Bookshelf Speakers — Wilson Benesch Endeavour 3zero

The Endeavour 3zero is a standmount loudspeaker from Wilson Benesch of Sheffield, England, which the company calls a Super-Monitor. Its stand is integrated with the enclosure, so the unit arrives as one tall piece rather than a box that sits on separate support. Wilson Benesch announced the first full production units on 14 July 2022.

Key specs that matter

This is a 2.5-way passive design. The upper range goes to a 25 mm tweeter of the Fibonacci Hybrid Silk-Carbon type together with a 170 mm Tactic 3.0 midrange, and an isobaric drive system of two further 170 mm Tactic units in clamshell formation works at the bottom. Rated sensitivity is 89 dB at 1 m on axis with a 2.83 V input, and impedance is 6 ohm nominal with a 4 ohm minimum. Frequency response is given as 38 Hz to 30 kHz within plus or minus 2 dB. Height is 1425 mm, depth 480 mm, and width is 191 mm at the baffle and 526 mm at the widest point. Each speaker weighs 75 kg.

Engineering and use context

Wilson Benesch builds the cabinet from A.C.T. 3Zero, an advanced biocomposite monocoque of hybridised poly-alloy construction. Wilson Benesch states that this material came out of a pan-European research initiative worth EUR 7.4 million, backed by the European Union and running for 4.5 years, and that it replaces oil-based materials with sustainably sourced natural ones. The midrange chamber has a reflex port tuned with a laminar flow guide, the tweeter sits on a labyrinth sealed backplate, and the port for the isobaric section is tuned and placed on the underside of the enclosure. In the crossover the midrange runs through a first-order 5 kHz low pass filter and the tweeter through a second-order 5 kHz high pass filter, while the isobaric system is limited at the top by a first-order 500 Hz low pass network. The base takes three M28 spikes with 1.5 pitch per channel. Standard finish is textured black. Veneer choices are burr walnut, ebonised walnut and walnut, and paint options include Phantom Belladonna, Senna Volcanic Orange, Senna Volcanic Red, Aventador Blu Aegir, Huracan Verde and Mugello Grigio Ferro. For the isobaric drive system the listed finishes are textured black, rhodium silver and gold.

Pairing

A single bi-wirable terminal sits at ground level on each speaker, which allows bi-wiring from the amplifier.

Alternatives

Wilson Benesch also lists the Discovery 3zero as a standmount loudspeaker in its current range.