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Of course there were more horns or semi-horns at the show, active or passive, but the ones mentioned triggered our responses. Back home we enjoyed our own two horn systems and realized once again how lucky we are to have both. Then Caspar Bunge of Audio Life/X-Fi contacted us. Would we like a preliminary listening session with two of their new arrivals? They had set up a system around the Ocean Way HR3 and one around the—yes—GIP 9700, i.e. two big horn systems one of which we had presampled in Munich. The HR3 was known to us only by reputation. Before we dive into this opportunity let’s rewind a bit and explain how Caspar ended up with these.


In January the Audio Life/X-Fi crew visited the CES and got smitten with the presentation of Ocean Way’s new HR3. One of the goals of Audio Life/X-Fi is merging professional audio with consumer high-end audio wherever possible. Would a studio monitor like the HR3 not fit that concept? It seemed even more so because Allen Sides—owner of Ocean Way Studios, producer and recording engineer—designed the HR3 not solely as studio monitor but also as a loudspeaker suitable for home use. At the 2011 CES the Audio Life crew laid the foundation for a distribution deal with Ocean Way for certain European countries. A few months later the first shipment arrived in Buren.

The OW HR3 is not just a pair of big black boxes. It is a complete package with two loudspeakers, a half-height 19" rack with controls and multiple amplifiers. These amps are controlled by what OW calls active equalization. Sides and his team dislike passive crossovers. For bass Allen wanted a very fast amplifier. The only one to match his requirement was the Crest 8001. After a thorough overhaul and upgrade, two of these monsters handle LF duties. A Pass Labs X series amp handles everything above 650Hz. The HR3 is based on a classic RCA LC9 design which worked miracles in the ‘60s. Better a good copy than a bad original as the saying goes.

With all that active equalization, three amps to look after and lots of power, the HR3 is certainly not an easy speaker to set up. Coming from studio genetics and being American, bass response easily overpowers our European tastes. The Buren crew was still learning the ropes of this setup when we sat in for an early audition. With twin 12" sub bass drivers and a 15" midbass unit, there was an abundance of low frequency power before the horns took over. For now the middle path between too much and too little bass power wasn’t worked out yet. Perhaps different amps will prove superior to shift the current balance. It’ll take some time to learn about the system’s true potential and have it play the room to sing.



While the Audio Life/X-Fi crew made a deal at CES, they made another deal at Munich High End with GIP. This agreement goes back to May 2010 when Wilco, one of the partners in Audio Life/X-Fi, visited Japan and particularly Suzuki-san of GIP in his hometown of Kiminoyama. A blog entry on that trip can be found here.


Then and there a base was laid for the GIP 9700 pair previously shown in Munich to find a final home in Holland. That Suzuki-san shipped the system of course wasn’t the result of a simple yeah, let’s see what you do with it. Some hard negotiations were involved before the €200.000,- system was allowed to change hands.


Contrary to the HR3, the GIP 9700 arrives like Ikea flat-pack pallets, not as an assembled speaker. This is fortunate when the system as in the Audio Life case needs to go on a higher floor which is accessible only by stairs. Once all parts were schlepped there, assembly could commence.


Just like the Ocean Way system, the GIP requires tri-amping but then uses passive crossovers. To get the best possible sound, electronics by Dutch audio maven Cees Pel with lots of Western Electric and other NOS glass, Tamura transformers and exotic caps provided power. Besides the wealth of gear between the speakers on the floor, the power supplies of the field coil driver found a place on top of the bass cabinet. It all looked a bit cluttered but this was an initial setup meant to provide an idea of what the system might sound like and what it started out as. Call it a work in progress.

Not many distributors invite customers or press to have a prelim listen while a system—let alone two—is not yet dialled and tuned to perfection. It is commendable that the Audio Life crew wanted to share their experiences and were open to comments and feedback. Where the downstairs Buren system of HR3 wrestled with its low-frequency response to perhaps beg for different amplification—tubes on top and something like Bruno Putzeys’ new Ncore class D designs on the bottom?—the GIP 9700 already sounded far more accessible and musical.

Bass was still a bit floppy but a far cry from the rubbery character of the Ocean Way. Suzuki-san has built a very special bass cabinet. From the front it looks a bit like a Wharfedale Westminster for instance. Upon a closer look especially at the back, the design turns out not to be a folded horn type. The openings at the front are not the mouths of an internal line or labyrinth. The backs of the twin GIP 9461 woofers show two arrays of 8 lamellae made of cloth. Adjusting these varies the back loading of the drivers and hence the air waves coming through the frontal vents as well as the degree of dipole loading from the wall behind the speakers.


When looking at it the feel of ‘Japan’ is overpowering and very different from our Western thinking on how things might be solved. Why not use fine lathes and nice folded cloth to do the work? It also brought back youthful memories of Philips 9710 drivers with their linen covers. These were meant to suppress resonance peaks and only worked when stretched tight with the supplied cotton cord. Even the smell triggered memories. With this half-open adjustable back, phase behavior is different from most other speakers and interaction with the wall behind is crucial for proper timing.

Even though far from optimally set up and tuned yet, the midrange was silky sweet in a way only field coil drivers can make happen. Voices came through plain right topped by the 9501 tweeter without harshness. In a second listening session after a pause during which Wilco and Cees Pel adjusted bass phase, we felt that the foundation was lacking whereas in the first session it had been there albeit somewhat infirm. What the better approach of the two will be only time can tell. The room itself needs treatment and that also is forthcoming.

For now this encounter with two large horn systems from nearly polar opposite backgrounds was very enlightening and entertaining. We will be back soon and report on progress made. On the way home we felt a little envious towards the Audio Life crew who could look forward to solving their sonic challenges which to us are such a rewarding and intriguing part of our audio interests. More in due time...