Munich 2022

The German loudspeaker and cable manufacturer released its new Divin Sovereign Referenz Subwoofer ($29,500, with extra charges for special Black 24k Gold, White, and White 24k Gold finishes). Demonstrated with Göbel's Divin Marquis loudspeaker that John Atkinson reviewed in October 2020 and billed as the company's "ultimate benchmark," the active, DSP-controlled, closed-chamber sub includes an 18" driver in a resin-bound composite board cabinet with "massive acoustic baffles" of 75mm maximum thickness and extensive internal bracing. Weight is 145kg—that's almost 320lb—dimensions are nearly as major, frequency response is 10–200Hz depending upon DSP filters, and total output power is 2500W.

This is one major subwoofer. Pairing two of them, I was told, is ideal, but the impact of a single sub will hardly go unnoticed.

When I entered, the Divin Sovereign Referenz Subwoofer, paired with Göbel's Divin Marquis loudspeakers, was producing superb sound. After playing a Kronos LP of Ikuyo Komija playing a Bösendorfer piano, Louis Desjardins of Kronos Audio cued up the Analogue Productions issue of Chet Baker's Chet. Heard through the Kronos Discovery turntable ($100,000, below) with Discovery RS tonearm ($24,000) and Zyx Universal cartridge ($9000), Kronos phono preamplifier ($45,000), TLA (True Life Audio) preamp ($40,000) and monoblocks ($80,000, presumably for the pair), and Göbel cabling—I did not hear the Wadax digital front end—sax sounded fabulous and horns excellent. "Gets the force and size of the trumpet," I scribbled in my notes. On very different fare, soprano Birgit Nilsson, performing music she was not born to sing, sounded superb.

Greek manufacturer TLA may not yet be distributed in the United States, but what I heard needs to be heard by more folks. On analog, which is all that I auditioned, this system was great.