I imagine some people may find it difficult to get beyond the striking appearance of the Treehaus Audiolab ‘Phantom of Luxury’ Field Coil Loudspeakers long enough to listen.
I’ve heard tale of some ‘reviewers’ who’ve already shared their opinion of these speakers based on a few photos, never having actually seen or heard ’em. But this is second hand info for me as I do not frequent those dark corners of the internet where men pretend what they know is more important than experience. Life is too damn short and too much fun.
The Treehaus Phantom of Luxury Field Coil Loudspeakers are an open baffle design utilizing live-edge wood with hard maple frames and legs. There are a number of choices for that live edge wood including Walnut or Elm as well as Elm Cookies used for the review pair. Yum.
You’re looking at the 100db efficient Atelier Rullit 10″ Super Aero full-range field coil driver, which run from about 80Hz to 15K, built by Oleg Rullit of Germany.
The crossover for the 15″ Acoustic Elegance Dipole15 Woofers is DSP-based and Rich uses miniDSP both as part of the setup process that includes in-room measurements as well as the DSP engine for the customizable crossover, EQ, and level control for the woofers. Finishing off the driver compliment are a pair of Fostex T900A Super Tweeters that come into the picture above 14k whose level is also user-adjustable with handy knobs around back.
The ‘input panel’ also houses Cardas copper binding posts, two pair per side for bi-amping. To fill in this part of the story, the Atelier Rullit driver is powered by one amplifier, which at present is the review sample Audionet HUMBOLDT (more info)—I know, an odd partner in this context but the Triode Evolution 300 Integrated Amplifier with its Western Electric 300Bs (more info) will be taking a turn too. Those hefty woofers are being powered by a pair of VTV Purifi Monoblock Amplifiers provided by Treehaus for this review. The review pair also includes the optional upgraded Iconoclast SPTPC internal wiring.
On top of those VTV Purifi mono amps sits the included miniDSP module (the calibration mic is also included). There’s also a handy remote to control the miniDSP-based woofer level. Treehaus recommends a minimum of 2 Watts for the Atelier Rullit full range drivers and a minimum of 75 Watts for the subwoofers.
The included tube rectified (6CJ3 TV diode dampers) field coil power supply is also user adjustable to tune the character of the full range driver—Lower voltage: more relaxed sound, slightly less efficient. Higher voltage: tighter sound, more efficient according to Treehaus.
Rich and I spent some time just listening after the setup was complete, trading favorite cover songs from Japanese Breakfast, Blixa Bargeld and Teho Teardo, Robert Wyatt, DEVO, Anohni and the Johnsons, and more…
I look forward to more. Lots more.
Treehaus Audiolab ‘Phantom of Luxury’ Field Coil Loudspeakers
Price: starts at $29,000/pair for Walnut or Elm live edge baffle and Canare OFC star quad wiring. The Elm Cookie baffle adds $3000 and the Iconoclast SPTPC internal wiring adds $3500. Other custom options are available.
Size and weight: 54”H x 26”W X 24” D | 130lbs/ea.
Company Website: Treehuas Audiolab
