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Q&A With Guru Designer Ingvar Ohman
In a followup to his review, Robert Learner interviews Guru QM10 designer Ingvar Ohman to find out just how these black boxes with 4" woofers do what they do...
COMMENTS (5) | Permalink | Speakers $2k-5k | Posted by Robert Learner on Mar 24 '08
Guru QM10 Speakers Review by Robert Learner
COMMENTS (8) | Permalink | Speakers $2k-5k , Writer: Robert Learner | Posted by Robert Learner on Mar 09 '08
The Perfect Finish
Traditionally, speakers have always been finished in some sort of wood veneer. Historically, this dates back to the days when speakers were large, boxy and thus had to resemble some sort of furniture piece in order to fit into the decor of the home. As the years went by however, loudspeaker manufacturers quickly realized that offering finishes other than veneer was becoming a viable option for more consumers. 
| Permalink | Speakers $10k-20k , Speakers $2k-5k , Speakers $5k-10k , Writer: Danny Kaey | Posted by Danny Kaey on Feb 10 '08
Vegas 08: Guru Speakers
It's no secret I love these guys. At RMAF, I raved about the $2595 Guru QM10's monstrous bass and dynamics from their mini-me cabinet and 4" woofer. After my RMAF coverage where I took these speakers to the limit, the Guru guys integrated an overload meter (the tiny dot between the woofer and tweeter) that lights up when the driver is nearing max excursion. I tested it out with healthy doses of Spoon and Yello and it works as advertised and keeps the music at a sensible (though ear-busting) level. To find out more about these speakers and their 30Hz bass extension, read my RMAF coverage for all the details.
Guru also has an active version in the works for studio monitoring and hi-fi fans who love powered speakers (count me among them). Shown above is the flawless high-gloss finish. There is also a matte version and, I'm told, a tricked out flame affair in the works. Visit the US site importer Sjofn Hi-Fi to purchase.
More pics in our Guru gallery.
Permalink | | Posted to Speakers $2k-5k | Vegas 08
SonicFlare Top Speakers of 2007
Sports cars have nothing on hi-fi. Each year, hi-fi manufacturers create new speakers and components with more space-age tech and bling than Bugatti. To show you what hi-fi is all about, we decided to present our Top Speakers of 2007 with their corresponding super car identities. After all, racy looks and extreme performance is what hi-fi is all about.
We chose these loudspeakers based on the buzz they received over the course of 2007. While there were many new and exciting prototype products this year, the loudspeakers on our list are all commercially available and showing up in rock star and hi-fi fan's living rooms everywhere.
Hi-fi, like sports cars, is made up of numerous fantastic speakers, each with their own unique strengths. So if you’re new to the glorious world of hi-fi, forget plastic speakers and find out what “sports cars for your living room” is all about.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Posted to Articles | Speakers $10k-20k | Speakers $20k and up | Speakers $2k-5k | Speakers $5k-10k
SONICFLARE REVIEW: ATC SCM-19 Speakers
Permalink | Comments (7) | Posted to Speakers $2k-5k
RMAF 07: Lovecraft
After the passing of Terry Cain, famed single driver Fostex speaker company Cain & Cain was taken over by a new company called Lovecraft. The guys behind Lovecraft were comrades of Terry, and the new company offers the famous classics like the Abby and Ben while dishing up some new products and colorful finishes.
New at the show are Lovecraft's Walla Walla Walla Sound folded horn speakers (the Sponge Bob shaped speakers pictured below). Featuring a single Fostex 8" Sigma driver, the WWW's are classic Emotional-type speakers and run $3300/pair.
The desktop system below is called the Noogi & Spud. For $1600 you get the single 3" driver monitors with a powered subwoofer section. Very cool product and the finishes are absolutely fantastic. The guys at Lovecraft are young and hip with and into the computer audio, retro tubes and funky finishes.
Click "read full article" for some of the coolest speaker finishes around. The speakers, as of the show, weren't for sale, but if you really want a pair with flames, their automotive artist can probably hook you up. Check 'em out.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Posted to RMAF 07 | Shows and Expos | Speakers $1k-2k | Speakers $2k-5k
RMAF 07: Joseph & Manley $4550 and $11k Systems
Joseph of perennial favorite Joseph Audio is one guy who knows what's up. When talking about the SonicFlare hi-fi 2.0 mission, he was instantly hip to the idea of complete system packages. Since he's always showing with Manley Labs equipment, he said these Joseph + Manley rigs were no-brainer choices for anyone looking for instant system synergy.
Joseph's sensation were the Joseph $2300 RM7XL monitors with the Manley's $2250 Stingray. The RM7s are now in "XL" status which adds more of the good Joseph sound. At $4550, this is one wicked system for anyone new to super-fi -- synergy, warmth, power, bass, everything you could ask for. Quintessential Vivd-type sonics.
On display in the big room were the new RM25XL speakers running Manley monoblocks and a Bel Canto preamp. Roughly $11k for the system, this had all the same sonic flavor as the little rig but just more -- more bass, more warmth, more intensity. After running through my entire demo CD, we listened to vinyl on the world's only production strain gauge cartridge. Wild tech and amazing sound. $6k gets you the cartridge and custom phono preamp.
Permalink | | Posted to Amplifiers $1k to 3k | Amplifiers $3k to 6k | RMAF 07 | Speakers $2k-5k | Systems $1000-$5000 | Systems $10k-$20k
Vegas07 Pro Driver Roundup
Vegas '07 is the year pro drivers became legit in the American hifi subculture. Companies like Eminence, TAD, JBL, B&C, Hemp Acoustics (above) and others are creeping into the space where Scan Speak, SEAS, Peerless, Vifa and others once reigned. Eminence is the largest manufacturer of raw drivers in the world, but rarely provide pulp for the audiophile crowd. Zu really began the trend, working with Eminence for a number of their parts. But until now, pro drivers have remained the pariahs of hifi.
So what's the deal with pro drivers versus typical cones?
1. Low excursion: Typically, a pro driver will feature multiple mini surrounds, as seen in the picture above. Low excursion = snap and attack. Most hifi drivers are made with monster excursion and massive rubber surrounds. While the bass is deeper, the driver is mechanically slower peak to peak. As Adam from Zu says, "it's just physics."
2. High efficiency: While standard drivers have sensitivity in the 80s and low 90s, pro drivers are high 90s and into the triple digits. There are many high-eff drivers from Lowther, Fostex and others, but there is one big difference...
3. High power handling: Made for blowing the gray matter out of musicians and their fans, pro drivers can handle just ungodly amounts of juice. It's not uncommon for pro amps to be rated in the 1000s of watts, despite the high speaker efficiency. Lowther, Fostex and others are made for tiny watts and don't produce the SPLs of the pro guys.
4. Bass: The boom is an interesting issue with pro drivers. A 15" will typically be rated in the 50Fs range, while a similar hifi driver will be down in the teens. An 8" driver in a hifi setup can produce solid bass into the 20s while an 8" pro is considered a midrange driver. There are many ways to get deep bass from the pro gear, but with the low excursion, the thrubbing lows of the hifi world aren't typical.
5. Highs: Pro drivers are typically mated with a compression tweeter which, like their bass brethren, wail until your rims fall off. Crossovers typically happen in the 1.5k range, though guys like Zu and others take their crossover way, way up. This means that a 10-15" driver has to produce really clear midrange way higher than a similarly sized hifi driver would ever dream. That's why "full-spectrum" 2 ways are far more common in pro equipment than in hifi.
So are pro drivers better than their hifi kin? Up for debate, but there's no denying that there's a shift in the hifi market and more pro-based speakers are on the way. Keep reading for pics of the numerous companies showing pro-derrived speakers at Vegas07...
Permalink | Comments (1) | Posted to Speakers $10k-20k | Speakers $20k and up | Speakers $2k-5k | Speakers $5k-10k
Vegas07 Prosound Lurkers: Audio Kinesis
Prosound strikes again! Vegas '07 will be known for two things: digi EQs and pro drivers. Audio Kinesis is the personal hotrod brand of Duke Lejeune, a respected audio dealer and all around cool dude. Despite carrying such brands as Gallo, SoundLAB, Gradient and others, Duke believes that high efficiency, high power, low excursion drivers were the ticket and decided to mix his own blend.
And, damn, if his plain Jane boxes didn't rock my world. Audio Kinesis currently makes two floor standing models: the $2800 Stormbringers (above) and the $4000 Jazz Modules (below). Forget the names, just remember this: big sound, monster dynamics and snap like a croc.
And mark my words, pro-based drivers are going to gain and gain in the high end world. Zu is already blazing trails, as well as WLM, Emerald and others. The Audio Kinesis setup uses a 1" compression tweeter firing into a 10" horn mated with either a 12" neodymium magnet (Stormbringer) or a vastly more expensive 10" Alnico (said to cost over $400 a pop).
The Jazz Module setup ran an Atma-Sphere OTL amp and NuForce pre. The Stormy rig went all DeHavilland (845 tubes) with a number of slim custom 8" subs snuck around the room. Speakers can only be purchased direct. If you want some street cred, check out his site for more tech talk than you can handle.
Permalink | | Posted to Speakers $2k-5k
Vegas07 Hemp Speakers
In addition to their raw driver family, Hemp Acoustics is also involved in a number of speaker projects. The speaker shown is from a new company Tympanik and uses the new hemp coax 8" driver -- high efficiency, low excursion and full range sound. There's also another model using the 8" whizzer full range. The cabinet is molded out of hemp, unlike a traditional cabinet using separate pieces of mdf or ply. Production isn't set yet, but prices will be somewhere in the $2000-3500 range depending on drivers.
Right, Hemp Acoustics' own fully open baffle speaker. It wasn't ready for prime time when I was in the room, but the technology is pretty interesting. 8" full-range and a 15" bass driver in an S-shaped baffle. Folding the baffle in an S shape gives a virtual baffle width of 5 feet or so, which is monstrously huge. In open baffle designs, the wider the baffle the deeper the bass. Check out the next page for a shot of the back end of the bass portion sans driver. Also next page, Hemp bookshelf with their Extremis 6.8 driver and ribbon tweeter.
Permalink | | Posted to Speakers $1k-2k | Speakers $2k-5k
Neosonik's Anti-Cable Crusade
"World's first digital wireless home theater and hi-fi system" begins the marketing fireworks sent up by Neosonik, a new company imbuing their A/V receiver with wi-fi instead of speaker cables, interconnects and HDMI pythons. With backing from the former president of JBL, Marantz and Jensen, this little startup is going right after the big dogs' core businesses.
So what's so special? From the press release:
"Neosonik is the first company to wirelessly broadcast not just the rear speakers, but all audio channels in a surround sound system and High-Definition Video. The company claims it can synchronize all audio channels to less than 250 nanoseconds of each other, making it indistinguishable from a wired connection. It also transmits High Definition video to a small device that plugs into the HDMI input of any digital TV to give it wireless capability."
That's hot. We've seen wireless solutions from a number of different companies in the past (one even uses battery powered speakers for a true wireless experience...of course, you have to plug them in regularly or change the batteries). Another company showed demo units of wi-fi amps at CES last year, but has since fallen off the radar.
But Neosonik is going for the simplest solution: just plug your DVD player, iPod or Wii into the main unit and that's it. A 200 foot range means you can set your speakers up anywhere there's a power outlet. No wire is the best wire, right? Neosonik seems to think so:
"Neosonik states that its system is actually superior to wired systems since it is 100% digital and driven entirely by proprietary Loudspeaker DSP (Digital Signal Processing) and digital amplification. This eliminates all analog components found in conventional home theater and stereo products that cause degradation of the audio and video signals."
Sounds like the territory of Meridian. Packing the amps and DACs into the speakers themselves, Meridian champions pure DSP audio and stylish, B&O-like simplicity. But Meridian doesn't do wireless audio or video, which is where Neosonik comes in.
Shown below are Neosonik's line of speakers. Nothing too unusual -- 38Hz and 55Hz bass for the tower and bookshelf, respectively. Neosonik is planning on offering their tech in good ol' OEM fashion which, if their "wi-fi is bestest" claims are legit, could be the new darling of hi-fi and near-fi, much like the ICEpower module showing up in everything from Samsung and Audi to Bel Canto and Jeff Rowland.
Price is said to be between $6000 to $15k for a full 5.1 package. More details at CES and keep reading for the full press release.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Posted to Speakers $2k-5k
GamuT Phi Speakers
GamuT (yes, the T is capitalized) is moving into new territory with their Phi series of classy speakers - from Phi 3 (shown) all the way up to the Phi 7 with 6 drivers a side. It's always unique to see how different companies deal with the standard box design and the new GamuTs are a winner, in my opinion. The Phi's zebra wood, hard edges and unique proportions will match your Charles Eames Lounge Chair perfectly (or Ikea Kamphenshfusten euro-womb, in my case).
If you're not familiar with the GamuT family, know that they started with a series of now-legendary solid state amps. These aren't your SS amps of yore (Krell or Levinson) but new flavors for those burned on the old school sound. As you may know, I'm a huge fan of companies that make full synergistic systems and GamuT is filling all my fantasies with their new lines of speakers.
They hired in a man from the Scan Speak labs to get his wood-tuning game on. If you're not hip to Scan Speak, think of them as the Pirelli of audio, except drivers instead of tires. You'll find Scan Speak drivers in Wilson, Sonus Faber and many, many others. The much more expensive L series speakers are unbelievably gorgeous but cost upwards of $15k (check out our GamuT HE show coverage). Just about every show report at other publications gives love to the GamuT room. They know how to put on a good show.
No prices yet, but let's hope this marks a trend of lower priced GamuT goods. Their only integrated amp runs $9800, sadly. And check out the GamuT site for some Christmas gift ideas. Is that $20k worth of gear under the Christmas tree? I need to switch families.
Permalink | | Posted to Speakers $2k-5k | Speakers $5k-10k
Tetra Takes Off: 606 and 306
One of my biggest beefs about high-end audio is the lack of personality. I mean, this gear is killer, right, so why are the majority of websites so boring? We have a number of new guys bringing the funk back, but, for the most part, audio sites are about as exciting as weekends at the library.
Tetra Speakers, on the other hand, has launched a brand spanking new website and it's a beauty. Not only does it have crazy colors, but it has musician endorsements. We're not talking Macca (or even K-Fed) but it has enough musicians with bonifieds to make for a compelling read. And it's great marketing. The audience has the music, sell 'em the speakers that they were mastered on.
Witness the new Tetra 606 speaker, aka, the Thee Fabroni. It's called the Thee Fabroni because of co-designer Rob Fraboni (producer of Rolling Stones, among others). Mr. Tetra Adrian Butts invited Rob to take part in the new flagship and wrote a little story about the design process here. Makes for a great story and humanizes the whole speaker building process.
Speaking of the new 606, this thing is wild. As you may be able to tell from the picture, the top portion is an open baffle. For those not hip to this trend (known as OB) that has been sweeping the audio underground for, oh, the last 2 decades, here's a little primer: open baffle means no baffle. Drivers on a board, so to speak. The idea is you create a dipole sound wave, sending sound forward as well as backward, and create a room-filling image. It's one step closer to "live" sound, so they say.
A number of hot open baffle designs have been making the rounds. Jamo's R909 is probably the most prolific, as well as the underground Linkwitz Orion speakers. Then there are a dozen or so prime time omni speaker companies, most notably Mirage and Bang and Olufsen.
For its open baffle bona fides, the Tetra 606 uses an Air Motion Transformer tweeter. AMT tweets belong in the ribbon phylum, but are inherently di-poles by nature. The idea is these AMTs are amazingly fast. The Mundorf model used in the Tree Fabroni (as well as Eton and BG) has been showing up all over Europe but has yet to make a major dent in the US market, though some manufacturers like Magico have started playing around with them.
Below the AMT tweeter is the famed ATC midrange dome, considered the last word in midrange production by many. At the very least, the dome has practically no measured distortion. Not many manufacturers use the ATC dome because, mainly, it's wildly expensive. The ATC is not a dipole, though it's mounted on the top baffle. A custom 12" woofer sourced from the hot Danish design house Audio Technology (I believe) is port-loaded in the rear.
Next up from the pyramid house is a personal favorite, the Tetra 306. I heard these guys at CES last year and they absolutely rocked. Paired with Original electronics, they put out just amazing sound and huge bass. I was in the room for a while chatting it up and would listen to various people come in and say: "what the &*%$!" or "Holy &*#$ *&$#!" or "ummm, yeah..."
At CES, people kept having to be told there was no bottom driver or subwoofer. The way they do the bass magic is through a special port on the bottom. Getting that port as close to the ground as possible, Tetra is able to tune the speakers to put out massive grunt. Wilson does this as well (though Tetra and Wilson have nothing really in common). If you've ever noticed, all Wilsons at shows are very close to the back wall, thus allowing a major bass boost through port tuning.
In any case, I have no idea where a person is supposed to put the 306s since they stand only 22" high and are magnets for stubbed toes. Maybe mount them on the ceiling. Whatever, I want a pair. You can get them without the little red nip on the top, in case you're wondering. In fact, Tetra regularly does wild paint jobs, so I imagine you can get a pair dressed up like candy corns or traffic cones or whatever floats your boat.
If you haven't noticed, I'm a big fan of Tetra. Every time I've heard these guys, they've rocked. Forget specs and flat frequency response, Adrian voices these speakers to just sound great. Check out their whole line of unusual speakers and put them on your short list for top-notch goods.
Update: Prices: The 606 is $33,333 (no joke) and the 306 in standard finish is $2950. The rest of the Tetra range falls between $1800 and $10,000.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Posted to Speakers $2k-5k | Speakers $5k-10k
Monitor Quest -- ATC 10A-2
The Monitor Quest continues! The British hyper-detailed studio monitors from ATC are up for review. How will the 10A-2 speakers stand against the likes of the Zu Tone and others? Keep reading to find out...
Also read:
Zu Tone Review
Monitor Quest Intro
Robert Learner Bio
Permalink | Comments (16) | Posted to Speakers $2k-5k
