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E&OE Copyright 2010-
Loudspeakers between £2,400 and £3,999
The Huron 3 is a speaker that we’ve really needed for years. It combines unusually high efficiency with a very easy impedance load, good bass extension and low colouration. The result is a big, enveloping sound, with excellent dynamics, speed and clarity. The sensitivity of over 95dB/1 watt means that any quality amplifier can be used, almost regardless of power -
The impedance is high as well, averaging over 8 ohms, so it draws very little current from the amplifier (most other high sensitivity speakers on the market are closer to 4 ohms, which gives them an extra 3 dB of sensitivity on paper -
The cabinet is unusually deep, but as it has been designed to be positioned close to walls it actually takes up no more space than other similarly priced floorstanding speakers, and the extra cabinet volume allows well extended low frequencies. The wide dispersion means that positioning is very easy and there’s no small sweet spot to worry about.
What this all adds up to is a speaker that is simply great fun to listen to, it pulls you right into the recording and gets your foot tapping.
Dimensions: Width 24cm, Depth 46cm, Height 104cm
Finish: Cherry or Walnut real wood veneer. Satin Black or Satin White paint. High Gloss Black or White paint for a premium.
Heretic Audio Huron 3 speakers: £2,500/pair
High Gloss Black or White paint finish +£500
The Direkt is a design that will probably polarise opinion on its looks alone. It’s unashamedly retro, it’s a reclined, shallow, wide fronted box, exactly the sort of thing that is becoming fashionable once more, and for good reason too. Narrow cabinet designs can give neat precise imaging, but they tend to struggle to portray scale, and apart from those manufacturers who put drive units on the side, or use a large number of smaller drivers, the radiating area is somewhat restricted, hampering dynamics and raising distortion. With the Direkt a large 11” paper coned drive unit covers the bass and mid range which crosses over to a shallow horn loaded, large diameter soft dome tweeter at just over 2.3kHz.
The result is an impressive 95dB sensitivity and an easy impedance, making them suitable for all sorts of quality amplifiers, almost regardless of power (they certainly thrive on the 7 watts of a 300B amplifier). The lower frequencies are nicely extended, with an effortlessness throughout that comes with good efficiency. The mids are smooth and big -
Two finishes are available, satin black and satin white, both with stylish ‘racing stripes’ reducing the visual impact of their width. The fit and finish deserves special mention, they really are quite exceptional at this price level, even down to the quality of the chunky metal feet which really need to be handled to appreciate the quality on offer here.
Dimensions: Height 900mm, Width 440mm, Cabinet Depth 200mm (actual depth in use: 397mm)
Finshes: Black or White
Heco Direckt speakers: £2,749.95
The Red 120 is a compact floor standing speaker with a big sound. It looks like an elongated version of the Red 50, and uses two of the same bass drivers in an undamped multi chambered cabinet (as found in all Russell K speakers). I was impressed at how similar it sounded to the somewhat bulkier Red 100, the same strengths are there (I wont repeat them here, it has a lot of them!), on top there’s a touch more richness to the sound and more extended lower frequencies.
Above: This picture shows the scale of the Red 120 (on the left) against the Red 150 (on the right)
So what we have here is a very neat and unobtrusive floorstanding speaker that doesn’t trade sound quality for it’s compact dimensions and doesn’t dominate smaller rooms (sonically or aesthetically). What’s more they’re very easy to place in a room and easy to drive -
So highly recommended -
Finishes: see prices below
Dimensions: Height 91cm inc plinth, Width 20cm, Depth 19cm.
Russell K Red 120 speakers with Oak, Walnut or Black Wood Grain real wood veneers with a satin black front baffle: £2,949.99
Russell K Red 120 speakers in high gloss black or white paint: £3,149.99
Optional grilles: £169.99/pair
Audio Note AN-
The AN-
The large 8” paper cones bass/mid driver makes them relatively efficient and easy to drive with almost any quality amplifier (they’re great with the 7 or so watts from most 300B amplifiers and upwards). There are two cabinet levels available, the entry level AN-
The sound is very natural, with a superb midband and they simply seem to ‘get out of the way’ that only really well engineered and evolved speakers can -
Dimensions (excluding stands) Height 47cm, Width 27.5cm, Depth 19cm
Finishes: Please see the AN-
The models available are as follows:
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Stands:
A choice of stands are available including Audio Notes own design (a flat back stand that requires mass loading) and the fully welded skeletal Something Solid XF (please see speaker stands section) are suitable.
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Audio Note AN-
The AN-
The pair shown here are the entry level version, the AN-
The speakers are now also available with blue coloured Hemp cones as well as the grey Paper bass/mid cones for an extra cost. The Hemp has an effortless sound, with lower colouration and greater midband resolution. Please see the section on the AN-
The cabinets are made from solid Plywood (except the AN-
The veneers are all available in either satin finish (standard), high gloss or Piano gloss.
The models available are as follows:
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Stands:
A choice of stands are available including Audio Notes own design (a flat back stand that requires mass loading) and the fully welded skeletal Something Solid XF (please see speaker stands section) are suitable.
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