I caught my first glimpse of the all-new Amerigo from Sonics by Joachim Gerhard at last years Rocky Mountain Audio Fest and was able to have a further listen at CES. I liked what I heard. As fortune would have it, I unpacked a pair of Amerigos a few days ago. It arrived courtesy of Spiral Groove (Immedia) its new American partner. The occasion is notable for being the first Sonics model manufactured in the new Berkeley, CA facility. (Sonics continues to manufacture in Germany as well). Like all speakers designed by the redoubtable Joachim Gerhard the Amerigo, has already connected with me with its clean, boxless character, fast transient response,micro-dynamic reflexes and a spacious presentation that makes you want to flop down on the nearest couch and simply enjoy. Which I’m doing.
Design-wise, the Amerigo is a three-way, bass reflex design with an undemanding 87dB sensitivity and a 7-ohm nominal impedance. It stands roughly 40 inches tall. It’s fairly boxy in width and depth, a departure from the ultra narrow baffles which Gerhard penned during his days with Audio Physic. Construction is predominately birch plywood rather than the lower cost (and less rigid, more resonant) MDF and contains a separate internal sealed cabinet for the 15cm midrange driver. The drivers include a 22mm ring radiator tweeter–an aluminum-magnesium dome in a wide textile surround which allows greater output and damping. Both the woofer and midrange cone employ a light metal ceramic-coated membrane chosen for rigidity and speed. The woofer is optimized for its range by virtue of a long voice coil and longer throw cone.
I’m still settling the speakers in with a combination of Isotek test disc and just letting music play while I’m engaged in other activities but it’s clear very good things are happening with the Amerigo. Check out Sonics and other products at www.immediasound.com & look for my full review coming this summer.
(Note: In bottom pic that’s my resident compact, the ATC-SCM20-2 in background)
By Neil Gader
My love of music largely predates my enthusiasm for audio. I grew up Los Angeles in a house where music was constantly playing on the stereo (Altecs, if you’re interested). It ranged from my mom listening to hit Broadway musicals to my sister’s early Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles, and Stones LPs, and dad’s constant companions, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. With the British Invasion, I immediately picked up a guitar and took piano lessons and have been playing ever since. Following graduation from UCLA I became a writing member of the Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theater Workshops in New York–working in advertising to pay the bills. I’ve co-written bunches of songs, some published, some recorded. In 1995 I co-produced an award-winning short fiction movie that did well on the international film-festival circuit. I was introduced to Harry Pearson in the early 70s by a mutual friend. At that time Harry was still working full-time for Long Island’s Newsday even as he was writing Issue 1 of TAS during his off hours. We struck up a decades-long friendship that ultimately turned into a writing gig that has proved both stimulating and rewarding. In terms of music reproduction, I find myself listening more than ever for the “little” things. Low-level resolving power, dynamic gradients, shadings, timbral color and contrasts. Listening to a lot of vocals and solo piano has always helped me recalibrate and nail down what I’m hearing. Tonal neutrality and presence are important to me but small deviations are not disqualifying. But I am quite sensitive to treble over-reach, and find dry, hyper-detailed systems intriguing but inauthentic compared with the concert-going experience. For me, true musicality conveys the cozy warmth of a room with a fireplace not the icy cold of an igloo. Currently I split my time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Studio City, California with my wife Judi Dickerson, an acting, voice, and dialect coach, along with border collies Ivy and Alfie.
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