You’re looking at (and into) the 2-way Verdande Loudspeakers from Norway’s Ø Audio. For a sense of scale, that woofer/midrange measures 15″ while the tweeter sits inside the abyss-like Quad Vertex SoundField Horn about a foot from its mouth.
By the numbers—94dB sensitivity, 26hz-20khz frequency range, 8 Ohm impedance, about 220lbs. a piece.
Those mid/woofers were developed by Ø Audio for this application and reply on a well-damped paper cone with a carbon fiber dust cap as well as the Quad Vertex SoundField Technology horn for the 3.4″ Thin-Ply Carbon Diaphragm (TPCD) compression driver. The Verdande feature a first order, “high-quality crossover network.”
From the company:
The Verdande project was developed to showcase our new Quad Vertex SoundField Technology. This newly developed horn profile was created to provide very even dispersion and low coloration. This technology provides an even sound characteristic within the working area of the horn.
As you can see, I took these photos with the very helpful casters in place and plan to attach the polished stainless steel footers once I have the Verdande set up to play on the A-Side. “The lower part of the feet are mechanically decoupled from the rest with ceramic balls to counter vibrations to and from the floor.” I imagine the Verdande will soon be producing a lot of good vibrations in Barn.
What you can’t see are the 5 down-firing bass reflex ports that can be configured, i.e. plugged with foam, “depending on your room layout, speaker placement, and personal preferences.”
From Ø Audio:
Top quality drives, crossovers and other parts can only take you part of the distance. The enclosure is a vital part of the end-result.
The Verdande enclosure is meticulously designed to be the best possible housing for the drivers and other components. Both acoustically and mechanically. It’s a resonance-free design which is strategically damped and braced.
The review pair came in the High Gloss finish while a Matte finish is also available.
Here’s my plan for right after I hit post—wheel these bad boys into place, hook ’em up to the Octave Jubilee Mono ULTIMATE Monoblocks (for starters) and see how they sing. Stay tuned for much more!
In case you were wondering (from Ø Audio):
Verdande – Verðandi – has its origin from Norse mythology. Verdande is one of the three Nornes living by the roots of Yggdrasil. Nornes are goddesses of fate responsible for weaving the threads of fate for all beings. Verdande can be understood as “present”.
While we’re here, the letter “ø” in Norwegian sounds like the “u” in the English word “burn,” sounded out from the depths of a deep chest with the mouth acting kinda like a Quad Vertex SoundField Horn. Ur.
Ø Audio Verdande Loudspeakers
Price: $39,500/pair
Company Website: Ø Audio
US Distributor Website: Harmonia Distribution
Specifications
Sensitivity: 94db
Frequency range: 26hz-20khz
Impedance: 8ohm
Horn: Quad Vertex Sound Field – Constant Directivity
Woofer: 15″ ultra-linear long stroke extended range woofer
Feet: Polished stainless Steel with Tungsten resonance damping
Dimensions: 1150 x 500 x 593mm (HxWxD)
Weight: 100kg
Transport: Flight case