Amphion Two18 Nearfield Studio Monitor Amphion

The Amphion Two18 is a 2-way passive monitor with a 1″ titanium dome tweeter, dual 6.5″ aluminum woofers, a passive radiator for controlled bass, and a high-density Corian^® waveguide for wide dispersion and phase-coherent point-source performance.

Already a hit with hit-making producers, mixers, and engineers, the Two18 sits at the top of the Amphion studio monitor range. It features two custom aluminum woofers that operate together in perfect phase, and a highly responsive titanium tweeter mounted in a proprietary Corian waveguide that enables the entire system to function as a point-source monitor—the holy grail of speaker technology. To handle the bass frequencies, the Amphion Two18 uses dual passive radiators in a sealed enclosure, which offer a controlled, accurate, and consistent bass, even at low volumes—great for long mixing or mastering sessions. Amphion Two18 studio monitors are transparent and un-hyped across the entire frequency spectrum enabling you to make proper EQ choices based on what’s actually been recorded and not the “voicing” of the speakers. They also provide exceptionally precise imaging for precision panning, and a wide sweet spot, since their point-source behavior keeps the sound well-balanced even during long “road trips” down the console.

Amphion Two18—Just the Facts:

• Amphion’s supreme nearfield performer in the studio
• Delivers unsurpassed levels of detail, 3D depth, stereo width, phase/frequency response
• Consistent mix translation
• Point-source behavior due to 1.6kHz crossover and proprietary Corian waveguide
• Passive radiator enhances bass without bass reflex port noise
• External power amp required; a perfect match for the Amphion Amp100/Amp500

Amphion Two18—Behind the Grille

Amphion’s vertically oriented Two18 is a high-end passive monitor with dual custom-designed 6.5″ aluminum drivers, a high-density Corian waveguide, and a sealed enclosure with passive radiators to deliver natural, transparent, and un-altered sound. The dual LF/MF drivers work in tandem with precise phase alignment to reproduce a wide frequency range with exceptional accuracy.

Extremely detailed but neither bright or harsh, Amphion Two18 studio monitors allow you to achieve great results fast while achieving accurate translation to any other listening system. These audiophile-quality passive monitors feature custom drivers, including a 6-1/2″ aluminum woofer (well, two to be precise) that’s physically time-aligned with 1″ titanium tweeter housed in a proprietary Corian waveguide that eliminates phase shift. This configuration enables the Two18 to act like a point-source monitor* providing the added advantage of a balanced sound regardless of your listening position in the room (an excellent feature during playback for clients not sitting in an otherwise narrow sweet spot).

Power recommendation

The Two18 is a passive monitor that requires a recommended 50 to 200 watts of external power amplification. Recommended – The advantage of a passive design is that the enclosure can remain dedicated to the proper placement and implementation of drivers, rather than dedicating half of the cabinet to the amplifier and cooling devices. It also enables the external power amp to be laid out as in the best way possible for optimal performance. The Amphion Amp100 or Amp500 are purpose-built to be perfect partners for the Two18. 

*PAD For the Record: Mixing quietly in mono from a single point-source monitor, such as the old single-speaker Auratones (the 5″ bookshelf speaker you see sitting on the meter bridge of world-class studios), is one of the best-kept secrets for mix balance and translation. Point-source monitors eliminate the phase and crossover coloration based on the physical distance between the drivers. Another advantage of mono point-source mixing is consistent balance regardless of the position of your head in relation to the monitor.

Controlled dispersion via custom Corian waveguide

According to Amphion founder, Anssi Hyvönen, point-source is the only way to properly reproduce sound. Even though Amphion monitors don’t look like it, they behave like point-source monitors due to the crossover at 1.6kHz, which leaves the critical listening range of 2kHz to 5kHz untouched. Additionally, the Corian waveguide deals with the physical properties of point-source monitoring.  

Amphion’s custom waveguide is responsible for the Two18’s wide dispersion and simultaneous ability to physically act as a point-source monitor. While this would appear to be counterintuitive, since a point-source monitor would have a tweeter inside a woofer, the goal of the waveguide is to eliminate the phase shift that would otherwise occur due to the physical distance between tweeter and driver. Point-source monitoring also eliminates the need for additional time-alignment circuitry. However, the downside of point-source monitors is that having the tweeter inside the woofer reduces dispersion and makes for a very narrow sweet spot. Amphion’s proprietary waveguide solves the problems of phase shift, time-alignment, and narrow dispersion.

To design their waveguide, Amphion chose Corian, a product created by DuPont for, believe it or not, kitchen and bathroom surfaces. Corian not only rivals the density of granite, it’s non-porous, highly reflective, and can be seamlessly molded into limitless forms via a process called thermoforming. Corian also lasts a lifetime. The Corian waveguide’s shape is determined via computer modeling and simulations to enable the Two18’s tweeter and woofer to function like a point source monitor.

Passive radiator bass enhancement

Another design philosophy adhered to by Amphion’s Anssi Hyvönen is that in his view, ported monitors should be banned from music making. The upside of ported speakers is that they can output more impressive low end than infinite-baffle systems (sealed cabinets), though they exhibit a steeper bass roll-off. The downside is that the waves emanating from them can make noise and interfere up the spectrum through the low mids and midrange. There’s also a possibility of smearing transients, as well as produce a phenomenon called one-note bass, wherein the resonant frequency of the cabinet overtakes the low end.

Amphion’s solution is the use of a passive radiator, which works much like the bass reflex in order to increase bass response in an otherwise too small cabinet. The radiator is a diaphragm used to cover an inconveniently large port. It also reduces port turbulence, which can interfere with the direct sound of the drivers. Amphion uses passive radiators in a sealed cabinet, which maintains the same low-frequency response regardless of volume—hence the Two18’s ability to remain true to the source at low levels.

What the pros are saying about the Amphion Two18:

“My Amphion system is the most truth I’ve ever had in a monitor setup.”

—Producer-engineer-mixer, Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waite, No Doubt, Norah Jones)

 “Beautiful, accurate, honest, inspiring!”

—Mixer-engineer-producer, Dave Reitzas (Madonna, Seal, Barbara Streisand, Mary J Blige)

“I love my Amphions!”

Audio engineer-producer, Jack Joseph Puig (The Black Crowes, John Mayer, Weezer, Green Day)

“…incredibly articulate from top to bottom.”

—Software designer, Casey Dowdell—Co-founder Bricasti Design

About Amphion

The overall design philosophy and aesthetic of Amphion’s founder, Anssi Hyvönen, is that monitors should reproduce music in all its natural splendor and beauty without adding or removing anything—just the pure and simple truth of what you’ve recorded or mixed. To achieve this goal, Amphion has spent considerable effort developing technologies that provide an honest representation of program material, beginning with audiophile speakers.

Whether you are composing, tracking, mixing, or mastering, the Amphion studio monitors enable you to work faster and achieve premium results. These transparent and elegantly-truthful studio monitors are perfectly balanced, and easily respond to any acoustic environment, personal taste, or music genre.

The sound of the Amphion Two18 is as impressive as the list of professionals using it and their clients. Shouldn’t a pair be on your workstation or meter bridge? For more information, call or chat online with your PAD Professional today.

Specifications

• Operating principle: Two-way, passive radiators
• Drivers: 1″ (25mm) titanium tweeter; 2x 6-1/2″ (150mm) aluminum woofers
• Crossover point: 1.6kHz
• Impedance: 4 ohm
• Sensitivity: 89dB @ 2.83V/1m
• Frequency response: 39Hz–20kHz ±3dB
• Power recommendation: 50–200W (External power amp required)
• Connectors: Binding post
• Dimensions (HWD): 21-21/32″ x 7-1/2″ x 12″ (550 x 191 x 305 mm)
• Weight: 40 lb. (18 kg)
• Handmade in Finland