The full text is reproduced from Taiwan's "Audio Forum":
A nearly perfect Finnish Penaudio Cenya signature version
Speaking of which, I am also related to the Finnish Penaudio brand. Their most famous small speaker Rebel 2 was made by me in "Audio Forum" In the review (Issue 237), they were still a very "fresh" brand at that time. Compared with the numerous speaker manufacturers in the audio industry, Penaudio, founded in 1999, is indeed very young, but in the blink of an eye, it is already twenty years old. I have also interviewed their person in charge, Sami Penttila, and have listened to Penaudio speakers at the homes of audio fans many times. I have always been very fond of the sound performance of their speakers.
Large speakers are famous·Small speakers are popular
Penaudio has a place in the hearts of audio fans for its beautiful veneer appearance and precise and transparent sound. Although their large speakers are also famous, their home is still the most loved by audio fans. of small speakers. This review is about Penaudio’s “largest” bookshelf speaker Cenya Signature.
readers may ask: Hasn’t Cenya Signature been reviewed a long time ago? Why do it again? It turns out that the review this time is about the latest version. In fact, Penaudio has been revamping its entire series of products since last year, mainly to cope with the monomer revision of monomer supplier Seas. Although the specifications and sizes of the monomers used are not too big. There have been changes, but the speaker cabinet, internal mixer, and even the speaker terminals have been fine-tuned and optimized again.
The largest small speaker
Penaudio’s first creation is a pair of bookshelf speakers called Model 7.6cx. cx represents the coaxial full-range unit, and 7.6 is the cabinet volume of this pair of small speakers. In other words, Penaudio is originally Start your career with a small speaker. In 2002, SamiPenttila launched Charisma, a two-way speaker based on the Model 7.6cx, which is currently the prototype of all Penaudio bookshelf speakers. It was this small speaker that made Penaudio famous internationally. Currently in Penaudio's product catalog, this model has evolved into the signature version of Charisma Signature, and the regular version of Charisma has been discontinued. Penaudio then developed the well-known Rebel (later evolved into Rebel 2) based on Charisma, and developed Cenya (later evolved into Cenya Signature). The difference between Charisma and Cenya lies in the size of the woofer, while Rebel not only uses different levels of monomers, but the cabinet is also much simpler. The difference can be clearly seen in the thickness of the wood board and the treatment of the front and rear panels.
The evolved signature version
All Penaudio's products with the Signature title use the top Crescendo grade products from the Excel series of Norwegian monomer factory Seas, while the tweeters of the regular version of Cenya use silk products produced by Wavecor. Soft dome tweeter. The biggest difference between
and the previous Cenya Signature is that the speaker terminals are replaced with 0705AG from the Nextgen series, the highest level of WBT. When you see the AG at the back, you will know that it is a silver-plated version. The internal crossovers are all made by hand. Capacitors, inductors, and resistors are all made of top-notch components. What's special is that the bass reflex holes of Penaudio speakers are made of aluminum alloy in order to reduce the subtle noise caused by vibration. The
cabinet is composed of 18mm smooth plywood and three different wood combinations: 1.5mm sandwich thin solid wood, 16mm MDF, and 5mm plywood . This version is the Klian birch version, which is the veneer texture of birch burl. Ordinary birch will not have burrs. It must be old and large enough. Think about it to have such a large burr pattern. How long does it take for this birch to grow? Each pair of Cenya Signature is unique, adding to the collectible value of this pair of speakers.
The solid cabinet is definitely the biggest feature of Penaudio speakers. I think this version is the most distinctive and beautiful. In addition to the nameplate signed by designer Sami Penttila on the back panel of
, you can also see that the biggest upgrade this time is the full use of 0705 AG speaker terminals from WBT's highest-grade Nextgen series.
Norwegian Seas is currently one of the few monomer factories in the industry capable of producing beryllium tweeters and diamond tweeters. The Crescendo silk soft dome tweeter in their Excel series is recognized as one of the best silk soft dome tweeters in the industry. This tweeter uses a unique HEXADYM magnetic system. There are six powerful iron-made magnets (NdFeB Magnets) arranged in a ring behind the diaphragm. It’s a generation product, but I’m quite familiar with Penaudio’s sound characteristics, so I plan to enjoy the music without any pressure at all. The amplifier I paired with it is the Linn Majik DSM, which covers the source and amplifier in one unit. It is a very simple combination. Majik DSM has no problem driving Cenya Signature at all, and can fully express the precise and transparent sound characteristics of Cenya Signature.
When I listened to Alice Sara Ott (Alice Sara Ott)'s new album "Dusk" (DG4835187, Universal) and other piano music, my ears immediately pricked up, because the piano sound produced by Cenya Signature is so beautiful It is not only crystal clear, but also has a good thickness, which immediately reminds me of the ice in the cold north. When the piano sounds come out, you immediately hear that the pair of speakers have very precise positioning, and the shape of the piano is particularly clear and realistic.
Some audio fans may have some misunderstandings, thinking that the sound produced by a cabinet like Penaudio that is "sturdier" than ordinary speakers may have a wood texture, but this is not the case. Because a solid cabinet actually provides a solid foundation for the monomer, allowing the monomer to perform its full performance without being affected by the vibration of the cabinet. On the one hand, the monomer can work more effortlessly, and on the other hand, it can also reduce the bass. the occurrence of dyeing.
So with the Cenya Signature, I heard very precise sounds, and various instruments have very realistic timbres. This feature makes the Cenya Signature sound particularly good when playing piano.
Listening environment: Listening Room No. 3 of the Audio Forum (4.2 meters long, 3.5 meters wide, about 4.5 square meters).
uses tuning equipment: American Lovan audio stand, Walker Ray Audio Takeda No. 3 isolation transformer.
reference equipment: Source: AURALiC Vega G1. Amplifier: Linn Majik DSM.
Changye Audio Showroom Actual Shots Finland Penaudio Cenya Signature Edition:
Listening to pop music is also great
Since the piano sounds so good, I took out another piano music to listen to, which is "Memories" of Grimaud, you can listen to it in it The pianist's control of timbre has reached a state of perfection, and every note is so beautiful that it makes people sigh. The last song "Breathing Light" shows huge momentum and detailed feelings, making people feel like they are seeing lights flickering on and off, sometimes magnificent, sometimes faint, like lights breathing slowly in the darkness.
Next I listened to the 40th anniversary version of Bob Marley's "Kaya" (Universal 6779059, Universal). The percussion instrument at the beginning made me jump. The texture of several consecutive drum beats was so good that it was scary. . The reggae rhythms in the music are full of life, without sounding dull or lacking energy at all.
The many fine percussive sounds in this song are expressed through Cenya Signature, and the realism seems to be right in front of you. It sounds crisp and has very rich overtones , but it is not harsh, showing the excellent high-frequency performance of this pair of speakers. place.
Then I took out Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and listened to it. The beauty of MJ's voice can be clearly heard in it. Through the performance of Cenya Signature, you can hear that the voice is full of luster, not dry. The rich rhythms and vocals in the album achieve a good balance. The low-frequency performance of this pair of speakers is not at a devastating level, but it is definitely sufficient and has clear lines, and will never be muddy or have a long tail.
Highly transparent and energetic
Finally, listen to Matiel (Lorin In Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet" conducted by Maazel, in the "Dance of the Knights" segment in the first act, the brass instrument at the beginning sounds majestic and majestic, and the woodwind instrument When playing solo, you can clearly hear the sweet and soft texture. When the orchestra plays in unison, the density of the sound remains stable, and it is not chaotic, showing excellent control and balance.
When listening to this large-scale music, what surprised me is that this kind of clear and fresh speakers usually have the problem of insufficient energy. When listening to symphony , they often give people the feeling of insufficient thickness. , that is, the defect in sound density performance. Of course, part of the reason is due to the combination of the amplifier, but at least in my combination this time, I can’t hear such a problem at all, Cenya Signature shows a sense of energy that can be freely released and retracted. It can sing very beautifully when it wants to express texture, and it can also sing very loudly when it wants to express energy. It is really rare.
The pursuit of perfection is endless
It has been 20 years since the launch of the first pair of speakers, Model 7.6cx, which founder Sami Penttila considered "perfect". In the process of evolution again and again, Penaudio's application of monomers and cabinets has To achieve perfection, it is difficult to find a rival to Cenya Signature among speakers of the same size and price!
