[Review completed. Full article coming soon.]

If you are a cables-don’t-matter person and believe that even lamp cord is perfectly suitable for amplifier-to-loudspeaker connections, then this article is not for you. To all those who know how to set up a good HiFi system and have the ears to approve it, the Symphonic Line High End Music Electric Cable is a valuable asset in unleashing the performance of your High End amplifier.

The WSS-Kabelmanufaktur GmbH & Co. KG run by Jochen Bareiß has been quietly manufacturing affordable High End loudspeaker cables from its home base in Nürtingen since 2002. Each cable is built to WSS specifications and combines highest-quality materials with patented made-for-audio designs. Since its very beginnings, the company has maintained an excellent reputation among audiophiles for its expertise in cable design and down-to-earth product pricing.

A Trusted Standard.

When Daniela Manger entrusted me with a pair of P2 loudspeakers at the Norddeutsche HiFi-Tage trade fair in early February 2025, she mentioned that her speakers performed best when set up in combination with WSS speaker cables. As I still held the company name in good esteem from listening sessions with my former HiFi mentor Luigi di Adamo, I was not surprised by her suggestion and agreed to take this into consideration for my review. The circumstances at the fair, however, prevented me from taking the WSS cables home with me that day. Instead, Daniela asked Jochen Bareiß to send me a pair of his Platin Line LS4 speaker cables by mail.

As, upon my return to our studio in Marne, the WSS cables had not yet arrived, I first set up the Manger P2 using my standard Belden 9497 speaker cables. The amplifier was a Symphonic Line RG10 MK4 Reference in combination with Rolf Gemein’s newly designed Music Cable power cord. My music sources were one trusty Thorens TD320 turntable, featuring an Audiophonics linear power supply and Audio Technica VM95 ML cartridge, as well as a Marantz CD-17 “Ken Ishiwata Signature” CD player wired with Symphonic Line Harmonie HD interconnects. To unleash its audiophile potential, our Thorens was placed on a vibration-cancelling base that was built by Klaus Finnern of Nordic Wood Art for me. Some degree of resonance treatment had also been applied on the Marantz player for a similarly positive effect.

The first listening sessions already revealed a level of sophistication that was highly convincing, with the Manger P2 speakers boasting musical detail and transients that I would rather have expected from our electrostatic Martin Logan SL3 speakers. As I had never heard the Manger P2 perform even remotely at this level while visiting any of the audio shows, I was relieved to see that my review would be a positive one after all. And although Manger’s bending wave driver concept made perfect sense from an acoustic perspective, the fabled transducer did prove to be demanding in terms of front-end integrity and room placement, if it was to show its full potential. In sum, I felt deeply satisfied with the P2’s performance and started to have my doubts whether the WSS cables would have anything more to contribute to this.

First Impressions.

The set of Platin Line LS4 speaker cables came in two simple yet sophisticated suitcase boxes with inner foam lining. One box held the pair of single-wiring speaker cables and the other contained the four cable jumpers for the bi-wiring terminals. All cable ends were terminated with hollow bananas featuring a beryllium/copper base and rhodium-plated surface. The exception was of one of the jumper ends, which featured a spade in order not to get in the way of the speaker cable’s hollow banana plugs. Similar to the Symphonic Line Harmonie HD speaker cables, the WSS Platin Line LS4 use one separate wire strand for the positive and one for the negative connector. On the WSS cables, however, these stands are then joined via shrink tube sleeves at both ends and loosely twisted together for additional shielding effect. The cables look unobtrusive, feel solidly robust, and are well manufactured.

Having connected the LS4 and returned to my listening chair, it did not take me more than five seconds to realise that these speaker cables were indeed special. They had the ability to acoustically step aside and let the music play. The amount of dynamic freedom was more pronounced than on any of the setups I had heard before. While the Belden were superb sounding cables that offered a sense of harmony commonly associated with solid-core designs, speed and agility similar to silver wires, and the musical insights of a low inductance cable, the LS4 did all of this and elevated the experience to a whole new level. For the first time in my audiophile listening explorations, the characteristics of the HiFi system acoustically separated themselves from the recording to set the music free.

I could understand Luigi di Adamo’s long-time fixation with WSS cables and also see why Daniela Manger had nudged me to review her speakers with the LS4 cables. In the end, it was not just one characteristic alone, but a combination of many that made the Platin Line LS4 so potent. Agility and rhythm, tonality and timbre, transients and decay, bass and treble extension: neither of the acoustic properties can fully describe the transformation that happens when the degrading effects of a cable disappear to make its properties invisible to the ear. It was at that moment that I decided to give Jochen Bareiß a call to learn more about the company history and the philosophy behind the LS4 cables. However, as Jochen is quite busy running the WSS Kabelshop, his Hoerenswert-HiFi studio, and visiting trade fairs, I did have to make a few unsuccessful calls, before he eventually called me back and we could have our long talk.

What and Who is WSS?

In this talk, Jochen explained that WSS (the acronym for wire@sound systems) was originally founded by Konrad Wächter in 2002. Wächter was a genuine cable expert who had migrated from the former East Germany to the West in search of better opportunities for his exceptional skills. He was soon hired to run the engineering department for Specialised Cable Applications of a Stuttgart cable works. Wächter later left the company to found his own Kabel Wächter GmbH, a company soon to be known for its innovations in cable designs. When he finally sold the company in 1995, he had many patents to his name and the financial freedom to do what he enjoyed.

As Wächter was not only a cable expert but also an active musician who had studied the bassoon, the idea of manufacturing cables for music applications presented a great opportunity for him to combine his passions in a single project. The Platin Line LS4 is a testament to Wächter’s dedication to music, in that it allows the original signal to reach the loudspeakers without the loss of detail and dynamics associated with broad frequency cable connections. At this time, Jochen Bareiß was running a HiFi studio not too far from Wächter’s new cable company and started to sell them in his shop. He became a regular customer, so that a friendship formed between the two men.

In 2019, Jochen joined WSS to handle the administration of the business, and preparations were made for Konrad Wächter to retire. Jochen Bareiß renamed the company into WSS-Kabelmanufaktur and has been successfully running the shop on his own since 2022. The WSS focus remains on high quality products at affordable prices. The Platin Line constitutes the company’s mid-priced speaker cable segment of which the LS4 is the highest contender. It is made up of seven strands of OFH copper varying in thickness and seven stands of silver-coated copper. As no primer is used in the coating, the silver layer is uncommonly thick and does not bear the risk of acoustic harshness. The wires are stranded in a patented ZS design to reduce cable inductance. The conductor diameter is 2x 4.8 mm² per channel. Teflon is used as dielectric, and a combination of thermoplastic and textile sleeve complete the cable on the outside.

A Real-World Test.

When the P2 speakers were returned to Daniela Manger, I connected my Martin Logan SL3 electrostats to the WSS and was intrigued by the consistency of sound. I completed my article on the Symphonic Line RG10 Reference, and the LS4 played an important role in my assessment to this amplifier. They also led me to reassess the considerable merits of the Martin Logan speakers that had the ability to grow with each improvement. To achieve maximum homogeneity, I had to connect the speaker cables to the bass driver of the Martin Logans and to connect the panels via the jumpers. When connected the wrong way around, the panels acoustically outpaced the dynamic bass driver, causing a slurred impression.

While there are lots of grand theories about speaker and cable design, what ultimately counts is how they appeal to the human ear. In this case we had a friend visit us from Thuringia. Although Katrin is not an audiophile listener by definition, she does enjoy music and is a keen theatre goer. She loves musicals and asked me if she could listen to the Phantom of the Opera on our system. Katrin had seen this musical live in Hamburg and had a CD with some of the songs of it at home. I checked our CD library and found a copy of the full musical. As a kid I had been to the Broadway show and remembered one or two songs that I liked. I remembered the rest of the CD as being rather mediocre and handed Katrin the remote control of the CD player so that she could jump to the track as she liked.

The musical starts with a prelude of almost three minutes, followed by the overture of two minutes, and the first scene of again three minutes. I was sitting on a chair behind Katrin, half expecting her to skip to the next tile and half hoping she would not, because I had never heard the musical in this intensity before. Katrin did not press a button on the remote, until the first CD ended after 19 songs and 60 minutes. She then turned around and looked at me. “So, what do you think?” I asked. “Are you kidding me?” she responded. “This mind-blowingly good and even better than I remember it from the event itself. I could understand every single word, no matter how many people were singing and how many instruments were playing.”

And I knew exactly what she meant, because, until this day, I had not been able to sit through more than three songs of the album. On this system, however, we were both sitting glued to our seats listening for each nuance and following each musical turn the performance took. Music can do that for us, and the WSS Platin Line LS4 are one part of the puzzle.

Specifications

• Type: 2x single-stranded loudspeaker cable
• Application: Single-wiring (with WSS jumpers)
• Termination: beryllium/copper hollow bananas with rhodium-plating
• Design: seven pairs of ZS-stranded wires
• Wire materials: OFH Copper & silver-clad OFH copper
• Manufacturing: silver-coating without primer
• Dielectric: Teflon FEP
• Inner liner: highly flexible thermoplastic
• Outer sleeve: Black textile with thin blue line
• Stranded cross-section: 4.8 mm²
• Cable diameter: 7.8 mm²
• Manufactured in Germany
• Year(s): 2008 -

Sure, I know Manger

I was 19 years old, observing a friend of mine solder the last wires of an amplifier project. He wanted to know if I had heard of the Manger (German family name pronounced: 'maŋɐ') Bending Wave Transducer and claimed it was among the best driver principles ever devised. I told him that I had not yet heard of it, and so he went on to explain its revolutionary design to me. Although this conversation took place more than thirty years ago, my fascination with the Manger transducer remained. I was especially interested at the time, as I was constructing my own D.I.Y. loudspeakers, and the difficulties arising from multiple pistonic drivers paired with complex crossovers were quite obvious. The promise of a smoother speaker concept that worked without crossovers in the frequencies critical to the human ear was intriguing to me.

In summer 2022, my favorite audio technician, Winfried Echle, was building a set of speakers of his own and handed me a strange-looking driver as one of the possible high-to-mid frequency choices. “This is a Manger transducer!” I exclaimed happily, eager to communicate the fact that I already had the proper term for it. As it turned out, I was holding the W05 model of the bending wave transducer in my hands. It mostly consisted of machined metal components and strong magnets and was therefore very heavy. Its round front was covered with a dark, slightly textured, and rubbery-looking diaphragm, which was surrounded by a star-shaped matte. For a full-range driver that could reach ultra-high frequencies well above the human hearing, its diameter was quite enormous. And from the looks of it alone, I honestly could not imagine how it would sound.

First Encounters

Winfried ultimately decided to use a different type of full-range driver for his loudspeaker project, and I did not get the chance to listen to a Manger transducer until CEO Daniela Manger released the W06 driver and hosted a demonstration of her P2 loudspeakers at the HiFi-Auditorium shop in the German town of Münster in Westphalia. The event was scheduled for the autumn of 2024, and I managed to secure a ticket for it. Upon arrival, I began my audition by examining the design: The P2 are sleek-looking, column-shaped loudspeakers, approximately 1.15 meters tall, less than 30 centimeters wide, and just over 20 centimeters deep. Their outer finish is smooth to the touch, and the excellent paint job hides a sturdy and quite heavy aluminum cabinet underneath. Unless you have to carry them around, you would never guess from their appearance that each speaker weighs a hefty 33 kg.

Each P2 comes fitted with Manger’s latest Generation W06 transducer, which is accompanied by an agile German-made woofer of the same diameter sitting underneath. The back of the P2 cabinet holds two passive radiators and a large metal terminal with WBT Cu nextgen binding posts for bi-wiring application. The label above the connectors declares the P2 to be an 8-ohm speaker with an RMS rating of 200 watts. It also shows the production date and the serial number, as well as the company's claim “Präzision im Schall” (Precision in Sound). On this day, however, the P2 were positioned along the narrow side of the Auditorium Münster's listening room, standing relatively close to the front wall and at equal distance to the left and right side walls. With the audience chairs positioned rather centrally in the room, my ears were struggling with standing waves and reflections from all sides. Sadly, this was not the ideal environment for testing the audio quality of the system.

To make the most of my trip and still have a chance to get a more accurate impression of the P2 speakers, I asked Ms. Manger for the possibility to listen to them in our studio. She responded positively, saying that potential buyers are given the chance to test her speakers at their homes for a small transport fee of 200.00 euros. (This is true for German customers and at the time of writing this. Prices and conditions may vary or change.) And that is how I ended up taking the Manger P2 loudspeakers home with me for an audition following the Norddeutsche HiFi-Tage 2025 audio fair in Hamburg. Safely wrapped in non-scratch cloth and stored in their original boxes, the speakers were easy to load into our car. Carrying them up the multiple flights of stairs to our studio was another matter, of course.

Setting up the System

I began my explorations by placing each Manger P2 in the same location that my Martin Logan SL3 electrostatic speakers had been in before. This was a tried and tested position, determined by means of calculation and hours of listening. I used a laser gauge to confirm that the driver planes of both types of speakers (the P2 and the SL3) were absolutely identical in relation to the front wall of the room. Our listening space is quite large, roughly 9 x 7 meters, and I applied my usual room resonance calculation to set up an equilateral triangle of 2.5 meters distance between each speaker and towards my listening position. In this setup, the distance from the driver plains to the front wall measured 1.65 meters straight.

As our house was constructed in 1901 and still has the original wooden beams and floors, I place all my speakers on 40 kg concrete slabs. In fact, I first started doing so, when I learnt that simply doubling up the floor boards to 6 cm thickness and then adding a carpet on top was not enough to quiet resonances. The heavy concrete slabs have greatly helped to solve the issue since, but vibrations do play a role in less obvious positions as well. Some of them emanate from the HiFi system itself. To lessen their impact, the equipment driving the speakers is positioned on two separate racks that use steel tubes filled with silica sand. The rack on the right holds the Symphonic Line RG10 Reference HD amplifier with its two large and heavy transformers resonating at 50 Hz; and the rack on the left holds the sensitive optical and mechanical drive units of the Marantz CD player and the Thorens TD 320 turntable. Each of these devices is then further decoupled from vibrations by means of dedicated bases and absorbers.

The cables behind the system do not touch, in order to prevent cross-induction and distortion. Possible differences in ground potential have been harmonized between the devices. HF shielding from the power source is provided via shunt filter, and all power cables use simple ferrite beads to further reduce high frequency noise in the system. The Thorens turntable is fitted with an affordable Audio Technica VM95 cartridge (MM) and micro-linear stylus. Its motor is driven with a special linear power supply made by Audiophonics of France. The speaker cables are single-wired WSS Platin Line LS4 (hand-crafted by Jochen Bareiß in Nürtingen, Germany) and used in combination with the cable bridges that are originally included with the speakers. Given a choice, I would have preferred to test the bi-wiring version of the WSS cables, but they were not available to me at the time. My own bi-wiring alternative, one that was based on two strands of Belden 9497 wires, did not sound as tonally convincing in combination with the powerful Symphonic Line amp. I therefore stayed with the WSS.

The Listening Sessions

Fleetwood Mac (1970s Pop)

In order to ease my way into the listening session with some simple and familiar tunes, I put on Fleetwood Mac’s Pop album “Rumours” on the Thorens turntable and sat down in my usual chair. I listened to all songs on Side A and thereby noticed two things: The soundstage did not pan seamlessly. There was an acoustic left, the phantom centre, and a right, however, there was no connection between them. This surely was the result of the Manger P2 beam angle being slightly narrower than that of my Martin Logan SL3 speakers. I rotated the P2 inward towards the listening position, until their acoustic beams were crossing just behind my head. This successfully closed the stage for me and made the music pan from left to right more seamlessly. I also read reports in which reviewers toed in the P2 so that their beams crossed even in front of the listening position. However, being very sensitive when it comes to realistic sound direction, I did not gain much from the experience when I tried it myself.

The second thing I noticed was some inaccuracy in the sound stage itself, as if there was an extra layer of music which blurred over the first one. This can sometimes happen when reflections from the front wall of the room bounce back towards the listening position, creating time smear and acoustic fog. If this phenomenon had also been present on my Martin Logan speakers, I had not noticed it as much, due to their filling-in dipole characteristic (which entails other challenges, of course). I borrowed two large 120x60 cm absorbers from my adjacent system and stood them up against the wall behind the P2 speakers. Clarity, dynamics, and soundstage were drastically improved. In a normal household, curtains or bookshelves placed behind your speakers should give you a similarly positive effect.

I put on “Rumours” once again and enjoyed how well the changing speeds and intensities of each drum beat were captured by the 1976 recording. The quality of vocals also varied greatly between songs, and the P2 faithfully revealed the strengths and shortcomings of each one. Driven with the capable Symphonic Line Reference HD amplifier, each sound had its own space, dimension, and was clearly discernible in its temporal rise, timbre, and decay. In the title “Don’t Stop”, there was plenty of forward drive, paired with the obviously constrained dynamics of the recording equipment of the time. I felt so close to the recording event itself that I could sense the studio reels turning in Sausalito. The album was a reminder of how colourful even vintage music can be, if we have the ability to untangle it in all its facets.

Helge Lien Trio (2020s Jazz)

Following my impression of the 1970s, I was looking for a more complex, contemporary recording that would reveal multiple layers of music. I picked out the Helge Lien Trio’s Jazz album “Hello Troll”, on which Side A feels like a harmonious battle between piano, bass, and drums. On this special 2008 recording, Helge Lien’s piano extends across both channels with the high keys to the right and the low keys to the left, as is customary in modern studio Jazz recordings. Frode Berg plucks his bass in the right third of the stage, and Knut Aalefjoer beats his drums in the left third. There was a true sense of stage depth and musical order which was superior to any setup I had heard play in this position before. The music came to its full dimension in our studio without carelessly revealing the position of the speakers, and there was a natural flow and rhythm.

Next to the tonal richness of the piano, I enjoyed the taut bass, which extended surprisingly low. The first half of the title “Troozee”, which can easily seem a bit monotonous, became highly entertaining for its faithful bass rendering alone. As the song picked up momentum, the Manger P2 could show their ability to maintain micro-dynamics and transients during complex musical passages. I would say that their ability to keep sonic events separate and discernible is widely unmatched. And this does make sense, as the W06 transducer is a single-point source that is capable of rendering all frequencies from 40,000 Hz down to 150 Hz. And it does not matter at all that it is prematurely cut off at 340 Hz to increase the P2's power handling capacity to 200 watts, because all relevant directional frequencies, as well as their harmonics, originate from a single flat plain which naturally directs its waves outward in concentric circles, similar to the skin of a drum or the basal membrane of the human ear.

2Cellos (Acoustic Song Covers)

When I changed from vinyl over to my trusty Marantz CD-17 CD player, the music remained fluid and tonally rich. Having picked out the 2Cellos album “IN2ITION”, I began with the familiar Police cover “Every Breath You Take” and was surprised to find that the bass lines were actually plucked on a third instrument. Due to the combo’s name I had always assumed that I was listening to exactly this: Two cellos. However, the P2 made it strikingly obvious that there were three instruments at play in the recording. Trained musicians will probably detect this on any system, but to my more technically oriented ears, the additional order provided by the P2 speakers proved to be helpful. The titles “Supermassive Black Hole” and “Clocks” were more insightful and fun on the Manger speakers. I even dared to turn up the volume to 90 dB (a quick measurement on my phone's dB meter) and found that the P2 remained in perfect control of the event, although I could detect a subtle increase in room resonances.

Youth Lagoon (2020s Indie, Electronic Music)

My next music pick was the 2023 album “Heaven is a Junkyard” by Youth Lagoon. On this, the Boise, Idaho-based Trevor Powers put together a bunch of contemplative often melancholic songs featuring soft piano playing, gentle acoustic guitar, and subtle synths. The album creates a warm blanket of sound that is both soothing and fun to listen to. As with many modern recordings, Heaven is a Junkyard is quite compressed and sounds dense throughout. On occasion, substantial bass waves are sending tremors through the room. Power’s delicate and breathy vocals blend vulnerability with a dreamlike, almost ghostly quality, and the P2 keep this vocal quality alive, even as the background choir and heavy instrumentation set in.

Sean Keel (2020s Singer-Songwriter)

“A Dry Scary Blue” is Texan songwriter Sean Keel’s 2022 appearance in the realm of audiophile recordings. Mastered in collaboration with Gabriel Rhodes, its scarcely instrumented songs are soothing and whispering. On the P2, the album sets an acoustically spacious backdrop of piano and guitar with Sean’s vocals seeming ever so fragile and brittle. More than my Martin Logan SL3, the Manger speakers reveal both the conceptual strengths and the acoustic shortcomings of the recordings. Despite or perhaps because of this, the album is highly addictive, and I am happy for the chance to listen to it once again.

Keith Jarrett (1970s Piano Concert)

The piano on Keith Jarrett's “The Köln Concert” can easily sound overly piercing and aggressive, if the loudspeakers are prone to sounding this way. This is especially so, because the right channel not only plays the high piano keys but also carries the cries and sighs of the pianist as they were picked up by the piano mics. Keith's incidental vocal injections are therefore mostly rendered in a distorted fashion. After about two minutes, however, I began to trust the P2 to take me through the double album without ear pain and so I listened to the first LP in a single session.

My Personal Conclusion

After about 30 listening hours spread over a period of two weeks, I come to the following conclusion: The Manger P2 are thoughtfully designed loudspeakers featuring one of the most faithful drivers in the High End market today. Similar to electrostatic speaker panels, the W06 driver hardly produces a sound signature of its own and has the additional benefit of being one-directional. Manger's integration of the separate bass driver is well executed and, in my setup, appeared to be seamless without bringing unnecessary attention to itself. I also very much like the sound of passive radiators. It is a welcome feature that I have come to enjoy on my EPI 500 speakers. For lovers of natural instruments, passive radiators can lead to a more natural instrument body and sound. To my ears, the P2 are the closest you can get to the sound of very good studio headphones, and they allow you to have the soundstage in width and depth in front of you and properly feel the bass at the same time.

As all true-to-source gear that deserves the label High End, the Manger P2 will point out any flaw in your electro-acoustic signal chain, spanning from the central fuse box of your house right up to your ears. For those who want the best sound out of their speakers, it is therefore advisable to either read up on the mutual dependencies of the HiFi signal chain (see: High Fidelity) or to consult your local HiFi audio shop for advice on how to combine and properly set up your system. All speakers will benefit from thoughtful positioning in the room. The P2 will sound quite good as you walk through the room, but, due to their relatively narrow dispersion angle, they will sound spectacular from a position inside the stereo triangle. The WSS Platinum Line LS4 are excellent cables that assure great tonality and instrument separation. And, from experience, I can now say that my Symphonic Line amp worked very well with the Manger speakers.

Do you have the Manger P2 at home? I would be interested in hearing about your own experience with them. Has my article perhaps helped you to understand your speakers better? Clicking on the header photo of this article will open it as a subdomain and make the commenting section available at the bottom of this page (if it is not already open).

W06 Specifications (Driver Only)

• Type: Bending wave transducer
• Frequency response: 150 Hz - 40,000 Hz
• Power sensitivity: 91 dB
• Impedance: 8 Ohms
• Power handling (RMS): 50W,
• Peak power handling: 80W
• Diameter: 15.3 cm
• Mounting depth: 50 mm
• Country of manufacture: Germany
• Weight: 1.2 kg

Manger P2 Specifications

• Type: Passive 2-way floor-standing speaker
• Impedance: 8 Ohms
• Frequency range: 30 – 40,000 Hz
• Crossover frequency: 340 Hz
• Power sensitivity: 89 dB
• Sound pressure (max.): 112 dB
• Dimensions: (H)114 cm × (W)27,0 cm × (D)21,4 cm
• Weight: 33 kg
• Country of manufacture: Germany
• Year(s): 2018 -

A Report on Germany's Premier Audio Show

With the HIGH END trade fair relocating to Vienna in 2026, the Norddeutsche HiFi-Tage (NDHT) will become the most significant audio show for the industry in Germany. Each year, hundreds of famous brands in HiFi flock to Hamburg to display their latest product innovations. This year, the fair was hosted by the Le Meridien hotel, located at the Inner Alster, a famous lake in Hamburg's inner city. Below are some key highlights and impressions of my time at the show.

Sieveking Sound (Marten)

The picture shows Jan Sieveking, the founder of the Bremen-based High End retailer by the same name, presenting assorted HiFi gear and audiophile music with heart-felt passion. Because loudspeakers present a clear practical challenge for many home systems—balancing both functionality and the now-infamous Wife Acceptance Factor (W.A.F.)—I decided to keep my focus on them this year. In doing so, I simply assumed that the equipment driving them had been chosen wisely.

As I walked into the room, a pair of Swedish Marten “Parker Quintet” loudspeakers were playing a Leonard Cohen album from vinyl. The setup fit the room well. The music sounded tonally balanced, and the vinyl track revealed a soft and becoming treble. There was natural flow and rhythm to the sound. This, however, changed when we transitioned to a digital source. The treble became overly crisp, and I could not help but focus on the harshness of the tweeters. The rhythm seemed more mechanically driven and the natural flow was replaced by a more fragmented impression. I left the room with the positive memory of the vinyl experience in which the acoustic capabilities of the Martens had managed to shine through. However, the experience again reminded me how fragile the balance can be on modern ultra-precise HiFi setups.

Marten Parker Quintet Specifications

• Type: 2.5-way floor standing speaker
• Frequency range (+/-2dB): 24-40000 Hz
• Power rating (RMS): 350 W (max.)
• Power sensitivity: 93 dB/2.83 V
• Impedance: 4 ohms (2.7 Ohms, min.)
• Crossover frequency: 2200 Hz
• Terminals: Single-wiring, WBT Nextgen
• Internal wiring: Jorma Design
• Cabinet: 35 mm M-board
• Finishes: Piano Walnut, Matte Walnut, Piano Black
• Stands and feet: Stainless steel with Marten Insulators
• Dimensions: (W) 24-33 cm x (H) 117 cm x (D) 54 cm
• Net weight: 60 kg (133 lbs)

Voxativ

The German Voxativ audio company is a designer and producer of High End audio gear based in Berlin. Although the company itself is still relatively young, the company’s co-founder, Dipl. Ing. Inès Adler, has a long history in the industry and is highly knowledgeable about the products she presents. As I walked into the room, I could sense that I was in for an extraordinary experience, not only due to the dazzling personality of the presenter, but also due to the perplexing appearance and sound of the loudspeakers.

The Alberich Array System is a combination of sleek-looking single-driver monitor speakers that are stacked on top of a bass module and held in position by means of a mostly invisible metal rack paired with absorbers. The monitors form an array of three full-range drivers, namely one "Hagen 2" cabinet featuring a Voxativ AF-2B driver (reaching up to 30,000 Hz) sandwiched between two "Hagen 2" cabinets equipped with Voxativ AF-1.9 drivers. An active woofer module takes over below 40 Hz. Powered by a built-in 500W class D amplifier, the sturdy Neodymium PA-Type woofer, which is a dipole (semi-open from both sides), can easily keep up with the speed of the Hagen 2 drivers.

The overall impression created by the Alberich Array System is that of a “Wall of Sound”, as described on the company website. The performance is agile, dynamic, tonally rich, and mostly entertaining and enjoyable. Obviously, some of the merits of a single-driver system are lost in the array setup, and I could not help but wonder what a single Hagen 2 monitor, perhaps paired with the Alberich bass module, would have sounded like. I decided to keep this company in mind for a future visit at the fair (or a trip to Berlin). After all, fresh ideas should be celebrated. Voxativ also offers other lines of speakers, integrated amplifiers, cables, etc.

Voxativ Alberich Array System Specifications

• Frequency response: 20 - 33.000 Hz
• Bass-module: Voxativ AC-ZB
• Monitors Hagen2: Voxativ AF-1.9 and AF-2B
• Power rating (RMS): 50 W
• Power sensitivity: 101 dB
• Dimensions: (W) 20,5 cm x (H) 180 cm x (D) 25 cm
• Colors: Berlin Black, Pure Metal
• Weight: 75 / 150kg

Reichmann Audio (Magnepan)

Reichmann AudioSysteme is a High End audio retailer based in the German Black Forest region and a declared specialist shop for the brands Magnepan, Musical Fidelity, Music Hall, Rekkord and Triangle. Each year, the company brings along a small selection of sophisticated audio gear to caress the ears of the visitors to the fair. While I was a little disappointed by their Musical Fidelity and Triangle setup at the Steigenberger hotel in 2024, this year’s setup and positioning fit the room much better and resulted in a cleaner and faster sound.

This was also the first time that I had a chance to listen to a set of magnetostatic loudspeakers. The Magnepan 2.7i are flat panel speakers using a single magnetic foil to generate all frequencies across the band. Next to electrostatic speakers (such as the American Martin Logan and the Dutch Final) the magneplanar technology promises excellent transient response without phase shifts and lags in response time common to speakers using multiple dynamic drivers.

I was generally pleased with the sound of the setup, although some of the challenges of working with magneto-static speakers also came through. For one thing, the noise floor at a trade fair is relatively high at around 40-50 dB. Magnepan speakers excel in detail retrieval, a strength that is somewhat lost at the fair. Magnepan speakers are most tonally balanced at medium volumes where bass excursion is less pronounced. The volume levels at the fair therefore blurred some of the intrinsic strengths and made the Magnepan seem less dynamic than they would be in a home setup.

Finally, Magnepan speakers produce a relatively narrow sound field which is great when you are having to deal with side wall reflections but not so great when it comes to listening to music well outside the sweet spot. As the Reichmann booth was generally well-attended, I did not manage to sit in the center and therefore mostly heard one channel of the stereo setup. However, this does not mean that I think less highly of them following the experience. Owning a set of Martin Logan electrostatic speakers myself, I do understand that everything is a compromise and still have Maggies on my list of highly attractive speakers to own. Good to know: Magnepan speakers are surprisingly affordable for their performance.

Magnepan 2.7i Specifications

• Type: 3-way, full-range, quasi-ribbon
• Frequency response (+/- 3dB): 40 - 30,000 Hz
• Power requirement: a beefy high-current amp
• Power sensitivity (500 Hz): 86dB
• Impedance: 4 Ohm
• Dimensions: (H)180 cm × (W)56 cm × (D)4.4 cm
• Weight: 21.8–23.6 kg

Auer Acoustics

Located just north of the Chiemsee region in southern Bavaria, Robert Auer manufactures High End speakers “Made in Germany” by master carpenters in his local factory. His passion for wood and quality materials also extends to the trade fair booth, which is fully treated with absorber panels and diffusers along the primary reflection points.

The speakers on display were Versura V_4, large floor-standing models with a narrow front and additional side woofers. I greatly enjoyed the atmosphere and dynamics in the room and also overheard conversations in which the overall sound quality was highly praised. To my own ears, the treble and upper midrange sounded a bit analytical, very similar to the Marten experience described above. It is well possible that the impression was caused by the electronics driving the speakers.

Looking at the impedance curve and sensitivity, the Versura V_4 should be easy to drive, even with a small tube amplifier. And I think this would have been more fun and intimate to listen to than the beefy electronics required for the demonstration at the fair. I therefore made a mental note to listen to them again on the next occasion.

Auer Acoustics Versura V_4 Specifications

• Type: 3.5-way floor-standing speaker
• Power sensitivity: 90 dB
• Power requirements: from 20 WPC
• Nominal impedance: 8 Ohms
• Lower cut-off frequency (+/- 3 dB): 20 Hz
• Upper cut-off frequency (+/- 3 dB): 40 kHz
• Tweeter (Beryllium dome): 34 mm
• Midrange driver: 12 cm
• Bass-to-midrange driver: 18 cm
• Woofer: 32 cm
• Weight: 98 kg
• Dimensions: (H)1.191 m, (W)22 cm, (D)46 cm
• Connections: Bi-Wiring (optional)

Canton

Canton, Europe's largest manufacturer of HiFi and High End audio systems, is based in a small town not too far from Frankfurt am Main. In fact, when my wife Sabina and I took up our HiFi journey once again back in 2012, Canton seemed to offer a fair balance of price and performance. Looking at the photo, it is easy to see why the brand is popular among consumers. Their loudspeaker designs are clean and sophisticated looking, a design that has carefully evolved over the years.

The Reference Series has always been a staple among HiFi enthusiasts. Sadly, however, the setup was such that critical listening was not really possible. On the other hand, visitors had an opportunity to touch and feel the latest designs, to assess speaker sizes and material choices.

Acapella (High Cellini)

Acapella speakers are "from Duisburg of course, the High End capital of Germany", as Richard Rudolph half jokingly explained. I had just stepped out of the Harlekin 2 demonstration, across the hall from Symphonic Line, the other High End Duisburg brand, and was still digesting the experience. Acapella speakers feel solid in every conceivable way, but let's not start here. This section is about the High Cellini.

Horn loudspeakers can sound a little compressed in the midrange, they can be overly large, or have extremely deep cabinets that are difficult to position. Non of these characteristics were present on the High Cellini. From our multiple listening positions, the music sounded detailed, tonally rich, and very dynamic. However, as the listening room was a little too small for the speakers, vocals only began to come together and sound right along the back wall of the room where bass accentuation was becoming a bit of an issue. Such is the nature of the fare, where manufacturers need to make the best of what they are given.

Vocals aside, I was perfectly taken in and could have listened for hours on end when the High Cellini started to play back recordings of wind instruments, such as horns and trumpets. You just don't get the dynamics of wind instruments on more conventional loudspeaker designs. I left the room transfixed, hoping to hear the Cellini in a more suitable room some day soon.

Acapella High Cellini Specifications

• Type: floor-standing horn-loaded loudspeaker
• Frequency range: 25 Hz - 40,000 Hz
• Power sensitivity: 91 dB
• Bass: (2x) 10" driver
• Midrange: (1x) 1" driver hyper-spherical
• Midrange horn diameter: 620mm (wideband)
• Treble: plasma tweeter
• Impedance: 8 Ohm
• Dimensions without horn: (H)1,46 cm x (W)33 cm x (D)47.5 cm
• Dimensions with horn: (H)1.68,5 cm x (W)62 cm x (D)60.5 cm
• Weight: 120 kg
• Power handling: 100 W - 1000 W / 10 ms impulse

PMC

PMC is a British manufacturer of professional studio monitors used in the audio and video industry, as well as a manufacturer of High End audio equipment. The floor-standing Fenestria is their current High-End flagship loudspeaker, measuring 1.70 m and weighing around 80 kg, thereby coming in slightly above the ideal BMI of a human male of this height.

Visually, the Fenestria will appeal to technically minded people and young entrepreneurs who wish to boast of their financial success. But, unless they are driven at high volumes—which they are perfectly capable of—this is not how they sound. Their resonance free design makes them both precise and tonally appealing to the ears. The 2.4 m advanced transmission line design makes their bass performance natural and incredibly extended. The sound remains natural and fluid, even at very high volumes.

PMC Fenestria Specifications

• Type: Floor-standing transmission line speaker
• Frequency Response: 23 Hz – 25,000.
• Power sensitivity: 86 dB
• Impedance: 4 Ohms.
• Crossover Frequencies: 380 Hz and 3.8 kHz.
• Low Frequency: (4x) 6.5-inch, carbon-fibre piston drivers.
• Mid Frequency: 75 mm rear-chambered, soft-dome driver
• High Frequency: 19.5 mm soft-dome, ferrofluid-cooled driver
• Advanced Transmission Line (ATL™): (2x) 2.4-meter
• Dimensions: (H) 1,70 cm; Width: 37 cm; (D): 62.3 cm
• Weight: 80 kg, including plinth.

Ø Audio of Norway

Despite its understated name and design, the FRIGG 02 sounded anything but average to my ears. On the contrary: The modest and clean looking cabinet even supported the no-frills sound philosophy of phase coherence and tonal balance that has become the trademark of Scandinavian HiFi. Surprisingly, the speakers sounded much larger than they looked, which brings us back to the Wife Acceptance Factor.

ø-Audio also builds horn loudspeakers, such as the Icon 12 and the Verdande that I have heard audiophile friends report positively on, although I must confess that I have not yet had a chance to listen to them myself. Another company to keep an eye on, especially because it is currently expanding its international distribution network.

ø Audio FRIGG 02 Specifications

• Construction: 3-way floor-standing speaker
• Power sensitivity: 90db
• Frequency range: 29hz–30khz
• Impedance: 8 Ohms (min 3.8 Ohms)
• Tweeter: TPCD dome with DXT lens
• Midrange: 180mm hand-coated paper cone (titanium former)
• Woofer: 220mm hand-coated paper cone (titanium former)
• Bass reflex: floor-vented
• Dimensions: (H)98,5 cm x (W)21 cm x (D)34 cm
• Width including feet: 37cm
• Weight: 30 kg

Qualio Audio

Qualio from Poland has two loudspeaker models on sale which both combine high quality components from Mundorf, Jantzen Audio, SB Acoustics, WBT, etc. into highly versatile loudspeaker designs. On their website, Qualio explains that the IQ model, for example, uses a semi-closed design featuring an open-baffle treble and midrange section paired with a responsive Satori woofer within a ported cabinet.

The dipole design of the IQ model allows the music to be reflected off the listening room walls, providing a wider sweet spot and a more immersive listening experience. The ported bass cabinet can further be customized to fit small listening spaces by closing the port. From looking at the parts, such as the Mundorf AMT, I can imagine that this speaker has some potential. The music playing during our stay at the booth, however, made it difficult for me to judge its important vocal characteristics.

Qualio Audio IQ Specifications

• Type: Floor-standing, semi-open baffle
• Frequency bandwidth: 30 – 31,000 Hz
• Power efficiency: 89 dB
• Impedance: 4 Ω
• Dimensions: (H)102 cm x (W)38.5 cm x (D)31.5 cm
• Weight: 32 kg

Manger

The company was founded by Josef W. Manger, a German engineer who developed a deep interest in acoustics and how humans perceive sound. His journey into speaker development began during the 1960s. Manger was driven by a desire to create a speaker that could more accurately reproduce sound as it is perceived by the human ear, minimizing distortions and phase issues that are common in traditional driver and loudspeaker designs.

The P2 loudspeaker model makes use of Manger's W06, the latest bending wave transducer of the company. The frequency range of this driver is impressive. Here are the specifications of the driver alone:

Manger W06 Specifications (Driver Only)

• Type: Bending wave transducer
• Frequency response: 150 Hz - 40,000 Hz
• Power sensitivity: 85 dB
• Impedance: 8 Ohms
• Power handling (RMS): 50W,
• Peak power handling: 80W
• Diameter: 15.3 cm
• Mounting depth: 50 mm
• Weight: 1.2 kg

Daniela Manger, the company's CEO in the second generation, is respected within the audio engineering community for her contributions to acoustic design and her commitment to high-fidelity sound reproduction. Her personal efforts have cemented Manger Audio as a distinctive brand in high-end audio, known for its precision, engineering excellence, and steadfast commitment to the unique bending wave technology pioneered by her father.

The first time I heard the P2 loudspeakers perform was at an exhibition at the Auditorium in Münster. The room that the P2 were placed in was less than ideal for them to deliver a satisfactory performance. I spoke to Ms. Manger about my concerns, and she suggested that I could take the speakers home with me following the upcoming Hamburg fair to better understand their sound. This meant, I now had to stay at the Norddeutsche HiFi-Tage fair in Hamburg until its very end in order to take home the speakers with me.

Manger P2 Specifications

• Type: Passive 2-way floor-standing speaker
• Impedance: 8 Ohms
• Frequency range: 30 – 40,000 Hz
• Crossover frequency: 340 Hz
• Power sensitivity: 89 dB
• Sound pressure (max.): 112 dB
• Dimensions: (H)114 cm × (W)27,0 cm × (D)21,4 cm
• Weight: 33 kg

Lyravox

Jens R. Wietschorke (research and development) and Dr. Goetz von Laffert (finance & PR) teamed up in 2013 to challenge established loudspeaker concepts by merging the latest in loudspeaker driver technology and digital signal modulation with fresh compact designs that fully integrate into sleek modern households. Today, Lyravox produces seven loudspeaker models of different sizes to satisfy home entertainment needs.

The Lyravox KARLOS is a floor-standing speaker of modest dimensions that is lifted up and tilted backwards by means of a sturdy metal rack which supports the speaker from underneath and stabilizes it from behind. And although the KARLOS ranks among the company's smaller loudspeakers, it already incorporates most of its signature technology.

The midwoofer of the KARLOS 2-way design uses an ultra-stiff light-weight aluminum cone for superior detail retrieval. This is paired with an Accuton 30mm inverted ceramic dome tweeter that is coupled to a wave guide. Instead of using a passive crossover, the two drivers' transition frequencies are actively harmonized by means of a DSP. The highest frequencies are then added using an up-firing air-motion transformer (AMT). The natural effect of the AMT pointing upwards is a more immersive listening experience and a wider sweet spot.

My first listening expression was that of walking into a cinema while the film was already in progress. The music sounded as large and direct as one would expect from a cinematic experience. There was a sense of purpose and robustness to the sound that initially attracted me. However, the placement of the speakers so close to the floor and in the corners of the room made critical listening difficult. Someone's head was always in the way to cover one of the channels, and the front row seats were in the middle of the room, where bass frequencies tend to cancel out. I therefore made a mental note to give these speakers another listen when they are available in a more appropriate setting.

Lyravox KARLOS Specifications

Design and Drivers

• Configuration: 2-way system with an additional top-firing ambience tweeter.
• Midwoofer: 10-inch (26 cm) aluminum driver by ScanSpeak®, modified for enhanced performance.
• Front tweeter: 30 mm inverted ceramic dome tweeter, custom-designed by Accuton® for Lyravox.
• Ambience tweeter: Top-firing AMT (Air Motion Transformer) L50, enhancing spatial sound characteristics.

Amplification and Processing

• Amplifiers: Each speaker houses two Class D amplifiers (4th generation NCore®), delivering a total of 500 W per speaker.
• Digital Signal Processing (DSP): High-resolution DSP for precise crossover management, time alignment, and room equalization.

Inputs and Connectivity

• Analog Inputs: Balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA.
• Digital Inputs: AES/EBU (XLR), S/PDIF (coaxial RCA), and optical (Toslink).
• User Interface: Solid aluminum infrared remote control for standby, mute, volume, source selection, and sound presets.

Physical Specifications

• Dimensions: (W)40 cm x (H)70 cm x (D)18.5 cm; with stand: (W)40 cm x (H)87.5 cm x (D)37 cm
• Weight: Approximately 22 kg per speaker.
• Finish: Standard finish in Brilliant Interior White with an ultra-smooth matte coating (NCS-S 0500N). Custom colors and finishes are available upon request.

Additional Features

• Room Adaptation EQ: Integrated parametric equalizer for room-specific acoustic adjustments, ensuring optimal sound performance in various environments.
• Active/Digital Multi-Channel Amplification: Direct amplification of speaker drivers eliminates distortions and phase shifts associated with traditional passive crossovers.
• Optimized Cabinetry: Constructed from high-density fiberboard (HDF) with internal bracing and multi-component damping to minimize resonances.

The KARLOS is designed for rooms ranging from 20 to 50 square meters, offering a frequency response from 28 Hz to 28,000 Hz, depending on room acoustics. Its combination of advanced driver technology, sophisticated amplification, and meticulous cabinet design ensures a compelling and immersive listening experience.

EMT 928 (2022)

The EMT 928 is a revival of an industry classic. The original EMT 928 was a professional turntable that was introduced in 1971 by Elektromesstechnik Wilhelm H. Franz K.G. (EMT) in Germany. It was unique in EMT's lineup as their only belt-driven model and developed in collaboration with Thorens. It was actually based on the Thorens TD125. Designed for studio use, the EMT 928 featured a compact and lightweight design, making it suitable for mobile broadcasting applications.

In 2022, EMT introduced the EMT 928 II, a modern reinterpretation of the original. This updated model retains the belt-drive system—as a homage to its predecessor—but incorporates some contemporary enhancements: Notably, it features an independent battery power source, providing over 40 hours of playback while eliminating potential interference from the mains supply. The chassis is precision-machined from aluminum and rests on four decoupled, spherical feet. The 5.5 kg platter is driven by a modern 20-watt motor combined with a high-precision control loop circuit, ensuring rapid acceleration and consistent speed within tight tolerances.

I did not get a chance to listen to the turntable perform at the fair, but I was immediately taken in by its sleek design, especially when stacked on top the phono preamplifier with the same basic chassis form. What a crazy world this will be when these new High End icons will be available on the used market. That will surely be much more interesting than the devices available to budget shoppers today.

EMT 928 II Specifications

• Platter speeds: 33⅓, 45, and 78 RPM
• Wow and flutter: ±0.07% (IEC 386)
• Rumble: -85 dB (IEC 98)
• Speed-up time: 10, 12, or 20 seconds, depending on the speed
• Battery duration: 30-40 hours
• Dimensions: (W)48 cm x (D)34 cm x (H)10 cm
• Weight: 23 kg
• Output terminal: RCA, with a separate tonearm ground
• Tonearm compatibility: Prepared for EMT 9-inch
• Tonearm mounting distance: 215-245 mm

Acapella (Harlekin 2)

Solid and sophisticated are two adjectives that come to mind when I think of my listening experience with the Harlekin 2 at this fair. Capable of recreating life-like music events between your ears at any moment and volume you may desire. Acapella speakers are a rock in the ocean when it comes to a sober presentation in the midst of chaos around them, a characteristic that had me nailed to the seat for the longest time. How do they do it?

Part of it may have to do with the driver technology, with the company's experience of creating uncolored horn speakers. Perhaps it is resonance management that is at play here. Perhaps it is their origin in Duisburg, as Richard Rudolph suggested. Whatever it may be, the Harlekin 2 are surprisingly effective at making music come alive and—all considered—the speakers that I would have taken home with me, if purchasing speakers had been my mission on that day.

Acapella Harlekin 2 Specifications

• Type: 2-way vented floor-standing speaker
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz
• Mid-woofer: 1 x 254 mm (10")
• Tweeter:1 x 43 mm (1.7") dome with hyper-spherical horn
• Crossover frequency: 2 kHz
• Sensitivity: 91 dB / 1 W / 1 m
• Impedance: 8 Ohms
• Dimensions : (H)120.5 cm x (W)29.5 cm x (D)46 cm
• Weight: Approximately 75 kg (each)

FINAL AUDIO

As I entered this particular room, I was accompanied by four gentlemen who had never heard an electrostatic speaker perform before. They walked around the tall speaker panels in disbelief and said that they very much enjoyed the sound they heard. And, personally, I had never heard the sound of a non-hybrid electrostatic speaker before. My Martin Logan speakers use a conventional dynamic woofer in a closed cabinet to kick in at the lower frequency spectrum.

I also enjoyed the sound of the FINAL 15+ speakers and was surprised how well they managed to present bass frequencies despite their obvious constraint in physical movement. They sounded agile, crisp, and punchy. What I did miss, however, was the wider scope of the Martin Logans which have a curved front panel. In this sense, the music propagated from the FINAL 15+ much like it did from the Maggies above. This is not a killer argument per se, and listening tastes do vary, but it is a difference one might want to be aware of.

FINAL AUDIO Model 15 Specifications

• Frequency Response (±3 dB): 45 Hz – 23,000 Hz
• Horizontal Dispersion: 20°
• Sensitivity: 88 dB
• Impedance: 4 ohms; 3 ohms at 20,000 Hz Dimensions:
• Panel: (H)203 cm x (W)36.6 cm, bottom / 30 cm, top
• Footplate: (L)40 cm x (W)42.9 cm
• Weight: 18 kg (each)
• Transducer: Super linear electrostatic transducer
• Recommended power: 30 to 200 WPC
• Components: Custom-made C core transformer
• Inputs: Custom 2-way binding posts

Symphonic Line

Walk into room 202 and meet the grand master of High End audio himself. Because much of what we classify as High End today has its roots with Rolf Gemein and the other founders of the High End Society. Here are the origins of the famous High End trade fair and also the origins of the Norddeutsche HiFi-Tage. Mr. Gemein recalls the Society's founding moment as an archetypal event, driven by a spirit and energy that made it clear to everyone involved that they were onto something great.

With two unpretentious-looking Symphonic Line "RG5 Reference" speakers positioned down the long left wall of the room and Rolf Gemein sitting in the opposite right corner, room 202 radiates acoustic warmth and looks inviting. The amplifier driving the speakers is a Symphonic Line "Kraftwerk MK3" that receives its signals from a Symphonic Line "La Musica MK3" CD Player. All components from the electric socket to the speakers are made by the same company and have been checked and confirmed by the man himself.

The seasoned founder of Symphonic Line selects outstanding recordings from the 1950s until today and in his calm voice explains the special moments captured by each one. The twelve seats in the room are mostly occupied during the day, and visitors often need to wait their turn before they can be seated. Looking around, I see that many visitors have their eyes closed while they are enjoying the music. I hope that none of them fall asleep and thereby unnecessarily extend the waiting time for everyone else. Music and the anecdotes around it are the focus of attention here, because the system only demands attention in those brief moments in which it thunders an unexpected attack into the room.

Görlich chassis will do this for you anytime. In combination with the air motion transformer "Belcanto MK2" they make music feel so natural and effortless that one can easily forget the speakers. Vocals are smack center stage and the instruments perfectly positioned around them, until—slam—you get a surprising salve of a drum beat that simply stuck out from the rest. Eyes open for a moment, people looking around for confirmation "Did you hear this, too?". I left the room feeling satisfied, relinquishing my seat to the next listener waiting in the corridor.

WESTLYD

A refreshingly fundamental Rock and Pop speaker design that is capable of playing loud with ease. The resulting sound signature is an interesting blend of the 1980s and our modern tastes. The sound quality, especially in the vocal spectrum and on quieter music played, is not on par with Tannoy and other more established brands, but it really does not have to be at the current price point.

HiFi audio systems usually find their place within a family's the living quarters. Some of them serve as entertainment centres in the living room; others form part of a home cinema setup. Audio systems may accompany an evening meal in the dining room or make working time more enjoyable in the study. Some are part of a bedroom suite or even complete a children’s room. Many households have only one large living room, which is used for everything from cooking to entertaining. In fact, very few households can afford the luxury—or have the sense or wisdom—to dedicate an entire room, or even an entire floor, to listening. And of those who do, very few homeowners have chosen or designed their homes solely for this purpose. In fact, HiFi is often the last thing on a homebuyer’s mind.

And yet, when Sabina and I toured the north of Germany in search of a home for our family, I stood for the longest time in that cathedral-like empty space under the roof of our (now) house, clapping my hands in disbelief at the unbroken silence that greeted me each time. "I want this room!" I thought. "We need this house for our family, for the language school, and certainly for the sake of my continued audio explorations. At the time, the 1980s glass wool insulation was dangling in large sheets from the ceiling beams, and the floor was a single layer of worn wooden planks with visible cracks between them.

eiaudio Moving to Marne in Summer 2023
Watch the video on YouTube

It was clear that this magnificent-sounding room could not be left in its original, unfinished state. The lack of insulation was causing significant temperature differences between day and night, and between summer and winter. And the wind was blowing through the shingles, bringing dust and insects into the house. My challenge was to tame this wild beast without breaking its delicate spirit. To do this, I had to find out what made the original room work so well for audio purposes, and ensure I maintained and built upon that. I started reading up on room acoustics and quickly realised that there were some established listening room standards that our space met quite well.

For one thing, the room had almost no parallel walls that would have accentuated first-, second-, and third-order resonances. Instead, the side walls were almost three metres high and sloped inwards at a 45° angle from a height of about one metre to the roof. The structure itself was supported by exposed wooden beams with many uneven tongue-and-groove boards between them. One of the few straight walls along the side was made of exposed brick. The central part of the roof had a slight dome shape, rising 30 cm in the middle. There was plenty of open space to arrange the loudspeakers according to their acoustic needs, and room for me to walk behind each HiFi rack when setting things up. This meant that I could access my setups from all sides if necessary and take care not to accidentally cross signal wires.

I first consulted an acoustics expert on the best flooring for the room but felt that his preferred combination of insulation and screed would be too heavy for the old building. So, instead of pouring concrete, I added a 30 mm layer of OSB, which we covered with carpet. It was important to me to maintain the structural integrity of our building. However, this meant that I had to find a way of damping the resonance that traveled straight down from the speakers into the floor. I gave this some thought and decided that 38 kg slabs of concrete—the kind used to lay a garden path—placed directly under each speaker would act in a similar way to screed. At the same time, the slabs allowed me to place the spikes of each loudspeaker directly onto the concrete for greater structural stability. As a result, the soundstage and clarity improved dramatically, and floor resonance was reduced by around 50%.

I understood that designing a room to handle acoustics effectively requires a balance of absorption, diffusion, and (sometimes) bass trapping to manage reflections, standing waves, and reverberation times. I therefore set about determining the most linear position for each loudspeaker and the corresponding listening positions using the room mode calculation sheets provided to me by Peter English. I then set up my UMIK-1 measuring microphone with REW software to analyse the output of my speakers and the reverberation times of the room over the frequency spectrum as perceived from the listening position. It is sometimes said that covering 30% of the wall surface with absorbing materials will give a relatively natural sound impression. In rooms where typical household remedies such as bookshelves cannot be placed, professional sound absorbers from specialist shops are an option.

In general, the absorbing materials should be placed where the sound waves from the speakers are reflected directly from the walls and ceiling towards the listening position. These locations can be identified by moving a mirror—held parallel to the wall—along these surfaces until the loudspeaker drivers are visible from the listening position. In the case of our studio, I used the open joist structure of the room to hang curtains in the corners and along both sides. Rather than leaving them open, I gathered them together with a rope to form large, soft columns. This already quietened the acoustics and made conversations in the room a much more pleasant experience.

Instead of the usual windows, our listening room has small openings covered with 30 x 30 cm Perspex panels. These were less of an acoustic problem, but we did have a 120 x 60 cm window to the adjacent control room, which caused some harsh reflections. I used blinds to effectively diffuse the sound reflections from the glass. However, when I sat down to listen to the result, I could still hear that I was in a large room. I suspected that the few straight walls were reflecting too much sound, causing echoes.

As we had just bought and renovated our entire building, I needed to come up with an inexpensive solution for suitable absorbers. I found this on Michael Wynne's YouTube channel "In the Mix", where he builds 1200 x 600 x 100 mm acoustic panels using wood, damping materials, and cloth. In my case, I used jute mats (density 45-50 kg/sqm) recycled from old bean and coffee bags to dampen the treble and midrange. Shredded jute is an inexpensive choice, but there are some drawbacks: the damping factor is acceptable, but certainly not on par with more professional solutions such as Basotect (compare: rock wool 50-200 kg/sqm). There was also an unpleasant smell of mouse droppings at first. As a child, I once visited my uncle at the Bavarian public radio station and, walking past an absorber wall, had the feeling of being physically sucked into a vacuum. My DIY absorbers certainly do not produce this kind of dramatic effect.

To add more sound diffusion to the room, I bought four large, bushy plants and placed them along each of the side walls. Due to the lack of direct sunlight, these plants had to be artificial. From an acoustic point of view, it makes no difference whether a plant is organically grown or made of plastic. Artificial plants have the added advantage that they do not require a heavy pot of soil and can therefore be more easily moved to different positions to address various acoustic issues. To further reduce room reflections at the listening position, I chose large armchairs with high, absorbent backrests. These serve to increase the amount of direct rather than reflected sound reaching the ears.

Since the presence of sound waves also excites the furniture in the room, especially if the floor is made of wood, I chose HiFi racks that are capable of absorbing vibrations. In these, each HiFi unit is positioned separately on a shelf, each of which rests on spikes. The hollow steel legs are then filled with stabilising quartz sand to absorb acoustic vibrations within the structure. HiFi units containing large transformers are separated from the sensitive drive units by a separate structure to ensure correct reading of the source material without external noise. The racks are then coupled to the floor by steel spike pads on 4 mm felt pads. Felt is a chaotic structure and prevents floor vibrations from affecting the drive units.

The combination of measures works very well in the room. Both the treble and midrange sound vibrant and natural without over-emphasising any frequency. Vocals sound hauntingly real with an ever-present goosebump potential. Instruments are free from the speakers and are reproduced in their correct dimensions and timbre. There is a superior order to the music. Bass is mostly neutral to dry, with lots of layers and nuances, unless it falls uncomfortably close to the exact resonance frequency of the floor. At the time of writing, this is the only flaw that I can detect in my listening setup. As with everything in life, it is a concession to our house renovation budget. It might be worth experimenting with bass traps in the future to see if they, too, might have a positive effect on performance.

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