Bowers & Wilkins’ Nautilus

The Nautilus™ loudspeaker by Bowers & Wilkins is as much a testament to cutting-edge design as it is to unparalleled sound. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, this iconic speaker remains a symbol of craftsmanship and innovation, handmade by experts in the company’s Worthing, UK factory. With three standard colors—Midnight Blue, Black, and Silver—the brand also offers custom color matching. The anniversary has seen the introduction of a stunning Abalone Pearl edition, a nod to the marine creature that inspired its name. Not just a speaker, the Nautilus encapsulates founder John Bowers’ vision for perfect sound, a vision that, even at its hefty price tag of $100,000, resonates profoundly with audiophiles.

Avantgarde Acoustic’s TRIO G3

The meticulously curated 12-shade color collection is designed to seamlessly accentuate the horn speakers, infusing timeless elegance into any interior setting. With over five years invested in the perfection of the G3 Evolution driver series, the harmonious union between the horn and driver has been achieved, producing an unparalleled sound-coherent unit. Drawing from over three decades of exclusive dedication to horn technology, there lies an unmatched depth of experience, paving the way for groundbreaking innovations. Abiding by the principles of German quality engineering, only the finest materials are employed in both development and production, epitomizing the zenith of superior engineering.

WILSON AUDIO’S CHRONOSONIC XVX

In 2018, following the completion of the Sasha DAW, Daryl Wilson was inspired to elevate his engineering team’s abilities, echoing the ambition his father displayed with the WAMM. This motivation birthed a slew of innovative ideas, spurring a cascade of research and collaboration between Wilson’s design and engineering team and Wilson Audio’s manufacturing guild. The outcome of their efforts birthed a revolutionary loudspeaker that stands tall alongside his father’s iconic creation.

The creation of the WAMM was no small feat, with the intricate task of module adjustments in the time domain consuming vast amounts of resources. This challenge led to the inception of the WAMM Master Chronosonic Micrometer system after a year of dedicated engineering. This system allowed for precise movement within the speaker array. In a bid to emulate this precision, the XVX sought to attain impeccable time-domain accuracy, aiming for minuscule adjustments as precise as two-millionths-of-a-second, but achieving such exactitude with greater simplicity.

TUNE AUDIO’S ANIMA

The ANIMA speaker features a distinctive design, with its towering bass horn directing sound downwards, flanked by a mid-range horn and topped with a high-range horn. These are meticulously time-aligned for sound coherence. Internally, it houses a 15-inch woofer for lows, an in-house upgraded 5-inch for mids, and a 1-inch titanium diaphragm driver for highs. The bass and mid horns are crafted from grade A Baltic birch plywood, while the high horn is made of a specialized epoxy compound. To ensure pristine sound, crossovers are positioned away from magnetic fields and use hand-selected components. The speaker boasts pure OFC copper wiring and brass bracing for reduced energy transfer. Additionally, ANIMA offers adjustable frequency levels and beaming adjustments for personalized sound optimization.

MBL Radialstrahler 101 E MkII

MBL’s iconic ‘Radialstrahlers’, or ‘radial emitters’, are instantly recognizable and a crowd-puller at international hi-fi shows. Designed by founders Meletzky, Bieneke, and Lehnardt in 1979, the Radialstrahler speakers have evolved under chief engineer Jürgen Reis. The 101 E MkII version, retailing at £51,000, showcases this unique design and comes in various color combinations like black/gold and black/chrome. These speakers, standing 1.5 meters tall and weighing 80kg, feature custom radial drivers safeguarded by a large cage, which Reis suggests removing for optimal listening. The pinnacle of this design is the System 101 X-Treme, essentially a doubled configuration of the 101 E MkII, bolstered with two massive active subwoofers, priced between £185k and £194k.

BANG & OLUFSEN’S Beolab 90

The Beolab 90 is meticulously designed to cater to the audiophile’s ultimate sound desires. Housing a staggering 8,200 watts per speaker, it’s fortified with 18 premium drivers, 14 ICEpower channels, and potent amplifiers, ensuring an unparalleled auditory experience. This advanced stereo speaker boasts of features such as Active Room Compensation, which analyses and adjusts sound based on room dynamics, ensuring optimized acoustic performance. Beam Width Control offers customizable sound dispersion, allowing for focused or widespread sound, making it ideal for solitary listening, cinematic moments, or lively gatherings. Furthermore, the Beolab 90’s Beam Direction Control is an innovative feature that adjusts the speaker’s acoustic front to one of five directions, promising listeners a bespoke, front-row auditory experience regardless of their position in the room. The meticulous craftsmanship and innovation of the Beolab 90 redefine everyday audio excellence. Yours for a cool $135,000.

GERMAN PHYSIKS’ Emperor MK II

The Emperor MK II is a sophisticated descendant of the flagship Gaudi design, drawing inspiration from its movable four DDD driver array. Comprising two 12-inch woofers and four 6-inch long-throw subwoofers, its performance is optimized with the German Physiks Emperor Extreme digital crossover, facilitating tri-amping. While more compact than the Gaudi, the Emperor MK II offers robust sound, producing immaculate bass as low as 18Hz. Its agility complements the swift DDD drivers, ensuring a harmonious blend of detail and dynamism, capable of recreating concert-like sound levels of up to 117dB. The standout feature is the German Physiks DDD driver, crafted from ultra-thin carbon fiber, ensuring lightweight rigidity. Each driver is a testament to German precision, hand-assembled over six hours, rigorously tested, pre-aged for 96 hours, and then paired with its counterpart to form a perfect duo. This speaker is not merely a device but an instrument that bridges listeners to the authentic essence of live music.

living voice’s vox olympian

The Living Voice Vox Olympian, after over five years of meticulous development, has made its grand debut in the audio market. Paired with the Vox Elysian bass system, this speaker, while exorbitantly priced, represents a zenith in auditory craftsmanship. Beyond its impeccable sound quality, it transcends to convey profound emotional depths, resonating with moments of insight, epiphany, and sheer musical enlightenment. Although it might remain a dream for many, its existence serves as a testament to the pinnacle of audio artistry, providing music aficionados a glimpse into the sheer power of sound to touch the soul.

Vivid Audio’s GIYA G1 SPIRIT

The GIYA G1 Spirit stands as the zenith of sophisticated audio design, manifesting the culmination of the finest engineering and dedication to pure, unadulterated sound. As the flagship loudspeaker of its range, it isn’t just large in size but also immense in its delivery. Deriving its unique aesthetic from the principle that curved surfaces lead to a more honest sound, this four-way system employs five distinct drivers to unveil music with a depth and clarity unparalleled in its class. Beyond its auditory prowess, the G1 Spirit is an art piece, available in standard finishes of Pearl White and Piano Black, but also customizable to suit personal preferences. Yet, its true magic lies in its ability to immerse listeners, erasing the boundaries between the music and the audience, for an experience as originally intended by the artist. It also looks very much like the Dragonball Z character Buu.