Floorstanding loudspeakers — Kyron Audio GAIA

The GAIA is a fully active, boxless floorstanding loudspeaker system from Kyron Audio, an Australian manufacturer that takes a turn-key approach to high-end audio, designing and manufacturing not just the loudspeakers but the electronics required to power them. The current Gaia Evolution represents almost exactly ten years of intensive research, design and testing since the original launch.

Key specs that matter

This is a boxless, dipole 5-way design incorporating 14 total 12-inch (300mm) woofer drivers - six per speaker arranged as front- and rear-facing woofers in a dipole array, plus a pair of dedicated Kyron Mercury subwoofers handling extreme low bass, each powered by its own Danish-sourced 2500W amplifier. A newly designed tweeter waveguide, developed in-house, integrates the patented Danish-designed and manufactured tweeter motor into the dipole MTM midrange section. The main 10-channel amplification is a collaborative design using patented nCore technology from Dutch company Hypex for the final output stage, with roughly half the gain provided by a Kyron-developed, ultra-low-distortion first stage engineered specifically to interface with the Hypex design; distortion has been reduced to less than 1/20th of the original Gaia's already accomplished figure. The amplification housing is newly styled and milled from solid aluminium, with the preamplification stage isolated from the power stages and separate multi-compartment chassis for amp stages and power supplies to further lower the noise floor. The Control Unit houses the preamplification with a built-in phono stage, balanced and unbalanced line-level inputs, and an on-board multi-input DAC accepting asynchronous USB up to 192kHz, controlled via remote and a touchscreen interface running double the previous generation's DSP power for the patented Linear Phase Crossover algorithm, room correction, and frequency response correction to within plus-or-minus 0.1dB SPL alongside phase correction. Frequency response is quoted at 25-40,000Hz. Every system is made to order to suit its specific listening environment, with factory installation and tuning included, and extensive customisation available spanning Nappa leather, Alcantara, precious metals and bespoke paint finishes.

Sound and use context

Expect startling 3D, holographic sound meeting luxurious, harmonious style - Kyron describes this as a completely new class of sound system representing 18 combined years of dedication to the art and science of audio reproduction, delivering the ultimate in accuracy, musicality and musical enjoyment.

Pairing

Because the Gaia is a complete, fully active turn-key system with its own dedicated amplification, control unit and phono stage, no separate amplifier or preamplifier is needed - a source component is all that's required to complete the system.

Alternatives

Given the bespoke, made-to-order nature of every Kyron Gaia installation, discussing specific requirements directly with Kyron Audio remains the only way to explore alternative configurations or scale within this flagship system.