Markaudio-SOTA Viotti One Review

If you consider yourself to be somewhat of an audiophile, then Markaudio-SOTA is definitely a brand you need to familiarize yourself with. The company combines a wealth of knowledge and experience from leaders in the electronics and consumer audio market. The Markaudio-SOTA Viotti One is the company’s flagship product delivering exceptional audio and beautiful design aesthetics.

The Sound

Each Viotti One features a 4.4-inch low-frequency driver (Sota 11) with a 2-inch tweeter (Sota 5). Both drivers feature MarkAudio-SOTA’s unique “all-range” design. This allows each driver to produce a full-range response which ultimately means a smoother second-order crossover.

The drivers are acoustically isolated from each other to further prevent coloration from interference between the Sota-5 and Sota-11 drivers. The Sota-5 driver is mounted in a sealed chamber designed to optimize the aerodynamics of the high frequencies while the Sota-11 low-frequency driver features a ported chamber to optimize bass performance.

The result is a more natural, clean listening experience with incredible detail and clarity across the frequency spectrum. An experience that is best described as buttery smooth!

The bass response from the Viotti One is tight and well-defined with an exciting low-end punch. The mid-range is perfectly balanced between the lows and highs producing delivering upfront vocal clarity. The tweeter produces a bright but controlled high-frequency response which never appears harsh or overpowering, even at high volumes.

The Design

The Viotti One was styled by Italian designer Andrea Ponti who went for a 1950s minimalist aesthetic. The result is a breathtakingly beautiful speaker which will look good with just about every living space. The speakers are available in four stylish lacquer finishes including; light oak, dark oak, white piano-lacquer, and black piano-lacquer.

The speaker cabinet design doesn’t only look good but incorporates a “dual-core laminate construction” which offers stiffness and resistance to resonance which adds unwanted coloration to the sound.

MarkAudio-SOTA recommends you start by placing the Viotti One speakers between 8.2-foot to 9.8-foot apart, with a minimum clearance of 100mm (3.9-inches) from any rear surface facing towards your preferred listening position. Obviously, every room is different so you might need to experiment a bit with the position to get the optimal “sweet spot” for your Viotti One speakers.

The speakers come with a pair of specially designed MarkAudio-SOTA speaker stands. The total height with the speaker mounted on the stand is a little shy of 40 inches which is perfect for most seated listening positions.

If you prefer to place the Viotti One on your own stands or a shelf, the speakers come with mounting spikes which offer maximum isolation.

Amplification and Cabling

If you’re going to invest in a premium pair of speakers, you must make sure you select the right amplifier to get the most out of them. MarkAudio-SOTA offers specific recommendations for powering the Viotti One:

If you’re a vinyl fan you’ll likely be familiar with Rega who design and manufacture high-end turntables, accessories, speakers, and amplifiers out of their facility in the United Kingdom. The Rega Brio is an integrated amplifier that includes a built-in moving magnet preamp and headphone preamp. Each channel of this stereo amplifier delivers 50W RMS into 8 ohms which is perfect to drive a pair of Viotti One speakers.

For cabling, we recommend using a 12-gauge or 14-gauge cable when installing the Viotti One.

It’s also important to note MarkAudio-SOTA recommends a run-in of 100 hours at low volumes before the Viotti One reach their optimum performance. Following this guideline will ensure your Viotti One perform as they were designed to while maximizing the life of your speakers.

MarkAudio-SOTA Surround Sound

If you’re looking to install a high-end MarkAudio-SOTA surround sound system, then the Tozzi One is an excellent choice for surrounds. The ultra-compact speakers feature a single Sota-5 driver in each speaker, produce a near full-range response and deliver exceptional quality across the frequency spectrum.

What’s in the Box?

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a premium pair of monitors, the Viotti One from MarkAudio-SOTA is a must have. These are especially great for vinyl enthusiasts looking for a pair of speakers to do their record collection justice. The sound stage is flawless with a detailed separation that enables you to hear every nuance in the audio you’re listening to. The controlled dynamics and natural tonal balance makes the Viotti One an absolute pleasure to listen to.

At just under $2,000 for a pair, the Viotti One is by no means a cheap speaker. But what you have to consider is every component is custom-built from the ground up in-house at Markaudio-SOTA to ensure each part is optimized to work with the next. The degree of engineering is top class which can only be described as the Ferrari of bookshelf speakers.