April 2020

World Premiere Review!
Endow Audio T35 Point-Array Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review
Exceptionally well made with impressive on- and off-axis sound.
Review By Brett Rudolph

  Last month I had the fortune of being asked to review new speakers from Endow, which made their debut at the Florida Audio Expo 2020. Endow Audio's T35s loudspeakers, according to the company, represents the same quality at a substantially reduced price without cutting corners. Indeed, they are certainly visually a sight to behold. Tim Strunk and his wife arrived in their suburban with speakers in tow. We spent about forty-five minutes uncrating and setting up the speakers. The binding posts are very well made, and you can tighten them with your fingers.

The engineering itself was fascinating; Endow utilized multiple drivers in various phases and closed baffle in a very non-trivial design to allow for a very expansive off-axis listening field. Additionally, the speakers do not have any crossover built-in within the Point Array (read: no high pass filter), with the 12" woofer having a low pass filter. There are no filters above 100 Hz, which is a factor in sonic performance. These speakers do not suffer from the problems many speakers have where reproduction is hindered by crossover issues, which might negatively impact the overall sonics at specific points. This the designers felt was something they needed to address. Even the woofer rolls off naturally, so while personally not tested, I was told, they tried using the speakers bi-amp'ed, by sending full-range to both sets of posts and letting the drivers handle the sound naturally.

Getting Started
One of the first things Tim mentioned was the replacement of the tweeters in the speakers in the units. Therefore, there might be a change in sound during my time with the speakers. Rather than be caught unaware, I put on music and let them play for a couple of days. Drivers that need time to break-in tend to change their sound. Luckily, after about four days of playing music, they settled down, and the review could get underway. Also, during the initial phase that I worked on was the speaker placement. As mentioned, Endow worked hard to create a large sweet spot or more aptly put, good off-axis listening. The installation of the speakers made this very evident. While slight adjustments do make some difference, overall, it was amazing how little modification was needed to get them to perform with exquisite perfection.

It was time to sit back and start with real review with all the legwork completed...

The Audition
The first selection on the list to start the review was Andrea Bocelli's Romanza "Time To Say Goodbye" [ALMUD]. Bocelli is one of my favorite opera singers. Bocelli's voice is full of a richness that makes playback a challenge. The addition of Sarah Brightman adds both a female vocalist and all the complexities that represent together the synergy is even more difficult and represents a higher degree of effort.

Endow Audio's T35s speakers did a remarkable job of reproduction. They faded away, leaving in their place a vast soundstage filled with the majestic sound of two award-winning performers harmonizing together. There was a slight brightness in the reproduction of the music. It happened mainly with Sarah and was not overly evident and did not take away from the overall performance.

The second selection was Billy Joel Songs In The Attic [Mobile Fidelity] song title "Miami 2017 (Seen the lights go out on Broadway)." The live track is another one of my favorites because it tends to have a vast range of sounds and tends to cause speakers to lose their cohesiveness. Additionally, in many cases, the sound stage tends to compress and become somewhat uninvolving instead of what should be exciting to the listener. Again the Endow T35s shined with this selection. The listener enjoyed the same enveloping soundstage as the first selection. The speakers faded back, and the music took immediate and total control. There was no lack of consistency or presence to the music. You felt transported to the performance itself! I was quickly feeling the excitement and energy meant to come from the recording. Certain facets became apparent, which until hearing them on these speakers I had never noticed before.

The third selection was composer Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring [Telarc] performed by Nielson's 5th Symphony as conducted by Jarvi with the Cincinnati Symphony. The Rite of Spring is a beautiful musical score and is easy to listen to again and again. It is light and airy in some sections, yet holds a myriad of instruments together to create a complex and darker soundscape. Together they form a synergy of sound that, when reproduced correctly, will overwhelm the senses and make one thing of spring in the best possible of ways.

The speaker's soundstage, as has been mentioned, is perhaps one of their best qualities. On this selection, it is one of their best assets too. It allows them to create a tapestry of sound, which nearly brought tears to my eyes as the music unfolded. While the selection is relatively long, at no time did it seem to be overwhelming. It appeared to be effortless and timeless. The choice was over as quickly as it started. I had to play it again to make sure I had not missed anything because it went by so fast. It was as impressive a performance as I had heard.

That said, the soundscape and imaging were so exceptional, but there was one flaw if you could call it that within the reproduction. Many speakers allow one to be able to pinpoint, or nearly so, the location of specific musical instruments within an orchestral arrangement. However, these speakers did not allow me that ability quite so easily within my listening room. It was possible, but you had to work a bit more on speaker-within-room positioning to accomplish that feat.

My final selection was Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. It happens to be one of my favorite albums because it is incredibly hard to play on many levels. It starts with the beating of a heart, and although this might seem somewhat straightforward, the bass can overwhelm speakers and make the bass muddy. However, the Endow T35 speakers did a great job. The bass was extremely controlled. There was no point in the album that it became garbled or lost its coherence.

Throughout the entire DSOTM album, the speakers did a fantastic job of handling the music reproduction correctly. The soundstage was outstanding! It was one of the best I've heard in quite some time. The lack of pinpoint accuracy is not a problem with musical selections such as this since it is far more about the imaging than anything else. There were parts of the recording that I felt seemed more energetic than I heard in the past. Again if there were any minor complaints, it would be a slight brightness, but in this case, it was an asset. The main reason for this comment hears word inflection that I didn't know existed.

The Final Decision?
The decision on which speakers to purchase is always tricky, and the Endow T35s do not make things very simple. They might be slightly bright depending on your chosen amplifier and/or cables. Within my listening room, they lacked a small bit of pinpoint accuracy yet imaged phenomenally well! You need to hear them decide for themselves as they are exceptionally well made, their off-axis sound and their ability to disappear is very impressive. It's hard to say enough about that, they truly are that outstanding!

Specifications
Type: Point-array floorstanding speaker
Point Array: Nine 3" full-range drivers
Midrange / Woofer: 8" loading driver and 12" active woofer
Woofer Crossover: 100 Hz
Nominal Impedance: 4 Ohms
Peak Output: 100dB @ one meter
Bi-amp and Bi-wire capable
Point Array technology (patent pending)
Passive Signal Processor (PSP) technology
Weight: 90 lbs.
Cabinet: Piano black
Note: The Point Array can be powered by the same amplifier as the 12" Woofer, or separately, depending on preference and/or room size. 
Warranty: Two Year Extended 
Price: $19,900 including delivery

Company Information
Endow Audio
E-mail: info@endowaudio.com 
Website: EndowAudio.com