This article originally appeared in StereoLife Magazine, a HiFi publication from Poland that offers “A Daily Dose of Audiophilism”.

_{English version edited by Robert Schryer.}

Manufacturers of hi-fi equipment like to brag about the performance of their flagship products, but in any company’s product lineup, the key role is played by the models that simply sell best. They are the ones that provide funds for further development and indicate what ideas appeal most to customers. Over the past few years, the Polish manufacturer’s speaker offerings have included the top-of-the-line 6-model Jasper series, the powerful Amber MKII, the old-school Jade 20, which just got a bigger brother, and the Emerald 25. However, it’s the Diamond series that dominates sales, and I’m not surprised at all. They offer everything music lovers seek—a discreet and modest design, high-quality craftsmanship, versatile sound, seamless compatibility with a wide range of electronics, a rich variety of colour options, and an affordable price. It may not be a piece of equipment that relies on exceptional technical performance or surprises its owner daily with its sound, but it is hard to identify any clear drawbacks in the speakers. If we match them to good electronics and the right-sized listening room, these speakers can do it all. Will the new MKll generation of the Diamond series continue the range’s success? For this to happen, the Polish designers would have needed to meet only one condition—not spoil anything. And they claim to have even improved this and that. Is it true?

I had the opportunity, in reviewing the Diamond 25 MKII, to see that they improved that model. The slim floorstanders retained the character of their previous iteration—neutrality, musicality, and natural warmth—while adding cranked-up dynamics, great transparency, and a three-dimensional soundstage. This was possible because nine years after the release of the first Diamonds, Pylon Audio is a slightly different company than it was. The factory from Jarocin (a small town that hosts one of the most famous music festivals in Poland) has moved to an impressive new space, increased its staff, acquired new industry customers for its parts, appointed distributors, sourced a whole lot of measuring and testing instruments, and even built its own anechoic chamber. All this gives Polish designers opportunities they could only dream of less than a decade ago.

The second thing that enabled Pylon Audio to improve its Diamond series was growing sales. This means bigger orders from suppliers, the most important of which are Scan-Speak and SEAS. For someone who buys not tens, not hundreds, but tens of thousands of drivers, the Scandinavian specialists are happy to modify them in accordance with customers’ wishes. For a loudspeaker manufacturer, this is a kind of social advancement, and for the designers working for them, a big convenience. When they used off-the-shelf transducers, they had to match enclosures and crossovers to them, but they had no influence on a good portion of the parameters. It’s a bit like wanting to build your dream house not from scratch, but around an existing building, where you can’t move the walls or the roof. Now, Pylon’s engineers get what they need right away, and that translates into a better sonic result.

The final aspect that not only made the introduction of the second generation of Diamonds possible, but compelled the Polish company to take that step, was its market expansion to the East, and here I’m mainly referring to China and India. Customers from those countries appreciated the design, workmanship, and sound of Pylon Audio’s speakers, but complained about their dynamic limitations. Apparently, music lovers there don’t mess around with their sound, and what is considered a high volume level in most countries, for them is just dinner-time background music. In order for these speakers to fully satisfy them, the new Diamonds had to remain roughly the same, but play more forcefully and endure heavy loads without breaking a sweat. This may seem a bit strange to us, but one only has to look at the populations of the two countries to realize that it was worth the effort. If the new Diamonds turned out to be good enough to be ordered by one in ten thousand people in China and India, that would mean 285,000 pairs of speakers sold. Such figures speak for themselves.

Design and functionality

I had the opportunity to test the first Diamond series monitors in 2017. I remember they had made a very good impression on me, playing noticeably faster and bolder than the floorstanding models in the same line. I welcomed this fact, as stand-mounted models should use their natural strengths and be able to work well in smaller rooms, rather than try to deliver more bass than they can properly handle. Later, there were minor changes brought to the Diamond series, and in addition to having a monitor with an 18 cm woofer, a smaller model with a 15 cm woofer was introduced. Both models were retained in the second generation so that we can choose between two stand-mounts: the Diamond 15 MKII and Diamond 18 MKII. According to the manufacturer, the 18s are suitable for rooms of 12 to 25 m² (39 to 82 ft²). In the case of the model 15, the company does not specify an appropriate room size. It can be assumed that this is an option intended for small and very small listening rooms or as an effect channel in a home theatre system. The Diamond series also includes the Diamond Center centre speaker and an active subwoofer named the Diamond Sub, so if you are a fan of multichannel audiophile sound, with speakers standing in free space rather than mounted on walls or ceilings, by all means, you should consider the new Pylons.

As usual with Pylon Audio, the build quality leaves no room for criticism. The craftmanship of the woodwork, the precision of the fit of the individual components, the quality of the binding posts, and the small details such as the nameplates with hand-lettered serial numbers, or the magnetically attached grilles—all make a very good impression. If I were to complain about anything, it would be that I think the new generation of Diamonds would have been an opportunity—lost, as it turns out—to change the type of veneer on their cabinets. Previously, I didn’t pay attention to it, because I usually got the speakers in a lacquered version. If varnish does not interest us, there is actually only one veneer to choose from: oak. Wait a minute, Pylon fans might say, there are plenty of colour versions to choose from, from black and dark brown to very light tones, such as natural birch or maple. Yes, except that this colouring is achieved by coating the same oak veneer with oil-wax. In the photos, it kinda works, but up close it smacks a bit of chain-store furniture. And yet we know that Pylon’s carpentry shop makes nicer cabinets for companies such as Audio Physic. Couldn’t the new Diamonds have received a veneer like the Classic 5? Surely, they would be a bit more expensive, but I would gladly pay extra for such a finish. However, since there is no such option, I would probably choose some kind of lacquer (black matte looks awesome), because any other version reeks of cheap furniture. Ten years ago, such a finish was acceptable and I remember very well how I liked the first Diamonds, especially considering their price at the time. However, customers are demanding more and more, and I get the impression that a manufacturer today should try harder.

The most important thing, from an audiophile point of view, is the fact that the Polish manufacturer used very, very good drivers. The treble is reproduced by an improved version of the tweeter from the previous Diamonds, the D2010/852100, which is a soft dome with a neodymium magnetic system, a cell rubber damping front, and a dual resonance chamber. The 18 cm (7.1 in.) woofer is a SEAS design modified at the request of Pylon engineers. This driver is equipped with a fixed phase plug for more faithful reproduction of the midrange while eliminating colouration in its upper range caused by resonances behind the dome. The modifications don’t end there, but we’ll return to the technical aspects later. At this point, I just wanted to point out that Pylon Audio is currently one of the few companies using drivers of this class in its loudspeakers. Just a dozen years ago, everyone marveled when loudspeaker manufacturers used top drivers from Vifa, Scan-Speak, Peerless, and SEAS. Later, many companies decided to take a different path, making or ordering transducers unavailable to others. Better, worse? Well, the main objective was for the drivers to be impossible to imitate. Pylon chose a proven solution, and kudos to them for that.

The Diamond Monitor 18 MKII will be of interest to music lovers aware that, in a relatively small room, it’s better not to exaggerate the size of the loudspeakers, as well as to those for whom placing floorstanders in a listening room would be a challenge. There may be many reasons for this, but the key one is that often even a spacious living room has to serve multiple functions, occasionally turning into a dining room, children’s playroom, gym, or even a bedroom. Monitors are smaller, plus you can always use existing furniture, such as the dresser under the TV, to set them up. Audiophiles may prefer to use special stands, but I bet that no more than 10-15% of all the MKlls sold will be put on stands. This seems confirmed even by the included feet. Taken out of the box, the Diamond Monitor 18 MKII had small felt pads glued to the underside, and attached to the grilles was an envelope in which were self-adhesive rubber discs. And although the company offers matching stands, there is no way to connect the two components with screws. The speakers’ slightly slanted frames have no stabilizing feet. For most customers, however, such considerations will remain in the realm of pure theory, as the monitors will likely land on the dresser under the TV and the matter will be considered closed.

If you’re of the opinion that I’m writing nonsense and that pictures with speakers standing on fireplaces, desks, and bookshelves are created solely for marketing campaigns, I suggest you take a look at the Facebook group of Pylon Audio fans. What you will see there, from the point of view of an audiophile accustomed to the sight of cables meticulously arranged on ceramic absorbers, may seem unthinkable, while for the average music lover, it’s simply a collection of reasonably-priced, cool-looking systems that stayed away from audiophile absurdities. And that’s a good thing because you don’t have to be a world-famous chef to buy a decent knife or climb mountain peaks to buy a warm weatherproof jacket. From the pictures posted in this group, it’s clear that regardless of the budget allocated for the speakers, two elements are practically certain. First, the speakers will be placed near the back wall. 20-30 cm (7.9-1.2 in.) away from the walls is, with few exceptions, a luxury. Second, they are likely to be connected to equipment far weaker and cheaper than they deserve to be connected to. On this second point, I have the impression that the situation is steadily improving. Of course, some people still assume that an amplifier or all-in-one system costing €500 will be good enough for the 18s, but more and more often one sees Pylons working with quite decent amplifiers, from Atoll, Hegel, Yamaha, Roksan, or Fezz Audio. It’s clear that some users of the Polish company’s speakers want to squeeze as much out of them as they can, but when it comes to the setup and acoustics of the listening room, some limitations cannot be overcome.

In this regard, I’m increasingly puzzled by the manufacturer’s reluctance to relocate its speaker’s port. It’s not that putting a port on the rear of a speaker is a bad design choice. It’s a popular solution that has many advantages. However, seeing that many of the company’s European customers require speakers that can be placed close to walls, the Polish manufacturer should consider an alternative. What good is a port blowing backward right up against a wall? Why not try other solutions? It’s as if the company from Jarocin had purchased a license only for bass-reflex in the rear, and had all other options blocked. How about experimenting with moving the port to the front panel, or taking advantage of one’s relationship with well-known driver suppliers and replacing the port design with a passive radiator one? The manufacturer didn’t even add foam plugs to the set so that users of the Diamond Monitor 18 MKIIs could experiment with the bass response. The company’s CEO, Mateusz Jujka, told me that port plugs were not needed, as the speakers in the new Diamond series were designed to accommodate such situations. The monitors have been given oversized ports, which don’t blow like crazy, but instead help reproduce low frequencies in a delicate, subtle way. Combined with other modifications, this is supposed to make placement near a wall not only possible but in some situations even desirable. Apparently, several setup variants were tested in the factory, with the distance as close as 15 cm, and all was well. Theoretically, then, a rear-facing bass-reflex may be a mediocre idea under such near-wall conditions, but here the company really applied some care into its tuning so that we shouldn’t experience any low-end problems. It’s time to see if that’s indeed what we’re dealing with here.

Sound performance

For as long as I can remember, one element has been key in the sound of the Polish company’s speakers: balance. Whether we’re talking about the budget designs from the company’s early days, or the Sapphires and Diamonds introduced later, or the flagship Jaspers, sonic priorities remain the same. The lows, mids, and highs are supposed to live in harmony, with no range overshadowing the rest in a way that breaks the presentation’s sense of coherence. Some Pylon models boast a slightly stronger, deeper bass (Sapphire 31), exceptional resolution for their price range (Opal series), or a pleasantly warm midrange (a characteristic of many models, with the Ruby series being the most interesting in my opinion), but in the end these are just enhancements to the main course, which is a well-balanced, natural sound that sounds good across all genres of music. Nowadays, such an approach may seem risky, as every manufacturer wants to stand out from the crowd. If a customer decides to audition speakers in-store or—and this is happening more and more often—bring several models at home to compare them, they will likely remember those that showed something interesting, unusual, intriguing, rather than just played music well, without crossing any red lines. That said, all indications are that Pylon’s strategy is working. The models in the first Diamond series were perhaps the most neutral and linear of all Pylons, and yet they became a market hit. Representatives of the Polish company even claim that the first-generation Diamonds sold so well that if we were to look only at the sales numbers, the introduction of a new series wasn’t necessary. Clearly, the company’s design principles bore fruit, and a huge proportion of music lovers, even if they appreciated other speakers for this or that reason, ultimately opted for those that offered the most consistent, balanced, and musical sound. Such speakers are not afraid of any music, will not quarrel with any good amplifier, and will not have better or worse days. The Diamond Monitor 18 MKII is a perfect case in point. Balance, neutrality, and congruity are what’s crucial to it. A slight warming in the midrange can be heard, but the main course is the same: a sound so natural and well-balanced that it’s impossible to find any weak spot in it.

In my opinion, the characteristic features of the 18 MKll should be divided into two areas. The first contains everything I’ve already experienced during my review of the Diamond 25 MKII: dynamics, speed, tangibility, transparency, and a three-dimensional, precise, perfectly organized soundstage. The change of the tweeter to a newer one, the modifications made to the woofer, the improvements to the enclosure, and the use of high-quality components in the crossover—all this translated into better performance. The overall sonic character of the 18 MKlls remained similar to the earlier model, but treat them to more demanding recordings and you’ll see where the earlier model in comparison fizzled out, clogged up, or delivered more blurred sounds. The new model is not easily thrown off balance, which is rare for a speaker in this price range, and especially for one offering such natural, pleasant, colourful, and tonally-saturated sound. I’m used to the fact that outstanding dynamics and transparency are easier to squeeze out of speakers that sound rather bright, fast, and even a bit cold. When I see coated paper or polypropylene cones, I assume it’s going to be nice and musical, but with a alack of musical “athleticism”. In the new Diamonds, we get both. It’s sensational stuff. I analyzed this in more detail in my review of the Diamond 25 MKIIs, so I won’t repeat myself here, but if you’re interested, read that review to know more about the sound described here for the 18s.

The second interesting element is the bass. The most important thing from the point of view of future users of the Diamond Monitor MKIIs is that the manufacturer’s assurances regarding bass-reflex tuning have proven to be correct. Bass support via the port is audible, but it wasn’t problematic when I moved the speakers close to the wall. 15 cm is perhaps a slight exaggeration in proximity, but at 25-30 cm, bass was really good. These monitors’ enclosures are built relatively deep, so in such an arrangement you can get not only a healthy amount of bass but a spacious soundstage. The Diamonds not only met this placement challenge but even played as if they were made to work this way. They are one of the few monitors I know of with a port at the back that sound better when you move them close to the wall. The bass’s character is also interesting. The designers seem to have given up on boosting the lowest frequencies, focusing their attention instead on what’s happening a bit higher up, so, okay, we won’t get a subsonic belly massage from the speaker, but what we get is really great. The 18’s thick, meaty, juicy, tight, multicoloured, swinging bass triggered memories of my relationships with British stereo equipment, both speakers and electronics. More than one audiophile would likely say that you can hear old-school Naim rhythm and punch here. The bass doesn’t spill over to the floor, but when it hits you, you can certainly feel it. Do you know when I last heard something similar? When I reviewed the Spendor Classic 2/3s. Of course, the 18’s bass didn’t quite match the Spendor’s, but if you listen to both these models, I guarantee that you will notice the spiritual bond that unites them. The very fact that during the test the Pylons reminded me of the almost five times more expensive Spendors says a lot. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the bass performance of these Pylon monitors, and if you are, or if you move and want to use them in a larger room, I have good news: the company has just introduced the powerful Diamond Sub, weighing 33 kg (72.8 lbs). I haven’t had a chance yet to check it out, but I highly doubt it will be Pylon’s first unsuccessful product. After what the Diamond Monitor MKIIs showed, I’m losing faith that one day I’ll be able to complain about anything significant in any of the company’s speakers.

Many owners of the new Diamonds will be faced with deciding what accompanying equipment to use with them. Some will make use of the amplifiers they already own, while others will start looking around for electronics only once they’ve received the long-awaited speakers (reportedly, with few exceptions, the waiting time can reach several months, which is perfectly understandable in the case of such highly sought-after products). At €1,580 for the speakers (base model), many may be tempted to invest the same amount of money in the rest of the system. This would be a mistake, because the 18s deserve much, much better. Due to their better dynamics than the previous version and their ability to play all kinds of music without strain, the MKlls are easy to drive and as such will match and sound better with a larger, more accomplished variety of gear than its first version could. So, if you’re intent on using an amp like the Audiolab 6000A Play or Yamaha R-N803D and don’t plan to replace them, don’t make the mistake of buying the new Diamonds—you won’t get your money’s worth. It would be wiser to treat the 18 MKlls like €2,000-2,500 speakers. It will show you more accurately how good these speakers can be. Suffice it to say that when experienced dealers give advice to their customers about what amps to connect to the new 18s, they point out, for example, the Hegel H95 as the cheapest reasonable solution. A better amplifier might be, for example, the Audiolab 9000A, and for a tubed design, a good pick would be the Fezz Audio Titania. And I would agree that these products would be up to the task and deserving of being partnered with the 18 MKlls. There is still a source to consider, not to mention cabling and power supply. You could easily spend €5,000 on a system for the new Diamonds, and my bet is that this will still allow you to use their potential not one hundred, but eighty, maybe ninety percent. So, if you were counting on the fact that all you needed for these €1,580 monitors was a €1,000 network amplifier and the job would be done, well no, it’s not that easy. Yes, I know, the life of an audiophile can be brutal, but I’m sure we’ll all get over it somehow.

Build quality and technical parameters

Although, from the outside, the Pylon Audio Diamond Monitor 18 MKII differs only slightly from the older version, everything about it has been modified, including the change in the slope of the enclosure, its internal design, as well as the drivers. The woofer is an SEAS driver redesigned by the Polish company’s engineers. Its strong magnetic circuit employs a lightweight aluminum-copper voice coil. This unit is equipped with an aluminum openwork basket. Low-frequency reproduction is also aided by a bass-reflex port with an enlarged cross-section. As a result, the lowest frequencies are supposed to be reproduced with better efficiency, while eliminating audible chuffing. The manufacturer claims that the aluminum-copper voice coil wire is an ideal solution not only because of its better weight distribution between the individual parts of the vibration system, but because of the reduced effects of the so-called skin effect of the currents flowing in the voice coil. Also, instead of a traditional dust dome, the woofer is equipped with a phase cone, which eliminates resonances associated with the volume of air behind the dome. The coated lightweight cellulose diaphragm allows for a tonally balanced natural sound over a wide frequency range. The woofer’s gentle drop in level at the upper end of the bandwidth also allows a smooth transition into the range reproduced by the tweeter. The upper frequency range is handled by Scan-Speak’s iconic tweeter in the new D2010/852100 version used in the 18 MKlls. Thanks to the use of a stronger neodymium magnet, a reduction in voice coil mass, and the elimination of ferrofluid, this speaker is said to deliver exceptional microdynamics and detail. On top of that, it easily blends in with the woofer thanks to a dual resonance chamber, which made it possible to further reduce the tweeter’s resonance. For the crossover, Pylon used only linear components such as air coils and polypropylene capacitors. According to the manufacturer, the nominal impedance of 4 Ω means that the second-generation 18s take full advantage of the power offered by the amplifier. This significantly increases dynamics, allowing the speakers to be used in larger rooms. The Diamond Monitor 18 MKII features a higher front tilt (in the new Diamond series, its angle was changed from 4 to 7⁰) to improve the drivers’ time coherence. Internal strengthening beams were used to reduce enclosure vibrations, while the cabinets’ interiors were damped with sheep’s wool and a new soundproofing material, which was selected after tests were done in an anechoic chamber with a laser vibrometer.

System configuration

Audiovector QR5, Equilibrium Nano, Unison Research Triode 25, Hegel H20, Auralic Aries G1, Auralic Vega G1, Marantz HD-DAC1, Clearaudio Concept, Cambridge Audio CP2, Cardas Clear Reflection, Tellurium Q Ultra Blue II, Albedo Geo, KBL Sound Red Corona, Enerr One 6S DCB, Enerr Tablette 6S, Enerr Transcenda Ultimate, Fidata HFU2, Melodika Purple Rain, Sennheiser HD 600, Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO, Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO, Meze 99 Classics, Bowers & Wilkins PX5, Pro-Ject Wallmount It 1, Custom Design RS 202, Silent Angel N8, Vicoustic VicWallpaper VMT, Vicoustic ViCloud VMT.

Verdict

I usually struggle to find flaws in Pylon Audio loudspeakers, so I’m left nit-picking about things like the grilles or stabilizing plinths. I had an easier time doing that this time because the Diamond monitors delivered to our editorial office were finished with a veneer that I would never choose. What’s more, I think that when it comes to wood finishes, Pylon should finally jump to a higher level, and we know very well that the Polish company has the ability to do so, as it has long supplied fancier enclosures to Audio Physic, among others. Fortunately, for a small extra charge, we can order a more upscale finish—a RAL lacquer—that will bring the cost of these monitors to €1,900/pair, which is still very reasonable. As for the rest? Well, the rest—the workmanship and sound quality—has been executed in an exemplarily fashion, as usual. The new Diamonds sounded bolder, faster, and simply better than the previous version, but they have retained what customers have come to love about the sound of Pylon Audio speakers—their sense of balance, tonal character, and versatility with so many types of music, along with a touch of pleasant warmth in the midrange and bass that can hit but doesn’t get muffled even when the speakers are placed against the wall. What more could you want? With speakers like these and the right electronics, one can only wish for more time to listen to music.

Technical data

Speakers type: Stand-mounted, dynamic, ported
Sensitivity: 88 dB
Impedance: 4 Ω
Frequency response: 37 Hz – 20 kHz
Dimensions (H/W/D): 42/19.6/37.9 cm
Weight: 10 kg (piece)
Price: €1580 (base finish)
Manufacturer: Pylon Audio

Editor’s Rating

Sound: 9
Functionality: 8
Design: 9
Quality: 8
Price: 10
Overall: 8.8

For more, visit StereoLife Magazine, a HiFi publication that offers “A Daily Dose of Audiophilism“.