Estelon X Diamond Mk 2 User manual

from Alfred & Partners
Designed
by Alfred Vassilkov
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Model X Diamond Mk II Serial Number __________

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Your ESTELON loudspeakers have passed our quality
control:
– Technical test passed.
Engineer, Estelon
– Listening test passed.
Alfred Vassilkov
Head of Research and Development, Estelon

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Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................4
1.1. ALFRED &PARTNERS OÜ...................................................................4
1.2. ESTELON XDIAMOND MK II .............................................................6
1.2.1. Cabinet Design..........................................................................7
1.2.2. Transducers.................................................................................8
1.2.3. Crossovers.....................................................................................9
1.2.4. Finish..............................................................................................10
2. SPECIFICATIONS .................................................................................... 12
3. UNPACKING INSTRUCTIONS........................................................ 13
4. SET-UP ...........................................................................................................17
4.1. INITIAL POSITIONING IN THE ROOM .............................................. 17
4.2. INSTALLING THE BASES.....................................................................18
4.3. WIRING ................................................................................................... 22
4.4. BREAK-IN PERIOD ............................................................................. 23
4.5. SET-UP RECOMMENDATIONS BY ALFRED VASSILKOV...... 23
5. TAKING CARE OF YOUR ESTELON SPEAKERS.............24
6. ESTELON / ALFRED & PARTNERS OÜ – TECHNICAL
SERVICES.......................................................................................................... 25

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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Alfred & Partners OÜ
Alfred & Partners, the Tallinn-based design studio, think-
tank, and owner of Estelon, is not simply a business but a passionate
dedication to a single, heartfelt idea: the development and
manufacturing of instruments capable of unveiling the rich,
emotional tapestry of music in a personally involving and captivating
way.
For more than 35 years Electro-acoustics Engineer and
company founder, Alfred Vassilkov, has been relentlessly designing
loudspeakers. His designs have been awarded numerous patents
while also achieving much success in Europe. In 2010 a decision was
made: to establish his own brand based on his extensive experience,
knowledge, and relentless passion.
Alfred Vassilkov, the Designer and Founder of Estelon

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Such dedication carries the implicit responsibility of a wholly
uncompromising approach to audio design. Pride of craftsmanship
shares equal footing with sonic innovation. Alfred Vassilkov’s visionary
achievements along with his tireless drive and quest for musical truth
created an innovative brand of loudspeakers whose products offer
unrivalled musicality and incomparable beauty: Estelon. More
importantly, Estelon offers a distinctive key that assists listeners in
unlocking the vast structure of emotion through music.
For the Estelon brand, the visionary development started in
2006 when Alfred started analyzing materials and technologies for
producing cabinets with streamlined shapes that could not only
reproduce the best sound but also assimilate into home interiors with
an elegant, sculptured look. Years of research and development led
him to a proprietary, crushed marble-based composite. The material,
having excellent stiffness and anti-resonant attributes, as well as
various technical advantages, allows the creation of molded cabinets
with a purposeful design that enhances the sound quality of the
entire audio system. Estelon’s unique E-lon© shape creates the ideal
conditions for sound reproduction. Its curved, smooth form eliminates
corner reflections. A sculpted narrowing of the area where high
frequency emanates helps achieve 0 degrees phase at the listening
position, while the cabinet’s larger radiuses create controlled
directivity of the propagating soundwaves. The cabinet then becomes
wider and deeper at its base for both stability and to allow effective
low-frequency reproduction.
Every loudspeaker produced must pass Alfred & Partners'
extreme level of quality control. Each pair of loudspeakers is
completely hand-built, painted, assembled, tuned, tested, and then
listened to individually. All Estelon products are meticulously
handmade in Estonia, to the company’s exacting standards.

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1.2. Estelon X Diamond Mk II
The Estelon X Diamond Mk II is the result of a culmination of
knowledge and performance, trickled-down from our flagship
loudspeakers and 10 years of history and experience. The X Diamond
Mk II is a host of technological developments and a highly
sophisticated full-range speaker.
Paramount among the physical design elements continues
to be the use of the E-lon© shape cabinet form. This form has been
developed and perfected over a five-year period. Its design and
construction allow it to easily couple with non-acoustically treated
listening areas (i.e. normal living spaces). Our respect for the legacy
Model XA and its design continues and remains a constant source of
inspiration. Premium quality components in separate chambers,
state-of-the-art carbon-fiber resonant control, and applied isolation
technology along with top-quality dampening materials, are all
contributing factors to an exhilarating audio experience.
Many years have passed since the genesis of the Estelon, and
much has been learned while embodying all achievements. The roots
and choices have evolved into the Estelon sound. With the X
Diamond Mk II, the most beloved element of Estelon products has
been reaffirmed again: simplicity. Featuring “minimalistic” second-
order crossovers and the refined combination of the selected drivers
and the acoustical attributes of the enclosure, has allowed Estelon to
achieve their signature sound along with enhanced performance
qualities.
The X Diamond Mk II is a speaker designed for larger
listening rooms [suggested room size 25-80 m²(270-860 square feet)]
and provides exceptionally wide imaging, deep sound stage, and
thrilling life-like dynamics. It is far more than speaker drivers in a

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cabinet. It is a genuine musical instrument in its own right, and when
carefully integrated into a system and listening space, it is capable of
connecting the listener to the music in a most profound and
transcending way. Everything is expressed naturally, balanced, and
emotionally engaging. The X Diamond Mk II possesses an eminently
musical temperament that is immediately evident upon your first
audition and every subsequent listening experience.
The X Diamond Mk II will surprise the listener with the
extremely defined and unexpectedly deep bass, clear and articulate
mid-range, and musically detailed and dynamic high frequencies. The
X Diamond Mk II is capable of reproducing the finest nuances of
music.
1.2.1. Cabinet Design
Chief among the physical design elements of the X Diamond
Mk II is the use of the E-lon© cabinet form that has been developed
and honed over many years of research and testing in order to find
the right material that would allow the highest quality of cabinet and
construction for the loudspeaker’s acoustically engineered shape. The
cabinet is extremely rigid, highly dense, resonant-free, and with
exceptional internal dampening and acoustical control. This is the
result of time-honoured construction techniques, a special casting
process, the use of a proprietary marble-based composite along with
the extensive use of sub-structural stiffening spars that break up
resonance nodes and create an internal acoustic chamber of non-
parallel sidewalls that is all but immune to unwanted standing waves
that can cause a coloured sound. This is why the Estelon speakers
reproduce a very natural and balanced sound.

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During the final hand-assembly process each speaker is
individually tuned to maintain uniformity from unit to unit. Unusual in
its defined form, the result of this cabinet construction allows it to be
easily paired even in an acoustically untreated room, allowing the
bass to roll effortlessly into the listening space.
1.2.2. Transducers
The German-made Accuton drivers employed are the
highest expression of transducer design. The 280 mm (11 inches)
ceramic sandwich woofer has been designed by Accuton engineers. It
has an extremely stiff and lightweight membrane along with a very
long linear excursion, yielding very low nonlinear distortions down to
lowest notes. It can reproduce a truly deep, accurate, and effortless
bass that has also been described as “live bass”. This is a result of
meticulous engineering. The former guarantees very low energy
storage and good heat transfer.
The 173 mm (7 inches) mid-woofer has a ceramic membrane
working in a piston-like mode across the midrange up to low treble.
Thus, it can produce a very clean impulse response while it’s harmonic
distortion products and intermodulation distortion (IMD) are on a
vanishingly low level. Extra care has been taken to dampen the
breakup modes for extended linear frequency response. The X
Diamond Mk II produces bass and dynamics that belie the size of the
loudspeaker enclosure.
The 25 mm (1 inch) chemical vapor-deposited diamond
membrane tweeter from Accuton can reproduce sounds up to the
highest frequencies (up to 60 kHz), with no distortions in the human
hearing range. Diamond is the hardest known material, with the
highest speed of sound in any known material. This results in a perfect

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step response, while the first breakup modes occur way out of the
human hearing range. The imaging precision, the instrument
spatiality, the contours in 3D space, and the microdetail clarity
produced by this tweeter is unmatched.
The sonic character of the Estelon loudspeakers that feature
diamond tweeters is not what you would expect: an overly “brilliant”
or “hard-as-diamond” sound, which in most cases is caused by a high
amount of harmonic distortion. In our loudspeakers, through the
properly designed crossover, the diamond tweeters simply disappear,
and only the music remains. It is like being present at a live concert
where one can hear the instruments but not the speakers
reproducing the sound. The Estelon Diamond loudspeakers offer a
new way of relaxed listening, and you get to sense all the details that
you have never heard before on your old records and digital music.
You will be immersed in acoustical spaces with a “live” 3D presence
that was never there before.
Each drive unit is “broken-in” by running an audio signal
through them for several hours before selecting matching drivers for
each pair of speakers. When the drivers are in matching pairs, another
“break-in” with an audio signal is conducted. Finally, drivers are fitted
into the finished cabinet for individual tuning.
1.2.3. Crossovers
The Estelon X Diamond Mk II has a finely tuned crossover. It
is second-order, allowing it to be incredibly fast and with perfect
phase transition. The crossover point of the tweeter and mid-woofer is
at 1.9kHz and between the mid-woofer and woofer at 85Hz. The
crossovers are mounted in a special isolated chamber to reduce the
microphonic effect and vibration influence.

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Countless hours of R&D and real-world listening test have
been conducted of each crossover design and its related parts, right
down to the physical placement of each part and its positioning
within the cabinet. The crossover components have been chosen
from among the absolute best available, and the synergy of the end
result has been a significant deciding factor. Every component is
measured to yield perfect pairs.
In order to achieve the highest degree of micro-detail
fidelity, the filter components are connected directly, via point-to-
point techniques, all hand-soldered with high-quality solder, and with
the shortest possible cable runs between drivers, crossover and
binding posts. All internal cabling is from the renowned cable
manufacturer Kubala-Sosna.
The crossover filters are in their own isolated chamber to
reduce the microphonic effects and vibration influence. The crossover
filter slopes between woofer and mid-woofer are third-order, and
second-order between mid-woofer and tweeter. Each crossover
construction process involves careful attention from our engineers
and designers, where every process is carefully thought out and each
component tested to make sure that the final result is perfect. After
passing technical measurement tests, the finished speaker is put
through extensive critical listening tests.
1.2.4. Finish
Just as in the making of a great musical instrument, the
finish has also an influence on the outcome. Because of the highly
sophisticated cabinet shape, all the processes in the finishing stage
are hand-made with extreme care by highly experienced specialists
using the best technology and procedures. After casting the

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proprietary marble-based composite, it is allowed to age. Then the
preparation of the surface of the cabinet commences by hand
sanding and by sealing layer upon layer through an elaborate and
time-consuming procedure. Finally, the multiple coats of the lacquer
finish are applied along with the final polishing to a mirror-like finish.
The Estelon X Diamond Mk II is offered in a choice of liquid gloss,
matte, or the optional premium finishes.

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2. SPECIFICATIONS
TYPE:
DRIVERS:
Woofer:
Mid-woofer:
Tweeter:
INTERNAL WIRING:
FREQUENCY RESPONSE:
POWER RATING:
NOMINAL IMPEDANCE:
SENSITIVITY:
MINIMAL AMPLIFIER POWER:
DIMENSIONS:
NET WEIGHT:
SHIPPING WEIGHT:
3-way passive speaker, bass
reflex
250 mm (11 inches) Accuton,
ceramic sandwich dome
173 mm (7 inches) Accuton,
ceramic membrane
25 mm (1 inch) Accuton,
diamond inverted dome
Kubala-Sosna
22-60 000 Hz
200 Watts
6 ohms (min 3.5 ohms at 50
Hz)
88 dB / 2.83 V
20 Watts
Height: 1370 mm (54 inches)
Width: 450 mm (17.5 inches)
Depth: 640 mm (25 inches)
86 kg (190 lbs.) per piece
141 kg (310 lbs.) per piece

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3. UNPACKING INSTRUCTIONS
The packaging is precisely thought-through so despite the
weight of 86 kg of each speaker, they can be quickly and safely
transported to their final position in the room. The transport cases
(industrial grade custom flight-cases) and the speakers themselves
are equipped with wheels to ease the transportation and setup. The
speaker wheels can be easily replaced by the designated special floor
spikes or flat bases once the ideal placement and positioning have
been determined.
Your Estelon loudspeakers come packaged individually in 2
separate flight cases. We recommend keeping these cases for
possible future transportation. Due to the substantial weight and
slippery surface of the loudspeakers, we suggest that
two able-bodied
individuals assist in the unpacking and positioning process
.
Contents of the two flight cases:
• 2 loudspeakers
• 1 Accessories box:
o 2 sets of isolation feet (8 pieces)
o 2 sets of spikes with locking rings (8 pieces)
o 2 sets of floor plates (8 pieces)
o 1 user’s manual
o 2 pairs of gloves
o 1 polishing cloth
For unpacking, please follow the instructions described
below and as shown in the drawings.

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1. Unlock/open all four locks of the flight case cover while the
speaker/flight case is in a horizontal position. (drawing 1)
2. Carefully lift and remove the cover from the flight case. (drawing 2)
3. Remove the foam plate from the speaker's bottom as shown in
drawing 3.
4. Lift gently the flight case as shown in drawing 4 while the other
person supports the speaker from the other side.
5. Lift the flight case with the speaker to a vertical position as shown
in drawing 5.
1
2

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3
4

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5
6. When in an upright position, support the speaker while rolling it
out of the case slowly. Please use the provided gloves that are
included in the accessories box inside the flight case.
7. Now, with the speaker upright and out of the flight case, roll it to
the desired position in your room and then carefully remove the
cloth bag. We recommend keeping the speakers on wheels
during the initial set-up.

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4. SET-UP
4.1. Initial positioning in the room
Model X Diamond Mk II – Suggested room size 25-80 m²(270-860
square feet)
When positioning the speakers in your room, it is advised to
allow enough ”free” space around the speakers to minimize sound
reflections from walls, furniture, etc. This will contribute to achieving
correct tonality, realistic imaging, focus, and dynamics. The
recommended minimum distance between the speaker and the
nearest reflection point is 1.2 m (3.6 ft). The distance between the back
wall and the speaker should be no less than 0.6 m (1.8 ft). The distance
of the tweeter to the back and side walls should not be the same.
Listening point: the distance between the floor and your ears
should be approx. 1 m (3 ft), while the distance between the listener
and the speakers should be similar to the distance between the two
speakers.
The positioning of the speakers in the room must be
symmetrical for achieving a balanced sound stage. This is particularly
important in a narrow space. The distance between the speakers
should be approx. 2.5 – 4 m (8.2 – 13 ft), depending on the size of the
room and its reverberation characteristics. The recommended
speaker’s direction is approx. 7°, off-axis, towards the listening position
(depending on the room acoustics).
Please contact your dealer for consultation on how to
improve your room acoustics.

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4.2. Installing the bases
The bases consist of four parts as shown in drawing 6. Before
replacing the transport wheels of the speakers with the bases, please
screw the spikes with the locking rings into the bottom of each
isolation foot (drawing 7).
6
7
Once you have assembled the bases and the final position of
the speakers has been located, it is time to replace the transport
wheels.

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Please
replace the wheels on one side of each loudspeaker
at a time
. One person should carefully tilt the speaker against
himself/herself and hold it in this position (drawing 9), while the other
person removes the two accessible wheels as shown in drawing 10.
Please
make sure the edge of the speaker's bottom does not touch
the floor
during this process.
9
10

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After the 2 wheels are removed, please
locate the isolation feet holes
on the base of the speaker, that are next to the holes of the wheels
(drawing 11).
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Then screw the isolation feet into the specific holes as shown in
drawing 12.
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