In 2008 a new owner took over and development and production of new loudspeakers for the pro and consumer markets profited from a new impulse. Currently the Czech company offer three ranges of loudspeakers from small to large. Shan recently started a distribution network in Europe. During the few times we had a chance to listen at the Warsaw and Dutch XFI shows, we liked what we heard from the smallest member of the Shan catalogue, the Lyra S. Now that Shan was distributed in the Netherlands, this appointment for a review was not too difficult to arrange.
Alternative construction in concrete.
Our samples arrived in a small wooden crate. To our surprise the speakers which emerged were finished in bright blue. This color is part of the standard high gloss options. That said, the speakers can be finished in any color you desire. We wanted some matching stands and had to wait a little while the stands were manufactured and sprayed the correct color. While waiting, we gave the speakers a little workout as they were not fully broken in yet.
At 250mm x 160mm x 200mm dimensions, this really is the smallest speaker Shan offer. Fit and finish were meticulous with nicely rounded edges and corners plus perfect paint. The latter combines 4 layers of polyester lacquer which then are topped with a fifth layer of acrylic urethane to give the finish a deep gloss. Shan use 22mm MDF for all cabinet walls except the front which goes for 25mm. There sit a 2.5cm dome tweeter in a small waveguide then a 10cm mid/woofer with a textured impregnated paper cone. Both mount flush in the baffle. We asked who the drivers' OEM supplier was but got no specific answer.
Inspection through the rear's aluminum port with an endoscope—fun tool!—revealed a surprisingly large magnet for the mid/woofer plus a die-cast chassis. For technical specifications, the Lyra S presents your amplifier with a nominal 4Ω and is rated at 88.5dB sensitivity across 60-20'000Hz. For their crossover Shan Audio use air-core inductors, polypropylene capacitors and ceramic resistors. Total weight of each monitor is 4kg. Did we mentioned that they looked cute?
