Encel Raw Gelati Bookshelf Speakers

Think of Raw Gelati as Gelati loudspeaker’s younger sibling. They share the same silk-dome tweeter and cabinet construction, but some parts of Raw are made from simpler materials, to keep costs lower. Raw Gelati are presented in an understated, brooding Liquorice Black finish, bringing to mind the look and feel of classic studio monitors. The matte cabinetry offers your listening space a slice of tasteful simplicity, with the black styling offset only by ashen grey speaker cones.

What flavour will they bring to your music? Expect powerful rhythmic punch, and a big, bold sound that’s buckets of fun to listen to. They’re also easy to drive, meaning you can expect room-filling volume from a quality stereo amplifier. They're compatible with Gelati's colourful magnetic grilles, as an optional extra.

The role of loudspeakers

A ‘traditional’ hi-fi system is made up of at least three separate parts that each play a role in creating spacious stereo sound. A source component, an amplifier, and speakers. The source is the origin of the sound; maybe a turntable, a CD player, or even a Bluetooth signal from your phone. An amplifier is the processing centre that boosts the signal so that it can be pushed to the final link in the chain: a pair of passive loudspeakers.

Inside any passive loudspeaker (such as Raw Gelati), there's a component called a voice coil. It’s essentially a length of wire wrapped around a cylinder at the rear of the speaker cone. When the electrical signal from an amplifier flows through the voice coil, it creates an electromagnetic field. The changes in this field cause the voice coil to push and pull a speaker's drivers and the resulting movement of air from those drivers produces the music you hear in your listening space. And there, you have a basic understanding of how loudspeakers function.

Stepping up from Bluetooth

If you own a portable Bluetooth speaker, all of the components spoken of above exist in some form inside of one housing. In practical terms, the same outcome of audible music is achieved, but the experience can seem a bit cramped and one-dimensional. A system of separate components can feel like listening to music again for the first time.

There’s a sense of space between instruments, vocals are gorgeously rendered, and the feeling of being totally immersed in sound can be breathtaking. The music unfolds around you, no longer confined to the limitations of a single box. It's like the difference between watching a film on your phone and seeing it projected onto a massive cinema screen – the essence is the same, but the scale and impact are profoundly different.