Lots of speakers, but affordable - the GRAVITY Compos at hifitest.de

Home page Lots of speakers, but affordable - the GRAVITY Compos at hifitest.de

After the top model ECP-M6X, Emphaser follows up with universal speakers from the G series. We test the 10-speaker ECP-G4 system, the 13-speaker ECP-G5 and the 16-speaker ECP-G6 set.

In addition to the Monolith M series, Emphaser is introducing the Gravity series for the first time this year, which is positioned slightly below the M systems. There are three sets in the common sizes 10, 13 and 16, each as a two-way system with tweeter and crossover. In contrast to the M series with its red splashes of color, the G speakers are completely discreet in black-grey, which gives them a very high-quality impression. In general, our G4, G5 and G6 are among the speakers that look much more expensive than they are. With prices starting at 200 euros, they are among the more affordable sets, but their workmanship and touch quality are in a class of their own. The die-cast aluminum baskets, which are excellently ventilated with their double spokes, are not commonplace in this price range.

The basket of the 16 comes directly from the top model M6X, certainly a very good reference. The drives are also beautifully finished with their gray-painted ferrite rings and the perfectly machined pole plates, which are flat-turned and nicely matched.

Great woofers with die-cast baskets and powerful magnets can inspire

All woofers have 25 millimeter voice coils on aluminum carriers, as is usual in this class. Emphaser does not experiment with the cones, they are made of paper, which is always a good thing. Nevertheless, they were not satisfied with this and added a coating of quartz crystals so that the diaphragms feel like sandpaper. The dust caps are made of the same material, they are inversely shaped and quite large.

The drives of the bass-midrange drivers score points with finely machined pole plates, and the voice coils are excellently ventilated

The G series tweeter is just as attractively finished as its woofer counterparts. In a sturdy plastic housing, we find a 25 millimetre fabric dome whose geometry has been optimized for optimum dispersion characteristics. With an installation depth of 16 millimeters, the Emphaser dome tweeter is not one of the ultra-flat representatives of its kind, but it remains compact enough to be easily installed.

The tweeter is a beautifully finished 25 mm fabric dome tweeter

The crossover is divided into tweeter and woofer branches, each of which is housed in the connection cable. Emphaser thus dispenses with a nice-looking crossover housing in favor of two small boxes, which in turn are easier to install. However, no savings were made on the circuitry itself; we find two fully-fledged 12 dB filters with decent components. The low-distortion air-core coil in the low-pass filter and the metal oxide resistors for controlling the treble level are particularly pleasing.

Separate, high-quality switch branches are located in the supply lines

Measurements and sound

The impedance measurement of the tweeter shows a very low resonance frequency of 1.4 kHz, which indicates that a small coupling volume is present. Another striking feature is the clear resonance, which is due to the fact that Emphaser does not use ferrofluid in the air gap, which can be added there for cooling. The amplitude response of the tweeter is convincing, it runs cleanly through to 30 kHz - not bad for a 25 mm fabric dome tweeter. It is also noticeable that all the frequency crossovers are different and vary in their component values. Emphaser has actually gone to the trouble of slightly lowering the crossover frequency between the tweeter and woofer with increasing size, and the G4 tweeter is also tuned one dB louder. You won't find so much attention to detail from all manufacturers for a long time.

As expected, the bass-midrange drivers with their paper cones are good-natured without resonance peaks, but unfortunately a few distortions creep in, especially at higher levels. In terms of sound, all three systems are pleasing with a great high-frequency range that has a very fine resolution but is free of sharpness. The spatial representation of the musical events is also convincing. The mid-range with male voices reaches the ear with the necessary bite, so that the G systems don't sound boring or sleepy. The G5 makes very balanced music, while the bass is naturally most pronounced in the sound of the G6. The G4, G5 and G6 are once again united in their fairly tight bass reproduction without pumping or bass bloat.