"... replete with stat quickness, resolution, and sheer loveliness of timbre ... superb engineering has gone into this remarkable creation."
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- Jonathan Valin
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Axpona Chicago
“The PX1s are one of the all-time triumphs of speaker design … This is really a landmark in speakers, a huge step in a new direction that previously hardly figured in anyone else’s imagination, much less reality.”
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“The PX1s’ RTA measurement was uncanny in its smoothness… effectively the speakers were in-room flat… This is as good an in-room performance as I can ever recall seeing without DSP, and far, far better than most… Usually such super-smooth curves are obtainable only at a particular sweet spot, but the PX1s did the trick over a variety of listening positions.”
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“One could move almost anywhere, and the tonal character of the sound would remain effectively constant. This is, of course, what happens at a concert.”
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“The Chopin Nocturne Opus 9 ... sounded to me considerably more like a real piano... the tonal character was exceptionally realistic, and so was the size and presence of the instrument.”
Robert E. Greene, Paul Seydor - Issue 258
“The PX1 belongs right up there with a small handful of the finest loudspeakers ever made, and it is superior to most of them and all in all inferior to none.”
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“I can sit well out of the so-called sweet spot … and hear an essentially perfect soundstage that does not collapse into one or the other speaker or compromise the tonal balance. In this specific sense, the PX1 is a rare and absolute triumph.”
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"While I’m often “impressed” by the large super-expensive monster systems that so many audiophiles seem to lust after, I rarely actually like them… I find their sonic presentations … all too typically assaultive rather than beautiful or powerful in the way that live music is. In that context, the PX1 is the only speaker system I’ve heard that costs more than my Quad 2805’s that I would consider buying if I had the money.
"... replete with stat quickness, resolution, and sheer loveliness of timbre ... superb engineering has gone into this remarkable creation."
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- Jonathan Valin
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Axpona Chicago
The Domain Omni PX1s cast the broadest, deepest soundstage ever in my room, all the while maintaining good center fill and sharp image focus. Add to these outstanding build quality and finishwork commensurate with the price, and a distinctive visual style, and you have a top-drawer transducer unlike any other on the planet today.
Murray Harman’s goal to make a statement in the design of omnidirectional, electrostatic loudspeakers has resulted in two speakers unlike anything the hi-fi world has ever seen.
The PX1’s pluses are plentiful: From about 30Hz to past 20kHz, the PX1s played from low to extremely high volume levels with astonishing clarity, composure, refinement, and control, which allowed them to easily re-create in my listening room music of any genre.
What was also notable about the PX1s’ soundstage was how natural and nonfatiguing it was to listen to, without the head-in-a-vise presentation some speakers demand. Nor did I have any difficulty “seeing” aural images -- from left to right and from front to back, image focus was as sharp as I hear from front-firing designs.
- Doug Schneider
The soundstage was HUGE. Even nonspacious recordings, such as “One Step Up,” from Bruce Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love (CD, Columbia CK 40999), sounded notably free and open, but not unnaturally so.
The next thing that caught my attention: the Muraudios’ ability to cast a remarkably wide, deep, stable soundstage that extended past the speakers’ outside edges and far beyond the front wall of my listening room.
The PX1’s highs were refreshingly clean and effortless, even at playback levels that often strain conventional dome tweeters. “Silent Night,” a hidden track on O, sung by Lisa Hannigan, floored me for the uncanny high-frequency clarity and holographic presentation of her voice. Sade Adu’s voice had a silky, open transparency that was completely captivating through the Muraudios.
The reverberant echoes of Margo Timmins’s voice in “Mining for Gold,” from The Trinity Session, extend very far back into Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity, where it was recorded. It’s one thing to just hear those cues; it’s quite another to hear them properly positioned so far in the apparent distance. Talk about realistic!
"... replete with stat quickness, resolution, and sheer loveliness of timbre ... superb engineering has gone into this remarkable creation."
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- Jonathan Valin
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Axpona Chicago
As was the case at CES, this extremely ingenious, omnidirectional electrostatic hybrid from Muraudio sounded terrific, even well off-axis. The $63k Domain Omni PX1 combines three 120-degree-curved electrostatic panels (for a full 360-degree dispersion) with three aluminum-cone woofers, also distributed at 120-degree intervals around a sealed, curvaceous aluminum enclosure.
Driven by Moon electronics, the Domain Omni PX1 had the same wonderfully open sound it had in Vegas, replete with ’stat quickness, resolution, and sheer loveliness of timbre. The PX1 may have just the slightest bit of cone-bass slowness or discontinuity vis-à-vis the electrostatic panel, but if does (and I’m not sure it does) it is very hard to detect, bespeaking the superb engineering that has gone into this remarkable creation. Our Robert E. Greene and Paul Seydor will be reviewing the PX1 in the not-too-distant future (read the Full Review).
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Starting with the best. No, I mean the very best. That I’ve ever heard. Anyone who knows me, knows that I care very little about megabuck audio, and hearing a half-million dollar rig holds little appeal. I just avoid them. But the room put on by Tenor Audio, Muraudio and Kronos Audio – was likely the finest stereo system I’ve experienced. Billed by SSI as “the world’s best all-Canadian audio system”, this was a big system, in a big, beautiful room, set up nicely, decorated beautifully….it was done just right. And I don’t think I’ve ever in my life heard musicians playing in front of me more realistically, outside of a concert hall. This was more than a believable illusion, this was a feeling of being there that surpassed all previous. I can’t believe I almost missed this room. Thankfully Tim took me there. Thank you Tim! I won’t soon forget it, especially when the exhibitors spun Vivaldi’s Rustic Concerto from the famous “The Tube” LP by Tacet Records. What an experience! I was nearly in tears at that point. I won’t recite the technical details…Google is your friend. But even if discussing it is pointless, I will say that hearing this rig was very worthwhile, and a great privilege. Congratulations to everyone who put this system together: Best Sound of the 2015 Show is deservedly yours, in my humble opinion.
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"Starting with the best. No, I mean the very best. That I’ve ever heard. I don't think I've ever in my life heard musicians playing in front of me more realistically..."
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- Noam Bronstein
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Salon, Son & Image
"I left the room thinking this had to be one of the finest rooms at the show, and in retrospect, it was ...
... a company with staying power and a deep commitment to their product."
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- Rick Becker
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New York Audio Show
This was my third exposure to Muraudio speakers (this time being the Domain Omni PX1 version for use with external amplifiers), and it was evident that they were gaining experience in presentation as the music here was much more impressive than earlier in the year at Montreal. It was also much more refined, though not as dynamic as their first presentation at Toronto in a much smaller room, almost a year ago.
This may simply have been the difference in choice of music that was playing. With 82dB/W/m sensitivity they are power hungry speakers and in a large room without sufficient power they can lack dynamics. Basically it is a two-way design with an omni-directional ESL driver on top of tri-axially opposed woofers in the lower section. For insight to the vast technology incorporated within, check out their website. They also seemed smaller than I recalled, but they assured me these were the same speakers. They looked like they could fit comfortably into medium-to-large size rooms. The front end was a slim laptop with an Intel I5 chip and Windows 7, carefully mounted on vibration absorbing footers.
An EMM Labs SE TSDX CD/SACD transport with mdat up-converting DSP technology was underneath, as well as their DAC2 (also with mdat), and PRE2 preamp which fed a pair of Bryston 7B monoblocks with 600 watts each. Nordost cabling made the connections.
The classical music selection playing was finely detailed and completely detached from the speakers without any hint of irritation. I left the room thinking this had to be one of the finest rooms at the show, and in retrospect, it was. At $63,000 for the standard model and $69,500 for the powered version, each with a selection of finishes, this is a serious loudspeaker from this manufacturer. Look for them again at CES, Montreal, and Munich in 2015. This seems to be a company with staying power and a deep commitment to their product.
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"Muraudio speakers exceeded every other panel of my experience in the consistently high quality of their spatial performance virtually regardless of where I sat."
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- Art Dudley
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New York Audio Show
I think it was in March of this year, at the Salon Son et Image in Montreal, when I first heard the impressive omnidirectional, electrostatic/dynamic hybrid loudspeakers from newcomer Muraudio. Now as then—"now" being the Brooklyn show—I was impressed by poise and imperturbability of the Muraudio Domain Omni PX1 speakers ($63,000/pair), even in the face of such sonic onslaught as Hans Zimmer's soundtrack for The Dark Knight.
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Driven by Bryston amplification and fed by Meitner digital sources and a $12,000 (not including arm and cartridge) refurbished Lenco turntable—which I did not hear, but which seemed to me rather steep for what it is—the Muraudio speakers exceeded every other panel of my experience in the consistently high quality of their spatial performance, virtually regardless of where I sat.
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Muraudio Brings Sunshine and Light
Kirsten wrote about Muraudio for Part-Time Audiophile back at Newport, but New York was the first time yours truly got his eyes and ears on.
Guess what? They’re awesome.
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For those fans of MBL’s Radialstrahler 360° degree Sound Field of Awesomeness, the Muraudio Domain Omni PX1 loudspeakers ($63k/pair) are a real contender for Captain Immersive.
The sound I heard in my too-short stint here was almost lush in density. That was a eye-opener. It wasn’t until I remembered that these were electrostats that I “got it”. But here’s the thing — even with the glorious detail, at no point did I lose track of the forest for the trees. This, friends, is a whole different kind of hybrid ESL speaker. With real bass impact and heft, matched to 3D mids and soaring highs, the sound was exhilarating and head-turning. And if you happen to be moving (for all you inveterate mult-taskers), the sweet spot is wide and follows you around the room. I love it when that happens.
The program here was classical during my stint — big swings, with heart-breaking string work, was almost enough to make me reconsider my musical preferences. Almost. Heh.
The F3 on the PX1 is 30Hz-20kHz, and I heard nothing to take away from that, and they filled the room like God raining on Noah, with nothing but music from wall to wall. Note that the sensitivity on these is an almost laughably low 82dB, so expect to bring your monster amps with you — here, the Bryston 7BSST2 ($10k/pair) were dumping 600+ watts into each of these speakers, and that was plenty.
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"The sound I heard was almost lush in density... this is a whole different kind of hybrid ESL speaker. With real bass impact and heft, matched to 3D mids and soaring highs... they filled the room like God raining on Noah, with nothing but music from wall to wall."
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- Scot Hull
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New York Audio Show
There were many fine rooms, but there were two clear ‘winners’ to my ears. Canadian Muraudio loudspeakers had a wonderful natural/earthy live sound that won me over. They could also provide an intimate presence.
The speakers are Domain Omni ESLs and have a 360 degree point source. Piano, cello, violins , percussion sounded so real. Superb well-balanced/integrated bass.
Muraudio had a lovely, spacious and comfortable room with three white leather couches for attendees to sit on. Equipment included (among others) Muraudio Domain Omni PX1 speakers ($63,000/pair).
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"Muraudio's Domain appealed to every part of me... deliciously complicated, a big, spacious presentation. Impressive stuff."
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- Noel Keywood
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New York Audio Show
They were 'just' 4ft 8in high (143cm), but Muraudio's Domain appealed to every part of me. They are deliciously complicated, mounting a large cylindrical electrostatic unit - no less - above a conventional sealed-chamber (infinite baffle) woofer. The idea is to fire sound all round from the wide range electrostatic. This makes the Domain omnidirectional - and omnis give a big, spacious presentation. That's exactly what I heard from the Muraudios, but they also imaged well, as electrostatics usually do, but omnis are not prone to do. Impressive stuff. Made in Canada.
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... Muraudio made its US debut at Newport and demoed its Domain Omni ESL-the world’s first omni directional point source electrostatic loudspeaker. This columnar system with its Continuous Curve Transducer (nanopolymer coated ultra thin 3.8 micron myler film) and large active surface impressed with an unhyped ease, tonal authority and airy, soaring extension that made extended listening a pleasure rather than a chore.
It had the characteristic delicacy and fully realized textures and speed that stats are known for with the immersive, enveloping qualities of MBL-style omnis. To my ears the slightly more diffuse image presentation lacks the specificity of a good cone driver monopole setup but often these issues can be better addressed by a shift in room setup.
I’m not sure I got a full sense of its dynamic capability either but I look forward to another encounter soon. The Ottowa based company produces two versions–a $63k passive and a $69.5k active version (700W of Class D power) The triple woofer module is a single aluminum casting with the x-over hand-off set at 450Hz. The crown and feet are also solid aluminum.
All told, a terrific debut.
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"Impressed with an unhyped ease, tonal authority and airy, soaring extension that made extended listening a pleasure..."
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- Neil Gader
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T.H.E. Show
"... the speaker's low-bass extension, ability to sound convincing from multiple listening perspectives, and laudable smoothness left me hungry for the opportunity to listen some more."
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- Jason Victor Serinus
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T.H.E. Show
First stop was Muraudio, an Ottawa-based company whose US debut showcased the Domain Omni ESL ($63,000/pair for the PX1, or $69,500/pair for the active DA1 that contains 350W Hypex class-D amplifier modules). The world's first 360°, point-source, omnidirectional electrostatic loudspeaker, the Domain Omni ESL PX1 kept international company with Canadian products—Bryston's 7B SST2 monoblock amplifiers and Pre2 preamplifier, and EMM Labs' DAC2X and TSDX Reference CD/SACD transport—and born-in-the USA Nordost Tyr 2 cabling.
Muraudio's PX1 was shown by company principal Murray Harman, who first launched the speaker last November after 10 years of development. The PX1s did a really nice job of allowing me to peer deep into the soundstage on Reference Recordings' version of Rimsky-Korsakov's Dance of the Tumblers. Although the presentation was not highly detailed, and Bryston's warm but somewhat flat sonic signature did not win me over, the speaker's low-bass extension, ability to sound convincing from multiple listening perspectives, and laudable smoothness left me hungry for the opportunity to listen some more.
Muraudio Spins Us Right Around
It’s relatively rare for me to encounter something truly new at an audio show. New products, sure, but these are new and improved versions and configurations of known quantities: a better cone-and-dome speaker, a new triode amp, a really stunning set of horns. Muraudio‘s Domain Omni ESL PX1 ($63,000), however, is something that I have never seen before: an omnidirectional electrostatic speaker.
The speakers utilize what Muraudio describes as High Output Continuous Curve ESL (and what I describe as “a sort of cylinder-ish thing of electrostatic panel stuff”) combined with three low-frequency aluminum drivers. The enclosure is cast aluminum. They’re 82dB sensitive, with a maximum SPL of 105 dB at 2 meters, and they’re bi-wireable and bi-amp capable. Muraudio also makes a powered version ($69,500), but in this case, the PX1s were powered by a pair of Bryston 7B-SST2 ($5,100 each). The rest of the gear in the rack was from EMM Labs: the PRE2 stereo pre-amp ($15,000), TSDX CD/SACD transport ($17,000), and DAC2X DAC ($15,500). Cables were by Nordost.
At my request, we listened to the track “Ghost Towns” from Swedish country duo First Aid Kit’s first studio album, The Big Black and the Blue. I’d just seen the sisters perform this song live and unamplified in Portland the week before, so their voices were very fresh in my mind, and I was eager to make comparisons.
I tried this track out in any number of rooms over the course of THE Show, and this was by far my favorite. Johanna and Klara’s voices sounded realistically textured and distinct, even during close harmonies that might blur on other systems. I actually found myself starting to tear up a bit at the emotional immediacy that the PX1s provided — much as I’d teared up standing in the Wonder Ballroom the weekend before. Getting up and walking around demonstrated that these speakers are truly omnidirectional: no need for a special sweet spot chair here. The bass drivers integrated very well with the panels, almost seamlessly. Time didn’t allow me to listen to something more dynamically challenging, so I can’t speak to how these speakers would handle big swings in dynamics, but their speed with transient details and their bass heft hints at good things.
The flexibility that omnidirectionality provides, the graceful good looks, and the stunning sound quality and detail make these an excellent choice for those with means. Spending time in this room was a pleasure.
"I tried this track out in any number of rooms ... and [Muraudio] was by far my favorite. Johanna and Klara's voices sounded realistically textured and distinct, even during close harmonies that might blur on other systems. I actually found myself starting to tear up a bit at the emotional immediacy that the PX1s provided..."
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- Kirsten Brodbeck-Kenney
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T.H.E. Show
"Adjectives such as revolutionary, miraculous, and unparalleled are often bandied around in the audio world, but it's rare that the application of such labels is deserved."
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- Jason Thorpe
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Salon Son & Image
Marvelous Muraudio
Adjectives such as revolutionary, miraculous, and unparalleled are often bandied around in the audio world, but it's rare that the application of such labels is deserved. It's even rarer, in my experience, for a new company to spring up, fully formed, with a statement-level product to which such those terms clearly and obviously apply.
Although Muraudio, based out of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, was displaying their extremely impressive electrostatic speaker, the Domain Omni DA1, at the TAVES show in Toronto last fall, circumstances prevented me from making it to that room. So the SSI show was my first chance to take a listen to their speakers. At FSI, Muraudio was premiering the Domain Omni PX1, which is a passive version of the active DA1.
It's the electrostatic panels more than any other aspect that sets Muraudio apart. The panels face outwards, and the speaker radiates the same information around its entire circumference. There are three 9” woofers, 120 degrees apart, so the low and lower-mid frequency signal also radiates in an omnidirectional manner. The electrostatic panels are also curved on their vertical axis, so there's far less vertical cutoff above and below the listening axis than is found in traditional panels.
There's far more to tell about this speaker than I have room for in this short report, but Doug Schneider is working on a full review, so stay tuned for more detail.
Back at Muraudio's SSI room, I first noticed that they had an espresso machine off in the corner that was running pretty much full time. After my third shot (you need energy to cover a show) I turned my attention to the speakers. The espresso machine was way off in one corner of the long, high room. The Domain Omni PX1 is a fairly large speaker, but the room was very large, and the speakers actually looked rather small as a result. Despite the room size, the Muraudios didn't seem to have trouble filling it. There was a slight bit of overhang in the midbass, but I put this down to the extreme room size and the levels they had to play to accommodate it.
But from back over by the espresso machine, what startled me most was the coherency of the sound. When you listen to stereo speakers from way over to one side, the soundfield utterly collapses. You lose all sense of an image, and the tonal balance shifts radically away from the treble. Listening to the Muraudios in this configuration was dramatically different. It clearly sounded like I was off to one side of a live band. I could still tell that I was off axis -- much closer to one speaker than the other -- but the sound was very, very listenable.
Muraudio was driving their speakers with Bryston 7B SST² amplifiers, which received their signals from an EMM Labs PRE2 preamp and XDS1 SACD/CD player/DAC. Non-CD signals were being served courtesy of a Windows machine running JRiver Media Center software.
I slowly circled the room. Muraudio had placed couches in an elongated semicircle around the speakers, no doubt to encourage visitors to sit outside the traditional sweet spot. I noted an utter lack of tonal shift as I walked behind the couches, and the imaging stayed for the most part consistent regardless of where I stood.
You'd expect pinpoint imaging to suffer somewhat from an omnidirectional configuration, and sure enough, there was none of that minimonitor precision. But in return for that omission, the Muraudios presented life-sized impressions of real instruments. The sound was utterly relaxed, with that obvious electrostatic quickness and warmth.
When I'm traversing an audio show, I mentally split the rooms into three categories: first are those rooms where the sound just basically, for one reason or another, isn't very good. My next category is those exhibits where I'm not really fond of the resultant sound, but I can see how others might like it -- good sound, but not my cup of tea.
The third category is those rooms that sound good, and it happens to be exactly what I like. The Muraudio room sits here.
As I write this, I realized that I'd only heard the Muraudio speakers with show-standard music -- sparse jazz and overproduced audiophile favorites. I hustled back down to their room and asked that they put on some abrasive rock. They looked through their server and couldn't find any, but they did manage to rustle up a USB stick with the entire Led Zeppelin catalog in MP3 format. They slammed on “Custard Pie” for me, and I sat back for a listen. It was clear that this was lo-fi music conveyed in a compressed format, but the speakers didn't fall apart. Rather, the Muraudios kept me engaged and let me enjoy this crunchy Led Zep blooze. It's hard to ask for more from a speaker.
When Doug Schneider gets in his review pair of Muraudio speakers, I'm heading over for a listen. I really like these speakers. (Read the Full Review)
A new entry into the world of high-end audio is Muraudio. Rob Runolfson showed me their first product, the Domain Omni ESL which is a 360 degree point source omni-directional electrostatic loudspeaker that incorporates patented high output continuous curve ESL technology, precision engineered low frequency drivers and a truly stunning design. This is one room where you did not have to wait for access to the sweet spot to tell what these speakers could do. The sound was superb almost anywhere in the room.
"...ambitious and innovative... From my brief listening experience, I would say they have nailed it."
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- Phil Gold
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TAVES
I’m always happy to greet a new Canadian manufacturer, particularly one as ambitious and innovative as this. Many people know that you can’t beat the purity of an electrostatic speaker, such as a Quad or Martin Logan. But there are two things holding them back. One is the bass response. To get a true full range electrostatic speaker you need very large panels indeed, so most manufacturers must try to pair dynamic woofers with electrostatic panels for the upper octaves. It’s very hard to find dynamic drivers that can keep up with the speed of an electrostatic panel. The second, even more severe problem is the narrow dispersion pattern of an electrostatic panel. Sure you can curve the panel to some extent, but until now, pretty much all electrostatic speakers have been very directional with a relatively narrow sweet spot.
Until now! Ottawa’s Muraudio is introducing an electrostatic speaker with a 360 degree dispersion pattern called the Domain, the world’s first omni-directional electrostatic speaker. It has been in development for about 12 years. From my brief listening experience, I would say they have nailed it, albeit at a very high price. In this picture you can only see one side of the speaker [see different views bottom left], but imagine that it has three sides to its dynamic aluminum woofer base and an almost continuously circular upper electrostatic panel array. The 3 in-house designed bass drivers are mounted in a triangular pattern so their vibrations cancel each other out, and carry 10kg of magnetic structure to drive their aluminum cones.
The panels are curved in two directions, unlike conventional or curvilinear panels. They call this a Panoramic Point Source.
There are 55,000 holes in the panels and part of their success is in the high level of finishing to each hole which allows them to use at least double than normal panel voltage, which means significantly higher power handling. Both drivers are powered by internal active Hypex amplification modules (Class D) crossed over at 450 Hz. A variety of custom finishes are available including Ferrari Red and Piano Black. Height is 57” and each speaker weighs 64 kg. How well they have matched the dynamic drivers to the electrostatic panels will require extensive listening. I’m looking forward to that, given the chance.
True innovations are rather rare, especially in the acoustic reproduction realm. Muraudio challenges the laws of physics and redefines electrostatic audio speakers using an omni-directional principle.
More often than not, electrostatic loudspeakers provide a more realistic acoustic experience, assuming the recording is good. In a similar fashion to MBL and Duevel, Muraudio employs omni-directional theory and implements it as an electrostatic Mylar film projecting sound through a full 360 degrees, simultaneously, to create a point source.
This is not exactly true if you read the technical specifications. True, the broadcasting is a full 360 degrees in the horizontal plane. On the vertical plane however, the range is 16 degrees for the ESL part. This can be a good thing, since having sound projection limited when directed to the ceiling and floor is beneficial for the listener.
The enclosure is quite intriguing, with its uncommon shape and three bass aluminum woofers on all 'sides'. More than just clever style, it is a genuine attempt at demonstrating another path in the domain of acoustics.
This version is powered by an active amplifier and accepts a balanced analog XLR or digital AES/EBU input. All that is needed is a pre-amp output from any platform and the result is a leading edge sound system.
An appealing unit, reminiscent of the "Space Opera" film genre in its style.
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En Francais
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Les vrais innovations sont plutôt rares notamment dans le domaine de la reproduction acoustique. Muraudio défit les lois de la physique et propose une relecture de l’enceinte électrostatique selon le principe omnidirectionnelle.
Bien souvent, ce système de diffusion sonore propose une image sonore subjectivement plus réaliste si l’enregistrement s’y prête. Au même titre que MBL ou Duevel, Muraudio prend donc ce parti pris technique mais avec un haut parleur électrostatique en feuille de mylar rayonnant sur 360 degrés et diffusant donc dans tous les directions en même temps, selon la théorie de la sphère comme point source.
Ce qui n’est pas tout à fait vrai si on lit les spécifications techniques, l’enceinte rayonne en effet sur 360 degrés à l’horizontal mais seulement à 16 degrés dans le plan vertical pour la partie médium aigüe ESL. La réflexion des ondes amoindries avec le plafond et le sol, cela peut s’avérer bénéfique pour l’auditeur.
L’enceinte intrigue par ses formes peu communes ainsi que les 3 hauts parleurs de grave en aluminium répartis sur toutes les faces de l’enceinte. Plus qu’une curiosité, une vraie tentative de montrer une autre voie dans le domaine acoustique.
L’enceinte est entièrement asservie avec une amplification active et une entré numérique XLR AES EBU. Il suffira donc de brancher un streamer ou un lecteur multi-plateforme avec contrôle de volume pour avoir une chaîne high tech dernier cri.
Une belle enceinte très film « space opéra » dans son esthétique.
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"The sound was promising, with a soundstage that was apparent well away from the central sweet spot."
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- Robert Deutsch
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TAVES
The design and manufacturing of loudspeakers can be described as falling on a continuum. At one end, we have speakers that use off-the-shelf drivers purchased from driver manufacturers, combined with crossovers based on information in standard loudspeaker design cookbooks and/or loudspeaker design software (perhaps with "voicing" that conforms to the designer's preference). In the hands of a skilled designer, this approach can produce good results—but they can't claim any originality.
At the other end of the continuum are speakers that are designed and built from the ground up, using design principles that, while perhaps not entirely original, represent substantially new application of these principles. This approach is much more rare—and much more costly to implement.
The Muraudio Domain Omni ESL, which made its debut at TAVES, is squarely in the latter category. Pictured here with designer Murray Harman, the Domain Omni ESL is handmade in Canada, and is described as "a 360 degree, point-source, omni-directional electrostatic loudspeaker." The electrostatic elements are curved top-to-bottom as well as side-to-side (not just side-to-side, as in the MartinLogan electrostatics). The design features a horizontal dispersion of 360° and a vertical dispersion of 16°. The Domain Omni ESL is a two-way system, with the lower part of the range being handled by two LF drivers powered by a 700W class-D amplifier. The design is nothing if not ambitious, and is the subject of several patents. The sound was promising, with a soundstage that was apparent well away from the central sweet spot, but I had the feeling that the relatively small room did not give these omnidirectional speakers enough breathing room.