Argon Audio Forus 4

Stylish, with some flaws

[Argon Audio Forus 4]
[Italian version here]

Product: Argon Audio Forus 4 loudspeakers
Manufacturer: Argon Audio - Denmark
Price: ±€200 (direct sale from the official website)
Reviewer: Lucio Cadeddu - TNT-Audio Italy
Published: December, 2024

In the past, we at TNT-audio have reviewed products from the Danish firm Argon Audio with excellent results. We have already tested the Alto 55 mkII speakers (now Forus 55), the Forte A5 mkII, the SA1 integrated amplifier and the Solo streamer. The mission of the Danish brand has always been to offer products characterized by a very high quality/price ratio. I am always hunting for the entry-level speaker that can displace the Lonpoo LP42 from the podium they have achieved in recent years and, couldn't help but test Argon's entry-level speakers, the Forus 4, which range between 150 and 200 euros depending on the offers. The little black box you see in the pic above is a small Argon phono preamp, soon to be tested on these pages.

A closer look

These Forus 4 are truly compact (14.8 x 23.9 x 18.9 cm), use a 4" paper woofer (hence the acronym Forus 4) with double magnet for magnetic field shielding and a 1" dome tweeter. The cabinet is bass-reflex loaded with a rear outlet, but a hook is provided to hang them on the wall, a condition which the reflex port will certainly not appreciate much. Gold-plated multistandard mono-wiring connectors, magnetic dust covers and four rubber feet complete the Forus 4. These speakers are well finished (no visible screws), and they are available in white, black or walnut. The specifications claim a frequency response between 60 and 20,000 Hz ±3dB, an impedance of 4Ω and 85 dB/w/m sensitivity. The crossover is well designed, with two air-wound coils, two caps and a 3.3Ω resistor. There is a Forus 4 Wall variant, in acoustic suspension specifically designed to be hung on the wall, characterized by a truly minimal depth, just 10cm!

Argon Audio recommends pairing the Forus 4 with one of their Malmö series active sub-woofers for a more complete sound experience.

[Argon Audio Forus 4 - woofer]
[Argon Audio Forus 4 - crossover]

Stylish, with some flaws

I still have wonderful memories of the Alto 55 mkII, slim towers gifted with an incredible quality/price ratio. My expectations were, therefore, quite high. I'll say straight away that there wasn't the same miracle this time, quite the contrary. In my opinion, whoever designed these Forus 4s cannot be the same person who designed the Alto 55s, such is the difference in tonal balance and...sound quality. Or, if it is the same person, with the Alto 55 he had the classic stroke of luck, and this time it didn't happen again.

To begin with, the tonal balance of the Alto 55 is open, lively and almost irreverent, whereas these Forus 4 are soft and quiet. The mid-high range is generally warm and soft, never aggressive, but also not very incisive. For this reason the harmonic content of certain instruments, in particular strings, though sounding fluid and harmonious, lack bite and realism. Even the percussions are a little dull, not very lively, never punchy, as is often required. Voices do not shine in terms of presence and precision, although there is a certain note of warmth that makes listening relaxed and pleasant, without any harshness or particular distortion. In general, the sound lacks precision and transparency, even taking into account that these are speakers costing less than €200 per pair. All the ambiental noises, and details hidden under the main musical plot, fade into the background. Everything sounds soft and essentially inoffensive, which can be a good thing with certain recordings, but with others it is decidedly excessive as it makes listening essentially boring.

The bass range deserves separate discussion: after trying to listen to the speaker as “stock”, I decided to plug the reflex ducts with foam rubber. In fact, perhaps by design choice, the bass is abundant and extended, more than the dimensions of the woofer and the cabinet would suggest, but it lacks control and, above all, it is contaminated by the noise of the air coming out the reflex port. Moreover, I've detected a sort of vibration in the mid range, realistically due to cables rattling and vibrating against each other as the air passes through them. By closing the reflex port the air noise practically disappears, the low range becomes lighter and improves in terms of control and distortion rate. The bass extension also decreases, but at least certain records can be listened to. However, raising the listening level, even with the ports closed, is not always possible: when presented with low notes (especially from percussions) the small woofers reach the bottom of their stroke very quickly. Let's say that at the listening point I was unable to go beyond 80/85 dB. This isn't a real problem, especially if you live in a condominium, but I've tested other small speakers that sound much louder without getting into trouble (e.g. Lonpoo LP42).

The overall dynamic performance is obviously affected by these two factors. More precisely, the general roundness and lack of liveliness make the dynamic jumps less incisive, and the limitations of the bass range that easily loses control certainly don't help. With acoustic and chamber music things are better, as long as there are no strong impulsive sounds, especially in the bass and mid range. Overall, the sense of rhythm is a bit lacking, which confirms that soft characteristic also detected from a tonal point of view.

The three-dimensional image, as it's logical to expect given the lack of precision in the medium-high range, does not excel in either size or focus. The sound expands in the space between the speakers, but nothing more than that.

Summarizing, these Forus 4 are great for quiet musical genres, in small environments, where it is not necessary to push their limits. Adding a subwoofer, as Argon suggests, will only make things worse, unless you cut away the bass range of the Forus 4, from quite a high point and entrust the rest to the sub-woofer. In fact, what is missing is not the bass extension, which is very good, but the precision, control and power handling. In desktop mode they can perform well, even better if the rear wall is close, but the reflex port must be completely closed, as it's one of the noisiest I have ever heard.

Perhaps, without direct comparisons with other similar speakers, one might find the sound of these Forus 4s to be overall correct and not very annoying. It's a shame that mini speakers have made giant steps forward in recent years and the bugaboo of cursed microbes like the Lonpoo LP42 is always around the corner, reminding everyone that they are still at the top and will not be dethroned so easily. Furthermore, they cost less than half of these Forus 4s, which are certainly more beautiful and better finished but the difference in sound quality, in case you were wondering, is simply sidereal. Just the bass range of the Forus 4 appears a little fuller and more extended, but the qualitative comparison (precision, speed, dynamics, control) is simply and ruthlessly in favour of the small Chinese ones.

Complaints

Construction & Finish
Considering the cost, the level of construction and finish is very good; the white variant is also appreciable, in addition to the classic black and walnut ones. The rear hook for hanging them on the wall obviously makes the presence of the reflex outlet a bit difficult and transforms the speaker into a sort of acoustic suspension with air leak. Not good. It would have been better to design the speaker with a front reflex outlet. In general, the proximity of the rear wall is always a problem, unless the speaker has been designed specifically for this type of installation, like the Forus 4 Wall, for example. The reflex port, if tickled by massive and punchy bass frequencies, snorts a little too much for my taste. Filling it with drinking straws (an old trick) partially improves the situation. Closing it with foam solves the problem almost completely, at the cost of somewhat limiting the extension and power of the bass range.
Sound
Substantially pleasant and inoffensive, with obvious limitations in terms of speed, precision, transparency and harmonic richness. Maybe that's how it was intended, but you can find better for a lot less.

Conclusions

Argon Audio is a company attentive to enthusiasts on a small budget, but not willing to give up good balanced sound and a design that can easily be inserted into a domestic environment. The second objective has been achieved (good design), the first decidedly less so. The Forus 4 is a speaker that does not excel in any parameter, and indeed has severe limitations in the bass range. I was expecting a smaller scale Alto 55, but we are light years away from that type of sound balance and quality/price ratio. To deserve a thumbs up, this design must be completely revised, and indeed perhaps it would be better to transform it into an acoustic suspension like the Forus 4 Wall. The power handling of the woofer, however, would still be a problem, as would the poor precision of the tweeter. The latter could be attenuated a little less, perhaps improving the presence and the richness of the mid-high range. Definitely, as we use to say in our academic world, “to be deeply revised”, in my opinion.

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