Model M1

This review first appeared in October 2025 on fairaudio.de. By request of the manufacturer and permission of the author, it is hereby syndicated from the German original to reach a broader English audience. Ed.

Reviewer: Jochen Reinecke
Analog sources: Drive: SME Model 15 Tonearm: SME 309 Cartridge: MC: Denon DL-103R, Dynavector DV-20X2 H, Transrotor Figaro; MM: Shelter 201 Other: Flux-HiFi (stylus cleaner), Stack Audio Serene Mat & Stabiliser, VPI HW-16.5 (record washer)
Digital Sources: D/A Converter: Rockna Wavelight+ Music Server: Antipodes K22 G4 Other: Network Acoustics Eno2 (Ethernet Filter), Pink Faun LAN Isolator, Silent Angel Bonn N8 (Switch)
Preamplifiers: Line level: Electrocompaniet EC 4.8 MKII Phono amplifier: BMC Audio MCCI Signature ULN
Power amplifiers: Electrocompaniet AW 800 M
Speaker: Acapella High BassoNobile MK2
Headphones: Audeze LCD-2, Beyerdynamic DT-990, Sennheiser HD 800 S, Sony MDR-1000X, Teufel Supreme In
All-In-One: Ruark Audio R4
Cables: Speaker cable: Dyrholm Audio Phoenix, fis Audio Studioline NF cable: Dyrholm Audio Phoenix XLR, Boaacoustic Blueberry Signal.xlr, fis Audio Livetime (RCA), Vovox and others Digital cables: Audioquest Cinnamon (Toslink), Audioquest Vodka 48 (HDMI/I2S), Boaacoustic Silver Digital Xeno (USB), fis Audio Magic (LAN cable), Wireworld Series 7 Starlight Gold (S/PDIF coaxial) Power cable: fis Audio Blackmagic, fis Audio Studioline Power strip: fis Audio Blackmagic
Rack: Creaktiv Trend 3 (rack) standing on bFly Audio b.DISC (spike mounts), Stack Audio Auva EQ (device decoupling feet)
Accessories: Power filter: Audes ST-3000 Power Conditioner (isolation transformer)
Size of the listening room: Floor area: 40 m² Height: 2.45m
Review component retail: €8'450/pr

The racing machine. Wait a minute. Where are the vexing vowels? When stumbling upon brand GGNTKT, 'twas my first reaction. The name couldn't be more unwieldy. On the other hand, it's certainly hard to forget. In the end it only takes two E and an A to complete Gegentakt from the jumble of consonants. This refers to a push/pull gain circuit in which active components amplify the positive and negative half waves of the signal separately. Alas, anyone who now assumes that the GGNTKT Model M1 loudspeaker must run classic linear amplification is mistaken. Instead think Class D. Roland Schäfer, mastermind behind the still-young brand, is clearly a rascal; and as I discovered on the phone, our Meckenheim native has a cheerful Rhineland disposition and wealth of expertise. A phone call was necessary because his Model M1 is no run-of-the-mill affair. There are quite a few questions to ask and things to learn. It starts with the delivery. GGNTKT leave naught to chance to forgo the usual carton tossers. Instead I received a neatly packed strapped pallet containing two Model M1 loudspeakers, two sturdy stands, a cable box and an external amplifier module. At first glance it might surprise that the Model M1 is called active when its electronics house in a separate 19" one-rack-space box. But active loudspeakers formally define by the fact that their amplification happens past the crossover and usually is specific to each driver. How this gets packaged is irrelevant. Connecting our own amplifier is therefore neither intended nor feasible. Let's first take a look at the speaker. The GGNTKT Model M1 immediately recalled the Swedish Guru Q10 which also doesn't come in the classic shoebox format but rather in a schoolbag-like shape – wider than tall or deep. This almost inevitably means that standard stands won't get us very far. It's why GGNTKT offer matching €1'690/pr stands as an expense that should be factored into the overall package. In return we get very stylish and high-quality supports that are rock-solid and exceptionally well-made. Not only is the 405 x 319 x 140mm WxHxD form factor unconventional but so is its building block Valchromat, an MDF derivative. Whilst standard MDF consists of wood fibres pressed into homogeneous glued panels, Valchromat fibres additionally colour with organic pigments and treat with special resins. This makes the material harder, more durable and less susceptible to moisture. Another advantage is being of uniform appearance throughout so whether milled, drilled or sanded, colour and texture remain consistent. This allows for all manner of customization. The M1 comes standard in either pure white RAL 9010 pleasantly warm and not overly sterile; or graphite black RAL 9011. For a surcharge we can pursue any other RAL colour and even matte or gloss overpaint. My samples arrived in the special Trevisil turquoise metallic finish which as Roland Schäfer noted with a smile, is also used by a well-regarded Italian sports car manufacturer.

GGNTKT use multi-axis CNC routers to machine their Valchromat enclosures. This is the only way to explain the impeccably executed precise curves and ingenious waveguide milled directly into them, a shape almost reminiscent of a horn. Behind it sits a compression driver from renowned Hannover company BMS. This 56mm ring radiator with 44-millimeter voice coil has very small 12mm diaphragm sections despite its large 1'660mm² surface. This allows the diaphragm to vibrate in phase with virtually no breakup in the HF. The crossover to the mid/woofer occurs quite low. The tweeter kicks in at 1'400Hz while a classic 17cm SB Acoustics handles the rest. Its geometrically reinforced coated aluminium diaphragm is designed to be resonance-free across bandwidth extending into the high midrange. Vented die-cast baskets house the drivers optimized for minimal distortion, maximum clarity and uncoloured reproduction even at high volume levels. That's it? Not yet. On the back we find two more 17cm drivers. Huh? Enter the next special feature. The GGNTKT Model M1 is one of the few rare speakers to feature cardioid bass. [Others in the home-audio sector would be from Buchardt depending on tuning preset, Dutch & Dutch, Geithain, Kii, Sigberg and Silent Pound – Ed.] These speakers don't radiate low frequencies omni but mostly forward similar to a cardioid microphone which unlike omni or figure-8 models primarily picks up only frontal sounds. How does it work? Normally bass propagates omni because wavelengths become increasingly longer as frequencies decrease to wrap around their cabinets. To achieve directional dispersion, one exploits mutual interference for strategic cancellation. The phase/time relationship between front and rear woofers is set to cancel out of phase in the omni band whilst reinforcing toward the listener. This triggers fewer room resonances and disperses energy more efficiently. Whilst a normal woofer behaves like a flood light to radiate in all directions, a cardioid woofer becomes more like a spot light, focusing forward to emit very little to the rear or sides.

This trickery obviously entails DSP. Hence the external amp not only contains 420-watt Pascal power modules for each channel but 24-bit A/D converters and 4th-gen 32-bit Sharc processors. A welcome side effect of packing all this processing power is real-time amplitude optimization to exploit a 10-band parametric EQ for room or taste tuning. We can create up to 99 presets contingent on downloading free Windows or Mac control software from the GGNTKT website, running that on a USB-connected computer and navigating through the menus. Not everyone is a power user and many simply want to get on listening. So Roland Schäfer provides telephone support. For a service fee there's also on-site calibration and manual DSP adjustment when many don't fully trust automated measurements with non-certified microphones. If you're going to do it, do it right – a very sensible approach in my book. Also worth mentioning for non-power users are two selectable cardioid tunings and a special DSP preset accessible via the same software. The sub-cardioid config operates destructively so the rear woofers almost completely cancel out. In return we get a slightly leaner signature and can confidently place the speakers close to walls or corners. The low-cardioid configuration only minimizes sub-200Hz frequencies for a mild bass boost. Finally, a special nearfield preset modifies the crossover to in my opinion approach a coaxial system practical for anyone sitting very close as is often the case in studios. It's also unusual that the connection between power amp and speakers isn't made via standard cable terminations but Speakon connectors from the PA sector uncommon in home hifi. I've only personally encountered them before with the Linn Kiko system or Vestlyd V12c. Technically this plug has several advantages. Inverting polarity is impossible and the connection is rock-solid and easy to make: plug in, twist, click to lock. However, design gurus in horn-rimmed glasses and turtlenecks might criticize the included rather thick cable for visually clashing with a more homely listening room. My suggestion is to include a cable management channel with the next edition of the speaker stands. But let's not get bogged down by fashion. The amplifier can be fed either analog or digital XLR, the latter requiring upstream volume control. Since digital volume is often lossy, I focused on the analog input which according to Roland Schäfer matched the majority of his clients. My CEC CD5 and Cambridge Audio streamer served as sources, my HenryAudio DA 256 with Farad Super3 PSU as DAC for either and a Tsakiridis Alexander provided preamplification.

I really dig when a loudspeaker instantly marks its turf and says, "here I am!" Clearly the GGNTKT Model M1 was no ordinary active speaker but something special. Why? Because it very cleverly scaled down the power, directness, dynamics and neutrality of a stage PA system to our listening room so that we must rub our eyes in disbelief. What we see—a schoolbag-sized speaker that you'd so not expect to deliver any real bass—simply doesn't match what we hear. It's truly astonishing what bone-dry, deep and dynamically gripping bass this dished out. I subjected the M1 to bass-heavy tracks like "Joe Meek Will Inherit the Earth" from the fabulous Tropical Fuckstorm album by Fairyland Codex and the primal "Michigan Hammers" of Protomartyr's Ultimate Success Today. Whether it were pounding bass drums or full-bodied deep e-basses, they hit the room without delay or virtual tire noise and easily extended into the contrabass range. What's more, this sounded completely undistorted, neither thick nor compressed but crystal clear and transparent so without pushing other bands into the background as collateral damage.

With more compact designs, often their bass either reaches low or is dynamically quick to readily adapt to voltage swings. If we get both, sometimes power handling limits to incur compression or distortion. The M1 are essentially party-ready on SPL so we bag all three talents at once. I've only experienced similarly convincing attacks from active Genelec like the 8361 (~€10K/pr). Impressive. It seemed to me that the M1 didn't achieve this solely with diaphragm area, drive concept and sheer Class D muscle but was very actively supported by its cardioid design which almost exclusively energized the air in front of me and not the space behind them. This became strikingly apparent standing behind the speakers just for fun. Here the literal contrast between useful sound and quiet room played a very crucial role.