Idea Book |
Statement Speakers
A quick survey of high-end speakers that can produce phenomenal sound and make a bold design statement
by John Sciacca
June 10, 2022
What if instead of trying to hide speakers away, you fully embraced the beauty and craftsmanship of their design, and allowed them to sit front and center in a room? Instead of making them play second fiddle, you used the speakers to help define the design aesthetic of a space, to complement it, creating a harmonious blend of form and function along with delivering a transcendent audio experience? As a followup to Tom Methans’ stereo speakers idea book, here are some options of speaker designs that are meant to be celebrated and will help define the look of the listening space as much as its sound.
KEF Blade One Meta
With its sleek and smooth-edged design inspired by Brancusi’s sculpture “Bird in Space,” the Blade more resembles something you’d find in a modern art gallery than in a premium listening room, but feed it some music and your mind will change. The Concept Blade was born in 2009 when KEF’s engineers were given free rein to create a speaker where all of the sound frequencies radiated from one point. The latest generation, the One Meta, delivers a purer and more natural sound than earlier models. The Blade is offered in five standard cabinet finishes with six driver-cone color options, or can be custom finished to suit its environment.
63 x 14 x 21″ (h x w x d) | 126 lb. | $34,998 | kef.com
Sonus Faber Aida
What would you expect from a company headquartered in Arcugnano, Italy in a building designed by Studio Albanese in the shape of a violin, and whose name is a Latin for “artisan of sound”? Beautiful handcrafted and finished wood cabinets are staples of the Sonus Faber line, and the Aida features highly hand-polished curving panels available in red or wenge. Pictures cannot fully do the Aida justice, and even in person one would almost wish to be able to peer inside the beautiful cabinet to see the craftsmanship that goes into the woodworking.
68 x 19 x 31″ (h x w x d) | 363 lb. | $130,000 | sonusfaber.com
Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 90
Art can be meant to provoke a feeling or reaction or spark a conversation, and the styling of Bang & Olufsen’s BeoLab 90 certainly leaves much room for discussion. B&O has a well-deserved reputation for creating luxury products featuring impeccable design and premium materials and components that stretches back to 1925. To commemorate the company’s 90th anniversary, B&O engineers were given carte blanche to design an ultimate performance statement, resulting in the BeoLab 90. Concealed behind the customizable curved and flowing fabric panels and natural aluminum accents are 18 speaker drivers powered by 8,200 watts of amplification, and powerful audio processing to help deliver pristine sound in every listening space.
49 x 29 x 30″ (h x w x d) | 302 lb. | $110,000 | bang-olufsen.com
Waterfall Audio Niagara
Designed and manufactured in Carcés, France, Waterfall Audio’s glass speakers have a distinctive look, with the premier Niagara towers employing 10mm-thick safety glass with a metallic color coating. Transparent yet highly modern in appearance, with their drivers appearing to float in space, the Niagaras can be considered works of art on their own. Equally unique is the glass horn tweeter, which requires the same cutting, machining, and hand assembly techniques used by luxury jewelers. Adding to the dramatic appearance are the completely visible drivers finished and hand stitched in premium Nappa leather and the single block of aluminum that serves as the base.
47 x 12 x 13″ (h x w x d) | 132 lb. | $36,000 | waterfallaudio.com
Idea Book |
Statement Speakers
A quick survey of high-end speakers that can produce phenomenal sound and make a bold design statement
by John Sciacca
June 10, 2022
What if instead of trying to hide speakers away, you fully embraced the beauty and craftsmanship of their design, and allowed them to sit front and center in a room? Instead of making them play second fiddle, you used the speakers to help define the design aesthetic of a space, to complement it, creating a harmonious blend of form and function along with delivering a transcendent audio experience? As a followup to Tom Methans’ stereo speakers idea book, here are some options of speaker designs that are meant to be celebrated and will help define the look of the listening space as much as its sound.
Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4
Few recording spaces are as hallowed as Abbey Road Studios in London and Skywalker Sound in California, and both employ Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series speakers for critical playback and mastering. This means many albums and films that will ultimately be heard around the world are heard first on Bowers & Wilkins speakers, and owning them can get you a degree closer to what the recording engineers intended. The D4 is the latest version of the company’s flagship Diamond Series. Its cabinet is offered in four finishes with a top appointed in Connolly leather, ensuring a striking and luxury appearance.
48 x 18 x 24″ (h x w x d) | 222 lb. | $35,000 | bowerswilkins.com
Meridian Audio DSP8000 XE
While the external design is consistent throughout Meridian’s DSP speakers, the new flagship 8000 XE is the first product to emerge from the company’s Extreme Engineering Programme. The 8000 XE features new drivers throughout, including six custom-fabricated bass drivers, along with a new electronics section to handle the speaker’s powerful and flexible digital signal processing. The Meridians are fully powered, incorporating multiple on-board amplifiers with power and performance to help ensure harmonious pairing between electronics and drivers. And with Meridian’s Bespoke service, the DSP8000 XE can be delivered in any finish to suit your décor.
53 x 16 (tapering to 6) x 21 (tapering to 8)” (h x w x d) w/stands | 243 lb | $125,000 | meridian-audio.com
Technical Audio Devices Reference One TX
One doesn’t often encounter Japanese-manufactured speakers on audiophile lists, but Technical Audio Devices is a worthy exception. On my first listen, I was stunned by the clarity, realism, and detail of the Reference Ones. Featuring a cabinet styled by leading Japanese luxury furniture manufacturer Tendo Mokko, the Reference One TX is offered in Emerald Black or Beryl Red, meant to be as visually stunning as they are acoustically inert. While the 10-inch bass drivers solidly deliver the lowest octaves, it’s the speaker’s uniquely crafted Beryllium midrange/ tweeter that’s the sonic star, producing sonic realism that will satisfy for years to come.
51 x 22 x 28″ (h x w x d) | 330 lb. | $145,750 | technicalaudiodevices.com
Probably the most experienced writer on custom installation in the industry, John Sciacca is co-owner of Custom Theater & Audio in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, & is known for his writing for such publications as Residential Systems and Sound & Vision. Follow him on Twitter at @SciaccaTweets and at johnsciacca.com.
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