Notable very small loudspeaker companies (other than Tekton!)
Let's give a shout-out to those very small speaker companies that make excellent products. I'm thinking of true one-man operations (owner-designer-maker) as well as very small ones (owner-designer + a very few employees).
My nominees: Ryan, Prana, Philharmonic, Fritz, Watkins, Vaughn, Chapman, even Daedalus, Salk, Selah.
Who else belongs in this list?
How do they manage to compete with the "big boys", in quality if not in quantity?
David Counsell at Viking Acoustics- striking set of horn speakers. I look forward to trial the unique Berlin R Type II’s soon. He has produced unique horn designs and secured wonderful customer reviews. Beautiful woodwork. http://www.viking-acoustics.com/products |
duckworp6 posts04-26-2018 9:13amBoenicke in Switzerland. Remarkable speakers. Agree, absolutely exemplary products by Sven Boenicke. |
+4 on Daedalus. I've known Lou for over a decade now and he has been an vital partner in my audio journey. I'm on my second pair of Daedalus speakers and Lou has supported my DA-1.1s with multiple upgrades as he has advanced his craft. Lou speakers are artisan masterpieces. His latest designs (the Apollo series) offer cutting edge performance--they are among the very finest speakers one can buy yet Lou has managed to develop a model range and pricing structure that is accessible to a wide range of audiophile households. As a result, pride of ownership among Lou's clients appears to be among the highest in the industry. Most of us are committed to Daedalus for life--either staying with our initial purchase and upgrading as new design elements are introduced or moving up in the line as new models become available. What I hear most among Daedalus adherents is their passion for music, their appreciation for Lou's honesty, integrity, expertise, craft and that they never tire of listening to music through their speakers--everything sounds so "right" and so "real". |
It wasn't until I decided to replace my original ProAc Tablettes about 8 years ago that I realized how many speaker manufacturers there are... way more than I imagined, and many are outstanding, with excellent and intriguing design skills behind them. As with kdude66, I'll add a vote for Lawrence Audio- certainly excellent designs and hand-made construction on a small scale. I think they make tube amps as well. Taiwan based. Perhaps one of the smallest and least know is Fidelity Acoustics, out of the Vancouver BC area. I've heard these on several occasions, and sometimes in side by side comparisons with some very mainstream brands. Wonderful tonality, clarity and life. I know that they work very hard on crossover designs, which I have come to regard as a critical part of a loudspeaker. The RFM-2 is a two way, transmission line that looks quite ordinary, but is remarkable in it's sound. |
