- High End Vienna welcomes even more speakers
- Kanto Tuk Grand offers high-end boxes mounted on “burl” wooden legs
- Bowers & Wilkins goes for the awesome sci-fi look
I am convinced that there are two types of speakers, and all the pomp and ceremony of High End Vienna did not convince me otherwise. Two new high-profile, high-priced announcements also prove I’m right.
Type number 1: the box. Many enclosures are essentially well-reinforced, speaker-filled boxes that you place on your shelves or stands. There’s nothing wrong with that; it’s a simple look, and today it’s Kanto Audio which is waving the pretty cuboid flag, always a little wacky, with its new Grand Tuk.
This new $999.99 / £799.99 (around AU$1,600) pair of speakers is expected to go on sale at some point this summer. Don’t worry, we’ll spend more time with Kanto Audio in a bit, but we have someone else to meet.
On the other side of the scale is type number 2: the 70s sci-fi creature. We see all sorts of awesome loud speaker tricks, which sometimes seem inspired in the best way by the costume department of Doctor Who – and Bowers & Wilkins represent that team today.
The brand’s new Diamond D5 800 Series speaker range includes a number of different products, headlined by the 801 D5 for which we haven’t received any version or pricing information. Some look like legally distinct Daleks, others like aerodynamic car spoilers, and they all go on sale in September.
Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series Diamond D5
Let’s start with the big range, so I can share a photo of a Dalek to prove my point. The Diamond D5 series includes the flagship which, as already pointed out, has no price or release date, although this does not specifically mean that it will not be released; we’re just waiting for details. Instead, you can buy a similar model, the 802 D5, which is priced “more affordably”: $45,000 / £32,500 (around AU$66,000) for a pair.
Naturally, it’s a floor stand, just like the 803 D5 (MSRP $35,000 / £25,500, which is about AU$52,000) and the 804 D5 (MSRP $25,000 / £16,500, which is about AU$37,000).
The 805 D5, $15,000 / £10,000 (around AU$10,000), also shows up to the party, without a stand to stand on: a pair of floor-standing speakers.
The range is completed by two three-way center channels for home cinemas: the HTM81 D5 at $15,000 / £10,000 (same conversion as before) and the HDM82 D5 at $12,000 / £8,000 (around AU$16,000). These are both designed for use with the major products: the HTM81 works with the 801 and 802, while the cheaper model goes with the “cheaper” speakers.
So why are these things so expensive? Well, the main selling point is the use of Bowers & Wilkin’s Diamond Dome tweeter, which is this little microphone-like flourish at the top. It is designed to deliver reference quality sound in the upper ranges.
They’ve all clearly been meticulously designed – which is why they look so unusual – and come with impressive (if varied) additional speakers. These are high-end, professional-quality audiophile kits, but there’s also something for the rest of us at High End…
Grand Kanto Tuk
Let’s move on to everyone’s favorite Star Wars character: Kanto Tuk Grand. This new bookshelf speaker offering costs $999.99 / £799.99 (around AU$1,600) per pair and after Bowers & Wilkins, that seems cheap.
As I mentioned before, this is our most traditional example in this article, but there’s a reason audio companies keep coming back to this tried-and-true version. Kanto, the company tells us, spent time refining the design of this speaker, both to improve the sound and to “belong” to the space in which you install it.
As for the specs (because there’s only one product, we can actually talk about its specs without creating a massive list), you get a 28mm x 35mm Air Motion Transformer tweeter and a 6-inch aluminum cone. It achieves a frequency response range of 40 Hz to 22 kHz and an output power of 160 W.
There’s a nice range of connection options here: you can plug them in via 2 RCA or optical cables, as well as USB-C, and the latter two will allow 24-bit/96kHz playback. You can also pair via Bluetooth 5.4, with the Tuk Grand supporting atpX Adaptive, AAC and SBC.
From a design point of view, it is relatively basic compared to the Diamond Boys, but the simplicity is underrated (a lower price is not underrated, although I still wouldn’t call the Kanto “cheap”).
The Kanto Tuk Grand was revealed alongside three second-generation speakers from Kanto Audio, scheduled for release between summer and fall, but make no mistake: the Grand is the flagship here.
The best stereo speakers for all budgets
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds.
