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Sound. My direct comparator was the South-African Vivid Audio K-1 selling for thrice what the Lawrence Audio commands in Western Europe. The Violin generated an obviously smaller soundstage but remained realistic. The K-1 delivered more air and seamlessness of background which in fact is very comparable to an electrostatic speaker albeit with a bit more grip and density and a quite common sonic fingerprint for aluminum domes. The Violins performed like a genuine bass reflex design but remained very involving as their bandwidth was in fact extremely extended for a two-way stand mount and delivered seemingly abnormal quantities of clean bass. The Aurum Cantus tweeter reproduced good quantity of detail with a slight lower treble prominence that might help enhanced definition yet produced no audible trace of smear or edge.

In my system the Violin proved very fussy about speaker cable and had a clear predilection for pure cooper and sadly expensive variants like Organic or High Fidelity CT-1. Common silver got both harsher and somewhat dark to not suit the ribbon. As such the Violins really were the most cable-sensitive speakers I've yet hosted. I wouldn't say it's mandatory to spend crazy on wires but just that the right choice will have an unusually pronounded impact. Is that good or bad? To each his own. Some will appreciate the upgrade path with better cables, others will view it as an inherent limitation of the speaker. In recent shows Lawrence Liao relied on the top French Absolué Creation cables which might have boosted the Violin's performance.

What surprised me was their subjective lack of coloration and obvious ability to play music against a background balanced paradoxically between quiet and lively. I think of this as a common feature for speakers which don't have obvious weaknesses or bias. At times very linear speakers can sound sterile but this was never the case with my Lawrence Audio loaners. For reviewers it's actually not a good thing to focus too much on the music and not enough on the sonics. But that’s what the Violins provided me with to wholly confirm last year's impression when I heard 'em for the very first time.

I dislike 'musical' to describe the sonic identity of any hifi gear. But this time I don't see anything more fitting to capture the Violins’ character. Again I think it is due their very balanced character that the sound becomes less important than the music itself. These speakers provided me with a very enjoyable experience based on a good level of resolution, good power handling, excellent soundstaging and last but not least a seamless bandwidth perhaps due to the low crossover point that should cause less audible impact than being crossed higher. Against other two-ways speakers with a similar approach like Apertura Armonias, the Violins had this same kind of relaxed natural sound albeit with a bit less coloration.



Compared to the Vivid Audio K-1, the stereo image was neither as tall nor wide. The Lawrence speakers require very precise placement to cast the best possible virtual stage. In my opinion and personal setup, the 39cm stand would have been the better option as the shorter stand positioned the tweeters too low. I could even have done with just an additional 2 or 3 centimeters achievable with spikes for example. Once the placement of the Violins had been carefully adjusted, the soundstage was absolutely impressive for such a two-way loudspeaker.

Listening to Jan Gunnar Hoff’s last outing Living [2L, B00CANGHC0], his Steinway’s size seemed realistic, neither bloated nor shrunk. The quality of tone and level of detail felt slightly above average for a two-way speaker in this price range, with the piano standing clearly behind the speakers. The attacks were defined though not as accurate as over the Vivids. The decays too were less extended. The K-1 also produced a bit more density and air. The Violins nonetheless did a very satisfying job of rendering the subtle shadings of rhythmic pulses and melodic phrasing.