RMAF 2009

Where's the Rest of the Speaker?

John Atkinson  |  Oct 6, 2009

When I walked into the room of Chicago-based Acoustic Technology LLC, I thought I was listening to speakers that only had tweeters, because the only visible drive-unity was a single 3" unit. Yet the sound, a recording of Rimsky-Korsakov's Schererazade, was definitely full-range,and the soundstaging, as you might expect from such a small radiating diameter and a narrow cabinet baffle, was well-delineated.

The 3" unit, which has a titanium cone, was being used in the Acoustic Technology Classic-Series loudspeaker ($2450/pair) to cover the entire audio band. Yes, the speaker was running out of headroom at climaxes with a lot of bass energy—maximum amplifier power is specified as 30Wpc—but there was a refreshing transparency to the overall presentation. System was an Ayon CD2 CD player, Pass Labs X-1 preamp, and a PS Audio power amp.

COMMENTS
George's picture
Submitted by George (not verified) on October 6, 2009 - 11:58am

You gotta be kidding. Some one is seeing how much a mfg can get away with in taking people's money?

Jason Stroud's picture
Submitted by Jason Stroud (not verified) on October 6, 2009 - 3:35pm

It is in the knowing how.

Stephen Scharf's picture
Submitted by Stephen Scharf (not verified) on October 6, 2009 - 6:38pm

I have to step in here and state that I heard these first hand and state that everything JA has said is absolutely right on the money. The music I heard was acoustic jazz, and I heard substantial, accurate and musical low-end, not to mention a very pure midrange and superb imaging and very transparent and clean overall musical presentation.I don't know how they did it, but I heard it for myself...

Richard's picture
Submitted by Richard (not verified) on October 7, 2009 - 9:16am

This is exactly what the guy with the Horn Shoppe has said for years. And his speakers aren't this much. Good info on that website about how this kind of setup can work. It's intriguing and interesting concept with tube amps.

Stephen Scharf's picture
Submitted by Stephen Scharf (not verified) on October 7, 2009 - 10:56am

Just an editorial correction, the company's name is Acoustic Technology, not Audio Technology.

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson (not verified) on October 7, 2009 - 11:18am

Sorry about the error. I have fixed it. I did get it right in the weblink.

Stephen Scharf's picture
Submitted by Stephen Scharf (not verified) on October 7, 2009 - 1:06pm

No worries! Sure like to know how they pulled that off...one three inch driver.The cabinet did look like it was some sort of transmission line.

John's picture
Submitted by John (not verified) on October 7, 2009 - 9:47pm

I think the company name is Acoustic Technologies LLC. Their website is acoustictechnologiesllc.com and contains further information.

Jared's picture
Submitted by Jared (not verified) on October 8, 2009 - 8:33am

Okay, did you listen to the speakers? I did, with my own CD and it wasn't full range AT ALL. Yes it had great mids and highs, but it had zero bass response. I thought it was a cool idea, but for $2.5k you can get many other full range speakers that aren't just a "cool" concept, they actually play full range well.Reviews like this make me want to call shenanigans on most audio reviewers.

Austin's picture
Submitted by Austin (not verified) on October 8, 2009 - 9:50am

I don't know, but there's something about the look on that guy's face that reminds me of a recent Gizmodo review: http://gizmodo.com/5375323/i-had-sex-with-furniture-the-shameful-nsfw-fleshlight-motion-review.

Donald Scerand's picture
Submitted by Donald Scerand (not verified) on January 4, 2010 - 3:39am

Great speaker set that I was privileged enough to hear first hand. I was also given the opportunity to speak with the inventor of the system briefly, and for what genre of music these are geared for, they are certainly a great medium to listen to.Excellent speakers.

Tris T's picture
Submitted by Tris T (not verified) on July 31, 2010 - 9:50pm

Listened to this myself at the California Audio Show 2010. Everything is true, i'm amazed and I want a pair of this baby.

amily's picture
Submitted by amily on July 19, 2011 - 4:29am

THX Speakers :- THX Select Speakers - Quality German engineered speakers turning your living room into a cinemaereo Speakers. Buy the latest range of Cinema Speakers fromteufelaudio.co.uk

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