Music and Recording Features

High-end audio product launches are often modest affairs. The unveiling, on December 5, 2024, of the Oneiros Audio loudspeaker ($650,000/pair) was an exception. A collaborative effort by Fidelis Distribution, Nexus Audio Technologies, and Sohmer Associates, the event, which occurred at the legendary Power Station recording studio in NYC's Hell's Kitchen, apparently spared no expense.

The evening’s spectacle was a live, mostly acoustic recording session by Living Colour, captured by legendary producer Ron Saint Germain (Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, Kraftwerk, McCoy Tyner) on one of the studio's iconic Neve consoles. The Oneiros loudspeakers were the centerpiece, serving as studio monitors in the control room and playback speakers for the set in an adjacent studio.

The Oneiros is a three-way floorstanding speaker with a flowing footprint. Generative Design—a form of AI, or Machine Learning—was used “to create new concepts that translate into real-world products,” a press release stated. The final Oneiros design emerged after more than 100 hours of CAD development design time.

Industry veterans Graeme Bridge and Jerry Bloomfield are the brains behind Oneiros Audio.

“It’s a thrill to see my dream project come to life,” said Bloomfield, who is CEO of Falcon Acoustics and now also of Oneiros Audio, quoted in the press release. “Oneiros is the synthesis of aesthetics and technology, the result of an innovative process that allows us to use composite technologies that, in turn, produce immersive sonics from a sculptured organic shape.”

Bloomfield has produced highly acclaimed speakers—all very different from the Onieros—including the Falcon Gold Badge LS3/5a, which has served as a reference for senior contributing editor Herb Reichert in Stereophile.

In addition to the extensive CAD design work mentioned above, the Oneiros cabinet also benefited from the expertise of experts in F1 racing Finite Element Analysis. “We are uniquely fortunate to be based in the center of Motorsport Valley, the world-famous home of Formula 1 racing teams, and the premier automotive technology development area in the UK,” Bloomfield said. “This gives us access to companies with exceptional engineering technologies, material science knowledge, and fabrication skills far in excess of those normally available to loudspeaker manufacturers.” Finite Element Analysis determined the optimal damping requirements and validated the use of F1-inspired cabinet forms and construction techniques.

Shaped like a robust, undulating curtain, or perhaps a walking wave, the Oneiros stands approximately 5'6" tall and weighs 265lb. Its drivers include twin 10" Oneiros woofers designed in-house using multilayer, inverted parabolic bass cones formed from a nano-composite of Twaron—a proprietary aramid fiber material—and graphene. The midrange is served by twin 3" Dyneema Graphene-composite domes, designed in-house and set in a D’Appolito configuration with a 1" OEM CVD diamond dome tweeter at its center. The crossover utilizes custom 3.2mm gold-plated PCBs with custom mounting brackets, top-tier Mundorf components including Mundorf MCap Supreme EVO Silver/Gold/Oil capacitors, held in place by custom mounting cradles. A pair of WBT Platinum binding posts completes the design.

As assorted press and Power Station employees milled around Studio A, source of recordings by Paul Simon, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Pat Metheny, Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Kinks, and many more, Walter Scofield of Nexus Audio Technologies addressed the crowd, acknowledging Walter Swanbon of Fidelis Distribution, who introduced Ron Saint Germain.

“I’ve recorded a lot of Sesame Street in this room,” Germain recalled, “as well as lots of funk, jazz, disco, and movies; we were recording on film. We had 47 people on staff and an amazing cast of assistants, and fortunately, all of us are still working. My first session here was a Star Wars disco record. We didn’t need headphones or any of the garbage we have to have today.”

“I don’t know if there’s ever been a live recording like this [made] here before,” Germain said, apparently holding back tears as he reflected on the many albums he’s recorded at Power Station. “This is such a magical place. It is overwhelming, and great that it’s almost 50 years for Power Station. Now I’m here with Living Colour, who are so nice; we’ve known each other for over 30 years. [Drummer] Will Calhoun melted a speaker on one of our sessions!”

Recorded using a classic Decca Tree and close miking, Living Colour performed while Saint Germain worked the large Custom Neve 8088, 40-input, 16-bus console in the Studio A control room.

Living Colour vocalist Corey Glover, guitarist Vernon Reid, bassist Doug Wimbush, and drummer Calhoun played like seasoned professionals, expertly gauging room dynamics while sinking into their classic grooves. The set list included “Leave It Alone,” “Ignorance is Bliss,” “Bi,” “Never Satisfied,” “Nothingness,” “Open Letter (To a Landlord),” “Love Rears Its Ugly Head,” and “Solace of You.” The band's unplugged set was a vibrant, energetic affair, painting the room with their signature sound.

After the set, photobombing began before all headed to Studio B for playback. The rest of the system was an Ideon Audio Absolute Epsilon DAC Meta Edition ($49,900), a Bryston BCD-3 CD player (as transport) ($4720), a JMF Audio PRS 1.5 dual-mono preamplifier ($39,000), and a pair of JMF Audio HQS 7001 monoblock power amplifiers ($77,000/pair). Siltech Balanced Interconnects, Double Crown speaker and AC line cables, Fidelis sound panels, and a Solid Steel Rack rounded out the system.

Squeezed into the cramped Studio B and shaded by the towering Oneiros speakers, the crowd hushed as Open Letter (To a Landlord) filled the room. The sound had tone, texture, and scale. If the music industry collapses, Power Station could always pivot to selling high-end audio equipment. Who needs records when you can have this?