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Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen Financial Interests: click here Source: APL HiFi/Esoteric NWO 3.0GO/UX-1 Preamp: Esoteric C-03, ModWright DM 36.5 Preamp/Integrated: FirstWatt F5, ModWright KWA-150 Speakers: DeVore Fidelity Nines Cables: ASI Liveline lo/hi-level + one power cord, Crystal Cable Ultra power cords Stands: 4 x Ikea Molger, Ikea butcher-block platforms with metal footers Powerline conditioning: 2 x Walker Audio Velocitor S Sundry accessories: Furutech RD-2 CD demagnetizer; Nanotech Nespa Pro; extensive use of Acoustic System Resonators, noise filters and phase inverters Room size: The sound platform is 3 x 4.5m with a 2-story slanted ceiling above; four steps below continue into an 8m long combined open kitchen, dining room and office, an area which widens to 5.2m with a 2.8m ceiling; the sound platform space is open to a 2nd story landing and, via spiral stair case, to a 3rd-floor studio; concrete floor, concrete and brick walls from a converted barn with no parallel walls nor perfect right angles; short-wall setup with speaker backs facing the 8-meter expanse and 2nd-story landing. Review Component Retail: ca. €4000/pr in Europe (varies with country due to VAT inclusion) |
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Depending upon the manufacturer of their cultural baggage, viewers will instantly recognize an inverted Nike logo or the upside-down V for 'victory' sign. Or a Starship Enterprise Federation member. Or a stylized boomerang. Whatever you see, there won't be arguments that Paul Schenkel's Rithm speaker sports a form factor that's never before happened upon a loudspeaker. It makes the Rithm far more a fine furniture design statement than the usual blunt hifi trophy. |
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On the hifi page meanwhile, the vital stats make this a 7-inch dual-concentric down-ported two-way. The popular Seas unit parks its 1-inch soft-dome tweeter inside the throat of the poly-cone midwoofer. The Rithm runs acoustical 18dB/octave filters for both the high- and low-pass centered at 2500Hz. Sensitivity is a low-ish 85dB and frequency response 50-20,000Hz. Weight is a svelte 15kg and surprisingly petite dimensions are 70 x 21.4 x 58cm HxWxD. While none of that begins to touch upon the cosmetics, the designer would be first to stress that separating one from the other is folly. The high-pressure bent and laminated 'drawn bow' arches for the wooden tops and bottoms don't merely mean style in the looks department. They're also lightweight and strong to combine attractive qualities long since exploited by Scandinavian chairs. The affordable Ikea Poäng lounger at right is arguably the most popular and widely distributed sample of this breed. Its breathy wooden rails support up to 170 kilos. |
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To please himself, Schenkel remained in his adopted Denmark when it came time to farm out cabinets. "The firm who builds them also builds B&W's 800 Series and designer furniture by Arne Jacobsen and Peit Hein. They are exceptionally experienced when it comes to high-pressure wood forming with very specialized machines. Naturally, I investigated Chinese suppliers too but by the time they accounted for my initially smaller quantity needs and I factored in shipping and associated costs plus expected QC issues, it was far more attractive to outsource locally. One other aspect of my enclosure design to warrant | |||||||||||||||
mention is that it neatly hides the cubic inch requirement for good bass from a 7-incher. You can't get realistic bass from a small enclosure without complicating the load behavior and putting your drivers through more serious excursions. I needed volume i.e. size but I didn't want to really see it. The final shape neatly solved this dilemma as well to give me aesthetics and performance on multiple levels." |
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"For CES 2009, I really deliberated what to show with. While many of us like tube amps, those are the most hifi of all components when it comes to appearance. I wanted something petite yet powerful, modern yet nicely styled. Bel Canto was the answer and we had very satisfied feedback from our exhibit." "As the music-loving count in Milos Foreman's Amadeus would have put it, there it is: Davone seems as design conscious as its corporate cousins over at Bang & Olufsen are. Yet Paul Schenkel prefers to work in wood rather than metal. And unlike the giant firm whose 2007/2008 fiscal turnover was €548.000.000, he is new and small and still hoping to make his mark. |
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