The new Xavian Gran Colonna (in Italian "great column") is a two-way floor standing bass-reflex speaker system with impeccable manners. The crossover now uses progressive slopes for stable soundstage and low distortion. Equipped with a custom made Eton mid-bass driver and a Vifa/Scan-Speak high-frequency driver, the new Gran Colonna promises to perform with temperament and character for all the music genres.
- Mid-bass frequency unit: 175 mm custom Eton driver, paper membrane, 26 mm voice coil
- High frequency unit: 25 mm Vifa/Scan-Speak, treated fabric soft dome, wide surround
- System type: 2 ways damped bass-reflex with massive Aluminium front port
- Cabinet: 22 mm MDF hand crafted
- Frequency response: ( -3 dB on reference axis ): 47 - 40000 Hz
- Connection: 1 pair of singly mounted XAVIAN binding posts
- Nominal impedance: 6 ohms
- Crossover frequency: 2600 Hz
- Sensitivity ( 2,83V / 1m ): 89 dB
- Recommended power amplification: 30 - 120 W
- Dimensions (HxWxD): 900 x 200 x 234 mm
- Net weight (1 unit): 16 kg
Why you need an audiophile hi-fi speaker?
Loudspeakers are the last chain in a hi-fi system and they only reveal the signal that is provided by the Music Server/CD player and amplifier. You don’t need to buy expensive loudspeakers to get good quality sound. The problem is that majority of loudspeakers in South African homes are not genuine hi-fi loudspeakers. If you listen carefully to the bass notes, for example, you will probably only hear a loud, repetitious, dull thud. In reality, there is actually no musical instrument that produces such notes. The overbearing, thumping sounds are reproduced by drivers vibrating in the speaker cabinet.
When listening to live music in a concert or recording studio, the bass notes are reproduced either by a bass guitar, double bass or drums, but when played back on mass-market loudspeakers found almost in every retail store, it is difficult to recognize these instruments. This is why most people dislike jazz music because there’s too much distortion and various instruments are indistinguishable.
If a loudspeaker is any good then the bass end of the frequency range will play a recognizable tune and not thumping sounds. It should be possible to distinguish various bass instruments. The bass notes should not be long and reverberating. The loudspeaker where the bass notes have the shortest duration is the better loudspeaker (must have a flat frequency response). This applies to any note in the audible range but is generally easier to judge low notes.
A quality loudspeaker also disappears as a point source and produces a 3-dimensional soundstage in front of you, as if you are sitting in front of a live concert. They call this transparency. Music is spread across the entire width of the front room between loudspeakers and beyond. Bass notes are produced naturally making instruments sound recognizable.
Poor quality loudspeakers are unable to disappear (lack transparency) and sound comes mostly directly from speakers creating a boxy sound. There is a gap of sound in the middle in-between the loudspeakers where is the singer is supposed to be located.
The reason why so many loudspeakers produce big, fat bass (called colouration) is because they are not critically damped. In order for a loudspeaker to reproduce bass accurately, a lot of damping material, which is expensive, must be placed inside the speaker cabinet to remove unwanted vibrations. This also increases the weight of the loudspeaker dramatically.
Many mass market loudspeakers found in retail shops do not have enough damping material inside, causing bass notes to be louder and longer than they should be and greatly reduces the musical detail reproduced by the loudspeaker.
It also makes it much more difficult to make sense of the music and can blur its clarity. The lesser damping material used, the less production and shipping costs, the greater the profit margin for manufacturers.
The best audiophile loudspeakers are hand-made by smaller manufacturers such as Xavian, which also makes them extreme value for money.