Полочная акустика — Gauder Akustik DARC 40 MK II

The DARC 40 MK II is the stand-mount entry into the DARC range of Gauder Akustik, the Renningen company whose name stands for Dynamic Aluminium Rib Construction. Gauder calls it a sister of the Berlina RC 3, keeping the same classic closed two-way layout but trading wood for metal. The first DARC 40 was announced in 2019 for sale from early 2020 at EUR 16,000 per pair, with a diamond tweeter adding EUR 8,000, and that version carried an 18 cm Accuton ceramic mid-woofer with a ceramic tweeter. The MK II now sells in Germany at EUR 17,998 per pair.

Key specs that matter

Gauder rates this sealed reference monitor at 4 ohm nominal and 140 W power handling. The box alone is 47 cm high, 24 cm wide and 35 cm deep and weighs 32 kg. Mounted on the optional aluminium stand, the total height becomes 125 cm and the weight 50 kg per side. Drive units are a hand-selected, mass-optimised XPulse sandwich mid-woofer and a hand-selected ultra-light beryllium tweeter. Buyers choose the bare brushed metal or a powder coat in anthracite, silver, white or black, and the spacer ribs may be ordered in custom colours. Neither sensitivity nor frequency range is published.

Engineering and use context

Nine aluminium ribs milled from solid stock, closed by a heavy top and bottom plate, form the enclosure. Between each pair of ribs a long-fibre damper blocks the path for structure-borne energy, which is how Gauder avoids the bell-like ringing a solid aluminium shell would produce. The teardrop plan shape limits reflections and diffraction at the edges. A second-order high-pass filter works on the sealed alignment so the small volume reaches lower in frequency than its size suggests. The symmetrical crossover, built with Mundorf parts, uses 60 dB per octave slopes, while a TDC stage delays the feed to the dome electrically so its impulse starts together with the cone. The beryllium dome can later be exchanged for a diamond unit without changes to the network. Treble and bass trims move in 1.5 dB steps, while removable bridges switch the bass extension. The Double Vision package brings rhodium-plated copper bridges and upgraded internal wiring, Clearwater cable is used inside, and a MusicLight lamp can be built into the stand. Registered owners get a 10-year warranty.

Pairing

A low nominal load, a closed box and a high power rating favour a solid-state amplifier with plenty of current in reserve. The WBT NextGen bi-wiring posts accept two cable runs or two amplifier channels per speaker.

Alternatives

The Gauder Akustik BERLINA RC 3 MK III is the wood-ribbed closed two-way sister design with the same basic layout in a lighter cabinet.