Forget your conventional ideas about compact bluetooth speakers. With the 1.3-meter high, 380-watt Power HiFi, Teufel Power HiFi – XXXXL Speakers shows convincingly that things can be done completely differently. The main purpose of this system? Giving you a festival experience at home – and perhaps making your neighbors deeply unhappy.
What is the Teufel Power HiFi – XXXXL Speakers?
We have known Teufel for a long time and have known for a long time that they love loud and powerful music in Berlin. Even so, the Power HiFi is a very special thing even for Teufel. Park this in your living room and visitors will suspect that you took part of the PA system with you during the last visit to the concert hall. The Power HiFi is immense and literally towers above most conventional speakers.
Like many speaker systems on many stages, the Teufel consists of several parts: a large bass cabinet, a barely compact second device with a hefty midrange driver and a final unit that contains all electronics and a horn tweeter. With the Power HiFi you get something that is the opposite of subtle – which is perhaps your intention. Moreover, the system can be further expanded with additional speakers. There is a reasonable cost price, because this mega-loudspeaker system costs 1,299 euros and can be purchased via the website of Teufel . The Power HiFi is not only physically superior to other Bluetooth speakers.
Lots of meat in the tub
The courier was again unhappy when the Power HiFi was delivered. It is therefore not a small load that is delivered if you order the Power HiFi online from Teufel and have it delivered at home. The total weight of the three boxes in which the Power HiFi is delivered is ticking off somewhere around 60 kg, of which 2 / 3rd for the large package in which the double subwoofer cabinet is hidden. When unpacking it is therefore careful. Not only because the housings of the three Power HiFi components have delicate surfaces; it is also easy to hurt your back.
The Power HiFi consists of three separate devices: a subwoofer cabinet of 76 cm high, a midrange component of 31 cm and an amplifier module with built-in horn tweeter of 20 cm high. The intention is that the three of you build a tower. To keep the whole safe and stable, cut-outs have been provided in the tops of the subwoofer and midrange unit to accommodate the large, round feet of the devices above. It is very simple to build such a slender tower where all parts are perfectly aligned.
With traditional hi-fi speakers you rarely see the different speaker drivers in separate devices. Usually it is one loudspeaker, which may be divided into compartments on the inside, but looks like one housing to the outside. This is different with the Power HiFi, just to convey that live music feeling even more. Fortunately, connecting the three parts together is easy. Two cables dangle from the upper amplifier module that you plug into the midrange and base units. It is difficult to make a mistake, because the cables are perfectly in length. One power cable runs to the amplifier.
Pro of appearance
The Power HiFi would love to look like PA speakers like the ones on festival grounds. Good news, Teufel: at least that goal has been fully achieved. The black solid wood housing, the heavy metal speaker grilles in the front and the functional large handles on the side of the subwoofer are things that you completely associate with professional audio. There are also some differences, but they only stand out if you really compare. The Power HiFi is a bit less brutal and functionally finished than real PA devices. There are no plastic bumpers, for example, things that are required for materials that are often moved. The metal grilles also bend over the top of the subwoofer and midrange modules. This is also often the case with PA material, to prevent scratches due to sharp corners, but the metal is quite scratch-sensitive with the Power HiFi. In short, the Power HiFi looks like pro-material, but it is made a bit more room-friendly.
In terms of connections, the Power HiFi is fortunately also aimed at the consumer. At the back of the amplifier module you will find a number of inputs so that you can connect sources. The television or a console via an optical cable for example. A record player can go through the aux input – that is also easy because a turntable can fit perfectly on the Power HiFi. This way your tower becomes even higher! There is also a micro USB input and two XLR inputs. These are primarily intended for connecting multiple Power HiFi towers, but you can also use it to connect a (high-end) streamer.
However, we suspect that most Power HiFi owners will stream their music over Bluetooth. That can be done in a fairly high quality, because the Teufel speaker supports the aptX codec that has been present on Android smartphones in recent years.
Beautiful remote
Striking: if you look straight at the Power HiFi, you see no button or display. However, it is possible to operate. However, all buttons are hidden in a large niche on the right side of the amplifier module. “Hidden” is really right here, because it is clearly the intention that everything stays out of sight. If you look into the niche, you will discover a whole series of knobs and knobs. There is also a small display that indicates the volume level and LEDs that signal the active input.
The largest rotary knob is completely predictable to control the volume. Use the three smaller ones to adjust treble, midtones and basses to your own taste. That is of course not so handy if you are just next to this tower. You can do this better with the supplied remote control – then you immediately hear the changes. It may be said: the remote that Teufel has provided is very nice, with a metal housing and large buttons.
Large!
Not only is the Power HiFi tower really big, the parts those in it are that too. The subwoofer cabinet, for example, contains two 12-inch woofers that are mounted diagonally and facing each other, the middle module an 8-inch midrange driver. All drivers are incidentally bordered by a shiny metal ring, which makes them even more eye-catching.
The speaker sizes already indicate that the Power HiFi is designed to play loudly, because the larger the cone, the more air you can move. That is also the case for the tweeter, which is responsible for the high frequencies that contain all the details. Teufel went for a horn tweeter with a very broad “mouth” that can radiate very broadly. After all, a horn is very interesting because it can play high tones loudly without distortion.
According to Teufel, the Power HiFi can play up to 115 dB, a volume level that is really too loud for a typical living space. But it also indicates that you can do much more with this thing. A party in a garden or a room somewhere, for example. We have added our volume meter and can already testify that 100 dB is achievable without distortion. Maybe louder too, but then we would have had a fight with the neighbors. On the other side of the street.
Loud!
When we approach the Power HiFi like a hi-fi speaker, there is something to notice. But we don’t think you should view this tower of power that way. For example, the modular approach with drivers that are far apart is actually not that interesting when you’re close. Your music is pulled apart and does not sound as coherent as with a speaker where all parts are aligned in terms of timing. Keeping a certain distance from the Power HiFi will make music sound more natural.
The Power HiFi is quite dark in terms of sound. With electronic music, such as “Sunshine” on DRIFT Series 1 Sampler Edition from Underworld or the tracks on “Flood” from Kreidler, you don’t mind. As you would expect from a powerful double subwoofer, the bass foundation is quite right. The basses are tight enough to display beats quickly and rhythmically, which is more challenging with large woofers like this. If you indeed give the Power HiFi some space, music will also sound bigger and – well – more live. The handsome fusion of Ethiopian violin and American urban beats on ‘Athena’ by Sudan Archives sounded really good in the sofa three meters away. present themselves together with the raucous voice of Black Francis / Frank Black on ‘On Graveyard Hill’ by Pixies. Time and time again we notice that the Power HiFi really comes to life when you turn up the volume. For subtle listening, less suitable.
In our opinion, the only thing you shouldn’t listen to with the Power HiFi is classical philharmonic pieces. For this, the micro-detail view is missing and you need a real stereo internship. That is a consideration that we often made while listening: the Power HiFi remains a mono system, where the sound comes from one point. With two Power HiFi speakers, the experience will probably become even more fascinating.
Conclusion
The Teufel Power HiFi is difficult to compare with other systems. Simply, because there really isn’t anything similar. That is immediately the main reason to purchase this Teufel system: it is unique and no one you know has such a thing. You could theoretically buy a PA system instead, but then you would miss the user-friendly side of the story. With the Power HiFi you can play music very easily and in high quality over bluetooth, you can connect physical sources (yes, even the television) and it comes with a handy remote. Above all, it is a system to inspire friends and neighbors. In terms of power it is unparalleled, although you should not count on a lot of refinement in the sound reproduction. You will get the best results in a large and large listening distance. Is it a gimmick or a real music system? Actually both, but it is especially very loud.
The Teufel Power HiFi is for sale via the website of Teufel .
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