Anything but a box.
The speakers from Vivid Audio don’t look like most speakers, to state the plain as the nose on your obvious.
From Vivid:
The KAYA 45 is a direct descendant of our GIYA loudspeakers, and shares much of the same technology. This includes our Super Flux Magnets in the driver units. These radial magnets, still very unusual in commercial loudspeakers, naturally have a large hole in the centre, which allows the sound to flow naturally from the diaphragm into the absorber, free from resonances and reflections. On GIYA models, we use these magnets in the bass drivers: for KAYA, we’ve fitted them to the mind-range driver, too. Here, they reduce distortion and improve performance in the higher frequencies. And prove that you really can make a good thing even better.
The speakers from Vivid Audio look the way they do in order to sound the way they do.
Once again, from Vivid:
One of the defining characters of our loudspeakers is the incredible clarity and articulation in the bass. Gone is the muddiness, the blurring of the notes: all is perfectly separate and distinct. And that matters. After all, as Debussy (may have) said: music is the spaces between the notes. That clarity is the result of our patented absorber horn, which eliminates resonances and coloration. In the GIYA series, it curves over the top of the enclosure, creating that unmistakeable outline. It’s still present, for the same reasons, in the KAYA 45, but folded back on itself, so it fits neatly inside. So you can enjoy the same extraordinary sound, from a loudspeaker that’s also easy on the eye.
The KAYA K45 is a 3 way 4 driver system, housing the company’s D26 26mm Tapered Tube loaded alloy dome high frequency driver, a single C100se 100mm Tapered Tube loaded alloy dome midrange driver, and a pair of side firing C125L 125mm alloy cone unit low frequency drivers. Frequency response is a claimed 37 – 25,000 Hz (-6dB) and from I heard coming out of the K45s at GTT Audio last March, I not only don’t doubt it but imagine in-Barn response may be even better. Woof!
From that Road Tour:
One thing I learned during my visit to GTT is Vivid Audio speakers share a house sound that to my ears produce crystal clear highly engaging sound that becomes increasingly full-bodied and room-filling as you move up the line. The K45 is also a small floorstander but one that produces full-range sound that sounded like it could easily fill the Barn. I will test this theory in greater detail when a review pair of Vivid K45s show up at the Barn later this year.
I very much look forward to testing this theory using scads of lovely music. Stay tuned!
Vivid Audio Kaya K45 Loudspeakers
Price: $19,000/pair
Company Website: Vivid Audio
US Distributor Website: GTT Audio
Specifications
| Specifications | Vivid Audio KAYA 45 |
|---|---|
| Configuration | 3 way 4 driver system |
| Cabinet material | Glass reinforced Soric-cored sandwich composite |
| Cabinet colour | Piano Black, Lexus Pearl White, Oyster Matte |
| Bespoke colour | Any PPG automotive colour available on request |
| Drive units | HF: D26 – 26mm Tapered Tube loaded alloy dome MF: C100se – 100mm Tapered Tube loaded alloy dome LF: C125L – 2 x 125mm alloy cone unit |
| Bass loading | Exponentially Tapered Tube enhanced bass reflex |
| Sensitivity | 89dB @ 2.83VRMS at 1m on axis |
| Nominal impedacnce (Ω) | 4Ω (2.8Ω Min) |
| Frequency range (Hz) | 37 – 25,000 Hz (-6dB) |
| First D26 Break Up mode: | 44,000 Hz |
| Harmonic distortion (2nd and 3rd harmonics) |
< 0.5% over frequency range at 1W |
| Cross over frequencies (Hz) | 300 – 3,000 |
| Recommended amplifier power | 25W – 500W |
| Loudspeaker dimensions | 1,153mm (H) x 298mm (W) x 385mm (D) |
| Net weight | 25kg |
| Shipping dimensions | 1,245mm (H) x 680mm (W) x 450mm (D) |
| Shipping weight | 60kg (pair) |