know what I’m talking about. The user manual was nowhere to be found in the editorial office, my colleague Biermann was at an appointment and I hadn’t taken my laptop with me. Of course, after countless reviews in the meantime, I couldn’t remember what the setup was like with the Piega. And reading PDF operating instructions on the small screen of the smartphone was a horror for me. The videos were just what I needed. Even if it is easy, the many steps involved in setting it up are not intuitive. The basic technology of the WISA system is not a Sonos competitor after all, and the functional but purist Econik app – which is currently only available for iOS – only comes into play once the system has been set up.
Remote control goes on air
The central points of the setup are the registration of the wireless remote control, which, unlike infrared remotes, does not require visual contact with the receiver and even provides feedback from the hub via tiny LEDs, for example about the volume. After all, the hub has no display, only a standby LED. The speakers must also be registered on the hub. A control panel on the back of each box must be assigned a position in the system.
The WISA hub must in turn be connected to the Internet. This is done via the Google Home app, which is available free of charge in the Apple and Google app stores for iOS or Android. It can be used to set up listening zones. For example, it would be possible to use a high-quality audio system in the music room with a pair of Econik Six speakers in a multi-room network with a compact and much cheaper Teufel Motiv Home for the study.
Calibration and sound adjustment for the Econik Six
Now the way is clear for acoustic refinements – the hour of the Econik app and the sound presets. Like the related Piega counterpart, the app offers the option of calibrating the Econik Six to the room in the bass range. To do this, it uses the microphone of the Apple iPhone to recognize the room modes with the help of the pink noise reproduced by the app via the loudspeakers. After a short calculation time, the equalized frequency response is available. You can switch between original and correction and convince yourself of the good effect. Android users can order a measuring microphone with the hub for an additional 75 euros.
Several sound settings
However, many people also want an adjustment to the room or their personal listening taste above the bass range. This is not as elegant as with an app. But it is thanks to the diligence of the developers that they have found a solution at all without the app obtained from the system supplier. Econik provides various sound profiles for download on the homepage. The following set-ups are currently available: Standard, Close to the wall, Brilliant, Soft, 3-way voice optimized, lounge, studio and desk. The variant speech intelligibility is only available for the Center Econik Seven. For example, the desire for more bass foundation or softer highs can be fulfilled by downloading the corresponding preset, copying it to a USB stick and playing it on each of the two Econik loudspeakers.
This may seem nerdy to owners of Bluetooth speakers with equalizer presets that can be called up at the touch of a button in the app, but it worked simply and reliably in the test. Simply switch off the respective speaker, insert the USB stick formatted for PC into the USB-A socket and then switch the power back on at the rear.
2.5 or 3 ways, that is the question?
If you delve deeper into the descriptions of the sound presets, you will finally find out how it works with the use as a 2.5 or 3-way speaker announced in the specifications of the Six. And at this point, in a different order than usual in our test reports, we come to the chassis configuration. In the high-frequency range, Econik uses a 2.5 cm silk dome tweeter from SEAS for the Six, as for its other speakers. A SEAS Prestige bass/midrange driver with a diameter of 16.5 centimeters sits in the baffle underneath.
In addition, an identical 6.5-inch woofer is located at the rear of the speaker housing. The user cannot decide how the signal is split between the two cone chassis via a knob or even a button in the app. The choice of preset is decided almost incidentally. While the other sound presets work in 2.5-channel mode, there is a special preset for 3-channel mode for finer voice reproduction. The DSP crossover has been optimized for minimal phase shifts. The electronics also provide a dynamic bass boost to ensure a full sound image even at lower levels.
Hearing test: This is what the Econik Six sounds like
So there was never a dull moment in the listening test. And not only because experimenting with the remarkable possibilities of these active loudspeakers controlled by a powerful DSP crossover kept us on our toes. The boogie factor of the two boxes was also a pleasure. Of course, it is less spectacular when the 38-centimeter-high Econik Six produces a dynamic response and a remarkable bass foundation in a comparatively small listening room than when the tiny Econik Four provides powerful and clean sound in a medium-sized room with a large number of people. But the sonic performance was still not a matter of course.
What our team, made up of two different editorial teams, particularly liked was the frequency and dynamic range of the Econik Six. Compared to the extremely living room-friendly dimensions, the deep and extremely rich bass was also convincing. With its impressive low-frequency foundation, the Econik even cut a fine figure next to the Nubert nuZeo 4. And that’s saying something. After all, the speaker from Schwäbisch Gmünd can build on a significantly larger volume and Nubert is known for pushing the drivers to the limit in the lower octaves, also in terms of outstanding laboratory values with DSP equalization.
Even if the nuZeo 4 is even more powerful and impressive, the Econik Six will not lack any punch or depth in medium-sized and especially smaller rooms. The developers from Baden combine a certain nonchalance with a good deal of precision in the bass range. Rock, pop or even electro beats, such as on various albums by the Swiss duo Yello, can be enjoyed both richly and cleanly.
The purest tracking device
In one respect, I even found the Six’s skills to be outstanding. That was the localization sharpness and the focus between the speakers for lead vocals, for example. Econik achieved this as precisely as an ink drawing with a sharp pen. It took little imagination to picture singers like Dieter Meier from Yello or Tori Amos performing live in front of your mind’s eye. The resolution and transparency also left nothing to be desired. However, fragile voices in particular had a certain coolness to them – an effect that I didn’t notice in the Kempinski with the small Econik Four with the same tweeter. It’s good that Holger Biermann was there, because I’ve always been used to British ideals. However, there were no two opinions in this setup, but a concerted effort.
PC or Laptop needed
Using the editorial laptop, the sound setup for milder treble reproduction was easily downloaded to a memory stick and installed on each of the two speakers. This had a very positive effect. After all, Econik doesn’t simply use the DSP like a treble control in an app, but meticulously adjusts the entire speaker tuning to the respective target. Another way to let the mid-range reproduction blossom is the 3-way setup. This may cost a little steam in the lower octaves, but it allows the front cone to devote itself fully to the mids, which relieves it of some of the lift and reduces intermodulation between vocals and bass. With the Six in particular, there is also a lot to be gained from perfecting the brilliance by angling it to the listening position to your own taste. Fortunately, the imaging precision and focus do not necessarily require alignment to the sweet spot.
Customer-oriented company
We should have given Jens Hörmann and Berthold Daubner extra points for their friendly and open manner. There are not many loudspeaker developers who listen to the criticism discussed after the listening test without any arrogance and thank you for your input. Together with other suggestions from customers and, most recently, from visitors to the Norddeutsche HiFi-Tage trade fair in Hamburg, they want to incorporate this into their products. The fact that the two entrepreneurs are so relaxed in their approach is not only down to their minds, but also to their conceptual groundwork. Refinements to the tuning or new sound presets can be added at any time via the download page. But the two HiFi pilots have a completely different caliber up their sleeves.
At the Frankfurt HiFi Days at the Kempinski, they already showed pre-production models of an upgrade that marks a real turning point: A ribbon tweeter based on the Mundorf AMT. Not only will it soon be included in series production, it can also be selected in the configurator for an extra charge instead of the SEAS Excel silk dome. It gets even better: Econik also wants to offer the Air Motion Transformer with its inertia-free foil membrane for retrofitting, because Hörmann and Daubner do not want to put their existing customers at a disadvantage. How cool is that?
Growing variety in the configurator
In order to allow a free choice in the configuration of the Econik Six, which is currently available from 3,700 euros, and to enable easy retrofitting, the AMT is given the same round carrier plate as the conventional silk dome. This proved to be both a blessing and a curse, because once development and tuning were complete, it turned out to be problematic to have the acoustic upgrade produced in series. The launch planned before Christmas therefore fell through, but will soon be rescheduled with a new supplier for the Mundorf AMT’s frame. This would possibly make the choice even more difficult for our reader from Switzerland.
Test conclusion and alternatives to the Econik Six
An alternative stood right next to the Econik Six in the listening test: The brand-new Nubert nuZeo 4 is priced a good bit below the Econik speaker, but its dimensions are quite a bit larger. With its Bluetooth app, however, it is a long way away from the user convenience of a Sonos system, especially in terms of setup, and unlike the Six with the separately available WISA hub, it also has no remote control, which is simply more practical, especially for volume control. It is actually just the entry point to a complex, expensive high-end audio system with customized electronic components from Nubert. With a preamplifier like the nuControl X, streaming options and the useful remote control are also added. However, the price difference would then be reversed in favor of the Econik solution.
As far as the aforementioned Piega Premium 302 Wireless Gen 2. is concerned, the Swiss speakers have an advantage in the fine treble thanks to the ribbon tweeter, while the Econik speakers are clearly ahead in the bass in terms of depth and punch. So it will be interesting to see when the Six itself starts using AMT tweeters in the near future.
Technical specifications Econik Six
- Manufacturer’s recommended retail price: from 3,700 euros, stereo hub 700 euros (300 euros in a bundle)
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 20 x 38 x 30 cm
- Weight: 12.1
- Special features: App, bass calibration via iPhone, sound presets playable via USB stick. HDMI-ARC, AirPlay 2, Bluetooth 5.2, housing in black, white and real wood veneer (oak, walnut, wild apple)
- More at: www.econik-speakers.com
