Vienna Acoustics is a speaker manufacturer with a rich heritage. It started in 1989 in Vienna, Austria, and it still makes its speakers there today, some 35 years later. The Bach Ulitmate is a limited-edition speaker limited to 100 Pairs in the U.S. and Canada. They are gorgeous 2-way speakers with a clear mid/bass driver, which I will get into more later, the finish is a rosewood veneer that is visually stunning. The Bach Ultimate comes in at a U.S. retail price of $5999.00 for the pair, so they are not cheap, but certainly not expensive by the standards of hifi. If you remember these were with the load of gear we brought back from Capital Audiofest last fall and have been getting a lot of play time leading up to the review, so what do I think of them? Well to put it simply, they are wonderful speakers but let’s talk about what makes them wonderful speakers.

Unboxing and Setup

Unboxing the Bach Ultimates was a fairly straightforward experience if you have unboxed a few speakers before you should be good to handle these. They are light enough for a single person to handle but if you have an extra set of hands it is always helpful. Once out of the box, there are 4 spikes per speaker to screw in and you are ready to place them and hook them up. The binding posts on these speakers are substantial, to say the least. The posts are also nicely plated and easy to tighten down on spades or plug bananas into (I used both types)

For placement, I started with them in the same spot as my Sonus Faber Sonetto Vs, which is about 1.25 feet from the side walls and 2 feet from the back wall. I started with zero toe-in and slowly pivoted the front inward, also moving it further from the side walls until I thought the sound was no longer improving or even getting a bit worse then worked back to a sweet spot, for me this was about 1 inch further from the wall in the front than the back. This gave me good stereo separation as well as good imaging. They are rear-ported so you likely won’t want them right up against the wall, as I mentioned I had them around 2 feet out and they sounded great. I tried them back to the wall and I do prefer them out from the wall. The bass can get a bit boomy when they are close to the rear wall, however, I noticed they can get a touch thin when out super far. In my space, the 1-2 foot out seemed to work the best.

Sound

The Bach Ultimates are a two-way design with a 7″ XPP mid/bass driver and a 1″ Hand-Coated Silk Dome tweeter. The tweeter is actually shared with the Liszt and Beethoven Reference speakers. The XPP cone on the mid/bass driver is a proprietary thermoplastic created by Vienna Acoustics. The surround on the mid/bass driver is an inverted rubber type allowing for great extension and control. I probably couldn’t describe the material of the cone better than Vienna so below is a quote from them explaining the technology a bit more.

I powered the Bach Ultimates with the Java Single Shot, as well as my McItosh MC250 as well as the Orchard Audio Ulitmate Mono Premium amps. Vienna recommends at least 30 watts to power the Bach Ultimate and up to 200 watts. They have a sensitivity of 90dB so if you’re a tube fan you may be able to get away with lower-watt SET amps in smaller rooms such as my own. I would imagine these would pair very well with the likes of Viva. The Java Single shot will put out 400 watts into 4Ω, however, if you are not cranking the volume the speakers will not be drawing all that power. In general, it is safer to have too much power than too little as you likely won’t get into clipping or audible distortion with extra power. I would have had to turn the volume up to very uncomfortable levels before even thinking about distortion.

Bach Ultimate With the Java Single Shot.

The Single Shot is a GaN Fet class D amplifier, which offers a lot of power in a small and relatively cool package. I shouldn’t have to say this but the days of clinical and notchy Class D are long gone. There are plenty of Class D amps that are pushing the boundaries of Hifi now and Java is one of those amplifiers. You get an incredibly neutral sound with great detail without a bunch of energy going towards heating your house. The Bach Ultimates are fairly neutral speakers, leaning a bit to the warm side. They do reach down to 30hz as advertised in my room with a bump in the 40-100hz range then being fairly flat on out to the high-end. The top end is smooth but detailed with the silk dome tweeter. I prefer silk domes, as they are far less bright and have a more neutral sound to my ears. The mid-range is very clean, especially for a 2 way where the driver is pulling double duty, handling bass and mids. I did run these with a subwoofer as well as I prefer the extra depth and bass oomph you get with a subwoofer. I played some bassy tracks both with and without the sub and as good as the Bach Ultimates are, being supplemented with a sub makes them that much better. I also found with the sub I wasn’t turning the volume up as loud, leading to cleaner sound overall.

I played a variety of music through a few sources, including streaming with Roon through the Teac UD701-N, CDs in my Rotel CD-11 as well as analog with both the VPI Forever Model 1 and my VPI Prime. I wanted to see how they perform with different genres as well as different formats. The overarching conclusion is these are truly versatile speakers. They sound good no matter what you are listening to. They have a good-sized sound stage for their size, with good imaging as well. The phantom center has very impressive clarity, you would think there was a third speaker.

Bach Ulitmate With the McIntosh MC250

My McIntosh MC250 is approaching 60 years old and still kicking like it is new. There is something to be said for how things used to be built. I suspect with some maintenance it will last another 60 years. The Bach Ultimates are built in a way that makes them seem as though with proper care they will also be around for another 60 years as well. They are pretty heavy for their size and are made using quality parts and materials. So how are the Bach Ulitmates sound with the Mac, they are as classic as their namesake. The lush midrange is sublime, vocals are silky smooth and very realistic. I did have to turn the volume up a bit higher but man is it ever worth it. Even with the lower wattage bass response was still good and clean as well. Playing Panda by Designer, a rather fun song if you’re into rap, the bass was awesome, and the mids were perfect. The high-end was just enough to add the sparkle and detail without becoming fatiguing. I don’t think Vienna Acoustics ever expected this song to be played on these speakers, but they are up to the task. I had my playlist on shuffle when it came on and for some reason it made me want to queue up Death Grips on vinyl, which is exactly what I did.

The Money Store [album] has a wild cover, see below, which is actually what made me buy it in the first place. I was prepared for anything and the album does not disappoint. I’ll be honest, I do not know how to describe their sound, it has this underground hip-hop vibe, with experimental and rock influences. most of their tracks are super bass and synth-heavy with a lot of light transients in the higher registers. Their music is super nuanced, while the vocals may seem simple in some tracks the instrumentals are anything but. They sounded great on the Bach Ultimates. The little details and the major parts both got their chance to shine. My favorite track is probably “I’ve Seen Footage”, the whole energy of the track has you on the edge of your seat, and the track has great attack throughout that holds your attention. Honestly, the whole album is a wild ride, and listening on the Bach Ultimates makes it that much better.

One of the CDs I played is Johnny Cash’s “The Legend Of Johnny Cash”, one of the best Greatest Hits albums out there. The Wanderer and Hurt are probably my favorite tracks, while Nine Inch Nails originally did Hurt, something about Johnny Cash’s cover is extremely captivating. I think his voice fits the song a bit better. The Wander has a somewhat similar sound, both being dark and moody. The Bach Ultiamte’s slight lean to towards warmth and super-rich midrange really lends them to this type of music and they did Cash justice in every way.

Excerpt from the Ultimate Mono Premium Review:

Of course, I had to play some Bach on the Bach Ultimates, my favorite being his Cello Suite in G major. The prelude is probably recognizable by any classical music fan and even those who are not. Growing up playing the Violin, I am a sucker for any string arrangement and was always a fan of the lower notes of the cello. I felt like this is the perfect piece to play on these speakers as being a cello piece and spends the majority of its time in the lower and mid-range frequencies. I chose to listen to Yo-Yo Ma’s recording of the suite being that he is someone I admired growing up, and still do to this day. I have to say the texture of the bow on the strings was lifelike. You could get a sense of the recording space. There was a depth to the stage as if Yo-Yo Ma was sitting a good 20 feet behind the speakers, centered on the stage of a music hall. The sound was ethereal, begging me to turn up the volume more and more. These speakers live up to their namesake that much is for sure. It makes me wonder what Johann Sebastian Bach would think of this, if he could hear his own music back in this way, would be as moved as I am.

Drawing Comparisons

It can be hard to compare speakers sometimes because even if they measure similarly there are aspects that can differ, such as detail, clarity, imaging, and sound staging. I would say from the Vienna Acoustics Speakers I have heard they tend to have that slightly warm tonality and otherwise fairly flat through the mids and highs, they are not so different from my Sonus Fabers in that aspect. I would say if you like a touch of warmth and smooth lush mids these would be a good speaker to check out. They differ from Sonus Faber in their presentation, my Sonetto Vs have a larger sound stage, but the Bach Ulitmates are more refined and depending on the size of your space may be a better choice. The Bach Ultimates image more precisely than my Sonus Fabers as well. If you have a massive space you may find you want a larger speaker with more drivers to help fill that space but in small to medium spaces I would say I would likely prefer their sound to my Sonus Fabers. I can’t say there is an outright better speaker between the two and if I were in the market to buy a set of speakers it would be a tough decision between them. As Always I highly recommend visiting a dealer and hearing any piece of gear in person if possible.

Bach Ultimate Pros and Cons

Specs:

• Impedance: 4 Ohms
• Frequency Response: 35 – 20000 Hz
• Sensitivity: 90 dB
• Recommended Amplifiers: 30 – 200 Watts
• Drive Units:
  • 7” Mid-Woofer 6.5 inch X3P Cone, transparent
  • 1″ Dome-Tweeter Hand-coated Vienna Acoustics Silk Dome
• Bass System: Rear Vented Bass Reflex
  • Bass Function: Impulse Optimizing QB 3 (Quasi-Butterworth)
• Crossover Components:
  • MKP Capacitors 1% Tolerance, Coils 0,7% tol., Air Coils
  • Metal Film Resistors, 1% tol., Inductance Free
    • Crossover Function: 2-way 6 dB and 12 dB Bessel
• Weight per Pair: 80 Ibs
• Dimension (Wx H x D) inches: 7,4 x 34,6 x 9,8 (without spike assembly) | 9,5 x 36,5 x 11,8 (with spike assembly)

Price: $5999.00 (U.S. Pair)

Conclusion

The Bach Ulitmate speakers live up to their name, they are worthy of being named after one of the greatest composers the world has known. They sound great, with greater detail and bass than I would expect from a 2-way design. Vienna Acoustics has overcome one of the hurdles of using a single driver for both mids and bass with their proprietary driver and its implementation. The size of them also does not hold them back, they can fill a decent-sized room with music. The only thing I think could make them better is if they had 2 sets of binding posts for people who are interested in bi-amping or bi-wiring. It wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me, but something to be aware of if you already have the gear to do this. For the money, you get a solid speaker, with a flat response other than a bump in the bass, which reaches pretty low for a speaker of this size. If you are looking to upgrade your speakers and don’t want to break the bank, I think the Bach Ultimate offers great value, the sound you get is well worth the price.

For more information click the link below:

U.S. Distributor: Playback Distribution

https://playbackdistribution.com

Disclaimer: Playback Distribution provided Hifi Chicken with a demo pair of speakers for the purpose of this review, Playback Distribution, Vienna Acoustics nor any affiliate paid in part or full in exchange for this review