Полочная акустика — D'Von Audio SQ-20

The SQ-20 is a two-way stand-mounted speaker made by D'Von Audio, developed and assembled in the maker's own workshop in Exeter, Devon, in the UK. The company was founded in 2019 by Chris Priddle, who previously spent 23 years as a carpenter and joiner, and each speaker is built by hand. Pricing starts at GBP 2,500 per pair in solid colours and GBP 2,650 for versions with a birch baffle.

Key specs that matter

The 6 inch driver handling bass and mids is an SB Acoustics unit whose cone is made as a sandwich of Rohacell and carbon fibre, while treble is handled by a 26 mm soft dome tweeter, also from SB Acoustics. The crossover point is 2.1 kHz. D'Von rates sensitivity at 87 dB for 2.83 V and gives a nominal impedance of 4 ohm with a minimum of 3.7 ohm. Measured in a room, the stated response runs from 36 Hz to 21 kHz, with port tuning at 48 Hz. Each cabinet is 206 mm wide, 391 mm high and 288 mm deep, with the binding posts adding 31 mm at the rear, and weighs 9.5 kg.

Engineering and use context

The crossover is assembled in the Devon factory by Chris Priddle using Jantzen Audio parts, applying second-order slopes to the woofer and third-order slopes to the tweeter. Cabinets are cut from European-sourced hidrofugo MDF, a moisture-resistant high-density board, with 18 mm walls and a thicker 30 mm front baffle. Inside, a T-shaped brace and a damping system work to control panel resonance. Finishes include black, white, birch black, birch white, Suit Blue, burgundy, dark forest green and charcoal grey, all using Italian paint. The speaker terminals are rhodium plated, and a magnetic grille is supplied. Floorstanding SQ-30 and SQ-40 models were in development when the SQ-20 was introduced, and the smaller SQ-10 standmount was listed at GBP 1,700 to 1,800 per pair at that time.

Pairing

As the impedance dips slightly under its nominal value, a partner amplifier needs to be stable into low loads and have a generous current reserve, and a stereo amplifier with a solid power supply fits that description. D'Von recommends amplifiers between 40 W and 200 W, which covers most solid-state integrated amplifiers. Rigid stands that put the tweeter near ear height make sense for a box of this height, and the rear-firing port means some space behind the cabinet is useful in a 20 m2 room.

Alternatives

For a smaller cabinet and lower budget, the D'Von Audio SQ-10 is the brand's other two-way standmount.