Benno Baun Meldgaard. We've come across his name as the founder/designer of GamuT Audio. That speaker house with electronics eventually merged with Dantax Radio, a large Danish umbrella organization already operating the Raidho and Scansonic speaker brands. Once chief loudspeaker designer under their corporate management, Benno was approached to revisit many of the Raidho and some Scansonic models which had originally been authored by Michael Børresen. The latter then joined forces with his friend Lars Kristensen to create Next Level Asp which later became Audio Group Denmark and today manages the four brands Aavik, Ansuz, Axxess and Børresen. Benno was subsequently hired by Gryphon to help design their Eos 2 speaker.
Then an investor approached Benno to once again helm his own enterprise. By then GamuT floundered rudderless at Dantax. Enter Baun Audio. Given carte blanche to reconceptualize speaker design from scratch, Benno spent time canvassing Denmark's hi-tech industry for the very latest in composite materials. He came across one which combines the weight of aluminium with strength far in excess of steel plus excellent self damping to not ring. This has become the new building block for Baun loudspeakers. It's also the material of choice for Benno's new flat-cone woofer which introduces an entirely new motor structure then throws in ±40mm linear Xmax with an underhung voice coil retaining ~92dB sensitivity. Benno also designed a new coaxial driver with a diamond tweeter inside an inverted midrange cone to eliminate the 'jittery waveguide' effect of conventional dual-concentric geometries.
New drivers, completely silent enclosures and a hybrid sonic aesthetic which Benno promises will combine his darker organic GamuT traits with the ultra-resolution approach he worked to at Raidho, Baun Audio's Hydra has been previewed as an enclosure prototype but not yet heard. Given Benno's track record in the Scandinavian speaker scene, should we expect good if very expensive things just around the corner?
Baun Audio's website
