Audience ClairAudient 16+16 Loudspeaker Preview

[admin]

The Audience ClairAudient 16+16 Mark II speakers feature 32 drivers, 9 passive radiators, and a $72,000 price tag. At $72,000 a pair, they aren't for the weak of wallet. At an impressive six feet tall, 15 inches wide, and 12 inches deep, they are not for the family room or den either. These line-source speakers with response down to 30Hz demand their own room. Their own, specially designed, room just for listening to two-channel music (preferably vinyl or reel-to-reel) most likely at your summer home in the Hamptons. If you'd like to take a listen to these, head over to T.H.E Show: Newport, June 1-3. As they almost certainly won't be coming to a show-room near you.

Discuss "Audience ClairAudient 16+16 Loudspeaker Preview" here. Read the article.

 

[Adam]

For the uninitiated, this is audiophile speak for, "You'll be able to hear the difference between cables, interconnects, and risers."

Finally! Well, that will be $72k well spent, then. I'm tired of not being able to tell the difference.

 

[corey]

Their own, specially designed, room just for listening to two-channel music

Two-channel only? That's too bad. I was thinking of getting seven of these for surround sound.

 

[jeffca]

Odd Design

While the driver used in this speaker is top notch, this is a pretty odd design and somewhat compromised. I don't get the benefit of the angled, rear facing drivers and they certainly don't cut down on room reflections. The other big point is that these speakers will significantly beam frequencies above 4khz so treble dispersion will not be great. And, even with the passive radiators, you'd need a sub to enjoy coherent, low bass. Not to mention, their is something to be said for using seperate cabs for low bass.

The biggest positive attributes are the coherence due to the absence of a midrange crossover, the lower distortion due to the massed drivers and the lack of ceiling & floor reflections above 200hz.

Honestly, though, if you were to buy 32 of the A3 drivers from Parts Express ($6000), 16 RAAL ribbons from Madisound ($11,000), have some really great cabinets made from Meniscus Audio ($4,000.. just a guess), 4 Rythmik Audio 15" subs ($5,000) and a DEQX HDP-4 preamp processor/crossover for room correction (their best... $6,000), you'd have way better sound as well as $40,000 left over. Even spending $10k on a pair of great stereo amps for driving the mids & highs leaves you well ahead of the game.

These speakers are drastically over priced.