Audiovector R5 Arreté Floorstanding Speakers

The Sweet Spot Has A Name

With nearly five decades of heritage in crafting state-of-the-art loudspeakers, Audiovector continues to refine what is possible within real-world living spaces. 
The R 5 Arreté distils essential technological DNA from the flagship R 10 Arreté into a more compact, elegant and room-friendly format.

Five years in development. More than 2,000 listening hours during development. 
The R 5 is the first model to incorporate technologies inherited directly from our flagship R 10 Arreté, and built around a 3.5- way design. When it comes to the sound, we have taken no half measures.

True 3.5-Way Architecture

The R 5 Arreté is built around a true 3.5-way architecture with bottom-mounted bass reflex loading. Where a standard 3-way speaker asks a single woofer to handle the full bass range simultaneously, the R 5 Arreté divides this responsibility precisely between two drivers.

The primary woofer covers the full bass range, including the critical mid-bass region where rhythm and texture reside. A dedicated second woofer operates solely in the deepest frequencies, adding weight and extension without ever intruding on the midrange. Each driver works within its optimal bandwidth. Dynamic headroom increases. Intermodulation falls. The midrange remains completely uncompromised.

By venting low-frequency energy towards the floor, bass integration becomes smoother and more consistent across different placements. The result is deeper extension, improved weight and superior room coupling, without exaggeration.
 The R 5 Arreté achieves the perceived scale of a significantly larger loudspeaker in a more compact room, without the usual acoustic penalties. In the bass and lower midrange, the R 5 Arreté generates a line source-like effect, distributing low-frequency energy efficiently across the listening space to form a forceful, controlled and room-filling bass wave. The result is bass of genuine depth and authority – physical, present and precisely defined – from a loudspeaker of elegant and compact proportions.
 

AMT Tweeter and Soundstage Enhancement Concept (SEC)

At the heart of the R 5 Arreté is the latest evolution of Audiovector’s Air Motion Transformer tweeter, inspired by Dr Oscar Heil’s original 1970 principle. Audiovector remains uniquely faithful to the original concept of controlled membrane behaviour combined with controlled rear radiation. An ultra-light pleated diaphragm driven by a powerful neodymium motor system, with open-back construction through the rear baffle and extremely low compression characteristics, delivers exceptional acceleration, openness and micro-dynamic precision from 2,800 Hz to 53,000 Hz, far beyond the threshold of human hearing.

The three-point mechanical mounting system minimises mechanical stress and prevents unwanted energy transfer between cabinet and driver chassis, preserving micro-detail and reducing colouration.

Controlled rear radiation from the AMT forms the foundation of Audiovector’s Soundstage Enhancement Concept (SEC). Rather than trapping rear energy inside the cabinet, it is released in a phase-coherent and carefully damped manner. This enhances depth perception, lateral width, image stability and ambient retrieval. Music does not merely project forward. It expands naturally into the room.
 

Accelerated Force Concept (AFC) in Combination with Low Compression Concept (LCL)

A high-performance AMT tweeter deserves an equally fast and precise midrange driver. Audiovector has long sought to reduce the inherent inertia present in conventional dynamic drivers, an ambition that has produced two interlinked and highly unconventional technologies working in concert.

The Accelerated Force Concept (AFC) delivers a wider dynamic range, greater micro-detail resolution, lower distortion and a deeper soundstage. It works by accelerating the first millimetres of movement without losing control. The driver responds at the very first moment of a signal – accelerating from rest with a precision that reveals the smallest detail rather than obscuring it, as is the case with conventional speaker drivers.

We have replaced the conventional heavy half-roll surround, which can inhibit high-frequency performance, with a light concertina suspension formed from a carefully developed rubber compound. This reduces mechanical resistance and allows immediate response to micro-signals. The motor structure has been redesigned to optimise magnetic symmetry and improve initial acceleration while maintaining strict control throughout the stroke. The result is a cleaner sound, better dynamics and a more detailed soundstage, all while preserving lifelike vocal and instrumental textures.

In combination with Audiovector’s Low Compression Concept (LCC), internal air pressure build-up behind the diaphragm is minimised. Reduced compression lowers distortion, improves transient behaviour and allows the driver to operate more freely under dynamic load. Dynamic peaks arrive with their full authority intact.

The membrane itself comprises a carbon-fibre and natural resin sandwich engineered for maximum stiffness, lightness and damping. In short, an ideal combination for a diaphragm. Titanium voice coils and distortion-optimised motor geometry ensure stability under all dynamic conditions. These technologies combine to result in a cleaner sound, better dynamics and a more detailed soundstage. Voices retain texture and body. Instruments carry harmonic structure without blur. The low-frequency performance is, quite simply, unprecedented.
 

Cabinet Engineering: Silence as a Foundation

A loudspeaker cabinet must not speak. Its sole purpose is to provide an inert, vibration-free platform from which the drive units can perform without interference. The R 5 Arreté enclosure is heavily braced and constructed from high-density hardwood fibreboard, a material chosen for its exceptional combination of rigidity and internal damping. Mechanical grounding and precision driver mounting reduce energy transfer between components. Internal damping is optimised rather than excessive, preserving dynamics while suppressing resonances.

The narrow front baffle plays a decisive acoustic role. A wider baffle increases edge diffraction: as sound waves leave the drive units and encounter cabinet boundaries, reflections introduce time smear and frequency irregularities. By minimising baffle width, diffraction is reduced, off-axis response becomes smoother, stereo imaging gains precision and the loudspeaker disappears more effectively into the soundstage. The acoustic centres integrate coherently, allowing the music to occupy the room rather than the speaker.

New Arreté Plinth: Stability, Effiency and Room Coupling

The newly developed Arreté plinth is an active contributor to acoustic performance. Its larger footprint lowers the centre of gravity, reducing cabinet micro-movement under dynamic load. Enlarged and optimised slot openings allow the bottom-mounted bass reflex system to breathe freely, reducing turbulence and air compression at the port. The result is zero port noise, faster bass decay, greater dynamic headroom and cleaner low-frequency extension. 

Low-frequency energy is simultaneously distributed more evenly into the room, creating deeper, better-integrated bass that fills the space as naturally as it measures on the analyser. Precision-milled spikes, working in combination with the plinth’s integrated decoupling system, establish a perfectly controlled interface between loudspeaker and surface. Resonance is eliminated at its source. The foundation beneath the speaker becomes acoustically inert, allowing the drive units to perform without interference from floor-borne vibration.

Proprietary Arreté Crossover Technology

Our in-house crossover is built without compromise. Our own double cryogenically treated capacitors combine polypropylene dielectrics with tin-flashed copper foil. Distortion-optimised copper coils in a Dynamic Feed Forward (DFF) configuration reduce resistance and distortion. Audiovector x Duelund bypass capacitors preserve the highest treble harmonics for ultimate realism.

Unlike conventional loudspeakers that rely on reactive wire-wound resistors, Audiovector models integrate precision film resistors throughout. Measurements guide development. Final voicing is completed by ear, against live acoustic instruments. Because the goal was never a perfect measurement, it was a perfect sound.

Unique Damping Control

The R 5 Arreté incorporates a unique damping adjustment feature allowing the listener to seamlessly match the loudspeaker to the amplifier being used.

➝ Position 1: For transistor amplifiers with a medium damping factor.
➝ Position 2: For high-power transistor amplifiers with a high damping factor. 
➝ Position 3: For valve amplifiers with a low damping factor.

Careful listening will determine the ideal setting for any given system.

Second-Generation Freedom Grounding® Concept

Freedom Grounding® removes movement-induced currents from the driver chassis before they introduce distortion. Operating all the way up into the highest MHz frequency range, the second-generation system is 50% more efficient than the original Freedom 1. A dedicated filter routes unwanted energy safely to ground, lowering the noise floor and improving micro-detail retrieval. Silence becomes quieter. Detail becomes clearer. The background becomes darker and more silent. The music steps forward.

Accessories

Every R 5 Arreté is packed exclusively in a high-security flight case, consistent with the Trapeze Ri and R 10 Arreté. Flight cases are robust, stackable and ready for palletisation, ensuring a rugged yet luxurious unpacking experience for the end customer. Our Black Box accessories package is also available. From our Freedom® Grounding Cable that lowers the noise floor to precision spikes for stability, each component is custom-designed to bring a perfect balance to every kind of music.

Available in Four Exclusive Finishes

Each cabinet is designed, engineered and hand-built in Denmark, reflecting Audiovector’s uncompromising commitment to excellence in both form and function. Every surface is treated to an exceptional standard, combining the warmth of carefully selected real wood veneers with a quality that endures for generations.

Standard Finish:

• White Silk
• Italian Walnut
• African Mahogany Piano
• Black Piano

 - Black Cloth Grill Included
 - Custom Finishes on Request