Etude Castor loudspeakers

Etude was founded in the seventies by the late Marc Van Moerbeke and is one of the few respected Belgian audiophile brands. In classical music, an Etude is a short composition, often dedicated to an instrument. Do note we do not speak here about Etude AG, a german brand producing contemporary loudspeakers.

The company philosophy was to produce excellent speakers (no other Hi-Fi components) and to keep studying, measuring, listening all the way from concept to demo. All was locally elaborated and assembled, using carefully handpicked components from Audax, PBS (Canada)…

We don't know much more about Etude, the internet being scarce over documenting the history and the range, technically speaking. There is a owner's club in the Netherlands, where Etude got a good reputation among audiophiles.

Consider them as a bottle of wine, with a minimalistic label and no prose about what's inside. How to know more? Well, you taste them. What we did, and ended up surprised that their reputation wasn't more widespread, as the discovery was so satisfying.

The Castor model presented here was issued around 1991, sound is very soft and clean, respectful, absolutely mastered on a flat and rigorous tonal balance. The imaging is impressive, as the column shape with front bass-reflex make them easy to position.

The sensitivity is also on the correct mark, so no need for a massive amplifier to let them express their qualities. From 35 watts and over will do the job.

On the other hand, with no large transducers on board or deliberate tonal bump, we will not recommend them for any modern, punchy or compressed music. The bass being mastered but not forward enough won't suit the genre. Classical, vocals, jazz, instrumental are were they are at home. Their no fuss, minimal and polite presentation won't hurt any eye either.