On Stage

Scaena is a modular speaker design that combines multiple small midrange drivers, each mounted in a pod affixed to a rigid stand, with subwoofers placed elsewhere.The speakers come with digital crossover and high-current amplification for the subs. The speakers come as 24, 30, or 36 pod units and you can add as many subs as you require.

The individual driver enclosures are created from a quartz/stone/glass/elastomer hybrid material used together by a computer-controlled laser. Scaena says this greatly reduces cabinet resonances The towers have a sensitivity of 91dB. Price is variable, based upon configuration, but starts at $50,000/pair.

The flexibility of placement definitely worked to the Scaena's favor at the Venetian Towers' split level rooms. Scaena set up the towers in the near field and located the subs at the rear of the lower level—by playing with subwoofer phase, they achieved a very well-integrated sound. I'd have to listen to the Scaenas longer and in a familiar room to properly sort out everything I heard at CES, but the speakers did several things about as well as any I have heard. First and foremost was the sense of immediacy that live music has. It's a startling quality in reproduced music and the Scaenas were startling.

also, as I said earlier, by being able to move the LF speakers, the Scaenas overcame a difficult acoustic situation in a way conventional speakers could not—an important consideration for those of us with problem rooms.

Scaena—pleased to meetcha. Let's hang out sometime soon.

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