The first one is that a two piece system has a much higher degree of portability, i.e. you can pack them in a suitcase, use them in your hotel room, use them in a meeting, or whatever. All you need to do is attach them to a signal source such as a portable cd player, mp3 player, or laptop computer, and voila, you have audiophile caliber sound. And by audiophile caliber I mean exceptionally clear and natural sound, with true stereo imaging. Sound that is better than many larger hi-fi systems, to be honest.

Okay, so the second reason for having a two piece system is this: by having a relatively full range speaker that isn’t dependent on an amp section built into a subwoofer, you can an active system with one speaker containing the amp for both channels and one speaker powered passively by the other speaker (a master-slave arrangement would be the technical, if politically incorrect term); or, you can have two of the passive speakers for use with existing amplification such as a receiver or integrated amp for a small system in an office, bedroom, den, or whichever you choose. And again, to be honest, these speakers are clean enough and accurate enough that I wouldn’t be surprised if people started using them as their main speakers.

So what’s in ‘em, anyway? The Callisto is essentially a miniature two way speaker. The woofer, an Aurasound 3” model, is described as “extended range”, which essentially means it can be used as a full range driver if so desired. However, since extended high frequencies are necessary for true high end sound, a Seas shielded dome tweeter was incorportated.

The cabinet quality is of a similar caliber. The cabinet is half inch MDF, with real oak veneer. The base or foot the speaker sits on is three-quarter inch solid oak. Why solid oak? Just to add a little more solidity to the situation. The speaker is too small to utilize a base filled with sand, which was my first choice. Solid oak was the next best thing, and just oozes quality. The bottom line is this is a very quick, clean and articulate small speaker, that can be used in a myriad of situations: computers, home offices, kitchens, bedrooms or dens; hooked up to a variety of signal sources--full size and portable cd players, sound cards, mp3 players, turntables with phono preamps--just about anything with a headphone or RCA output. Or, if you want to use an existing amplifier, just buy the passive version of the speakers. Simple.

Features and Specifications:

Height: 11 5/8”
Width: 6 1/4”
Depth: 8 3/4”
Weight: approx. 5 lbs. for the master (active) unit,
3 lbs. for the slave (passive) unit.

Power: 25 watt per channel RMS
Freq. response: 100 Hz - 20 kHz
Input: stereo RCA jacks--a mini-plug to RCA adaptor is supplied
Built in level (volume control)--no external volume control is necessary
Speaker body is at a 15º tilt relative to its base
Available finishes: black oak and medium oak veneer. Others upon request.