Over at the Boing Boing blog, it is customary to run a "unicorn chaser," an overly cute picture of a unicorn after posting a post that makes you go "eeeew." German Physiks Unicorn mk II ($21,500/pair) were sort of like that, only for show sound. Ahh, that's better.

Actually, there are different models of the Unicorn, one with a titanium DDD driver; the pair I heard had the Carbon DDD driver.

The heart of any German Physiks loudspeaker is its 360° DDD driver. In the Unicorn, that's the only driver (other models employ a second driver; the unicorn employs a tuned horn and a bass trap, combined with a smidge of EQ to smooth out the bass).

What-evs, it works.

I initially listened to the Unicorns waaay over against the wall, but I still got a coherent, solid soundstage. When I sat in the sweet spot, I essentially heard what I'd heard over to the side—only a tad more of it.

The more I learn about hi-fi, the more I find I need to unlearn. I always thought I didn't like 360° speaker designs, but it was specific designs I didn't care for. The Unicorns were fast, focused, and convincing.