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Reviewers: Marja & Henk
Financial Interests: click here
Sources: PS Audio PWT; Dr. Feickert Blackbird/DFA 1o5/Zu DL-103; Phasure XX-PC and NOS1 DAC; PS Audio Perfect Wave DSD DAC [in for review]
Streaming sources: XXHighEnd; iTunes; Devialet AIR; La Rosita Beta; Qobuz Desktop
Preamp/integrated/power: Audio Note Meishu with WE 300B (or AVVT, JJ, KR Audio 300B output tubes); dual Devialet D-Premier; Hypex Ncore 1200 based monoblocks; Trafomatic Kaivalya; Trafomatic Reference One; Trafomatic Reference Phono One; Music First Passive Magnetic; AbysSound ASX-2000 [in for review]
Speakers: Avantgarde Acoustic Duo Omega; Arcadian Audio Pnoe; Podium Sound One; Sounddeco Alpha F3 [in for review]
Cables: complete loom of ASI LiveLine cables; full loom of Crystal Cable cables; full loom of Nanotec Golden Strada; Audiomica Pearl Consequence interconnect; AudioMica  Pebble Consequence [in for review]
Power line conditioning: PS Audio Powerplant Premier; PS Audio Humbuster III; IsoTek Evo 3 Syncro; AudioMica Allbit Consequence
Equipment racks: Solid Tech and ASI amplifier and TT shelf
Sundry accessories: Furutech DeMag; ClearAudio Double Matrix; Nanotec Nespa #1; Franc Audio Ceramic Disc Classic; Shakti Stones; Manley Skipjack, Akiko Audio sticks
Online Music purveyors: qobuz.com, bandcamp.com, amazon.co.uk  
Room treatment: Acoustic System International resonators, sugar cubes, diffusers
Room size: ca. 14.50 x 7.50m with a ceiling height of 3.50m, brick walls, wooden flooring upstairs, ca 7 x 5m with a ceiling height of 3.50m, brick walls and concrete floor downstairs.
Price of review item:  €2’450/pr as reviewed (zł9’999)

Back in 2012 during the Polish Audio Show, we were pleasantly surprised when music we love seeped from one of the exhibition rooms. As you might appreciate, that's a rare encounter for such events. The music was from the Hadouk Trio and the track playing from their Live A FIP album - long cuts of trippy, mystically wavy soundscapes. That lured us into the room to swallow the bait.


It turned out to be one of the hotel’s larger rooms in which Polish company Sounddeco had set up shop for the show’s duration. On static display were a wide array of loudspeaker enclosures in all different shapes, sizes and finishes. Clearly Sounddeco weren’t some new kid on the block but one of those hidden treasures which make visiting a superior show like Warsaw so rewarding. Behind a display wall that doubled as room divider was a listening area. At the top of that area in front of black and white cloth-covered acoustic panels sat an all-white audio system running two types of speakers. Amplification was handled by Quad II-Forty monoblocks with a Quad QC Twentyfour preamp. Cabling was all Black Rhodium for a British affair on wiring. All matters digital were handled by German AVM Evolution gear.


Once our presence was noted, we were kindly invited to take a seat and listen more than just casually. That was no chore. The sound coming from the system was detailed with plenty of weight whilst the virtual scenery was cast convincingly. We listened to the larger of the two loudspeakers on demo. Called the Alpha F3, in combination with the 40wpc Quad it was able to adequately fill the really large room. On top of the left loudspeaker sat a small card reading Alpha F3 cena: od 8’999 zł or 'price: from 8’999 zloty'. That had to be for one loudspeaker in its most rudimentary guise without any upgraded parts we thought.


To learn more we had to talk to the gentleman who'd invited us to take a seat and listen. That was Grzegorz Matusiak heading the R&D department of Sounddeco. He told us that the price was for a pair and that only a high-gloss paint finish would raise it to 9’999zł. He also told us that Sounddeco then were a very young brand still whose complete road from development to production had taken all of 5 months.


Sounddeco might have been young then but the mother company Witowa already dated back many decades and had a very strong position in OEM manufacture of speaker cabinets. That explained the wealth of enclosures lining the exhibit. Those were meant for companies other than Sounddeco. How about their drivers? They looked to be Vifa and ScanSpeak but at these prices that seemed impossible.

By now Greg had taken us to the side of the room where next to a display of various drivers we spotted a familiar face. It was David Stephens, someone we have met at various other audio shows in his capacity as president of sales for Vifa and ScanSpeak. So the drivers were from these Danes after all? No, David explained. The drivers Sounddeco exploits are designed by Scandinavian Audio Research, a company that is home to many former Vifa, ScanSpeak and Danish Sound Technology engineers yet which builds in Indonesia. Their finished products go by the name of SB Acoustics. Their Indonesian factory was chosen not only for its competitive manufacturing costs but also for the consistent quality of its work. Sinar Baja as the company is called also handles OEM work for Pioneer, Kenwood, JVC, REL and Dali. David showed us the line of SB drivers on display and pointed out their quality and details. [AudioSolutions from Lithuania whose speakers we've reviewed in these pages also rely on SB Acoustics drivers for the same reasons - consistency, quality on par with the famous Danish brands but at prices considerably lower - Ed.]