Fully active with four amplifiers

Each speaker has four separate amplifiers, which together deliver 300 watts. It’s not just a lot of watts – it’s smart watts. Since each amplifier is optimised for its specific unit, you get better control and higher precision than with traditional passive solutions.

The active four-way design eliminates passive crossover components. Instead, all signal processing is handled digitally without loss or distortion. The woofers use a patented system that allows 40 per cent greater membrane excursion than conventional units. Combined with a closed pressure chamber, System Audio promises bass down to 20 Hz.

New DSP with four times the processing power

The DS designation implies a complete reprogramming of the speaker’s digital signal processor, which now processes the audio signal four times faster than its predecessor. At the same time, the midrange cabinet has been completely redesigned, and the woofer cabinet has been fitted with new damping material, which provides deeper and more controlled bass. Together, these changes should contribute to a cleaner midrange and significantly better bass reproduction than its predecessor.

A disappointment for existing owners is that the speakers cannot be upgraded to the DS version, as the improvements require new hardware. However, the price is the same as for the original model.

Good connectivity and streaming with Stereo Hub HT

For €4599, you get both the speakers and the Stereo Hub HT. This compact box transmits sound wirelessly to the speakers via WiSA technology on the 5.2 GHz band, far away from the noise of regular Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. This ensures lossless transmission with 24-bit/96kHz resolution and minimal latency.

The hub has HDMI eARC, three optical and one coaxial input, USB and analogue RCA. For streaming, it supports Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Qobuz Connect, AirPlay 2, Chromecast and Bluetooth 5.2. If you want to expand to surround sound, you can choose the Surround Hub for only £160 extra and get a home cinema system with up to eight channels. Including Dolby Atmos sound (5.1.2).

Room correction and customisation

The SA Room Service feature measures the room’s acoustics via the microphone in your iPhone (Android users need a separate wireless microphone) and automatically adjusts the sound. You walk around the room while the speakers play test tones, and the system creates a customised correction profile. In addition, System Audio offers RAM TWEAKS, which can be downloaded – sound profiles that allow you to customise the character of the speaker. I was allowed to test the one that has been released so far, and it definitely makes a difference.

Easy installation

Installing the Silverback 40.2 DS is so simple that even the most technologically challenged should be able to do it. The speakers connect wirelessly to the hub at the touch of a button, and the system sets itself up automatically. If it turns out that the right and left channels are swapped, simply change the position in the app.

For optimal placement, we recommend approx. 20-40 cm from the rear wall and a listening distance of at least 2.5 metres. The speakers can be adjusted with both rubber pads and the included spikes, depending on the surface.

As designer Ole Witthøft demonstrated during the visit, this is a system designed for real homes and ordinary users – not just Hi-Fi enthusiasts with dedicated listening rooms.

The sound of System Audio Silverback 40.2 DS

The first thing that strikes me is how balanced and natural these speakers sound. Charlie Puth’s Attention – a song I often use to test bass reproduction and timing – comes through with impressive control. The bass is present and clear, but never excessive or muddy. The prominent bass line that drives the song forward is reproduced with precision and timing, while the production’s many layers are elegantly separated.

The midrange deserves special praise. Where many Hi-Fi speakers may be reluctant to emphasise bass and treble, the Silverback 40.2 DS reproduces vocals and instruments at the forefront of the soundstage. Puth’s dry and detailed vocals sound close and natural without being intrusive or harsh.

Beautiful music reproduction

Teddy Swims’ soul ballad Bad Dreams is a good test of vocal reproduction. His powerful voice requires speakers that can convey both nerve and intimacy. At the same time, the nasal singing technique reveals distortions in the proximity range. The Silverback speakers reproduce the vocals with their original edge and intensity, and the rhythms are delivered with sufficient authority and weight. The dense and modern soundscape with multiple layers is handled clearly, and each instrument is given its place without sounding messy.

The music flows naturally and engagingly, and the speakers follow the rhythm and melody with ease.

Classical grandeur

But it is with Kim André Arnesen’s Song For Justice from the epic contemporary release Tuvayhun that the speakers really show their true colours. This recording from Nidaros Cathedral with the Nidaros Cathedral Girls’ Choir and the Trondheim Soloists is technically demanding and emotionally charged at the same time.

Although I only have the opportunity to test this Dolby Atmos release in stereo, the speakers paint a large and three-dimensional sound picture with plenty of depth. The voices of the girls’ choir float airily in the room with a natural sound, while the strings and percussion create depth and breadth. The large dynamic contrasts are handled effortlessly – from the most subtle details to powerful orchestral outbursts.

The closed cabinet design shows its strength with tight and controlled bass without the slightly loose and boomy character that bass reflex designs often have. The DSP manipulates the bass to go deeper than is normally possible from a compact closed cabinet, and combined with the active four-way design, the speakers deliver an exceptionally clean and resolved sound.

Dispersion and placement

After the latest firmware update and RAM tweak, I noticed an improvement in dispersion. The soundstage now extends more clearly beyond the physical location of the speakers, creating a more immersive experience. Admittedly, the focus in the centre is slightly less precise, but for me this is a positive change that makes the sound more relaxed and natural.

Limitations? Try a subwoofer or two

These speakers are not designed to thunder away at deafening levels. The maximum sound pressure is limited compared to larger and more powerful systems. But that’s not the point. The Silverback 40.2 DS is designed to deliver musical enjoyment at normal listening levels, not to annoy the neighbours.

The bass drum in heavy productions does not have the same physical punch that you get from larger speakers or dedicated subwoofers. But it is precise and well integrated, and I rarely find myself wanting more than what the system delivers. And speaking of subwoofers, one or more wireless WiSA subwoofers can be integrated with the same room correction system, which will provide significantly more power in the bass range. The speakers also avoid playing deep bass, which enables them to play louder with even better dynamics.

Comparison with other active solutions

During the same test period, I had the Focal Diva Utopia – a system that costs more than eight times as much, with three Naim amplifiers in each speaker. It is, of course, in a completely different league with incredible punch and authority. But the Silverback 40.2 DS, at a fraction of the price, delivers such a compelling overall experience that for many people it will be all they need to awaken their joy of music. I could sit here for hours just listening.

As Ole Witthøft pointed out during the visit: These are speakers made for listening to and enjoying music, not for impressing with technical measurements or maximum sound pressure.

Competition and perspective

In this price range, there are several interesting alternatives, with the closest competitors probably being the Dynaudio Focus 30 and KEF LS60 Wireless.

Where Dynaudio uses a single 14 cm woofer, the Silverback 40.2 DS has two units of the same size with an extra-long stroke. In roughly the same cabinet volume, this gives System Audio better utilisation and probably better dynamics in the bass register. Four dedicated amplifiers also provide optimal control over each unit.

Dynaudio may have slightly better resolution in the treble, but the difference is not dramatic. Through room correction and customisable profiles, both speakers can ‘pull the sound image in a very neutral direction, not unlike a studio speaker’ when the situation demands it.

Given the price difference, there is no doubt which one offers the best value for money. System Audio delivers comparable sound quality, better bass dynamics and just as much versatility at 70 per cent of the price.

The KEF LS60 Wireless has a more expansive and warm sound character with eight woofers that provide significantly more weight in the lowest registers. The stereo perspective is also wider and more enveloping than the System Audio speakers straight out of the box, but that changed when I performed the RAM tweak. The Silverback 40.2 DS also has a more balanced and natural approach to music, and nasal voices sound sharper through the KEF.

Of the three speakers, the System Audio speakers are both the most affordable and strike a middle ground that works really well with most music genres. With the lower price compared to KEF, System Audio clearly offers the best value for money of the three.

PartyBox 520 is the latest and largest JBL model with battery operation and can play for up to 15 hours on a single charge. The battery is replaceable, so with an extra battery, the party can continue without interruption.

Large wheels and a telescopic handle make it easy to manoeuvre, and with a size and weight far below the flagship PartyBox Ultimate model, it is much more portable.

The sound is controlled either from the splash-proof control panel on top or via the PartyBox app, where you can adjust the light show, EQ settings and much more. The light show can also be turned off – and JBL has introduced something they call AI Sound Boost, which automatically synchronises the lighting effects with the music.

The speaker can be connected to other JBL devices via Auracast, and it doesn’t even have to be another JBL – any speaker with Auracast will work. At the back, you can connect microphones and guitars and use the karaoke function.

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(Photo: Lasse Svendsen)

Party factor

Although the PartyBox 520 is smaller than both the PartyBox 710 and Ultimate, you hardly notice it. The JBL speaker delivers sound pressure that can match the biggest – and at the same time sounds articulate, balanced and clear. This is the most focused sound reproduction we have heard in a party speaker to date. Even when you crank it up, it retains control and clarity without sounding harsh.

It even handles piano music better than most others in its class, allowing you to sense the depth of the recordings. The vocal reproduction is significantly better than that of its competitors.

When Bad Woman by Paloma Faith flows out of the PartyBox, you can feel the bass right in your stomach, and the vocals sound both richer and warmer. Even when the treble pops, it never sounds sharp.

Industrial design

The angular design of previous models has been carried over with perforated metal grilles that give it a robust and industrial look. It’s not necessarily the most elegant on the market, but the build quality is impeccable. This year’s model has a more compact subwoofer than before, with two 8-inch woofers that beat out in unison (push-push).

Although the soundbar is quite large at 123 cm, it goes well with TVs from 55 inches and up. The rear speakers are compact enough to be placed discreetly on shelves or side tables.

Easy setup, advanced technology

Samsung has made it amazingly easy to set up the system. Everything connects wirelessly, and calibration is done automatically via the SmartThings app. The new SpaceFit Sound Pro feature analyses the room in real time and adjusts the sound accordingly to achieve a more precise and seamless surround sound experience. Of course, it also works with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X content.

On the connection side, you will find two HDMI inputs and one HDMI eARC output for connecting to your TV, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay 2, Chromecast and Spotify Connect. If you have a newer Samsung TV, Q-Symphony technology allows the TV’s own speakers to play along with the soundbar for even better sound.

The sound of the Samsung Q995F

Samsung really shines with film content. The opening scene in a chapel in The Harder They Fall is subdued, and the dialogue is not easy to understand with all soundbars. But Samsung makes it crystal clear, with really good richness in the bass register, without sounding muddy or bombastic.

The Dolby Atmos experience is almost shockingly good. The surround sound spreads precisely throughout the room, and the Samsung soundbar creates a semicircle of sound in front of us, while the rear speakers ensure that we are completely enveloped. The height channels provide a convincing sense of sound from above, whether there are helicopters or rain on the menu.

Action sequences take on a physical presence, thanks in no small part to the powerful subwoofer. The dynamics are impressive, with stark contrasts between quiet scenes and explosive action sequences. The sound never feels strained, even at high volumes.

Although Samsung excels primarily with films, the Q995F performs surprisingly well with music. The bass reproduction is surprisingly powerful and controlled, especially with modern rhythmic music. Previous models have had a more undefined subwoofer when it comes to music, but this one sounds incredibly defined and undistorted. The midrange is also present; the only thing we miss is a little resolution at the very top. But wow, Samsung really masters the all-round category.

Streaming via AirPlay 2 or Spotify Connect works seamlessly, and Music mode provides a wide stereo image. The sound character is more entertaining than “painfully accurate”, but boy, does it swing!

Well thought-out design

Viewed from the front, the Enchant 1100 is discreetly elegant with its matte black finish and perforated metal grille. The wide front grille conceals the eleven units working behind the scenes: six oval woofers, three tweeters and two Atmos drivers at the top.

With a length of 87 cm, the soundbar fits perfectly with TVs from 40 inches and up. On the back, you will find three HDMI inputs and an HDMI eARC output for connecting to your TV.

Seamless setup

Setup is quick and easy via the Google Home app, which helps you with the Wi-Fi connection. Once that’s done, you have access to music via AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Connect and Bluetooth 5.3. You can also connect via the Harman Kardon ONE app.

The system features MultiBeam calibration, which analyses the room’s acoustics at the touch of a button and adjusts the sound accordingly. With the separate but well-integrated app, you can also fine-tune via a 7-band equaliser.

The sound of Harman Kardon Enchant 1100

The first thing that strikes us is the precise voice reproduction. The dialogue is crystal clear with an almost physical presence. There is a separate dialogue enhancement if needed, but for most people it will be more than clear enough.

MultiBeam technology creates a surprisingly wide and deep soundscape. The Netflix documentary Our Universe, narrated by Morgan Freeman, has a very immersive and impressive soundscape. Even without dedicated rear speakers, we feel surrounded, an impression that is cemented when the Enchant Speaker is set up as rear speakers. The experience is taken to a new level with sound from all sides and a seamless transition from front to rear. The height effects also get more air and space.

The speakers are designed as a pair of true wireless speakers and not necessarily just as rear speakers, and they also increase the price of the soundbar by over 50 percent. And then there’s the subwoofer on top of that.

The soundbar stands well on its own, but it is only when the Enchant Sub is connected that the sound image gets a solid foundation. The sub integrates seamlessly with the soundbar and impresses us with its fullness and punch. It is not quite as tight and refined as Samsung’s, but it has more energy even at lower frequencies.

Versatile for music

Stereo music is reproduced with a balanced sound character and rich midrange. The Enchant 1100 does justice to both classical and modern music with a wide stereo image and clear separation of instruments.

On Lorde’s Royals, the vocals are warm and naturally placed, while the deep drum rhythms create ripples throughout the room. Even at higher volumes, the system maintains control with a clean, uncoloured sound character that works particularly well on acoustic material.

Please note that there is a slightly exaggerated focus in the lower treble range between 2-4 kHz, so it may be a good idea to adjust this down slightly to achieve a warmer sound.

Here’s why.

When upgrading a speaker, it’s normal to address individual elements. It can be a modified or upgraded driver or both. Preferably followed by a cosmetic change that makes the new version stand out from the original. Even if only slightly.

It could have been the same with the Contour 20 Black Edition. But Dynaudio has thought differently. Sure, the cabinet with the milled aluminium front panels is familiar from the original. Except that the cabinet only comes with several layers of deep black lacquer. And polished to perfection, everything that matters is new compared to the original.

When we tested the first version of the Contour 20, we were so excited that we kept the speakers for several months. They were frequently used as a reference for compact speakers of the time. This was due to an unusually open and balanced soundstage that leaned towards neutral without sounding like a studio monitor. They sounded more natural than much else we tested at the time, and when we packed them up and returned them to the factory, it took us a long time to find a pair of compact speakers good enough to replace the Contour 20.

But after testing the Black Edition, we’re inclined to refuse to return the speakers to Dynaudio. They can call, fax or send a telegram. Yes, they can even knock on the door, we will hardly answer or open it. Because these speakers are so good that once you’ve heard them, you won’t want to let them go.

Top shelf parts

Behind the shiny black lacquer are four fundamental changes, all of which make a big difference to how the speakers sound and how they differ from the original.

In fact, these are the only speakers in the Contour range, apart from the Contour Legacy, that come with Dynaudio’s very best tweeter. Namely the Esotar 3, with a 28 mm silk dome with Hexis on the back. It’s a kind of internal diffuser that dampens resonances and smooths out the frequency response of the tweeter. The Esotar 3 is one of the finest tweeters we know of. It’s usually reserved for the flagship Confidence series, so it’s a bit of a surprise that another speaker in the Contour series gets a top-shelf tweeter.

Bring on the neodymium

The woofer is a new variant of the 18-centimetre NeoTec unit -18W55, with the MSP diaphragm that we know from Dynaudio’s woofers and midwoofers from way back in the day. Dynaudio wanted to increase the sensitivity of the bass and wanted to mount a stronger magnet on the back of the unit to achieve this. But they realised it would take up too much space and compromise the speaker’s bass response more than they wanted. So they had to find another solution. A neodymium magnet was chosen because it can be made smaller and deliver the same power as a large ferrite magnet.

Other details such as a longer fibreglass voice coil, a slimmer profile and a rounded basket will improve the precision, dynamics and sensitivity of the unit, according to Dynaudio.

But that risks creating another problem.

New bass port and crossover

With the increased response in the bass comes an increased risk of noise from the woofer port. Dynaudio wanted to avoid the airflow in the port being audible, so they chose a new bass reflex tube with a larger diameter and curved openings at both ends. In doing so, Dynaudio claims to have achieved a more accurate and powerful woofer from the bass port with fewer artefacts as a welcome bonus.

With what are effectively brand new units, the crossover also needed to be upgraded. But Dynaudio chose instead to make a new crossover from scratch. They chose a second-order filter that divides relatively high, at 3,600 Hz. Where the division between the units overlaps to such an extent that an audible drop in the crossover frequency range is avoided.

The crossover has no phase or impedance correction at all, nor any eq corrections, but it does have expensive resistors and capacitors from Mundorf in Germany. It’s all knitted together with internal cables from Van Den Hul.

Moderate sensitivity

The deep black speakers, which have a system impedance of 4 Ohms, have a moderate sensitivity of 86 dB, and like most Dynaudio speakers we’ve tested, the Black Edition is at its best when connected to an amplifier that has enough power to harness the wildness that lives inside them.

The sound

This worked perfectly with Hegel’s excellent H190V, which has more than enough power to drive the black speakers and give them the authority they deserve. A Yamaha A-S3200 or Musical Fidelity NuVista 800.2 is also an excellent match for the speakers and complements the amplifiers to perfection.

I started with the Hegel amplifier and the first thing that struck me when I pressed play was how incredibly open and focused they were. That’s not an unusual experience with Dynaudio speakers per se, but these were arguably more transparent, and they had an advantage over the original, which is perhaps the most distinctive thing about the Black Edition. They deliver exceptionally powerful and deep woofers for a relatively compact speaker. I wouldn’t go so far as to say you don’t need a subwoofer with them – because that simply wouldn’t be true – but they definitely deliver a deeper woofer with more power and dynamics than a pair of regular Contour 20s.

One of the many things I particularly liked about Black Edition was the way they reproduced the piano sound. A unique crystal clear and deep sound filled the room when the Jan Gunnar Hoff Ensemble played Polarity from the album of the same name. There are some short bass runs and drum solos on the album that really came into their own with the black speakers.

It reminded me of the Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4, which delivers a soundstage with a little more warmth and glow, but it somehow fails to deliver the music with the same dynamic contrast or transparency as the Black Edition.

Since it wasn’t so long ago that I had the Contour Legacy in the same spot in the listening room, I thought I recognised the signature of the Legacy model, but at the same time I have to admit that I think the Black Edition sounds even more open. Maybe especially in the midrange, but of course they don’t go as deep with the same authority as the Legacy does in the bass.

Black Edition is just as good at bringing out the atmosphere and sound of Sofienberg Church in Oslo, where the Polarity recording was made. The large church space comes through clearly on the recording, and I never missed the Legacy speaker’s well-articulated bass. Simply because the Black Edition is just as good, I would even argue that the Black Edition actually has an even more clearly defined midrange. Something I noticed on Dire Straits’ Private Investigations, where Mark Knopfler’s guitar sound was more sharply defined than I remember from the Legacy speaker.

The drums at the end of Private Investigations obviously don’t have the impressive depth of a pair of Legacy speakers, but there is more depth and dynamic power in the drums here than in a pair of Audiovector R1 Arreté speakers, for example. Of course, there’s nothing here that resembles a large floorstanding speaker, but the Black Edition soundstage is in many ways a strange combination of skills. The speakers are a kind of Swiss Army knife in the way they handle both fine-tuned trio jazz and the danceable rhythms of funk ensemble Ezra Collective.

The double album Dance, No One’s Watching is a party from start to finish and a perfect example of how the relatively small speakers manage to engage the listener. The music rocks along with a mix of jazz and afrobeat. The lyrics aren’t exactly profound, but the vocals colour the music and give it depth and warmth. The horn section, which is a mainstay of most songs, is beautifully reproduced with a rich warmth of sound that shows that the speakers are by no means harsh or clinical.

The demo favourite, Kari Bremnes’ 2015 edition of Spor, is recorded with a percussion and bass that seem to be mixed quite far forward on the soundstage. Turn up the volume and small speakers will struggle to reproduce the dynamics in the bass with enough realism. Some will even succumb because they can’t handle the massive energy of the bass. But not the Black Edition. They just play louder when you turn up the volume. There’s not the slightest hint of distortion or break-up. The speakers just thunder away with a bass you can feel in your diaphragm. At the same time, the vocals are exemplary neutral and focussed.

Danish Raidho has never made cheap speakers, but they are known for delivering great sound quality. However, while the biggest and most expensive creations are far beyond the budget of ‘ordinary people’, I’ve mostly concentrated on testing the more affordable models. For those who have followed my tests of the X1t, X1.6 and X2t, I complete the quartet with the new X2.6 mid-sized floorstanding speaker – the largest model in the new X series so far.

The X2.6 is, like the X1.6 was compared to the X1t, a larger version of the X2t. But without the exclusive tantalum coating on the woofer. It may sound like a step down in quality, but think of it as a different prioritisation – a bigger and deeper soundstage at a less prohibitive price compared to what a larger X2t would cost.

Unique technology

A Raidho speaker is never just a speaker. It is the result of an uncompromising pursuit of perfection, right down to the smallest details.

The tweeter in the X2.6 is the iconic planar magnetic ribbon tweeter that has made Raidho famous, with a razor-thin 11 micrometre foil of just 20 milligrams. The result is an astonishingly fast and well-resolved tweeter with a break-up point high above the audible range – all the way up to 82 kHz! All to achieve the cleanest sound possible.

The bass and midrange are reproduced by two 6.5″ ceramic woofers. While the more expensive models have an additional coating of tantalum for extra rigidity, the X2.6 has ‘only’ ceramic. But don’t worry – the ceramic diaphragms themselves are extremely stiff and lightweight, with a break-up frequency well above the crossover frequency (12.5 kHz).

Another Raidho signature is titanium voice coils. Titanium is actually a poorer electrical conductor than copper and aluminium, which has to be compensated for with a larger cross-section of the coil wire. But the advantage is that titanium is virtually unaffected by magnetism, which means the coil can move freely through the magnetic field. And the result? Better dynamics and speed.

Elegant construction

The cabinet of the X2.6 is 21 mm MDF with a design that narrows at the rear – both to reduce standing waves inside the cabinet and to give the speaker an elegant and sleek footprint. The drivers are mounted on double front plates that are directly attached to solid aluminium plates glued to the MDF front.

Instead of traditional spikes, X2.6 has smart feet with integrated decoupling using ceramic spheres that are not visible from the outside. This provides effective isolation from the floor without damaging it. The bass reflex port on the back is also unusual – an opening that is divided into eight cells, each of which can be plugged with foam to fine-tune bass response.

Placement and system

As with other Raidho speakers, placement is important, but the X2.6 is less critical than previous generations. In our 30 square metre test room, they worked optimally with the front about 1.5 metres from the back wall and about 120 cm from the side walls. And angled slightly inwards and pointing towards a point about three metres behind the seating area.

Several amplifiers were used in the test: Naim Uniti Nova PE, Hegel H590 and Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2, all of which are integrated and fantastic amplifiers in their own way. But then I also have the Hegel P30A preamplifier and two H30A power amplifiers to really separate the wheat from the chaff. The fact that they deliver 1,100 watts per channel isn’t that interesting in itself, but it’s the sheer calmness and richness of the soundstage!

The Hegel Viking CD player, Hegel D50 DAC and Macbook Pro M4 Max with Roon have also been important pieces in this game. And not least, an IsoTek V5 Sigma power filter has proved invaluable when it comes to getting the most out of these speakers.

Amplifier differences

The soundstage from the X2.6 is so clean and resolved that it’s almost frighteningly realistic. It’s as if the speakers disappear, leaving only the music floating in space.

The speakers act as a high-resolution window into the properties of the electronics. With the Hegel H590, you get an extremely neutral and controlled presentation with a large, precise soundstage. Naim Uniti Nova PE provides a more immediate, almost physically tangible energy, especially in the midrange. Musical Fidelity is also at its best with extremely crisp dynamics and great resolution – the kind of neutral and balanced sound a sound engineer would appreciate. However, the biggest highlight came with the separate Hegel system with the P30A and the two H30A monoblocks – here the soundstage opened up further with even more three-dimensional space and bottomless dynamic excess. Raidho’s extreme resolution and microdynamics mean that each amplifier can show its unique sound character, and even small changes in the signal chain are immediately audible. For the discerning listener who really wants to utilise the full potential of the X2.6, I would probably highlight the Musical Fidelity amplifier if you don’t plan to spend at least as much on the amplifier as on the speakers.

Sound magic from the Raidho X2.6

Maria Mena’s Kiss cover I Was Made for Lovin’ You becomes a complete revelation through the X2.6. The wide frequency range of the double bass, from the deep chords to the strike of the crystal clear notes, is presented with such purity that I almost have to pinch myself. The instrument retains its acoustic ‘body’ throughout the entire register.

Most striking, however, is how Mena’s voice is presented. Her sensitive vibrato floats in the air between the speakers with all the microdynamic nuances preserved – from whispers to more powerful outbursts. There is an emotional transparency that is rare to experience, even in the high-end class. The voice is both airy and dense, with no trace of artificial sharpness or compression.

To explore the electronic complexity, I play Boris Blank’s Electrified. The song is built in layers of subtly panned effects and layers of synth arpeggios that span the entire stereo width. The X2.6 recreates virtual space with astonishing precision. Brilliant use of deep base effects and complex rhythmic patterns are presented with a control that keeps each component separate. While playing loud may not be the speakers’ most pronounced strength, it’s impressive how the speakers manage to maintain transient response without smearing the sound, even in the most challenging passages.

To test raw energy and dynamic endurance, I turn to Marilyn Manson’s Third Day of a Seven Day Binge from 2015. The raw, unpolished production with distorted guitars and Manson’s shifting vocals – from whisper to scream – are handled with an ease that allows me to distinguish between deliberate compression and artistically intended rawness. The bass line, which sounds simple but requires precise control, is delivered with punch and authority without slipping.

Larger scale and bass

Compared to the X2t, the X2.6 has a significantly more extended bass response. Not only does it go deeper, but it also has a more relaxed and natural bass response, especially in larger rooms.

The bass response is particularly impressive on Massive Attack’s Angel, rolling through the room with an authority that makes you forget you’re listening to speakers.

That said, the same rhythms played through the KEF Blade Two Meta or Dali Epikore 9 make me shiver more, but the X2.6 has other strengths worthy of a few tears and a good dose of goosebumps.

The benefit of a power filter

One thing I realised during my testing was what I hinted at in the beginning; how important a proper power filter was to the experience. A demonstration of IsoTek’s power filters; from the simple Polaris to the lavish Aquarius with separate filters for all outputs and finally the Sigma with even more expensive filtration, provided some real aha moments.

And although there was a big difference already with the cheapest Polaris filter, it wasn’t until the IsoTek V5 Sigmas were connected that the X2.6 really opened up and reached its full potential. Without the filter, the sound was still very good, but with the filter it was transformed into something extraordinary – more three-dimensional, with better separation, deeper woofers and a treble that was even more detailed without being harsh. Everything got better.

It’s not the speakers’ fault, I’d rather call it a strength that they are able to distinguish between all sources. It’s still worth mentioning if you want to invest in this price range because even though it might sound strange, you will never regret investing in a power filter. Just make sure you buy one that doesn’t stifle the dynamics of the process. They do exist.

Competitors

There are several strong competitors in this price range. The Bowers & Wilkins 803 D4 is perhaps the most natural comparison with its diamond tweeter and high technical level. But B&amp;W has a more technically perfect sound, where the Raidho X2.6 has a warmer and more engaging presentation.

The Dali Epikore 7 is another contender with its hybrid tweeter, but Raidho has a more airy and detailed soundstage, especially in the treble. The Ø Audio Icon 12 offers more bass and sound pressure for the money, but lacks the clock-like resolution that makes Raidho so special. The KEF Blade Two Meta has thunderous dynamics and a boldness that is almost unique in its class. But where they can also get a little strained in the upper midrange, the Raidho just sounds ultra-clean all the way through.

This is a new version of the MB5, and behind these speakers is the same team that builds the exclusive Raidho speakers. Same technical principles, but with more reasonable material costs. But don’t get me wrong – these are still expensive speakers.

Advanced construction

The Scansonic MB5 B is a pair of slim floorstanding speakers with a price tag of €7,200. Unless you opt for the slightly more expensive walnut finish.

That’s a lot of money, but still a pittance compared to something similar from Raidho. At the moment, there is actually no directly comparable model. But the one that looks the most similar when we look at the trim is the discontinued C3.2 at 34,000 euros.

The MB5 B can be seen as a miniature line source with its symmetrically placed drivers. Two 5.25-inch midwoofers flank the ribbon tweeter in the center, while two dedicated woofers are placed at the bottom. This provides many of the benefits of a line source like its big brother MB6 B – including even dispersion and good phase response – but in a more compact format.

The ribbon tweeter with waveguide is also taken from the Raidho arsenal. The membrane consists of a sandwich construction of kapton and aluminum, only 20 micrometers thick and weighing 0.03 grams. This is around 50 times lighter than conventional dome tweeters, which bodes well for the tweeter’s resolution and purity.

Where Raidho uses extremely expensive ceramic diaphragms and titanium voice coils, Scansonic has chosen more sensible, but still high-quality materials. The diaphragms are woven carbon fiber for high stiffness and low mass, while the voice coils are aluminum. This results in a significantly smaller impact on inductance than conventional copper coils, which means the drivers can move freer and faster. The result is drivers that respond quickly and accurately to the music signal and have only marginally higher distortion than their far more expensive relatives.

The cabinet is curved and braced with carbon fiber and stands on solid feet with adjustable spikes. A slight backward tilt should provide the best possible phase reproduction when listening. This is important for both stereo perspective and rhythm. On the back we find a bass reflex tube and a single pair of solid speaker terminals.

Easy to position

Where previous Scansonic models have tended to be a little difficult to position in the room, the MB5 B speakers are more flexible. They are still at their best when placed some distance from the back wall, but can also be positioned closer to the wall without the bass becoming too dominant. In our 30 square meter test room, they actually worked surprisingly well just 60-70 centimeters from the wall.

They are also easily driven. With a sensitivity of 90 dB, they don’t need many watts to come to life. In the test room, the Hegel H590s play up perfectly to their huge stereo perspective and dynamic capabilities. But other amplifiers will work great too. The Denon PMA-3000NE has a warm and lush sound that fires up the huge soundstage. A fast Naim amplifier, on the other hand, will emphasize their tactful and rhythmic qualities. The Rotel Michi X3 S2 will add a great deal of authority and power, while a more budget-friendly integrated amplifier like the Marantz Model 40n can also go a long way.

But it’s when they get a lot of amplifier power that the entertainment department really comes alive.

Impressive dynamics

Susanne Sundfør’s version of Dejlig er jorden evokes both goosebumps and a wet eye. Ole Morten Vågan’s mighty double bass sounds so powerful and big that you almost have to pinch yourself. What sounds like a real and towering church organ, but which I interpret from the available information to be sampled, is so otherworldly grandiose that it is almost unbelievable.

Similarly, the sampled strings, cellos and violins have a warm and crisp sound that is a treat for the soul. Everything sounds as real and authentic as if it was recorded in the Notre Dame itself, and Sundfør’s voice stands out so beautifully in the soundscape that I wish she could hear what I hear in the room right now.

Rap and electronic music also show how dynamic and rhythmic these speakers are. The bass feels both deep and punchy, while vocals and details stand out clearly without being intrusive or harsh. Where many hi-fi manufacturers are tempted to pull down the midrange to evoke a sense of airiness, Scansonic has found a fine balance. Yes, the upper midrange is slightly pulled back, but not so much that I think it compromises the presence register. The voices still come out really well. At the same time, there’s good fullness in both the lower and mid-midrange.

The MB5 B delivers a natural and engaging music reproduction that never gets tiring to listen to. The stereo image is huge with precise placement of instruments and vocals. And thanks to the lightweight ribbon tweeter, there’s plenty of air and detail at the top without being harsh or obtrusive.

Scansonic MB5 B versus the competition

The MB5 B has several strong competitors in its price range. At the time of writing, I have the fabulous Dali Rubicore 8 fresh in my mind. The Dali speakers are physically larger and they too have wonderful, rhythmic bass and well-resolved sound. However, they don’t go quite as deep in the bass as the Scansonic. In terms of detail, the Dali speakers also have a thinner midrange and a slightly sharper treble. This makes them more discerning when it comes to recording quality; on sharp recordings, they can be a little hard to listen to.

Quite simply, the Scansonic MB5 B is a more complete speaker. With a natural ability to make all music engaging, almost regardless of the recording quality. And the dynamic control is second to none.

The tweeter in the Scansonic MB5 B doesn’t sound as ultra-detailed as the more expensive Audiovector R3 Arreté, but it’s also more delicate than the more affordable R3 Signature. The kinship with Raidho is easy to hear, although the smallest and most fleeting details of the Raidho branch of the family are lost.

Among the jumble of models, it’s actually the top model in the Q900 series that has been among the most coveted in the Samsung arena. Now the updated 2024 model HW-Q995D is on offer, and many are probably wondering how it compares to its predecessor and test winner HW-Q995C from 2023!

Samsung HW-Q995D (2024) vs. HW-Q995C (2023): What’s new

The answer is simply that there are more similarities than differences. The new 2024 model uses the exact same exterior design and speaker configuration as its predecessor. That is, 11.1.4 channels, with the same type of wireless subwoofer and surround speakers included in the package.

Most of the internals are also the same. However, the HW-Q995D has received two HDMI 2.1 inputs, meaning it now supports both 8K/60Hz and 4K/120Hz video signals (its predecessor was limited to 8K/30Hz and 4K/60Hz). This allows you to connect high-end video sources to the soundbar, extract the audio, and pass the video signals on without limitations.

Other new features include the ability to play music in all channels (Sound Grouping), or only through the rear speakers when you want to listen discreetly (Private Rear Sound). Otherwise, there are no major hardware or software differences to speak of.

Speaking of hardware, at 123 centimeters, this is still a large soundbar made to match the largest TV screens. In terms of looks, it may not be among the most appealing – but if you want a slim and elegantly designed soundbar, there are other options from both Samsung and other manufacturers.

Ease of use and features

A lavish soundbar like this naturally has built-in Wi-Fi, and the HW-Q995D also has its own ‘SmartThings Hub’, which allows the soundbar to talk to various devices in your Smart Home.

Therefore, you should download the Samsung SmartThings app, which provides access to more advanced settings and features. Setup is quick and the soundbar connects quickly with the additional speakers in the room.

If you’re one of those who avoid HDMI cables like the plague, you also have the option to send TV sound wirelessly to the soundbar via Wi-Fi. However, you’ll need a newer Samsung monitor. However, the Wi-Fi transmission uses the more compressed Dolby Digital+ standard, so for the best sound we still recommend using the HDMI eARC connector.

Otherwise, the soundbar supports Airplay 2, Chromecast and Spotify Connect as well as Bluetooth, so there are plenty of wireless connectivity options, also for music.

Plenty of sound settings

This soundbar has several useful sound modes, including a ‘voice enhancement’ that works well on older and murky recordings, as well as a night mode that dims the dynamics. The Q995D model also has a new feature (Private Rear Sound) where it only uses the rear speakers, which can be handy when you don’t want to disturb others in the room.

In some cases, you may also find the sound a little too forward and eager or a little too restrained. In such cases, it can be good to be able to use the equaliser and fine-tune a little. Room correction is also possible by activating the ‘Spacefit Sound’ function. The soundbar then uses the built-in microphone to ‘listen’ and adapt to its surroundings. But the odd thing is that the microphone has to be switched on all the time – it would be easier to make an actual measurement, we think.

Sound quality for films

Features are nice to have, but in the end it’s the sound performance in the cinema room that counts: This is where the Q995 has been particularly popular, as it’s among the models that offer the most power and speaker channels in its price range.

Of course, it can’t match the sound experience that a full-fledged surround amplifier and large, separate speakers can provide – but it’s probably one of the closest we can get without the price getting out of hand. We tried it out with a 98-inch DU9005 TV for the occasion and found that the soundbar produced a soundstage that suited the large screen well.

The first thing we notice is that the Samsung soundbar is spot on with voice reproduction. The dialogues from the TV entertainment hit hard and clear, immediately drawing listeners into the action. There’s punch and clarity in everything that’s going on, with good lip sync to the people speaking.

The voice reproduction is definitely better than the Sonos Arc, which we find a bit thin in this area. However, perhaps not quite as refined and finely resolved as the more expensive Sony Bravia Theater Bar 9 (but there the soundbar alone costs as much as the entire Samsung package).

Another advantage of the Samsung model is the included surround speakers, which help create an impressive sense of space. We’re enveloped in a believable ‘sound bubble’ of effects swirling around us, and we get the real feel that the sound engineers were looking for when things need to move. This is especially evident on great Dolby Atmos mixes like Drive to Survive, Dune I and II or the Top Gun films, for example.

Entertainment doesn’t have to be limited to the latest titles: Samsung has created a cool surround mode that upscales older 5.1 content to use all available channels in the system.

It’s especially noticeable in the rear speakers, and had a really powerful effect on older 5.1 recordings like Band of Brothers. And while not always according to the director’s intentions, it certainly sounds engaging with bullets firing and explosions roaring from all directions.

The Samsung system also has plenty of power, if that’s what matters. The HW-Q995D can play convincingly loud, clean and with impressive dynamics. It can handle the most demanding action scenes without running out of power. (That is, at the most deafening sound pressure levels, we can sometimes hear the subwoofer having some breathing problems just before the rest of the speakers start to struggle).

Sound quality for music

More and more people are using their TV speakers for music, so it’s becoming increasingly important that soundbars also perform well in this discipline. The Samsung HW-Q995D (somewhat surprisingly) also benefits from the additional rear speakers in this respect. When we play music in standard listening mode, the sound only comes out through the front soundbar, and frankly it sounds quite narrow and stuffy.

However, when we switch to surround mode, the rear speakers contribute to a much bigger and wider soundstage, with a much better stereo effect. Again, it’s far from hi-fi optimised and the bass isn’t as tight as you’d like, but it’s certainly quite entertaining. Thanks to the many active drivers, it’s possible to fill the room with a very powerful sound pressure. So you can achieve plenty of decibels for your house party.

Solid bass, but more wants more

As good as this package is, you can always think of potential improvements. And when the rest of the sound is this potent, it’s only natural to want even more bass.

All in all: The included Samsung subwoofer isn’t bad at all and packs a good punch for its size. If you work a little with the placement, it’s easily possible to get quite tight, deep and hard-hitting bass. You’d have to be pretty crazy about bass to need more. But there are some solutions out there that offer even ‘’meatier‘’ subwoofers.

Some more expensive competitors (including Sennheiser, Sonos, Klipsch, Nakamichi, etc.) offer us to buy and add an additional subwoofer to the system to even out the bass response and reproduce even more deep bass in large and challenging rooms. It wouldn’t hurt if Samsung also made this possible on their top model. Maybe an option for the next generation?

Conclusion

Samsung’s best soundbar HW-Q995 has been one of our favourite soundbars for (model) generations, and the 2024 model with the surname ‘D’ is no exception: with a total of 11.1.4 channels, Dolby Atmos, accompanying surround speakers and wireless subwoofer, this Samsung package is capable of really shaking up home cinema sound.

Sonically, this edition is very similar to its predecessor, with a big, powerful and convincing soundstage that enhances the movie experience and creates the right cinema atmosphere. With surround speakers and a subwoofer included in the package, you get a complete and capable setup at a very competitive price.

There may be even wilder competitors out there, but they certainly cost significantly more money! That’s why this vintage gets a strong recommendation – but if you can find the 2023 model at a lower price, it’s also a great buy.

The X Series is Raidho’s most affordable speaker series, but it’s built on the same uncompromising mindset as all their speakers. Namely, to deliver the most realistic and effortless reproduction of music possible. To get as close as possible to an “unshakable” reproduction of the music – where the speakers disappear, leaving only a pure musical experience.

A while ago, I tested the Raidho X1t, a more opulent version of the now discontinued X1. The T stands for tantalum, which means the ceramic woofer is coated with a razor-thin layer of tantalum for even better rigidity and lower distortion. The result was a formidable speaker.

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(Photo: Raidho)

A compact big brother

The X1.6 is a big brother to the X1t with a larger enclosure and a 16 cm woofer compared to its little brother’s 13 cm. This gives the X1.6 a deeper bass that extends all the way down to 45 Hz, while the X1t goes no deeper than 70 Hz.

But unlike the X1t, which has a ceramic diaphragm coated with tantalum to reduce distortion, the diaphragm in the X1.6 is “only” made of ceramics. But even though the ceramic isn’t coated with any stiffening material, be it tantalum, titanium or diamond as in the more expensive Raidho series, it is inherently very rigid and lightweight with very low distortion. It’s just that last little percentage of purity that is missing compared to the more exotic coated cones.

The speaker has the characteristic planar magnetic ribbon tweeters that Raidho is known for and a ventilated construction that ensures minimal resistance to pistonic movement. The woofer’s voice coil is made of titanium, which is largely unaffected by induction. All to provide the fastest possible transient response. Of course, these things are expensive.

The ceramic diaphragm in the X1.6 is designed to be incredibly stiff and light, resulting in low distortion and fast response. As mentioned, it only lacks the tantalum coating to bring the distortion down even further, but there’s no need to fear noise here. While the X1.6 doesn’t have the most expensive diaphragm finish like its big brothers, it’s still a true Raidho speaker. A speaker that seeks to deliver a magically realistic music experience, built on an uncompromising approach to speaker design.

Finding the perfect placement

I’ve always liked Raidho, even though the speakers are notoriously difficult to place in relation to the back wall. They often need to be placed in the center of the floor for balanced bass reproduction, while they sound too boomy if placed closer to the back wall.

On the other hand, there has been a positive evolution in the placeability of recent designs, including the X1.6. But while it’s less critical of placement than its older family members, it still requires careful consideration to perform at its best. If you have the space, it’s a good idea to move them away from the back wall to avoid the bass becoming too dominant, but in smaller rooms there’s no crisis in placing them closer to the wall.

In our dedicated listening room of 30 square meters, I found the most advantageous placement to be around 1 meter from the back wall and 70-80 cm from the side walls. This it shares with its little brother X1t. Closer to the back wall the bass became too loud and further out on the floor it became too tame.

Of course, this will vary from room to room, so my advice is to experiment with placement. It can do wonders for the soundstage.

Amplifier

Another thing to consider is that the X1.6, like most Raidho speakers, prefers a slightly powerful amplifier to perform at its very best. A Hegel H590 (2 x 300W) or equivalent will really make them shine. I’ve also had good luck with my trusty (and discontinued) AVI S21 MI Laboratory Series integrator (2 x 150 W) with a good streamer like the Gold Note DS-10 EVO.

But smaller amplifiers can also work well, especially in smaller rooms. The important thing is that the amplifier has enough power in reserve and is fast enough to keep up with the speakers’ lightning-fast transients. The Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 (2 x 60W) is an example of a good quality amplifier with limited power resources. In my small home office, it has no problem getting good things out of the X1.6, but it lacks a bit of power and control to drive the speakers to great heights.

The sound of the Raidho X1.6

Sonically, the Raidho X1.6 is a true pleasure to listen to. Take for example the song Dream of You by Lionlimb with guest vocalist Angel Olsen. It really shows what qualities the speakers possess. The slightly dirty sound with distorted guitar, a keyboard that pans back and forth in the sound, raw and unpolished drums, and Angel Olsen’s beautiful voice in the middle of it all is simply wonderfully reproduced. It may seem like a paradox that the exemplary purity of the speakers emphasizes the dirty and raw nature of the soundscape.

It’s as pure as it gets, and the saxophone in Markusphilippe’s Pink Panther-interpretation sounds almost magical. Like it’s being played in the room right in front of me. The double bass sounds wonderfully raspy yet rich.

The insanely cool Fiona Apple-esque jazz song Big Feelings by Willow flies off from the first bar. Alongside the excellent voice, the focus is on the drums and piano. You are left with a mixed feeling of melancholy and pure stress, and I love it! Here the speakers really show their strength in the midrange, where the dark and complex piano sound is allowed to shine while the cymbals float on clouds.

The X1.6 goes deeper and is more stable in the bass than the X1t. However, there’s still a limit to how loud they can play before the woofers start to make a little noise in the form of squealing. You have to be careful with the sound level on tracks like Lizzo’s About Damn Time, where juicy drum rhythms scream for a punchy bass response. As always, the speakers bring out the qualities of the midrange and treble, and at moderate volumes the bass is also spot on. But don’t turn up the volume too much and the speakers will let you down. Of course, they don’t have the same fun factor as larger speakers.

However, I’d be careful about highlighting this as a minus. This is because the speakers are designed to fully utilize the dynamics without holding anything back. When the drivers are involved in the entire journey of the sound wave from the highest peak to the deepest valley as quickly as possible, it has nothing to lose when you try to force it to play louder than its physical limitations. It will let you know with noises.

You might wish the speaker would taper off earlier in the bass in favor of a higher maximum sound pressure level. But that would be counterproductive. For that, Raidho would probably tell you to buy one of their larger models.

Competitors

Among the speakers I can think of in this price range that deserve a listen is the classic Rogers LS5/9. With a great midrange and exquisite balance. And with a bass so neutral that it actually comes across as tame. Not so with the Raidho X1.6, which are more engaging to listen to. They also have more air at the top and more punch at the bottom.

The Audio Physic Spark is larger than the Raidho X1.6 and goes a little deeper in the bass. They’re also more prominent in the midrange, although the Raidhos are probably even a notch cleaner. Especially in the upper midrange, the Raidhos is a bit more restrained, making instruments and voices sound a bit more gentle. In a perfect world, I’d like to combine their strengths, i.e. a Raidho speaker with some of Spark’s upper midrange focus.

The Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 is a kind of reference standard among compact speakers. Although they sound different, they have pretty much the same strengths and weaknesses as the Raidho X1.6. With great resolution and bass response, but slightly restrained dynamics at higher sound levels. The B&Ws look more expensive and go deeper in the bass. They’re also less fussy about placement. But the X1.6 has an x-factor that the B&W doesn’t have. The tones don’t sound as “mathematically correct” as through the B&Ws, and I usually prefer to listen to the Danes.

Conclusion: Raidho X1.6

The Raidho X1.6 is a stunning compact speaker that delivers a magnificent sound where both vocals and acoustic instruments stand out in all their glory.

If you’re looking for a pair of compact speakers with a bell-like sound and out-of-this-world resolution – especially in the treble – you’ve come to the right place. A stunner of dimensions, simply addictive.

Acoustic music in particular shines. Classical music too, although some might wish for a greater dynamic range. There’s a limit to how loud these Raidho’s can play before the woofers start to make a screeching noise. For the same reason, you have to be careful with party music. But within its range and scale, this is among the best you’ll hear in this class.

Elegant design meets advanced technology

The Canvas HiFi 65” makes an instant impression with its exquisite, minimalist exterior. The 144.5 cm wide front grill, which in my case is in elegant walnut wood and adds about 30 percent to the price, fits a 65” TV perfectly and gives the impression that the speaker and TV are designed as one unit. The magnetic front cover is easily interchangeable and there are 13 different finish options in all sizes from 55“ up to 75”.

Behind the sleek facade lies advanced technology. Two 6.5” woofers work together with two tweeters and two oval passive speakers to deliver a wide frequency range with plenty of energy. The cabinet is solidly built in MDF with Canvas’ proprietary “BridgeBrace” technology, which is a structural bracing system that minimizes vibrations and provides the best possible acoustic conditions.

The setup

Assembling the Canvas speaker is not particularly difficult, but I did encounter a few challenges. Some of the screws were a bit hard in the thread and required a good amount of muscle power to be screwed in properly. There were also different lengths of the different screws, which was not sufficiently described in the installation instructions. However, Canvas has addressed this issue and in recent deliveries, the range of screws has been simplified with the same lengths everywhere. This should make the assembly process easier and more intuitive.

Designed to fit all TVs according to different VESA standards, the universal stand has a variety of screws and fasteners to deal with. This is probably unavoidable when creating a flexible system, but keep your wits about you and follow the installation instructions and you’ll be fine.

When installing a Philips 65” OLED TV, we encountered an unexpected challenge. The TV has a protruding edge at the bottom of the back that makes the bottom brackets on the stand too short to hook onto the bottom “pegs” on the back of the TV. Canvas now solves this problem by including a “first aid kit” with extra spacers for these particular TV models. These can be used to extend the brackets further away from the back of the TV.

The stand can be adjusted in depth to make the TV completely flush with the speaker panel. For those who wish, it’s also possible to wall mount the speaker and TV bracket. This may require a little more tinkering, but there are instructions for that too.

Ease of use and connectivity

The Canvas HiFi 65” has the connectivity you’d expect from an active speaker or soundbar, including the HDMI eARC port for easy connection to your TV and high sound quality. Speaking of wireless, Apple AirPlay 2, Google Cast (Chromecast) and Bluetooth are supported, so you don’t have to turn on your TV to play music.

The included app is primarily used for setup and sound image selection, including room correction. In everyday use, the device is easily controlled via the TV’s remote control thanks to HDMI eARC.

Room correction

Room correction deserves a section of its own. iPhone users have it easy, just open the app and press “start”, then move around the room using your phone as a microphone. If you have an Android phone, you can either borrow an iPhone for the task or buy the Zen Wireless Microphone for €130 and do the setup with it.

According to the instructions in the app, you should move around as much of the room as possible. However, in my experience, it’s better to concentrate on where you’re sitting when listening. With too much data, the room correction can remove too many frequencies that it perceives as problems, making the sound “colder” and more anemic. At least that’s my opinion on the matter.

In any case, after a round of measurements, it’s clear that the speaker effectively cleans up the lower midrange and bass, giving a clearer and more balanced sound without sounding artificial or processed.

Impressive stereo sound

When all is said and done, it’s almost enough to bring a little tear to the corner of your eye. It’s so beautiful! Any ordinary TV suddenly looks like a piece of high-end furniture!

But it’s when the music starts playing that the Canvas HiFi 65” really shows what it’s capable of. Even before the room correction is done, everything sounds rich and big. Dialogue in particular seems much bigger and more dynamic than on any other TV I’ve heard. It’s more resolved and more “hi-fi” than from a regular soundbar, whether it’s Sonos, Samsung or Sony. Everything is in place here.

After the room correction, the stereo image increases in width and the sound gets more airiness. The speaker masterfully separates between instruments and vocals in music, and dialog in movies and TV shows is clear as day. Even the smallest nuances come through.

The bass sounds really good for a relatively compact speaker. The two 6.5” woofers and passive radiators work well together to provide rich and controlled bass. It is claimed to extend down to 30 Hz. If you look in the app, it decreases from 100 Hz, but it could also be that the microphone in the iPhone doesn’t respond much further down. In any case, I experience the bass as deeper than 100 Hz, and the deep drone bass on Limit to Your Love by Limit to Your Love by James Blake comes out well. Admittedly, the speaker can make a few noises when you play this track too loud because the bass is really deep..

Powerful amplifier

The built-in Class D amplifier with 4 x 250 watts RMS provides excellent control and dynamics. The Canvas HiFi 65” plays effortlessly until the drivers can’t stretch any further and the clarity of the soundstage is maintained whether you play loud or soft. Particularly impressive is the low volume performance, where many competitors lose character and detail. That doesn’t happen with Canvas.

BACCH 3D technology expands the soundstage

Canvas HiFi 65” sounds both wide and almost three-dimensional in stereo. Both in movies and music. But it has a trick in the form of BACCH 3D technology. Activate it in the app and the speaker’s digital brain works its magic with the phase response to create an even wider and more immersive soundstage. It’s not a huge difference and the amount of 3D effect varies between different music and movie releases. To get a good perceived effect, check out this Tidal-playliste compiled by Canvas.

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Before...

I’m captivated by Bob Dylan using his storytelling skills in the song Man in the Long Black Coat. What sounds like crickets in the grass, but which I assume comes from a guitar at the beginning of the song, surrounds me, while the two steel guitars on either side have so much depth and air that it’s easy to get carried away.

What impresses me the most, however, is that the sound structure doesn’t change with the 3D sound effect. Tonally, it sounds equally good with and without it, which is nothing short of an achievement.

The effect is especially impressive with movie sound, where the BACCH 3D technology helps create a convincing surround effect without the need for separate rear speakers. While it’s obviously no match for a dedicated surround system, it’s in the class of a good soundbar. It just sounds much better.

Limitations

Despite its many qualities, the Canvas HiFi 65” has some limitations. First of all, it lacks support for Dolby Atmos surround sound, in fact it only supports PCM stereo.

There is also no option to connect an external subwoofer, which could provide even more bass punch for those who want it. I would have liked to see a subwoofer output here.

On the other hand, the speaker can act as a dedicated high-end center channel in a surround system. It’s definitely worth exploring further, because I think it would be really cool! With a hefty price tag, of course.

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Conclusion

The Canvas HiFi 65” is a truly impressive product that delivers high sound quality in a stylish and functional package. It’s perfect for those who want powerful hi-fi quality in their TV room without having to fill it with large speakers.

The price puts the speaker well up in the high-end soundbar segment, and more if you want a wooden front panel. But the quality, functionality and ease of use more than justify the investment for the discerning audio enthusiast. Compared to competitors like the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Theatre, which costs four times as much with a motorized base, the Canvas HiFi 65” is a much better buy.

The Canvas HiFi 65” replaces both your hi-fi system and your soundbar. In addition to the 65“, it’s available in all sizes from 55” upwards for roughly the same price. It may not be for everyone, but for those who appreciate uncompromising sound and design and have the budget for it, this is an unbeatable product.

In other words, not the perfect all-round speakers, and certainly not something that suited the parties and Saturday night entertainment of the time, with punchbowls and the week’s latest CD releases in the player.

But the Contour 1.8 was a compact floorstanding speaker that, combined with the right amplifier, was able to deliver more than adequate sound pressure, tight bass and a big soundstage – without compromising on resolution or transparency. The speaker became relatively popular and was among the models in Dynaudio’s new Contour series that really put the Danish manufacturer on the map.

Apart from the insane Consequence from 1984, where all the units were turned upside down and mounted in separate cabinets – at an insane price, of course. But it definitely helped shine a spotlight on Dynaudio as a speaker manufacturer.

In 1994, the Contour 1.8 mark II was released, seemingly similar to its predecessor but with upgraded dual magnet drivers, including the highly successful Esotec tweeter.

The speakers, just over 90 cm tall, were easier to fit in the living room than they were to drive. A sensitivity of a rather low 86 dB and a system impedance of 4 Ohms only reinforced the impression that Dynaudio speakers require powerful and high performance amplifiers.

This is true of many other speakers, not just Dynaudio, and our tests of their speakers often show that they work best with amplifiers with enough torque to drive the speakers with optimal precision. This also applies to Dynaudio’s latest model, the Dynaudio Contour Legacy.

This special edition model is made in just 1000 numbered pairs, priced at 12,000 euros. Although similar to its predecessors, it is a brand new and, it must be said, exclusive model in the Contour series. Connoisseurs will remember the Heritage Special model, a compact two-way model, handmade in Denmark in a limited series. Those who remember even further back will recall both the Special 25 and Special Forty, which marked Dynaudio’s 25th and 40th anniversaries respectively.

If we know Dynaudio, they’ve already started thinking about what to present for the 50th anniversary in 2027.

Contour Legacy

But back to Contour Legacy. The 1000 lucky customers who get to enjoy these speakers, handmade in Skanderborg, Denmark, are in for quite an experience.

The Legacy is based on the 1.8 model, so we’re talking about a 2.5-way speaker in a compact, floorstanding bass reflex cabinet.

But that’s where the similarities end. In the Legacy model, Dynaudio engineers have plucked their finest drivers from off the top shelf. The 18 cm woofers are taken from the Dynaudio Evidence Platinum and matched to the Contour Legacy’s cabinets. The woofers overlap in frequency. One unit reaches down to 42 Hz and from there up to around 400 Hz; roughly from there up to 3,400 Hz, the other woofer runs solo.

The woofers are built with Dynaudio’s magnesium silicate polymer cone – MSP. A lightweight and rigid diaphragm, moulded in one piece, suspended from a 75 mm ventilated voice coil driven by a hybrid magnet system. This system consists of both a neodymium and a ferrite magnet, which according to Dynaudio provides better concentration of the magnetic field, improved linearity and dynamics, and better control over the cone movements.

The tweeter is Dynaudio’s legendary Esotar 3, but with a faceplate taken from the T330, which we know from the Confidence series. The tweeter uses the classic 28 mm dome diaphragm, and behind it sits Hexis, an inner diffuser whose job is to smooth out the frequency response of the tweeter.

The tweeter is driven by a neodymium magnet and behind the diaphragm itself there is an open chamber coated with a damping material that reduces resonances behind the diaphragm. All this is combined with a customised crossover, van den Hul cables, large air core coils, Mundorf Evo oil-filled capacitors for the tweeter, Mundorf Supreme resistors and Duelund Cast capacitors for the woofers.

The tuning was carried out at Dynaudio in-house with their Jupiter measurement system.

Handcrafted cabinet

The advanced technology of the Contour Legacy is packed into a compact walnut veneer cabinet that has an 8.6 kg cast iron plate at the bottom. This brings the weight well over 30kg per speaker. While the base plate keeps the speaker stable and dampens resonances better than a thin MDF plate would, it is also designed to fit the dimensions of the cabinet perfectly. The weight alone means that you don’t need feet/spikes to stabilise the speaker.

The Contour Legacy is just under a metre high and only 20 cm wide. In practice, this means it’s nice and easy to fit them, but keep in mind that the two rounded ports on the back need some space so you don’t get too much amplification in the bass. Foam pads are included to put in the bass ports if you need to place the speakers closer to the back wall.

Higher sensitivity

Dynaudio says that they have worked hard to increase the sensitivity, and 90 dB sensitivity is higher than we are used to from Dynaudio. The advantage is that the amplifier can concentrate more on delivering music than wasting a lot of energy that turns into heat in the speakers.

The downside, if you can call it that, is that the speaker doesn’t go quite as deep as they could have if the sensitivity was lower. Personally, I prefer the sensitivity to be as high as possible and the speakers to go as deep as possible, but more importantly, the speaker actually has control over the bass response, which is easier to achieve with high sensitivity than with low sensitivity.

In practice, this means you can get by with a good 50W amplifier, but as we all know, a 300-watt amplifier will not necessarily be worse.

Listening

I didn’t get to hear the speakers when they were first unveiled at the high-end show in Munich in May, so I honestly wasn’t quite prepared for what to expect when I unpacked them from their flight cases and set them up in the test room.

Would they sound like a modern version of a 1.8 or like a Dynaudio Confidence wrapped in a classic Contour cabinet? Neither, as it turned out.

The first thing that struck me was how open the soundstage was. Here was something almost unfamiliar that I wouldn’t immediately associate with a Contour or Confidence speaker from Dynaudio.

A modern Confidence speaker also sounds open – you bet! – but it has a very rich soundstage with good bass extension and is very listenable, even at high volumes. The Contour Legacy is tuned differently in this respect and is experienced as more analytical without sounding clinical.

The speakers present razor-sharp focus, super-tight bass and an airy, detailed treble reproduction that I experience as noticeably open, free and better defined than in a typical Contour speaker.

A modern Confidence speaker also sounds open – you bet! – but it has a very rich soundstage with good bass extension and is very listenable, even at high volumes. The Contour Legacy is tuned differently in this respect and is experienced as more analytical without sounding clinical.

The speakers present razor-sharp focus, super-tight bass and an airy, detailed treble reproduction that I experience as noticeably open, free and better defined than in a typical Contour speaker.

The live version of The Weeknd’s Dancing In The Flames transports you to a big concert, which obviously doesn’t sound as perfect and polished as a studio recording. But the speakers’ honest reproduction of any music you send through them means you actually hear more errors in the recording than on most speakers. It’s part of the character of the speakers, whether you like it or not.

This honesty was also evident on Die With A Smile by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. Here you quickly realise how slim the soundstage of the recording actually is. If you’ve listened to the track with noise-cancelling earbuds or on a decent pair of speakers in the lower price range, you’ll be surprised at how much more information the Dynaudio speakers deliver and how easy it is to hear not only all the nuances of the recording, but also how significantly different many music recordings actually are.

The bass will feel fuller and punchier in a pair of Dynaudio Contour 60s, but the Contour Legacy delivers the drums on Sade’s Turn My Back On You with an impressive amount of energy, especially considering the size of the speakers.

There’s more energy and dynamic contrast in the soundstage here than in a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 804 D4, which is a significantly more expensive high-end floorstanding speaker. The Contour Legacy is also more open and better focused than the 804 D4.

The Contour Legacy is a bit like a pair of KEF Reference 3 Meta. They have similar bass characteristics and both deliver dynamic contrast and play music with a conviction that can make you feel almost religious. The soundstage of the KEF speakers is bigger, but the Contour Legacy gives an even greater insight into the music.

Conclusion

The biggest drawback of the Contour Legacy is that the 1000 pairs are sold out. You can’t get your hands on them. This also means that not many people will get the chance to hear the speakers. That’s a shame for anyone who loves music. Because you don’t often come across a fresh and engaging speaker like this. Considering their size, the speakers deliver a large and three-dimensional soundstage with a rare insight into the music that gives you a huge amount of detail. The speakers will reveal every flaw in a recording, for better or worse. The benefit is that you won’t miss a thing. The Contour Legacy is an unrivalled successful speaker, where the compromises are so few and the execution so successful that we look forward to the sequel. Dynaudio’s 50th anniversary can’t come soon enough, in our opinion.

We found out when Peter Lyngdorf invited himself for coffee in my listening room to talk about his latest project: Radiant Acoustics.

Radiant Acoustics is a new brand under Nordic Hi-Fi, which also houses Argon Audio and Vestlyd. And the company’s first product is the Clarity 6.2 loudspeaker. But why another loudspeaker brand when there are so many (and Peter Lyngdorf himself owns a handful)?

For Peter Lyngdorf, it’s all about synergies. In addition to HiFi Klubben, the Aarhus-based hi-fi entrepreneur owns a number of companies (DALI, Lyngdorf Audio and Purifi, to name a few), and he wants to bring their technologies to more people. This has led to a collaboration between several of the companies with the aim of making great sound accessible to more people.

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The speakers are available in matte black or matte white, as well as walnut veneer. Useless embellishments like front fabric are not available. (Photo: Radiant Acoustics)

The mainstay of the speaker is the woofer, which is a 6.5′ version of Purifi’s Ushindi driver. The driver is especially recognisable by its surround suspension, which instead of a semi-circular arch resembles a mountain range. The distinctive shape reduces distortion while allowing for a long cone travel. The Ushindi base unit is packed with patented technologies and solutions all aimed at reducing distortion, both in the mechanical and magnetic systems. And they have done just that. According to Peter Lyngdorf, the Purifi units have the lowest distortion in a woofer in the world.

‘Purifi has developed some amazing drivers, but not many people have done anything with them yet,’ says Peter Lyngdorf. And adds:

‘This is probably because they are quite expensive. But we wanted to make something that more people could benefit from. And we ended up with Radiant Acoustics.’

The tweeter is an AMT unit. The unit is custom-made at DALI (when you own a speaker factory, there’s no need to go to strangers). To precisely control the dispersion, the unit is placed in a waveguide and also fitted with a dispersion lens. The result is a dispersion characteristic that is even throughout the entire working range of the tweeter. Even at 20 kHz, the level has only dropped 6 dB 40 degrees off-axis. That’s pretty good for such a large diaphragm.

‘Every speaker is full of compromises. But our speakers have some of the best compromises!’

The Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2 enclosures are solidly built. Although the cabinets are small, they are internally braced and the bracing also stabilises the woofer magnet. The front panel is a sandwich construction consisting of 21 mm MDF and 15 mm aluminium with a rubber sealing in between.

The speakers are available in matte black or matte white, as well as walnut veneer. Pointless ornaments such as front fabric are not available.

On the sides of the cabinet are two more Purifi Ushindi units. These are passive drivers without a magnet system and voice coil. The units fulfil the same role as a bass reflex port. It’s an expensive solution. But a properly sized bass reflex port to tune the small cabinet would be impossibly large and long.

‘Many people say that their speakers are uncompromising. But that’s bollocks. Every speaker is full of compromises. But our speakers have some of the best compromises!’

The Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2 is a compact or standmount speaker. But don’t call it a bookshelf speaker. It requires a stand with just the right dimensions. Before I could even be allowed to review them, I had to explain on the phone the exact height of my ears in the listening position. As well as the distance between the speakers and the listening position. The reason is that it is extremely important that the tweeter is at exactly the same height as the listener’s ears – or at least angled precisely towards them. The speakers have a large horizontal dispersion, but are very critical vertically.

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Two passive versions of the Ushindi woofer make it possible to extend the frequency range down to 35 Hz (Photo: Radiant Acoustics)

The speakers are designed to play straight forwards, but my personal experience was that in my particular room they worked best when angled towards the listening position (‘toe-in’).

The connection, on the other hand, is simple: The two gold-plated sockets only accept banana plugs. Peter Lyngdorf hates screw connectors for stripped wires – which in his opinion always lead to poor connections over time. I couldn’t agree more, and all my cables have fixed banana plugs.

Requires a powerful amplifier

The Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2 is not an efficient speaker. At 1W, it delivers a sound pressure level of 82 dB. That’s not quite as bad as it sounds. Since the speaker has an impedance of 4 ohms and most other speaker manufacturers report sensitivity not at 1 watt, but at 2.83 volts – equivalent to 1 watt into 8 ohms. Measured this way, the Clarity 6.2 has a sensitivity of 85 dB. Which is still quite inefficient. The manufacturer recommends an amplifier power of at least 100 watts per channel.

I used a NAD C 298 power amplifier that delivers 2 x 340 watts into 4 ohms. This was perfectly adequate, but the volume control had to be turned up quite high before the speakers came to life. The output stage of the amplifier is based on Purifi’s Eigentakt amplifier modules. So there was Purifi all the way through the chain.

The sound of Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2

With its stark simplicity, the Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2 looks like a Lyngdorf product. Do they sound like that too?

Yes, they do. The speakers follow Peter Lyngdorf’s sound philosophy by having no inherent sound signature. Or at least as little of it as possible.

Many of the speakers that visit the listening room over the years sound really good and charming. Joy, commitment and greatness are adjectives that come into play. But it’s rare that I come across speakers that sound like so little.

How can that be a good thing? Isn’t this all about enjoying the music?

Yes, but if all recordings sound equally charming, then it’s not the music you’re listening to, but the system.

I’ve rarely heard the acoustics of the Stampen jazz club so clearly on I’m Confessin’ from Jazz at the Pawnshop. Or been able to distinguish the voices in the choir on Koyaanisqatsi with the same ease.

I’ve heard both reproduced with greater sensitivity, but not as nakedly.

Disturbed’s cover version of Sound of Silence can drive many speakers up the wall when they have to handle orchestral crescendos and acoustic guitar at the same time. But not the Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2. On the other hand, I wish I’d had the opportunity to do the test with a really powerful amplifier like the Musical Fidelity M8xi. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the NAD was brought to its knees, but it would have been interesting to try with an amplifier with even higher dynamic reserve.

The bass is deep. The data sheet says 35 Hz lower cut-off frequency, which is a rare feat for such a small speaker. Especially when we’re talking about passive speakers without the possibility of DSP wizardry.

You can count on one hand the number of small floorstanding speakers with equally deep bass. From memory, I can only think of the Buchardt S400 MKII.

Competitors

Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2 may be cheap by high-end standards, but they still cost a lot of money.

For the same price you can buy the Bowers & Wilkins 705 S3 Signature, for example, which is also an excellent speaker with a simply stunning finish. Whether you prefer the charm of B&W or the sobriety of Clarity is a matter of preference. The DALI Rubikore 2 is built in the same factory as Radiant Acoustics. They cost a third less and deliver a gigantic acoustic stage. But it’s not quite as naked as the Clarity 6.2.

Revival Audio Atalante 3 has a really dry and revealing sound and a voice reproduction that’s perhaps slightly better. But not quite as crisp and precise.

When it comes to bass reproduction, very few compact speakers get down into the regions where Radiant Acoustics travels. So if you want to play organ music (or have full range for stereo home cinema) there’s no competition.

Conclusion

Peter Lyngdorf’s mission with Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2 was to bring technologies from his companies, and not least Purify, down to a price point where more people can participate. The result is a very unique speaker. And a speaker that doesn’t compromise in many places. The drivers and cabinet are of a quality that you would normally have to pay twice as much for. Or more.

If you are looking for charm (which Peter Lyngdorf would probably call distortion), this is not the speaker for you. What comes out of it is very much what goes into it. Distortion and colouration are very, very low and you’re listening more to the rest of the chain than to the speakers.

This places demands on the amplifier, which must also have a good amount of raw power and dynamic range to make the very heavily driven speakers perform at their best. If you have the right equipment and can live with the striking appearance, the Clarity 6.2 can be a great buy.

And while we’re most excited about the top models in the Q900 series, we realise that many people would rather have a compact speaker that doesn’t “”clutter”” the living room wall too much.

If you fall into the latter category, the HW-S710D might be an interesting candidate. This model is a new model this year and is intended as a matching companion to The Frame models.

The Samsung soundbar is available in both black and white, and with support for Dolby Atmos, an included wireless subwoofer, and several smart features, it’s capable of elevating the audio experience.

Samsung HW-S710D / HW-S711D

The Samsung bar is only 89 cm wide, which makes it a good fit for medium-sized TV screens of around 55 inches. And because it’s only 4 cm tall, it can also be placed directly under the screen without obscuring the image. Wall brackets are also included to fix the soundbar close to the wall.

The HW-S710D is clearly related to the larger S810 model, which we have previously tested with good results. It retains the same slim shape in a narrower format. However, it’s not possible to buy separate covers for it like you can for its big brother. The S710D also has a cheaper, more conventional and angular subwoofer compared to the small “powder keg” that comes with the S810D.

However, to accommodate all the drivers, Samsung has had to move the power supply into a separate box. This doesn’t have to be a big problem, but it should be taken into account when planning the installation. It may take a little work to get it to look as good as in the pictures!

Supports wireless audio – without HDMI

The Samsung soundbar is easy to set up and connect to Wi-Fi with the Smartthings mobile app, which also gives you easy access to streaming services and various sound settings. For example, it has automatic room correction (Spacefit Sound), which adapts the sound to your surroundings. And if you connect the soundbar to a compatible Samsung TV, it can also interact with the TV speakers through so-called Q Symphony.

Another potential bonus is that the S710D also supports wireless transfer of surround sound, so you can ditch the HDMI cable. To do so, however, you’ll need a compatible and recent Samsung TV. A suitable (micro) HDMI cable is also included for other TV models.

The speaker configuration is 3.1-channel, which in practice means it has dedicated right, left and centre channels plus a separate subwoofer. So you won’t find any dedicated drivers for the surround and height channels here. However, the soundbar can simulate this using sound processing to reproduce Dolby Atmos 3D sound.

Sound quality

So how does this ultra-thin soundbar sound? Surprisingly great, actually. After pairing the S710D with a Samsung S90D OLED TV, we were able to turn up the volume with our usual test sequences. The first impression is that the soundbar can play loud and clear with a surprisingly wide soundstage. Furthermore, the sound is very well synchronised with the image on the screen, even when using Wi-Fi transmission.

Samsung’s soundbar excels with clear dialogue from the centre channel, which contributes to better speech intelligibility. Perhaps best of all, you don’t have to turn it up very loud to hear the dialogue. Music and background sound also unfold nicely with good separation between the different sound elements. It immediately strikes us that this is a big improvement over the built-in TV speakers and fully on par with many of the “”chunkier”” soundbars out there.

We experimented back and forth with the “Q Symphony” and found that it could sometimes “lift” the soundstage a little to better match the action on screen. But overall, we found that it sounded just as good when we let the soundbar and subwoofer play on their own.

With Top Gun: Maverick on the menu, it was time to turn up the volume and see how the Samsung soundbar performs in a film context. The Top Gun sequel has some challenging sequences where the plane passes “over” and past us, and the Samsung bar actually manages to provide a convincing surround effect even without physical rear speakers. And when the roar of the jet engines hits the ground, we feel a physical pressure from the subwoofer in the corner. It’s pretty intense!

Samsung’s California-based sound engineers have proven themselves to be adept at getting big sound out of small packages, and it looks like they’ve done it here too – at least to some extent. Of course, it’s not quite on par with the larger S810D model and nowhere near the sound pressure levels of the larger 900 series models. But considering the size, we have to say we’re pretty impressed.

The trick is that most of the bass sound is reproduced by the subwoofer, so the soundbar doesn’t have to work too hard on the deepest passages. Therefore, you need to be careful with the placement of the subwoofer. Ideally, the subwoofer should be placed in a corner, but not too far away from the soundbar for the best balance.

Pared-down subwoofer?

The subwoofer in the S710D system is a fairly simple box with bass reflex. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have as nice a shape as the soundbar. Sonically, it gets the job done, but it doesn’t play as loud or as deep. We think the S710D should have had the more stylish and harder-hitting subwoofer that its big brother, the S810D, comes with, but then the price would probably have been higher.

On the other hand, the S710D has a potent overall sound that’s hard for other compact soundbars to match if they don’t have a subwoofer. For example, a popular competitor like the Sonos Beam will have a hard time matching Samsung’s sound until you add a Sub Mini, making the package significantly more expensive. In this respect, the Samsung S710D looks to be a good buy.

You can also choose to upgrade the S710D with wireless surround speakers, which are available from the Samsung portfolio. However, they aren’t as stylish as the soundbar and are only available in black.

If you want sound from the back of the room, you can also consider a Samsung picture frame speaker: Music Frame. It can also be used for surround purposes, but only with one speaker, not two. With an S710D in front and Music Frame behind, you can achieve a rather discreet and stylish surround system.

Music

The Samsung S710D also sounds great with music: when the soundbar is connected to Wi-Fi, it’s easy to connect to Airplay, Spotify Connect and other services. Then you can also take advantage of “spatial sound” audio tracks if available. But overall, we could probably do with a slightly warmer and fuller vocals here, compared to a customised music speaker. The bass could also be a little firmer. The music experience is fine, but if that was the main use, there are other speakers you should look for.

Conclusion

The Samsung HW-S710D is clearly designed to be a “civilised” soundbar that can be used to enhance the sound of The Frame and other great TV screens without taking up too much space. And for that purpose, it fits the bill perfectly. The HW-S710D is packed with practical features and squeezes surprisingly big sound out of its size, aided by a wireless subwoofer. All in all, it’s an excellent soundbar that we can easily recommend for smaller rooms and TV screens.

We have – as the first media on the planet – had the opportunity to review the smallest model in the series, the DALI Rubikore 2.

DALI Rubikore 2 looks very similar to its predecessor. This is not surprising, since the same cabinet is used. The interior, however, is completely different. And whereas the maroon version was previously matt lacquered, it now has a high-gloss finish.

It sounds like a small change, but the result looks like a million bucks. And when it comes to speakers, this is not just a figure of speech. It simply looks absolutely stunning.

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(Photo: DALI)

The maroon version comes with a front grille fabric in a dark grey, coarsely woven quality that looks really classy. However, the grilles are still allowed to remain in the packaging.

At the back of the cabinet you’ll find the bass reflex port and four solid terminals that allow for bi-wiring.

The drivers, consisting of a 6.5″ midwoofer and a 29 mm dome tweeter, look similar to those of Rubicon 2. But they are brand new.

What is Clarity Cone?

The midwoofer has a so-called Clarity Cone. Behind the homegrown and probably trademarked terminology is a cone made of DALI’s wood fibre/paper pulp, pressed in a special pattern. The developers at DALI discovered that breaks and intrinsic resonances in speaker cones always occur in symmetrical patterns – and thus always in an even number of areas. The embossed five-pointed pattern in the diaphragm breaks and dampens the resonances.

Oil-free tweeter

Since the 1970s, the use of magnetic oil in the voice coil gap of high-end tweeters has been common practice in loudspeaker design. The oil dampens resonances and cools the voice coil – and it also helps to centre the coil in the voice coil gap.

Unfortunately, according to the engineers at DALI, the viscous oil also has the property of slowing down the movement of the coil and thus limiting dynamics. That’s why in the ambitious Kore, they’ve moved away from magnetic oil. This is now inherited into the Rubikore series in a newly designed 29 mm tweeter unit.

Other subtleties borrowed from or inspired by Kore include the use of DALI’s SMC magnetic material, which reduces distortion compared to conventional magnetic materials. SMC is used in the pole piece of woofers, but the news is that SMC is now also used in the coil cores of the crossover. The crossover also has capacitors from Mundorf, which is usually a quality mark. The bass reflex port is so-called continuous flare, which means that it is not conventionally tubular, but has a softly curved rounding at both ends to prevent turbulence.

Setting up

DALI Rubikore 2 is a standmount speaker. You could also call it a bookshelf speaker, but don’t get any “good” ideas from that! Placing the speakers on a sideboard is possible, but they are best positioned on suitable stands pulled out slightly from the wall and corners. For me, half a metre away from the back wall provided a reasonable balance, but this is a matter of trial and error.

Most speakers perform best when angled towards the listening position, but DALI insists that their speakers should be playing straight forward into the room. As there were no DALI representatives present in the room during the test, I took the liberty of trying both options. The result is not a clear-cut answer. Playing straight into the room, the balance in the treble was best. However, with a slight angling towards the listening position, I achieved a slightly better subjective perspective. What works best probably depends on both décor and taste. In any case, the DALI Rubikore 2 presented a reproduction and especially a perspective that is far beyond expectations.

Deserves a good amplifier

DALI Rubikore 2 has a sensitivity of 87 dB, which is quite typical for compact standmount speakers. DALI itself recommends pairing them with amplifiers of 40-150 watts (at 4 ohm load). I used them with the NAD C 298 power amplifier, which provides 2 x 340 watts into 4 ohms, which of course was more than plenty, but worked brilliantly.

Rubikore 2 should be a relatively easy load for most amplifiers due to a well-controlled impedance curve. But beyond the pure power requirements, they deserve a good amplifier. I’ve used the NAD set in many reviews, but the DALI Rubikore 2 managed to reveal nuances in reproduction that I hadn’t heard on other speakers.

The sound of DALI Rubikore 2

In short: DALI Rubikore 2 is damn good!

Rubikore 2 is not the answer to every question, they don’t fit in every living room and every system, and I’ve heard many speakers that were better by one criterion or another. They were also all much more expensive.

However, it’s rare to experience such a large and open soundstage from a compact standmount speaker. DALI Rubikore 2 produces an acoustic stage that is both wide and deep and tall – far beyond both the speaker placement and the dimensions of the listening room. That is, if there is any spatial information on the recording.

Acoustic concert recordings are not the only ons to benefit from this great perspective. Artificially added reverb is reproduced just as mesmerisingly and with a good sense of both depth and height. On a track like Fishing Junks at Sunset from Jean-Michel Jarre’s Concerts in China, where a large orchestra is on stage, the real concert acoustic is mixed with synthesiser sounds. I’ve used that track many times to test depth and height perspective. But I’ve never before experienced the artificial sounds floating so almost tangibly in the air above the orchestra.

Dynamic – also when it’s quiet

And it’s not just about the size of the room, but just as much about resolution and detail. Time and time again, I discover little nuances in the tracks that I thought I knew in depth, but just hadn’t been discovered while listening. Dynamics is not only about the ability of a piece of equipment to reproduce the biggest peaks in music, but also about lowering the acoustic “noise floor” that usually masks the smallest sound information.

Rubikore 2 has a very detailed and accurate sound reproduction, but they are not designed as a tool for fault finders and nitpickers. Although the music is reproduced with more detail than most speakers in my test room, it’s all about the music. The speakers have a voicing (tonal balance) that one might dare to call popular. It’s about a certain warmth in the upper bass range that gives a little more body to voices and acoustic instruments.

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The front cover fabric is woven in a coarse quality that looks really classy. (Photo: DALI)

It’s all about music

This is by no means a “disco hump” – just a slight fullness that makes listening to your favourite tracks a little more enjoyable. And since the bass response is still accurate and clean, it’s easy to forgive. In fact, the bass is really clean and nuanced, and there’s not the slightest hint of “one-note-bass”. On the Telarc version of Johann Strauss’s Banditen Galop, the timpani often sound like an indeterminate rumble in the concert hall. But on the Rubikore 2, you can clearly hear that these are tuned instruments. Similarly, on my colleague Lasse Svendsen’s favourite album, Köln Koncert, you can hear Keith Jarreth’s stomping on the floor with total clarity, just as there can be no doubt that it is a Bösendorfer piano and not a Steinway that the piano deity is improvising on.

Competitors

The DALI Rubikore 2 is in a price range where you can afford to ask for a lot and where there is no shortage of competitors. The Buchardt Audio S400 MKII reaches almost an octave deeper in the bass, but although the depth perspective is great, it’s not on par with the DALIs.

If your preference is more towards monitor sound, the Revival Audio Atalante 3 is an obvious candidate, which is better at revealing the final details but doesn’t manage to draw up quite as large an acoustic scene.

Conclusion

The old Rubicon series stood for really good sound at the level just below high end. And with Rubikore, the ambitions have been raised considerably. Rubikore 2 is quite simply the best two-way compact speaker in the price range I’ve heard. As a tester, I could perhaps wish for a slightly more monitor-like sound in the upper bass. But for music enjoyment, it works perfectly. And all criticism is silenced when you experience the acoustic scene the small speakers paint: clear, crisp and full of detail. If the larger members of the series are as good, it ought to be a success.

Behind the door we find the world’s largest curated collection of loudspeakers from JBL and the other companies in the Harmans Group.

We are in the small town of Kvistgaard in Denmark, North of Copenhagen. And in the building is the Harman Audio Engineering Lab, which specialises in headphone research.

But it is also home to H2X, which stands for Harman Historical Xperience. Our tour guide is Søren Majlund, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships at HARMAN International. But Søren also has a hobby, and that’s loudspeakers.

The room we enter is packed with speakers. Mostly JBL, but Infinity, which is also a Harman company, is also represented. Speakers of all sizes, and most of them classics in their own right.

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(Photo: John Alex Hvidlykke)

The collection in Kvistgaard is probably the largest collection of historic JBL speakers in the world. The Northridge Audio Lab outside Los Angeles doesn’t have nearly as many speakers, and they’re not displayed in one place like here, but scattered around the hallways of the lab. And they don’t have the single most iconic JBL speaker.

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(Photo: John Alex Hvidlykke)

You have a Paragon too?

While the H2X Museum itself is impressive, the most remarkable speaker is elsewhere in the building. Rumour has it that Søren Majlund had something very special in his office.

You have a Paragon?!

The JBL D44000 Paragon is not your typical speaker for a bit of background music in the office, but it serves quite well. Søren Majlund found it in Christianshavn in Copenhagen and has since had it refurbished. The entire top plate had to be replaced (and of course the veneer on the two halves has to be mirrored and the right shade of colour).

Samsung HW-Q810D

The Samsung bar is approximately 110 centimetres wide and is ideal for large TV screens. However, it’s low enough not to obscure the image. The design consists mainly of perforated metal mesh to give the many drivers inside room to breathe.

The speaker configuration is 5.1.2 channels, including dedicated units for surround and height channels. So while the Q810D doesn’t come with separate rear speakers, it can simulate this using audio processing.

There is also a similar version WITH wireless rear speakers, called the HW-Q935D. In other words, the Q810D is a great option for those looking to save money and space.

Sound quality

The Q810D is easy to set up via the Samsung Smartthings app, which provides access to streaming services and sound settings via your mobile phone. It offers automatic room correction (Spacefit Sound Pro), which also adjusts the subwoofer. If you connect it to a compatible Samsung TV, it can also use the TV speakers simultaneously using Q Symphony.

Sound-wise, the Samsung bar is easy to love straight away. The HW-Q810D provides a big and wide soundstage with a convincing depth and realism. We don’t get many seconds into Top Gun: Maverick before the cinema feeling starts to set in.

The sound is energised without feeling strained in any way. The soundbar has enough power and energy to play loud. Dialogue comes through clearly from the centre channel – we can clearly hear the communication between Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and the ground crew.

“There’s a good atmosphere here,” Geir comments, and Audun nods approvingly.

The Samsung soundbar also manages to provide an impressive surround effect with Dolby Atmos soundtracks despite the lack of rear speakers. We get a clear sense that sound effects are passing over our heads and that something is actually happening behind us. It would probably be even better with physical rear speakers – but you can do without them.

When the pilot fires up the jet engines, the subwoofer in the corner roars convincingly. Admittedly, we can hear that it struggles to keep up at really high volumes. As the test aircraft approaches Mach 10, the JBL Bar 800 delivers even more energy. But overall, the Samsung sub performs very well.

For music

The Samsung Q810D also sounds great for music, although it’s not as superior here as it is for watching films. The surround recording of Queen’s “Live in Montreal” sounds big and energetic with a good live feel. Freddie Mercury’s voice is clear and there’s a good punch on the drums and bass. We notice that the timing of the subwoofer has improved compared to previous generations from Samsung. We can also clearly hear the noise from the audience around us, even without rear speakers.

Loreen’s acoustic version of “Tattoo” in stereo also sounds big and present, but the vocals are not as crystal clear here as Klipsch, for example, manages to achieve. The latter also has an even wider stereo perspective and a slightly tighter and more melodious reproduction of the bass guitar. All in all, the Samsung still provides a decent music experience.

Conclusion

The Samsung HW-Q810D delivers a solid and well-rounded home cinema sound that surpasses the other participants in the test. Even without additional rear speakers, it manages to deliver a large and convincing surround sound image with clear dialogue and deep bass.

Musically, the Samsung soundbar is also top notch, although there are other competitors with equally good or even better music reproduction in stereo. Overall, the Samsung HW-Q810D is the best soundbar in this test, and it’s also among the most affordable, which is great to see. A really good soundbar!

Please note. You can choose to buy extra rear speakers for the Q810D if you wish, but the big brother HW-Q935D is a better option. That model also has additional front side speakers, bringing the total number of channels from 5.1.2 to 9.1.4.

As another curiosity, the new Music Frame speaker can also be used with the HW-Q810D, but it only has two channels without additional height effects, bringing the number to 7.1.2.

JBL Bar 800

The JBL soundbar is only available in black, and we have to say that not much has happened on the design front in recent years. It looks like any other regular black soundbar. However, the build quality seems solid, with a metal grill in front of a hard plastic casing.

One of the unique features of the JBL Bar 800 is the detachable rear speakers, which can be attached to the sides of the soundbar when not in use. Once the speakers are removed from the soundbar, the sides can be covered with the included covers, which looks great if you plan to have the speakers placed in the rear full time.

Setting up the JBL Bar 800 is simple and user-friendly. The soundbar connects to the TV via HDMI eARC or optical cable and the wireless subwoofer is automatically connected to the soundbar. With the JBL One app, you can adjust sound settings, automatically calibrate the system to the room and update the firmware. This happens automatically when connected to the network. You can either do this via the app or you can use Google Home to connect.

The rear speakers are charged when docked, and fully charged they should have enough for 10 hours of continuous playback. It takes just over 3 hours to fully charge them, either with a USB-C cable in each or when connected to the soundbar.

DTS:X is absent, and of the immersive audio formats, only Dolby Atmos is supported.

Sound quality

The JBL Bar 800 impresses in terms of sound, especially in terms of power. The subwoofer delivers a big and physical bass that fills the room in a way that few other soundbars do. The bass is powerful and rhythmic, and it goes deeper into the abyss than most others. In fact, it can be a little too much of a good thing, in which case you can get a more balanced sound experience by reducing the overall bass level slightly.

When the detachable rear speakers are connected to the sides of the soundbar, you experience a wide and deep soundstage that extends towards the horizon. The sound expands even more when the speakers are removed and placed behind us. At this point, you should also calibrate the system to get the most optimal bubble of sound around you.

The rear speakers really come into their own when watching films. In fact, the dialogue is even clearer and crisper because the soundbar doesn’t have to expend energy to create three-dimensional sound. The only thing we miss is a little more fullness in the dialogue. It gets a little thin in the midrange.

Atmos effects from the ceiling also work well, there’s definitely sound even at height, although JBL doesn’t threaten Samsung’s holographic capabilities.

When it comes to music, the JBL Bar 800 delivers a solid performance. The subwoofer delivers a big and delicious bass that fills the room and makes the music experience both rich and engaging. Admittedly, it doesn’t separate the bass notes on the bass guitar to the same extent as Samsung, but the big and physical woofer is still very addictive.

Conclusion

The JBL Bar 800 is a powerful soundbar that offers great flexibility and impressive sound quality. The detachable rear speakers and wireless subwoofer provide a simple and user-friendly experience while delivering a large soundstage that fills the entire room. For those who want a soundbar that can deliver both powerful bass and a wide soundstage, the JBL Bar 800 is an excellent choice.

The JBL Bar 800 is an investment that offers great value for money. It is especially suitable for those who want a simple setup without compromising on sound quality. If you’re looking for even more punch, you can upgrade to the Bar 1000 or even the Bar 1300, but for most people, the Bar 800 is the right choice.

Steinway Lyngdorf Model S Soundbar

The Model S Soundbar is designed to fit in where there is no space for a traditional system with separate speakers. The speaker elements correspond to those that can be found in separate Steinway speakers such as the Model S-15, but here there are three of them gathered in a solid soundbar, including built-in subwoofers.

The Steinway speakers use, among other things, advanced AMT foil tweeters, which are known for providing a very fine-grained treble reproduction, in addition to powerful subwoofers and with advanced room correction (RoomPerfect). Depending on the configuration you choose, it can also be complemented with matching rear speakers. But it costs so much it stings!

It is part of history that the Model S Soundbar does not have its own amplifier or surround processor built into the speaker itself. It should instead be connected to separate Steinway & Sons components, such as the surround processor P100 and the power amplifiers A1 and A2. This gives it access to advanced RoomPerfect room correction, and up to 1600 watts of output power!

The generous size and width of the cabinet not only ensures that the powerful bass elements have enough room to play, but also achieves a wider soundstage with good separation between the center and front channels. Who knows, maybe this soundbar can also provide full-fledged stereo sound for music?

Among the world’s largest and most expensive soundboards

This is quite possibly one of the biggest, most powerful and most exclusive soundbars you can buy today. But how much do you have to pay for the guild?

Well, the soundbar costs 17,000 dollars or close to 180,000 kroner plus VAT, but it doesn’t stop there. From here you also have to add the Steinway processor and power amplifier, which also cost significant six-figure sums.

This tells us that the Steinway sound bar is probably the world’s most expensive of its kind, when everything is added up. However, an original and new Steinway grand piano alone costs around two million.

The Model S Soundbar is available now and can be supplied in black or white, as well as more exclusive finishes such as Steinway high-gloss piano lacquer to order. If it lives up to expectations and the juicy price tag, we look forward to checking it out in a future test.

PSST! The largest and most expensive soundbar we have tested so far is the Beosound Theater from Bang & Olufsen, and it costs around NOK 100,000, plus any TV and base you choose to mount it with.

With the Steinway & Sons Model S Soundbar, we are redefining what is possible from the sound performance of a soundbar. It’s a unique speaker for wall or furniture placement, with or without a TV, that takes the intensity and energy of music and movie soundtracks seriously. With its immaculate finish and the characteristic Steinway & Sons details, it is designed like no other soundbar, says Roland Hoffmann, Product Marketing Director at Steinway Lyngdorf.

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(Photo: Samsung)

Samsung Music Frame (HW-LS60D)

Samsung has packed plenty of sound into the medium-sized frame, which can accommodate an image of 33 x 33 centimetres. The Music Frame has a total of six built-in drivers (two woofers, two mids and two tweeters) and a built-in microphone for voice commands.
The speaker supports both stereo and surround sound with Dolby Atmos. It can also “listen” to the acoustics of the room and adjust the sound accordingly (Samsung calls it Spacefit Sound).

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The Music Frame can be placed on a table or sideboard... (Photo: Samsung)

The design

The execution is impressive: the frame is mostly made of plastic on the outside, but the build quality is reassuring. Those who already have a Frame TV will feel at home here.

The frame itself is only available in black, but during the summer there will also be an optional white frame that can be attached to the outside. There are also rumours that Samsung is working with a local frame workshop in the Nordics to offer more exclusive frames in the future.

The actual image inside the frame is a cut-out with passe-partout, which is glued on top of an acrylic sheet. Samsung has included a stylish image of a record player, but you can of course also insert your own image into the frame. A template for this is included in the box.

During the summer there will also be more full-size designs on acrylic panels (Art Panel), sold separately by Samsung and other retailers. So there’s plenty of opportunity to get a Music Frame that’s customised to your personal style.

Connectivity options

Samsung has packed a lot of smart features into the compact speaker. As the Music Frame has a built-in microphone, it can be used with voice assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa. It can also act as a smart speaker in Samsung’s Smarthings ecosystem and control connected gadgets. But that requires you to buy a separate “Smart Hub” and connect it as well.

The Music Frame can be used with a Samsung TV, but this is not a mandatory requirement. It can connect to your home Wi-Fi network and play music directly from services like Airplay, Spotify Connect or Chromecast. Alternatively, you can connect it to different sources via Bluetooth and play the audio that way.

For many, however, using the Music Frame with a Samsung TV and/or soundbar will probably be a natural fit. As long as you have a compatible Samsung soundbar, Music Frame can play music in a group with it or act as a surround back speaker. We write rear speaker in the singular because it’s only possible to use one speaker for this purpose.

However, if you choose to mount the Music Frame on the front, you can set up two speakers in stereo if you wish. It can also be connected to a compatible Samsung TV via Q Symphony to amplify the TV sound. Then you can do without a soundbar. The audio signal is transmitted wirelessly via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, so there’s no need for an HDMI cable.

Note: To use Music Frame with a TV, you need a newer 2024 model Samsung TV, but there will be a software update for older TV models this autumn.

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(Photo: Audun Hage)

Impressively big sound!

Music Frame was developed at Samsung’s Audio Lab in California, where the company’s soundbars are also conceived. Here they have experience in getting big sound out of small packages.

In Music Frame’s case, the tweeters and midrange drivers are hidden on the inside, while the sound waves spread out through a thin slit (waveguide) along the edge of the frame. The two woofers are mounted on the back to maximise the benefit of room amplification when the speaker is placed against the wall.

You can really hear the result. Music Frame creates a massive soundstage that goes far beyond the frame of the speaker itself. In fact, we were a little surprised by the authority and size of the soundstage, which is much bigger and wider than expected. The tones of Niki & The Dove’s Play It on My Radio fill the room in a way that (almost) resembles a full-fledged stereo system.

With a singular sound source like this, the sound is often very directional and one-dimensional, but here it takes on a mesmerisingly believable size and realism. And it can play loud! Surprisingly loud for its size, in fact. Of course, if you want a real party atmosphere and also have a large room, we would consider adding an extra speaker.

The sound balance itself is relatively rich and warm with good midrange clarity. Voices come out well with excellent speech intelligibility. Music Frame also plays with a generous woofer, but it doesn’t go very deep. Drums and bass guitar sound firm and good, but the deepest synth bass tones lose some weight.

Up in the treble, the sound becomes a little more diffuse and loses a little focus. The bright tones from strings and wind instruments don’t always sound as clear as you’d like. Drumsticks and hi-hats also sound a little flat at the top.

In other words, it’s probably not the ultimate speaker for those who like to sit on the sofa and fine-tune the sound. But for varied music and background sound, Music Frame works great in our opinion.

Integration with TV

We also tested Music Frame as a TV speaker by connecting it to a Samsung TV (2024 model TQ65S90D OLED TV) via Wi-Fi and the Q Symphony feature. The latter is preferable as it provides the best and most stable sound reproduction. The speaker then acts as an extension of the TV’s speakers – amplifying the sound while maintaining a certain localisation to the screen.

Music Frame is also excellent for TV sound, but if you have “home cinema” ambitions, we would probably choose to combine it with an additional stereo speaker, or alternatively use it as a rear speaker in combination with a soundbar. For example, we found that a Samsung S710D soundbar with a separate subwoofer was a good combination with the surround speaker.

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Music Frame can also be used individually or paired with a compatible Samsung TV via the Q Symphony feature (Photo: Samsung)

Competitors?

There are several alternatives to the Music Frame out there. One of the most obvious ones comes from Ikea, specifically the SYMFONISK picture frame developed in collaboration with Sonos. But it’s primarily a cheaper alternative that costs just over half as much. It doesn’t provide as big and detailed a sound, nor does it have as nice a framing or motifs in our opinion.

But if we think outside the frame, the Sonos Era 300 is a good alternative. It costs the same as the Music Frame and delivers a more precise tonal balance and a firmer, deeper bass. The Sonos speaker also has more built-in speaker channels, allowing for even greater surround effect when playing music in Atmos format. But of course, it can’t compare in terms of design.

Conclusion

If you’re among those who already like Samsung’s The Frame TV with its interior design-friendly qualities, you’ll probably also love the Music Frame. It acts as a full-fledged picture frame and can blend in almost unnoticeably with its surroundings while accommodating whatever motif you want.
The Music Frame is also capable of providing a great and entertaining music experience with a sound that is surprisingly clear and rich for its size. If you’re looking for hi-fi performance, there are certainly better options out there. But in the world of design, this is definitely one of the coolest speakers you can buy right now.

The Party Club 120 is more powerful than many competitors in its class. With a power output of 160 watts, it reaches a sound pressure level that the smaller speakers can’t come close to. And that’s not all. You also get DJ effects in the app and inputs for microphones or guitar so you can use the speaker as a small PA system. It also has LED lights that flash and rotate in time with the music and last but not least, it has a removable battery.

This is an important point because the battery life is stated to be a maximum of 12 hours on a single charge, and with an extra battery you can of course double the playing time. If you don’t have a spare battery available, it’s good to know that 10 minutes of charging will give you around 80 minutes of playtime.

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(Photo: Lasse Svendsen)

The speaker can be paired with an additional Club 120 for stereo sound or be connected to even more speakers. There are no wheels on the Club 120, but it has a fold-down handle and is relatively easy to transport. It doesn’t matter if it starts to rain, because the speakers are splash-proof and can handle both rain and spills.

Party factor

With two woofers in a larger enclosure, it’s no wonder the Club 120 plays louder and more powerful than the smaller speakers from JBL. In fact, it rivals the sound pressure of the Sony ULT 7, which recently set a new standard for the party factor you can get from a portable Bluetooth speaker.

The JBL speaker doesn’t quite match the Sony speaker’s dynamic woofer, but it’s louder, more powerful and, most importantly, better than any of the other portable speakers in the same price range we’ve tested. It may not match the Sony speaker in terms of sound pressure, but it’s actually a little more refined and the timbre of the music comes through better in the small Club speaker. You can actually fill your garden with more than enough sound to keep the mood going, at least until the battery needs changing. It’s worth noting that two Club 120s cost less than the Sony tower speaker also included in the test. Because, as you know, with two speakers you get both stereo sound and higher sound pressure.

The weight is a disadvantage for the Club 120, but the bonus is that the speaker can accommodate larger drivers for bigger and better sound, which is noticeable when you turn up the volume to a level that really gets the party started. If you don’t want a big speaker and find the small ones too weak, the Club 120 is a great choice.

But it’s not all high-end. There’s plenty of much cheaper hi-fi at the high-end show, but we didn’t see these.

Maybe they’re too cheap, but that actually makes them more interesting for anyone who wants new speakers but doesn’t want to break the bank.

Available in two versions and starting at €200 for a pair, Speaker Box 3E are small, easy to place speakers that most people can afford and have room for. The cheapest is also the most affordable, and the speakers measure just 160 x 106 x 152 mm. They come with pre-drilled holes for wall mounts, which can be purchased separately.

With a frequency range of 89 Hz – 20 kHz, the Speaker Box 3E combines an 8 cm woofer with a 19 mm dome tweeter.

The larger Speaker Box 3 E Carbon measures 175 x 119 x 152 mm, but here the woofer is equipped with a carbon fibre membrane and the speakers are fine-tuned for better sound. The price is €300 for a set, and like Speaker Box 3 E, it is available in black, white or walnut.

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Photo: Pro-Ject

As before, these are compact, active two-way speakers with 4-inch midwoofer and 1-inch dome tweeter. The speakers can only be purchased as a stereo pair as all the electronics, including the four 80-watt amplifiers, are located in the left speaker. The two speakers are connected to each other with a multicore cable.

Wireless networking – finally

The obvious news is that the Forte A4 WiFi has built-in wireless networking. Otherwise, they are identical to the MK2 versions released about a year ago. The new models will not replace the MK2 models, so you will be able to choose whether you want networking in the future.

Connecting your signal sources via cable or Bluetooth instead of buying the Wi-FI version can save you around a third of the price. Argon Audio is to be commended for having both a regular line input and a turntable input. As well as an optical Toslink input. There’s also a subwoofer output. The only thing I miss is a channel switch that would allow you to choose which speaker appears as right and left. As it is now, you have to place any signal sources close to the left speaker – or have long cables.

On a slightly smaller note, the Wi-Fi models, including this one, are available in one more colour than the previous series. If you’re feeling sporty, the Forte A4 Wi-Fi is available in blue. But you can still choose black, white and walnut colours.

Multiroom and streaming

The Wi-Fi connection allows you to stream audio losslessly from your mobile phone. Either via Airplay 2 or Chromecast. But the speakers also have built-in streaming and multi-room functionality in the form of DTS Play-Fi. Play-Fi is not as well-known and widespread as the big multi-room platforms Sonos, BluOS and HEOS, but it is an open system that is not tied to specific manufacturers.

Setting up Play-Fi and pairing devices isn’t quite as streamlined as we’re used to with other multi-room platforms. However, it was relatively quick to recognise the speakers in the app and then get them on the wireless network, and to set up music streaming via Tidal. Play-Fi supports virtually all relevant music services. And those that can’t be accessed directly from the app – such as Apple Music – can still be streamed via mobile and either AirPlay 2 (iOS) or Chromecast (Android).

Perfect soundbar alternative

In addition to playing music wirelessly, Argon Audio Forte A4 WiFi is an interesting alternative to soundbars when the TV needs a new best friend. There is HDMI Arc input and also the aforementioned optical digital input. As pure stereo speakers, the small speakers can’t compete on surround sound – real or simulated. But they have a purity that most soundbars can only dream of.

The sound of the Argon Audio Forte A4 WiFi

Since the difference with the Forte A4 WiFi lies solely in the wireless network connection, there are no acoustic surprises. The sound of the Wi-Fi version is as open and clean as its predecessors.

These small Argon speakers have a liberating absence of the colouration and resonances that cheap speakers with flimsy cabinets often suffer from.

Nor do they have a ‘sound’ where the bass is given an extra boost of warmth or where the treble gets extra shine. This means you get a chance to hear what the music sounds like.

I listened to a lot of music on the speakers, but the biggest ‘holy crap’ moment was listening to the radio news on them. It was easy to hear the difference between the sound of voices in the acoustically perfect radio studio where the hosts were sitting and the rooms where some of the correspondents were sitting. We’re talking about true monitor quality in a set of speakers that costs no more than a good multi-room speaker.

Of course there are limitations. The Forte A4 WiFi sounds clean, but the resolution of detail could be higher. So they’re not as revealing of flaws and nuances as ‘serious’ Hi-Fi speakers at many times the price.

The sound pressure and woofers are the biggest Achilles heel, however. A four-inch woofer enclosed in a cabinet that can fit two in a shoebox is unable to move enough air for deep bass reproduction. But in fact, the small Forte A4 and especially the DSP in them make a formidable attempt.

You can’t feel the pressure wave from the temple drums in Hans Nielsen and Zhao Cong’s Moon Light on Spring River but you can hear just enough of the overtones for your ears and brain to fill in the missing parts.

In general, we recommend not placing bookshelf speakers in the bookshelf, but on stands some distance from the back wall, as this reduces the impact of the room. But in this case, placing them against the wall can provide the missing bottom end support.

Competitors

Argon Audio Forte A4 WiFi is in a price range where almost all other contenders are multi-room desktop speakers or soundbars. The Forte A4 can handle those tasks too, but they are first and foremost a set of stereo speakers with everything built in. If convenience is your goal, you can opt for a Sonos Five (formerly Play:5), which is slightly cheaper and has more powerful woofers, but doesn’t play nearly as cleanly. But if you can do without networking and multi-room, the biggest competitors are actually Argon’s own models. A Forte A4 MK2 has the same sound, but a lower price. And the Forte A5 MK2 costs the same as the Forte A4 WiFi, but has more power in the bass.

Conclusion

The Argon Audio Forte A4 WiFi is a very successful speaker set that adds new capabilities to its already excellent predecessors. Among true active stereo speakers in its price range, Argon is virtually unrivalled. The Wi-Fi model is slightly more expensive than the Bluetooth-only version, but the addition of multi-room and music streaming more than justifies the price difference. And if you don’t need that, the standard version is still available. Bass reproduction is as good as you’d expect from a tiny speaker unit in a tiny enclosure, but if you’re playing in even medium-sized rooms, a subwoofer will be necessary. Or consider buying the larger A5 model.

Cerwin-Vega was founded in California in 1954 by aeronautical engineer Eugene Czerwinski. And the company set out with purpose. Among the company’s earliest designs was an 18-inch speaker capable of delivering a sound pressure level of 130 dB! That was far beyond what the competition was capable of in 1954.

Cerwin-Vega is also credited with designing the world’s first purely transistor-based amplifier in 1957. With an output power of a staggering 125 watts RMS. It would be decades before such power outputs became the norm in the hi-fi world.

Indoor earthquake

Like several other companies, including JBL, Cerwin-Vega initially supplied speakers for the cinema world. The big breakthrough came with the 1974 disaster film Earthquake. No one remembers the plot of the film anymore, but the sound system, called Sensurround, will be remembered forever. The system consisted of up to 20 horn-loaded subwoofers in each cinema, placed around the auditorium. The speakers could deliver a sound pressure at the spectator seats of at least 120 dB at 17 Hz. And still have quite will be remembered forever. The system consisted of up to 20 horn-loaded subwoofers in each cinema, placed around the auditorium. The speakers could deliver a sound pressure at the spectator seats of at least 120 dB at 17 Hz. And still have quite fearsome power at 10 Hz.

At its peak, around 2,000 Sensurround systems had been installed in cinemas around the world and the experience was attracting people to the cinema, but commercial success was limited. The system was expensive to rent and the subsonic noise made it impossible to watch films in other theatres at the same time. The vibrations were also so strong that in some places they could damage the buildings. In Chicago, the building authorities demanded that the volume be turned down. And in the famous Chinese theatre in Hollywood, safety nets had to be installed under the ceiling to catch falling pieces of plaster.

After Earthquake, Sensurround technology was used in a few films: Midway (1976), Rollercoaster (1977) and Saga of Star World (1978). In 1977, Star Wars was released and with it came Dolby Stereo, bringing surround sound to cinemas. And Sensurround couldn’t compete with that.

Cerwin-Vega in the home

But Cerwin-Vega also made speakers for home use. Walnut-finished, refrigerator-sized cabinets, typically with a 15″ woofer and a tweeter. And maybe a midrange driver to tie things together. But it was the woofer that was the attraction. The efficiency was so high that even a small amplifier was able to play ear-splittingly loud at parties.

A little visual trick helped make it famous: Cerwin-Vegas woofers have, with few exceptions, always had bright red edge mounts. So even at the height of the party, it was easy to see which brand of speaker was the centre of attention.

Import success story

In Denmark and Scandinavia, it was the Danish Hi-Fi Club that put Cerwin-Vega on the hi-fi map. Legend has it that Peter Lyngdorf met Gene Czerwinski at a hi-fi exhibition in the USA and was so fascinated that he asked if he could get the agency to import them. He could – and he was even allowed to wait to pay until the speakers were sold. So the first set was shipped from the US.

And they were sold. And many thousands more sets like them. Throughout the 1989s and 1990s, a pair of Cerwin-Vega and a NAD amplifier were indispensable when decorating the student pad.

Export success story

We tend to think of Cerwin-Vega as quintessentially American. But from 1982 until the mid-90s, most of them were actually ‘Made in Denmark.’ The design and units were still American, but why spend the resources and money to ship heavy giant cabinets all the way from California when you could build them in Denmark? DALI had just built a loudspeaker factory and a licence production was started. For several years, DALI supplied Cerwin-Vega to most of Europe. In fact, DALI initially built more Cerwin-Vega speakers at their factory than they built of their own models.

Licensproduktionen gjorde højttalerne billigere på det europæiske marked, end de ville have været, hvis de var blevet sejlet over Atlanterhavet. Og for køberne var det også en fordel. På DALI-fabrikken valgte man nemlig at bygge højttalerne i 6 mm. tykkere plader end de amerikanske originaler, fortæller Lars Worre, der er direktør for DALI.

Change of ownership and downturn

However, freight prices dropped again and production was gradually withdrawn to the US. And in 1997, the last set of Cerwin-Vega speakers was built in the Danish town of Nørager.

The coming years were tumultuous for Cerwin-Vega. The company went bankrupt in 2003 and was sold to the pro audio company Stanton. Production initially continued in the USA, but later ended up in China, once again under new owners. Gibson, which most people know as a guitar manufacturer, bought not only Stanton, and thus Cerwin-Vega, in 2011, but also a large number of other audio companies, including Onkyo, TEAC, and the audio division of Philips. Gibson was now supposed to be an audio empire.

However, the guitar manufacturer had seriously overspent on acquisitions, and the adventure ended in 2018 with a bankruptcy and the parts of the short-lived empire were sold off piecemeal.

For Cerwin-Vega, the bankruptcy ended up becoming a family reunion. The speaker manufacturer was acquired by – Cerwin-Vega! The explanation is that the car and boat stereo division had previously been divested. And it was this division that bought the collapsed parent company in 2020.

Where to go from here?

In the years since 2020, Cerwin-Vega has been pretty quiet. The speakers have largely disappeared from the European market (and if you have a genuine set from the heyday standing, the second-hand price is substantial). And when we have seen Cerwin-Vega mentioned in news the familiar red ring has instead adorned car speaker kits.

And that’s how it could all end. But the final chapter may not be written yet. Between car stereos, boat speakers and mechandise, we actually find speakers in the classic rough look. But only time will tell if they will ever make it back east to Europe.

We would like to thank Peter Lyngdorf of Steinway Lyngdorf for providing us with the historical photos from the 1980s.

Lamborghini has chosen Sonus faber as its audio partner and together with Livio Cucuzza at Sonus faber, Lamborghini has developed a system with seven speakers and a total output of 750 watts.

‘The collaboration with Lamborghini marks another extremely important milestone for Sonus faber and strengthens our presence in the luxury car segment,’ says Fiore Cappelletto, Vice President and Head of Automotive at Sonus faber, in a press release.

Sonus faber also supplies sound systems for several Maserati models, one of which we’ve already heard a little about.

The Revuelto is Lamborghini’s flagship and a super sports car at the very top end of the price range. So it’s only fitting that it also has a sound system to match. Sonus Faber’s flagship speakers are unrivalled and in our experience, the few owners who can afford a Revuelto will also be thrilled with the sound of the system.

The system consists of an 80 mm full-range unit located in the centre of the dashboard, a 16 cm midwoofer in each of the doors, two 25 mm tweeters and two 80 mm full-range units acting as surround speakers.

All of this is powered by a Class D amplifier with DSP totalling 750 watts. Revuelto is available to order now with the Sonus faber system. There is no information on what the system costs extra, but it is likely to be only a fraction of the price of the car.

Back then, the speakers were nowhere near what you’d find in the shops today. Rather simple, not to say rudimentary crossovers, drivers with oversized diaphragms compared to voice coils and magnets, and no materials or technology that we take for granted today.

If you find a pair of used speakers from the 70s that work, you’ll probably think they sound charming and maybe even not bad considering their age, but that’s all.

That is, if you ignore the design. Retro is as popular as ever, and this is especially true for speakers. Klipsch, JBL, Sonus faber and many others design speakers in classic designs, but they use modern materials.

As a result, speakers like the Klipsch Heritage series or the JBL L100 Classic can now play with a dynamics, balance and resolution that hardly existed to the same extent in the 70s.

McIntosh retro speakers can do just that. They certainly look retro with a design that hasn’t changed a bit since 1970. That’s when McIntosh launched the original ML1 in American walnut. A two-way speaker that was in production until 1977.

According to Ken Kessler’s book, ‘For the Love of Music’, about McIntosh’s history since 1949, the idea for a better speaker was conceived by McIntosh’s Gordon Gow. McIntosh had become frustrated that speakers at the time were rarely good enough to emphasise the differences in sound between different components.

The distortion on the speakers of the time was in double digits and increased even further when the volume knob was turned clockwise. Gow put Roger Russell and Sidney Corderman on the job in 1967. Three years later, the ML-1C was ready. So was an equaliser – the MQ101 – which could be added if you needed to adapt the sound from the speakers to the room.

Mark II

No Mark II or new versions of the ML-1 were ever made. Until now, that is. The new ML1 MK II has largely retained the original design in American walnut. Solid wood – not veneer – and the speakers come with a removable American Walnut grille that is almost identical to the grille on the original.

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(Photo: McIntosh)

The original ML 1 was a pretty advanced design for its time, with a frequency range of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, according to Roger Russell. Crazy at the time for a speaker intended for the home. Specifications that make a subwoofer unnecessary.

The new ML1s don’t need a subwoofer either. Admittedly, they don’t go quite as deep – 27 Hz, but they do go higher at the other extreme. Measurably to 45 kHz according to McIntosh.

This has been achieved with a four-way construction, closed cabinet and no equaliser. Quite remarkable in itself. Especially when you consider that the cabinet is no bigger than it is. The height is 66 cm, plus the stands that are customised for the speakers.

Dual chambers

McIntosh has not been so concerned with efficiency. At least not the sensitivity. It’s at a low 85 dB. Low for such a complex design and a clear indicator that you actually need the power a McIntosh amplifier can deliver.

The 12-inch woofer with a rigid polypropylene cone is attached at the outer edge with a ring of synthetic rubber. The driver has its own enclosed cabinet, which takes up half the volume inside the extensive enclosure.

Four-way

Divided at 180 Hz to the drivers in the upper chamber of the speakers. It is also closed. Two 10 cm midrange drivers, also with polypropylene cones and synthetic rubber suspension, are mounted horizontally. A 50 mm midrange driver with a dome-shaped diaphragm covering the range 500 to 4,500 Hz sits between the two drivers. The upper frequency range is covered by the same 19 mm titanium dome tweeter we know from our testing of the McIntosh XR100 and XR50.

The four units in the upper chamber are mounted on a heavy-duty, milled metal plate. The crossover is located in the lower chamber and connected to heavy-duty bi-wire terminals. The same type that McIntosh uses on its amplifiers.

The stands, made specifically for the speakers, angle the speakers backwards and lift them up to 92 cm. Plus any spikes or damping feet.

Amplifier and stuff like that

The first time I heard the McIntosh speakers, they were demonstrated with the McIntosh MC451. It’s a hybrid mono power amplifier that combines transistors with vacuum tubes and delivers 300W of power from the transistors and 150W from four KT88 tubes. Per channel. In other words, the speakers were driven in what is called bi-amping, where the transistor part of the amplifier powered the woofer and the valves covered the rest.

Although the demonstration didn’t last long, it was remarkable how little distortion there was in the sound when the volume was really loud. There was absolutely nothing about the sound that reminded me of a speaker from 1970.

Nor did it later, when I finally managed to get the stands and speakers in place in my own listening room. They remained there for several weeks, with only a brief absense, and in the weeks I had the speakers, they became by far the most used of all the speakers we had available.

With a good selection of amplifiers, it soon became clear that the speakers thrived on the most powerful amplifiers. A 100W Yamaha A-S3200 worked surprisingly well. It has plenty of torque and a potent power supply and sonically matched well with the energetic McIntosh speaker. Which also worked well with McIntosh’s own MC275. A 75W valve amplifier that McIntosh actually recommends as a match for the ML1. From experience, I would probably consider moving up to an MC312 or MC462, which have almost infinite power. At least if you need to fill a very large room with loud sound.

Goatee and silk tie

I didn’t have to, and an MC275 had more than enough power to raise the sound pressure level in the room. I missed some of the control in the bass that an MC462 would have had at high volume, but valves or transistors have nothing to do with speaker quality. The warm sound from the valve amp also removed some of the harshness in the treble that would sometimes occur if I played very loud. I don’t know if this is due to diffractions from the edges around the recessed front panel. But it was certainly masked with the grille on. They are attached to the edges with magnets, and with the grille on, the sound doesn’t change significantly.

There might be a slightly muffled sound around the whiskers on a snare drum and stuff like that, but it doesn’t matter on other vocals. On the lovely The Elder with the Jan Gunnar Hoff ensemble – recorded in Sofienberg Church in Oslo – the piano sounds warm and the sound is well defined. Even in the large church space. An atmosphere that is more than evident on the recording Morten Lindberg made in 2017. The speakers present the music in the space where the recording was made and the dynamics are almost explosive. On the next cut on the album, Revamp, it feels as if Audun Kleive’s percussion is coming out of the speakers. I’ve rarely heard such dynamics from a speaker of this size.

I can play as loud as I dare. The speakers are unwaveringly stable. The double bass is just as tightly defined as when I play low, the scale is just bigger. At the same time, the sound is pleasantly warm without ever getting muddled.

Not even on the razor-sharp Private Investigations by Dire Straits. An album track that just begs to be played loud. The opening guitar sound is warmer than usual, but also fuller, with more resonance. The vocals are dry, almost a little withdrawn, but with plenty of dynamics. Percussion and later the drums on the recording blast out of the speakers with a speed and power that I haven’t experienced since the Klipsch Cornwall and Dali Kore, for example.

The speakers have a knack for preserving and emphasising details in the soundstage – even the small ones. This is not only noticeable on Private Investigations, but also on Leif Ove Andsne’s interpretation of Chopin’s Impromptu No. 1 in A major. The recording at Potton Hall in Suffolk, UK, can sound a little dry and distant. Here the music is closer and there’s a wealth of timbres that other speakers in the same class often mask.

A change of style to Miley Cyrus Flowers gave me the same energy from the speakers. The slightly flatter dynamics are probably due to the recording, but the speakers were clearly wearing silk ties and dancing shoes. Of course, things got much harder with Kvelertak’s Krøterveg te helvete, a burning inferno of guitars and percussion – and lyrics that can scare the hell out of you. Here the speakers shone with a playfulness even when I played loud, which most speakers don’t like. Full control for almost eight minutes and a sound level that can deafen you. There’s no stopping these speakers. They really can do it all.

It’s not easy to find competitor speakers that can do what the ML1 can do. The Sonus faber Maxima Amator, which we tested recently, is more refined but not nearly as dynamic and can’t play as loud. The KEF Reference 3 Meta doesn’t go as deep in the bass, and the Audiovector R6 Arreté is far too expensive in this company. Our thoughts turn instead to the JBL 4367, which has the same explosive dynamics and in our opinion is the closest thing to a pair of McIntosh ML1s.

Conclusion

They could have missed the mark by a mile, but McIntosh has managed to revitalise the ML1 and create a speaker that can certainly challenge the best in its class. It plays louder and harder than most, with steely control throughout. Bass reproduction is exceptionally deep and potent, while McIntosh has managed to make the speakers both open and transparent. You’re likely to find a different level of fine-mesh sophistication elsewhere, but few speakers in this class combine explosive dynamics with as much finesse and fun as the McIntosh ML1. If you like the retro design, it’s a no-brainer.

The vocals are frighteningly vivid, perfectly placed in an invisible hologram between the speakers, which is Burmester’s very latest model. So new, in fact, that exact pricing or specifications are not yet clear.

But we do know something.

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(Photo: Lasse Svendsen)

The speaker is built as modules with separate woofer, midrange and tweeter. In the centre of what looks like an open d’Appolito configuration you find a new AMT tweeter. It’s narrower and longer than before for better horizontal dispersion. Above and below are a midrange and woofer with a mix of carbon fibre and carbon in the diaphragm. The deep bass is handled by two 26 cm woofers in the lower cabinet.

They are the ones who make sure that the dynamics of the drums on Fever can be felt both in the chair and in the ears.

Burmester doesn’t even know how deep they go, as the measurements are not 100 per cent quality controlled. That’s why it’s not mentioned in the brochure. But we do know that you can adjust the treble level above 2 kHz and the woofer below 150 Hz with a potentiometer on the back. This should make it possible to better adapt the speaker to the room it’s in.

And they can be supplied in the colours shown in the images, or in almost any colour to blend in with the wallpaper or match the colour of your Porsche.

The sides can be covered with a tightly woven fabric in a colour of your choice and the front panels can be supplied in a different contrasting colour.

Price? We have no idea, but it’s sure to be expensive. Burmester is not a budget brand, but the BX100 won’t be Burmester’s most expensive speaker either. Delivery sometime in the autumn if you order now, but these are not made on assembly lines in the East, but by hand in Germany. So you have to expect some lead time.

Woofers on the sides and midrange and tweeter on the front, like some of the larger models. They can be connected in stereo and multi-room and support Bluetooth, WiFi and network streaming.

There is of course an app for control and pairing, and the speakers are also Roon Ready.

There is no HDMI input here, but you can connect your TV audio via the optical input. There is also an analogue input, e.g. for a turntable with a built-in phono stage.

The speakers can be powered in the living room and then simply unplugged and carried out with the integrated bowling-style hand grip. They come with a carrying case that also has room for the charging cable and USB charger, which, when fully charged, will have enough battery for approximately 12 hours of music.

Cabasse lists the price at 990 euros each and the speakers will be in stores in June.

The small ES-14N gets a bigger relative in the ES-28N. Unmistakably Fink-ish with its faceted front baffle in 50 mm thickness, but with completely different characteristics. The tweeter is the same as in the 14, the midrange is a variant of the bass unit in the ES-7, and there are two bass units mounted in the lower half of the cabinet.

Karl-Heinz and the team have chosen two 7-inch drivers for the bass. They have the same magnet system and the curve is the same as in the ES-14N, but with a slimmer cone that can withstand more energy. The magnets have flux-stabilising aluminium rings (faraday rings) and the cone is mounted on a 36 mm voice coil.

The woofers are housed in a separate chamber with a bass reflex port on the underside, and according to Fink, the speakers reach down to 30 Hz.

Such as more rigid enclosures, new drivers and new crossovers.

For example, the woofer is taken from the more expensive 5000 series. The C3 Continuous Curved Sone, as they call it, has a uniform, fully moulded cone with a slimmer profile to better balance with the tweeter.

The )tweeter is hermetically sealed and mechanically isolated from the front panel to reduce resonances from the midwoofers. The cabinets feature what Q Acoustics calls Point to Point bracing on the inside, which should dampen cabinet resonances and provide better focus and stereo perspective. The largest model in the series – the 3050c – also features something unusual in this class, a Helmholtz Pressure Equaliser. Small tubes that prevent standing waves, reduce distortion and provide a more uniform frequency response.

The new 3000c series consists of the small 3010c, a slightly larger 3020c, an even larger 3030c and the floorstanding 3050c. There’s also a 3090c – a centre speaker for those looking to expand into a home cinema. All speakers are available in black, white, walnut or oak-coloured vinyl that looks like wood veneer.

Prices start at €399 for the smallest and end at €1,199 for the largest. The 3000c series will be available from August.

The X2.6 was presented for the first time at the High End trade fair in Munich from 9 to 12 May and is now ready for production.

True to the music

Raidho’s ambitions for the X2.6 are in line with their other models: extremely low noise, negligible colouration, dramatic and energetic sound with a very wide soundstage and the ability to reproduce the smallest details without straining. The goal is a unique sonic holography where the sound seems to come out of nowhere, authentic and true to the source.

And judging from its little brother, the X1.6 floorstanding speaker, we have something to look forward to!

Ribbon tweeter

At the heart of the X2.6 is Raidho’s patented planar magnetic ribbon tweeter, a unique design developed and handcrafted entirely at the company in Denmark. The diaphragm itself is a foil that is only 11 micrometres thick – 50 times lighter than a conventional dome tweeter. The result, according to Raidho, is that there is virtually no resonance or distortion with an incredible breakup point of 82 kHz.

Ceramic woofers

To keep up with the lightning-fast treble, Raidho has developed ceramic woofers. The woofer is an aluminium diaphragm, which in itself is very rigid but has a distinct resonance. To eliminate this, the devices are coated with a thin layer of ceramic through a plasma process. This raises the first breakup point to 12.5 kHz, which Raidho says sets a new standard for component resonances.

The crossovers are handmade with internal cabling from Nordost – a detail rarely seen, even in this price range. The speakers do not rest on spikes, but on a cleverly constructed plinth with integrated damping, where the speaker itself rests on ceramic spheres that are not visible from the outside.

Raidho X2.6: Price and availability

At €21,000 per pair, the X2.6 is definitely not for everyone. But for audiophiles looking for an elegant, high-performance speaker with a unique sonic fingerprint, Raidho’s latest offering may be worth checking out. We can’t wait to hear if the X2.6 lives up to its ambitious goals when we get it in for testing.

More info: raidho.dk