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Teufel’s Consono 25 speakers are slightly smaller than the more expensive 35 set, but they’re no less imposing. The huge subwoofer weighs almost 13kg and isn’t easily hidden in a small room. The mug-sized satellites are less obtrusive, though, so you should have no trouble finding homes for them.
The satellites use conventional speaker wire, but none is included in the box. You can buy a spool of cable directly from Teufel at the same time as the speakers, or from any other retailer, and cut it to length to suit your room.
The subwoofer has a power button on the front, but you’ll have to reach around the back to adjust the volume. This is less convenient than having it at the front, but once it’s been done you shouldn’t need to tweak it. Its inaccessible location should mean other people won’t mess up your carefully calibrated settings.
Unsurprisingly for such a large unit, bass was a major factor when listening to the Consono 25. At its default setting, the subwoofer came close to overwhelming the satellites in certain scenes of Casino Royale. Once we’d tweaked the crossover point using our reference amplifier, action sequences sounded much more rounded. Positional audio was very good, with no noticeable gaps in the soundstage once we’d positioned each satellite correctly. The horizontal centre speaker managed to make itself heard over the front and rears, producing clear speech in busy scenes.
Music was also handled well. Rock and electronic tracks sounded best, as the subwoofer was more than capable of handling the punchy bass. Gentler acoustic tracks were slightly overwhelmed, though, even using our custom crossover settings.
If you’ve got a large room that you want to fill with sound, it makes more sense to buy the more expensive Teufel Consono 35. Its larger subwoofer and twin-driver satellites produce louder, although not necessarily better, audio. However, smaller rooms will benefit from the crystal clear sound of the Consono 25, making it the ideal home cinema system for anyone who wants the flexibility of an AV amplifier but who wants to keep costs down.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Rating | **** |
| Speaker configuration | 5.1 |
| RMS power output | 400W |
| Power consumption standby | 1W |
| Power consumption on | 161W |
| Analogue inputs | none |
| Digital inputs | none |
| Dock connector | none |
| Headphone output | none |
| Satellite cable lengths | N/A |
| Cable type | replaceable (speaker wire) |
| Controls located | subwoofer |
| Digital processing | none |
| Tone controls | Subwoofer volume, phaze, auto level |
| Price | £179 |
| Supplier | http://www.teufelaudio.co.uk |
| Details | www.teufel.eu |
