Having recently arrived in France, Argon Audio offers products at very accessible and a priori very competitive prices: vinyl turntables, passive and active speakers, connected mini amps, network players, headphones and earphones. The brand demonstrates the desire to combine an audiophile and general public approach with excellent value for money. Let’s see if it works with its pair of Forte A4 MK2, active, Bluetooth speakers, which have a built-in phono preamp and HDMI port.
Argon Forte A4 MK2
Type: pair of Hifi Bluetooth bookshelf speakers
ON-mag’s opinion: 
(5/5)
Price at the time of testing: 500 € (the whole)
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Argon Audio is a brand that we have recently discovered in France, but which has existed for more than 20 years. It was created as a distributor brand for the stores of the Scandinavian brand Hifi Klubben, behind which we find Peter Lyngdorf’s holding company, as for the Dali, Lyngdorf and Steinway Lyngdorf brands. Originally, it only offered small audio products such as radios, but has grown over the years, expanding its range of active Hifi speakers and vinyl turntables. To accelerate its development, it became independent from Hifi Klubben in 2019, in order to expand its distribution, but kept its strategy focused on value for money, selling mainly direct and online.
Connection suitable for Hifi and TV
The Argon Forte A4 MK2 are particularly compact active and wireless Hifi speakers for bookshelf, shelf or sideboard. They are available in three finishes: in white or satin black paint or with a wood-style cladding. Their aesthetic immediately appears very neat. The cabinetry in medium panels 13 to 16 mm thick and with rounded edges gives a good impression of density. Their cutouts are perfectly adjusted to the copper, gold or chrome speaker bezels (depending on the version).
The pair operates on the master/slave principle. The left speaker houses all the electronics and connections. The latter is not completely complete. It notably lacks a USB-Audio input. But it has the merit of being as well suited to Hifi (Line, MM phono and optical digital inputs) as to use around a television (HDMI ARC port). Added to this is the wireless Bluetooth connection compatible with AAC and AptX HD codecs, as well as, as is often the case with this type of product, a subwoofer output.
Control of volume and sources is done from the remote control except when using an HDMI ARC connection where the television remote control takes control. There is no small pressure dial on the back of one of the speakers to help out when you misplace the remote control.
Small in size, but careful in design and construction
Contrary to what the reference might suggest, the fronts of the Argon Forte A4 MK2 are much smaller than the A4 paper format. In fact, the woofer of these two-way speakers is small (4 inches or approximately 10 cm in diameter). To compensate for this, this speaker is a relatively high-end model. It has a multi-layer membrane coated with braided fiberglass and a particularly powerful ventilated motor whose ferrite magnet is larger than the membrane. The tweeter which relays it in the treble has a 25 mm impregnated textile dome. The tuning of the bass load is achieved by an internally angled vent with laminar mouthpiece on the rear side.
The Argon Forte A4 MK2 also operate in bi-amplification (2 x 80 watts per speaker) with DSP control and active filtering. Here again, this is a high-end approach, with competitors mostly making do with mono-amplification with passive filtering. This element also explains that the connection between the right speaker and the left speaker of the Argon Forte A4 MK2 duo is made by a cable (supplied) with a four-pin connector and locking screw ring.
Responsiveness, control, balance and firm bass
In the field, whether on our measuring bench or listening, the Argon Forte A4 MK2 amaze with the extent of their frequency response in relation to their size. Their bass-reflex ports are tuned to 60 Hz and they deliver bass in an almost linear manner up to 50 Hz. The bi-amplification managed by DSP makes it possible to compensate for the limitations inherent in the reduced size of the woofers and their load.
The sound reproduction thus has weight, depth and absolutely does not seem thin. This comes at the expense of acoustic power. The Forte A4 MK2 are not made to deliver very high volumes, but, even when pushed to their limits, the sound remains relatively clean. Saturation arrives smoothly, without a surge of uncontrolled distortion, proof of excellent control.
We also appreciate the balance and homogeneity of the timbres. The midrange has a beautiful presence. The voices sound true, natural and have very good intelligibility. The treble is slightly uplifting. But this does not manifest itself as aggressiveness, because the top of the spectrum is beautifully defined, without pinching, clear and paradoxically relatively soft.
Connected to a television via HDMI, the Argon Forte A4 MK2 are responsive. They come out of sleep and automatically immerse themselves in it a few moments after the screen. We noticed little latency when adjusting the volume from the remote control of our almost 10 year old TV. The stereo image is not very wide, but square and well centered. Argon speakers brilliantly replace a home theater soundbar, delivering firm bass and detailed dialogue.
>>> SEE OUR MEASUREMENTS of the Argon Forte A4 MK2 on the ON-mag Forum
In summary
The Argon Forte A4 MK2 are Bluetooth speakers with HDMI port, compact and of excellent design quality. Their reproduction is clean, defined, with bass of astonishing depth given the size of the boxes. We appreciate them just as much for Hifi use as around a television instead of a soundbar.
The Argon Forte A4 MK2 speakers analyzed by ON-mag
>>> ALSO READ: ALL OUR ACTIVE SPEAKER TESTS
Specifications
- Type: pair of Hifi Bluetooth bookshelf speakers
- Speakers: 4″ multi-layer diaphragm woofer, 25mm textile dome tweeter (per speaker)
- Integrated amplification: 2 x 80 watts in class D (per speaker)
- Frequency response: 50 Hz to 20 kHz
- Connections: MM analog Line and phono inputs, Toslink optical digital input, HDMI ARC port, Bluetooth AAC and AptX HD link, subwoofer output
- Dimensions: 14.3 x 24.0 x 19 cm (per speaker)
- Weight: 6.07 kg (set)
- Standby consumption:
- Manufactured: China
- Price : 500 € (the whole)
Brand website: argonaudio.com
