AktiMate - Aktimate Micro - Self Powered Active Two-Way Loudspeakers

Many people ask questions about AktiMate’s heritage. It all began in 2006 with a discussion in a beach-side cafe in Sydney during the Australian summer.

Epos, the company behind AktiMate, was itself relatively new and had been established in late 2005 to distribute two British hi-fi brands. With traditional hi-fi as part of the company’s DNA but its management definitely part of the iPod generation, it seemed logical to combine the two. iPod docks were beginning to appear but primarily as single pieces, and the possibility to produce a seriously good pair of stereo loudspeakers, with a built in amplifier plus a built in iPod dock sounded like a great idea.

With its links to two iconic British hi fi brands, Epos was able to call on those companies for assistance with AktiMate’s early development. That assistance was invaluable as it provided the company initially with the ability to produce the AktiMate Mini. Instantly it was applauded in Australia, America and England not only for its superior sonic performance but also its versatility. The AktiMate Mini provided its owners with the option to add standard hi-fi sources, for example, a CD Player or a Tuner as well as incorporating an option to add a subwoofer or even to daisy chain pairs of AktiMates through a house. And the fact that an iPod dock was an integral part of the design meant it could just be popped into the top of one of the speakers.

For Epos, this meant that the younger generation who mostly listened to their music via an iPod or MP3 player with headphones, would be introduced to the benefits of hi-fi reproduction of their music through these speakers. In theory that would lead them to consider quality hi-fi options when furnishing their own homes. And that was  something Epos could offer!

Building on the success of the Mini and realising that the market was changing rapidly, Epos expanded the AktiMate range with the addition of the Maxi. This was a completely different product. Whilst it continued to offer the features of the Mini, it added a digital module to provide internet radio and media streaming (via Ethernet or a wireless option).

With so much music stored these days on a computer, and so much time spent in front of a computer screen, Epos looked further at the market and felt that there was a decided gap to fill in the desktop speaker area. Even though one of its models had won a British award as the best desktop speaker, it was in fact a little large to be acceptable to the vast majority.

It was time for Epos to take hold of the reins completely. Having to overcome some early minor design hang-ups, the company knew exactly what it wanted. By taking complete design control any potential problems could be overcome before they got to a production stage.  The result is the AktiMate Micro - a smaller speaker with features to position it as an instant leader in desktop speakers for anyone who wants seriously good reproduction of their music while sitting in front of their PC. This can truly be said to be a 100% Australian designed product.

The Micro retains the signature iPod dock. Its simplicity coupled with its superior sound quality will surely bring it its own awards to add to those of the Mini and Maxi.