Floorstanding loudspeakers — TIDAL AKIRA

The AKIRA is a passive floorstanding loudspeaker from TIDAL, a German maker of high-end audio systems active since 1999. It pairs diamond diaphragms for the upper range with a bank of long-excursion bass drivers and passive radiators, all housed in a heavy multi-layer cabinet resting on a polished stainless-steel base.

Key specs that matter

Up top TIDAL fits a 30 mm pure diamond tweeter, whose diaphragm TIDAL states at 1 carat, and a 127 mm pure diamond midrange-woofer rated at 13 carats. Three 190 mm long-excursion woofers handle the low range, supported by five 190 mm long-excursion passive radiators. The layout is three-and-a-half-way with crossover points at 250 Hz and 2.2 kHz. Nominal impedance is 4 ohm, and the maker states that it does not drop below that value. Power handling is quoted as 400/800 VA, with a recommended amplifier power above 30 watts. The cabinet measures 140 cm tall, or 148 cm on its feet, 29 cm wide and 55 cm deep, and each speaker weighs 158 kg.

Engineering and use context

TIRALIT Ultra, the enclosure material, is proprietary, and TIDAL describes it as combining the rigidity of metal with the resonance absorption of softer materials. Walls are 42 mm thick and built from multiple layers, which allows organic veneers and true polyester piano lacquer on the outside. The crossover follows TIDAL's UNOPULSE approach, using ultra-low tolerance parts in a hermetically sealed chamber that weighs 20 kg on its own. Parts include custom Duelund copper capacitors, silver-carbon resistors and silver air-core inductors. Eight hand-polished stainless-steel trigger bars carry the cabinet, and together the base parts add 40 kg of mass, of which the trigger bars account for 32 kg per speaker. Midnight black piano lacquer is the standard finish, while hand-selected veneers under clear lacquer and custom colours are offered as options, and a polished stainless-steel side panel with engraving comes at no extra cost. Shipping cases measure 162 x 42 x 71 cm and bring the gross weight to 182 kg per speaker.

Pairing

Because the load never falls below its nominal value, a transistor stereo amp or two monoblocks that deliver current into lower impedances is a sensible choice, even though the minimum power figure is modest. Moving each cabinet into place takes several helpers and flooring that can bear so much mass resting on a narrow base.

Alternatives

Also from TIDAL, the Sunray floorstander is built as a four-way design in three modules standing 208 cm tall.