Some years ago, in 2016, Alta Audio came out with a floor-standing loudspeaker that deeply affected me due to its ability to cast a vast, life-like soundstage with intricate pinpoint accuracy in the imaging while keeping an intimate overall sound. It was called the Titanium Hestia, after the Greek Goddess “of the hearth, the home and family,” weighing about 140 lbs and costing USD 32,000 a pair.

The Hestia was endowed with a variation of a D’Appolito Configuration and an open-back dipole (it contained the tweeter and three midrange drivers). The woofer was encased in the closed bottom part of the cabinet. The dipole, in particular, was critical to the impressive soundstage.

I never even considered letting a pair of Hestias in my apartment; I knew they would not work in my space; the bass alone would overwhelm it. It was the first time I seriously thought about moving out of Manhattan into a house upstate or even to New Jersey—but I never did.

Years later, at Axpona 2023, Alta Audio revealed a new version: the Titanium Hestia II.

Coincidentally, my hotel room at Axpona (for sleeping) was next door to the Alta Audio/Infigo showroom, which was always packed with impressed show visitors. I had ample time to listen.

The improved Hestia II worked well in the relatively small hotel room space, and the bass was better controlled. Suffice it to say, my affection for that unique soundstage returned. I had several discussions with Alta Audio Founder/CEO Michael Levy about possibly reviewing them in my apartment for Audiophilia; maybe the Hestia II would work in my space for a detailed review. However, I was planning to take a complicated academic sabbatical out of the country with my wife and children starting in December and returning in August; a possible review would have to wait.

Ultimately, there was no need: at Axpona 2024 (in April, while I was still away), Alta Audio debuted a new loudspeaker model named “Aphrodite” after the Goddess of Love (USD 50,000/pair); the Hestia was discontinued. The Aphrodite is a significant redesign/reengineering of the Hestia, but similar in looks. (Details below.)

I am happy to report that Alta Audio set up a review pair of Aphrodite in my apartment, which is the focus of this review. Special thanks to Levy for arranging delivery quickly and spending the next afternoon with me, listening and helping with tinkering to optimize the positioning.

How do the parts/construction of the Aphrodite differ from the Hestia?

Levy explained to me six critical differences:

It uses a fully symmetrical D’Appolito Dipole midrange arrangement, where the Hestia was quasi D’Appolito. The resultant unified impulse response is now more symmetrical. There are now two of Alta Audio’s titanium former 3.1-inch voice coil carbon fibre/Rohacell composite cone 6-inch midranges for enhanced midrange detail and dynamics.
The Aphrodite is a 4-way system that incorporates a mid-bass coupler. An exceptional 9-inch Carbon fibre/Rohacell composite cone driver optimizes mid-bass detail. It is designed to meld flawlessly into the 6-inch midranges.
A new version of our 5.1-inch voice coil 10.4-inch Titanium former subwoofer, faster, deeper bass.
Multi-stranded, variable gauge, silver coated, single crystal deoxygenated copper, Teflon shielded internal cabling.
Upgraded XTL II bass tuning for higher accuracy and depth.
Upgraded crossover parts

How does the Aphrodite look?

In short, Aphrodite is gorgeous in Piano Black and bold-looking. As with all Alta Audio speakers, the cabinet is not just a rectangular box; its sides taper off from the bottom up to the top. The drivers are beautifully displayed in the front, from top to bottom, with the symmetrical D’Appolito near the top, followed by the larger 9” mid-bass and then the thunderous-looking 10.4” subwoofer. The Alta Audio logo is a dash further down, followed by a bass port. A tasteful-looking black removable cloth cover for the front can easily be attached and removed magnetically.

At first sight, the entire cabinet appears to be a solid enclosure. Still, a closer look reveals that the upper half of the unit’s back and sides have a sturdy black cloth hood protecting the open-back dipole, which, when exposed, looks like a thin black monolith with the back of the drivers showing. It connects magnetically and firmly and should be kept on even when playing music, but it can be taken off to look at (admire?) the dipole. Only the subwoofer is enclosed/sealed in the lower part, the Alta XTL bass enclosure, the back of which, near the bottom, is the pair of speaker posts (for the use of either jumpers or Bi-wiring or Bi-amping). “Aphrodite” is written in orange script font between the posts for a final elegant touch.

Four black spikes screw into the bottom (I have a rug, so yes, I used the spikes).

Specifications

Frequency Response: 22Hz to 47khz

Requirements: Minimum 50 to 400 Watts, Can be Bi-wired, or Bi-amped

Sensitivity: 90 dB / 2.83 Volts @ 1Meter

Height: 54 inches

Width: 15 inches at the bottom, narrowing to 81/2 inches on top

Depth: 18 inches at bottom

Weight: 137 lbs

Driver complement:

1 Titanium former 10-inch Woofer in Alta XTL bass tuning

1 Hex cone titanium former 9-inch lower midrange

2 Hex cone titanium former 6-inch upper midranges

1 Amorphous core high output ribbon tweeter

Sensitivity: 90 dB / 2.83 Volts @ 1Meter

Frequency response: 22Hz to 47kHz +/- 3dB

Impedance: 4 Ohms

Requirements: Minimum 50 to 400 Watts, Can be Bi-wired, or Bi-amped

Configuration: Open-backed D’Appolito (the tweeter sandwiched between the two 6-inch upper midranges and the 9-inch lower midrange are all in the open-back). The 10-inch Woofer is enclosed below the open-back in the Alta XTL bass enclosure.

Alta Audio Technology: DampHard Construction, XTL Bass II

Setup

I currently have, as my reference, the Alta Audio Adam speakers (USD 18,000/pair, 96lbs each, 41” tall), which exhibit a couch-shaking low bass, a large soundstage, and superb imaging—an outstanding speaker in that price range.

I keep them bi-wired to a pair of Audio by Van Alstine DVA M750 Monoblocks. Upon delivery of the Aphrodite (amply burned in already), I had the delivery men place them approximately where the Adam had been and bi-wired just as before.

Unlike the Adam, however, minimal changes in positioning the Aphrodite led to significant changes in the soundstage and imaging. Playing a small selection of music repeatedly led to an optimal positioning for my ears. The repositioning led to placing them wider apart than the Adam, slightly tinkering with the toe-in and tipping the front of the speakers marginally lower (by raising the back-most two spikes).

Sound

What was immediately apparent was an extraordinary (massive and complex) sound stage/imaging reminiscent–in spirit–of the Hestia and a much tighter and more controlled bass than the Adam. The depth of the soundstage alone was stunning. I could hear so many little new things in the music scattered delicately and precisely across an expansive 3-D stage, the likes of which I had never heard before, keeping me listening and engaged in a way I had never experienced at home in the past.

(Yes, the stiff price increase from $18 K to $50 K has its reasons.)

Music

I begin with three classic recordings that immediately helped me compare my current references and listening experiences. I then moved on to enjoy new music and share my thoughts.

Falla: The Three-Cornered Hat, Ansermet conducting, L’orchestre de la Suisse Romande Decca LP (1961) (vinyl). I have included this classic LP in several reviews, but the presentation now, through the Aphrodite, was profound; the difference was night and day from what I have heard before in my home; now, there was a large, palpable 3-D quality to everything. Instead of locating some tiny spot in the soundstage where (say) Theresa Berganza was singing, the location appeared now through the Aphrodite as a 3-D region in space with her at the center of that designated region. The timpani projection and castanets had a front, back, and width that were more realistic and engaging than ever before.

The Bennie Maupin Quartet, Early Reflections, the track “Escondido,” Cryptogramophone (2008), Qobuz (16/44), and CD: The unique timbre of the bass clarinet, along with its natural resonate nature, was visceral and as perfect sounding as I could imagine; the pitch, high or when going as low as it gets, could be felt (on my couch) without any disturbing instances of resonance in my apartment.

Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto Getz/Gilberto 1STEP Numbered Limited Edition 180g 45rpm 2LP, Impex Records [Check out the Audiophilia review).

“The Girl From Ipanema”. When Astrud Gilberto appears from the right channel, something special is immediately noticeable (and brought out beautifully by the Aphrodite; 3-D indeed): Her voice does not sound as if from the right speaker; it is behind it to the right, extending way back with delicate other nuances of her presence. Stunning.

Roger Eno, the skies: rarities. Deutsche Grammophon (2024).(Qobuz 24/96).

Minimalist, ambient classical music; sophisticated and intricate, but with delicate use of piano (particularly with the sustain pedal), electronics, and other subdued percussion. The Aphrodite presented this soothing, mysterious, and haunting, at times, music almost like a surround sound. I particularly enjoyed Track 4, “Above and Below.”

A Jazz Trio album with guitar, drums, and pipe organ. Breaking the Shell, with Bill Frisell (guitar), Andrew Cyrille (drums) & Kit Downes on Pipe Organ. Red Hook Records (2024). It is an experimental take on the classic use of a Hammond B-3 in Jazz Trios.

It was recorded in St. Luke-in-the-Fields church in Greenwich Village, New York City, to take advantage of their Casavant organ and acoustics. This is an oddity, but worth checking out.

Creative, highly improvisational, exploratory, and mystical sounding with masterful musicianship, Aphrodite’s spatial cues made me feel like I was inside the church with its high ceilings and reverberations. Track 11, “Este a Székelyeknél” (In the evening at the Székelys), is based on a Hungarian-Transylvanian folk tune composed for piano by Béla Bartók in 1908 (from Ten Easy Piano Pieces); Bartók then orchestrated it in 1931 with woodwinds and strings (No. 1 from Hungarian Sketches). At times, both Frisell’s guitar work and Downes’ organ imitated the high-pitched wood instruments of the Bartók orchestral version, while Cyrille tastefully chimed in with the resonating bells on his cymbals. It gave the piece a pleasant, oriental-like sound that Aphrodite displayed with impressive finesse and delicacy.

Summary

The Aphrodite brings Alta Audio loudspeakers to a new height. It displays spectacular imaging within an enormous, complex sound stage while significantly refining Alta Audio’s signature natural live sound, powerful low but tight/controlled bass, warmth, intimacy, and clarity. When I asked Levy, “Why the name Aphrodite?” he said, “Aphrodite was my maternal grandmother's name. She was my goddess as a child.” Sweet.

Yes, a must-hear Goddess!

Further information: Alta Audio