Bookshelf Speakers — Gauder Akustik CAPELLO 40

The CAPELLO 40 is the smallest model of the Capello series from Gauder Akustik, a Renningen-built range that premiered in Munich at the High End exhibition and is completed by the Capello 80 and Capello 100 floorstanders and the Capello Center. In Europe a pair starts at EUR 5,998. The list of options is long - the beryllium tweeter adds EUR 5,000, the Double Vision package EUR 1,500, front grilles EUR 200 and the dedicated stands EUR 2,000 per pair.

Key specs that matter

This is a closed-box two-way compact loudspeaker with a nominal impedance of 4 ohm and 100 W power handling. The cabinet is 39 cm high, 24 cm wide and 34 cm deep, and one speaker weighs 10 kg. The front baffle holds a 14 cm mid-woofer and a 25 mm tweeter, which is an aluminium dome as standard and a beryllium dome in the Be version. Buyers can choose piano lacquer in black or white or wood veneer, with walnut, olive and rosewood named in the finish list. Gauder does not quote a sensitivity figure.

Engineering and use context

Its X-Pulse diaphragm in the mid-woofer is a sandwich of aluminium and polymer that Gauder says stays free of resonances above 3,400 Hz, so the cone can cover the midrange without break-up. The optional beryllium dome moves only about half as much mass as any tweeter Gauder fitted earlier, and is driven by a very strong magnet. The symmetrical crossover, specified at 60 dB per octave, is built only from German parts by Mundorf and Intertechnik, and Time Delay Control electrically delays the tweeter feed so its output arrives together with that of the mid-woofer. The rear strip carries WBT NextGen bi-wire posts, a jumper that trims treble by 1.5 dB either way, and a protected socket for Bass Extension modules. Overall bass level can move by 1.5 dB up or down across 22 Hz to 144 Hz, and the modules add six steps working between 30 Hz and 70 Hz. The optional stands clamp the speaker with bolts over metal and rubber supports, and the tightening force changes the coupling. Registered owners get a 10-year warranty and access to a lifetime update program.

Pairing

With no published sensitivity and a low-impedance sealed design, the CAPELLO 40 needs an amplifier with real power reserves and current, such as a high-output transistor stereo amplifier. Separate treble and bass terminals make bi-amping with two stereo power amplifiers possible.

Alternatives

The Gauder Akustik ARCONA 40 SD is a slightly smaller closed stand-mount model of the brand with a soft-dome tweeter and a 12 kg cabinet.