VISATON KAIUTINRAKENNUSSARJA PORTRAIT (pari)

Extract from "Selbst ist der Mann"

The aim of this VISATON development was to produce speakers that were so flat, they could be hung on the wall like pictures. Used on their own, these speakers, fitted with a high-quality 2-band system using a 13-cm low- to mid-range unit and a dome tweeter, sounded a little thin - the bass end was missing, which is completely understandable with cabinets of this size. However, combined with a powerful active subwoofer, whose low frequencies cannot be located by the human ear and can thus be positioned anywhere in the room, they are transformed into a visually unobtrusive but acoustically very potent system, which can be also be combined with other Portraits or other Visaton models to make up a fully-blown surround sound system.

Extract from Klang & Ton

The Portrait, which is the name of this VISATON speaker, requires a depth of no more than 40 millimetres. In our opinion, that must be a record.
This flat speaker can survive without a subwoofer due to its wall-mounting but, in that case, will not produce any breathtaking surprises in terms of volume. The speakers demonstrated their true colours, however, during our listening test in conjunction with the subwoofer recommended by VISATON.
In that combination, the speakers made a good impression and produced natural, clear sound, provided the volume was kept to within the optimum range. With voices the Portrait seemed to be particularly at home. The whole effect is rather fascinating because the music appears to come out of the wall as if from a stage. The spatial qualities were good, offering clear sound reproduction across the full range, and without the treble range becoming too poignant.
When combined with the subwoofer, the Portrait speakers prove to be not just a stop-gap but rather a fully viable set of loudspeakers producing a sound experience that goes far beyond what you would expect from a set-up at this price level, around 100 a pair, and with such an unusual appearance. Congratulations to VISATON and thanks for producing such a brave concept which will help to solve many a loudspeaker positioning problem.