Piega have just announced the arrival of the New Premium Gen2 Loudspeakers.
The Swiss speaker specialist Piega have created their second generation active versions of its acclaimed Premium line which can function as fully active and/or wireless systems. They also have the non active versions however their new versions requiring a power cable have seen plenty of creative and rewarding hard work come through to deliver a simply superb modern masterpiece.
100% made in Switzerland, the new line features the two floorstanding Premium 501 and 701 Gen2 speakers (there’s also a Premium 301 Gen2 bookshelf/standmount) which looks relatively unchanged however, its in the hearing. Bookshelf is a relative term and so , if your bookshelf can handle the weight of these powerful Swiss beauties then, go for it otherwise, great respect in floor stand is needed and will be well deserved for great tonal rewards. What continues is the company’s design adopting high quality aluminium enclosures and a proprietary ribbon tweeter built in-house. The active designs feature powerful in-built amplification rated at 180 watts for the Premium 501 and 200 watts for Premium 701.
In the Premium Gen2 speaker systems, Piega adopts two different versions of its highly engineered ribbon transducer which the company calls the LDR 2642 Mk.II for the Premium 501 Gen2 and the super-thin LDR 3056 for the Premium 701 Gen2. Both floorstanders are 3-way designs, with the ribbon tweeters being complimented in the Premium 501 by a proprietary 120 mm midrange teamed with four 120 mm bass drivers.
The larger, more powerful Premium 701 uses the same driver configuration and driver count but now adopts larger 140 mm midrange and bass drivers. These Premium Gen2 powered speakers feature a New , totally sealed enclosure allowing easy room placement and extended low frequencies. Respectively, the quoted frequency response spans from 30 Hz to 35 kHz and 28 Hz to 35 kHz (no parameters provided). Sound EQ/tuning/calibration can be achieved via the in-built DSP engine which can adapt the speakers to various room contexts. The Premium Gen2 speakers can be controlled via a dedicated remote control or by smartphone from the Piega Control app.
Each Active version is a mere $2,000 per pair more expensive than the passive sibling but for this, one gets a dedicated and purpose built amplification system that need no speaker cables that alone could easily cost more than this small premium.
To take it fully wireless,, the bolt on is the remote controlled CONNECT PLUS box at $999 inc GST. It is relatively simple process to get it up and running in basic,, ie the communication hub between box and speaker, once done and you are up and running them you can explore the many options. The device allows streaming to the speakers at up to 24-bit, 192 kHz resolutions, so of a very high quality not normally found in this price region.
The Piega Connect Plus is Roon Ready and accepts wireless streaming options from Apple Airplay, Google Chromecast, Spotify Connect and Bluetooth version 4.2. Digital inputs are catered to by three optical Toslink, one S/PDIF coaxial (RCA), an HDMI ARC (TV integration) and USB-B port options, all which are 24-bit/192 kHz capable. Further connectivity is provided via analogue stereo RCA (preamplifier connectivity possible here) and 3.5 mm mini-jack inputs.
Available in three finish options – Anodised Silver, Anodised Black and powder-coated White, the introduction period will see all three finishes available at the standard Silver price. Valid until September 2023 ( Black and White are ordinarily a premium option)
In summary, active + connect plus for wireless bliss. Hard modern flooring need no longer be covered in a spaghetti western series of messy cables.
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