The BOTTICELLI is a floorstanding speaker from Alsyvox built entirely around ribbon drivers. The company was founded by Daniele Coen, who began with DIY dipole experiments in 1984 and launched full ribbon designs in 2016. He is an aerospace engineer turned industrial designer who holds more than twenty patents. The speakers are hand-assembled in Valencia, Spain, and carry Italian model names. The Botticelli is the second smallest of four models, after the Tintoretto and below the Caravaggio and Michelangelo. In the United States it was priced at USD 100,000 per pair, or USD 135,000 per pair with the optional external X crossover.
Key specs that matter
This is a 3-way magnetostatic dipole in which every frequency band is reproduced by ribbon drivers, with no cone transducers anywhere in the design. The crossover points are 750 Hz and 5 kHz, both with first-order slopes. Alsyvox quotes a flat response from 22 Hz to 40 kHz and a sensitivity of 94 dB at 1 W and 1 m, with a 4 ohm nominal impedance. Each panel stands 1.77 m tall, is 0.64 m wide and only 5.4 cm deep, and weighs 115 kg.
Engineering and use context
The bass band is handled by a ribbon woofer with a stroke of roughly 20 mm, and the two channels together provide a total woofer surface of about 0.9 square metres. Above it an integrated mid-super-tweeter unit covers the rest of the range. Since each panel sends sound to both its front and its rear, it approximates a line source, and the rear wave has to be taken into account when choosing where the speakers stand. The frames are steel with teak wood accents, and the standard finish is black gloss acrylic with a natural teak profile, while custom finishes can be ordered. Internal wiring comes from the Omega Audio Concepts NANO Extra series, and the crossover uses Mundorf, Jantzen and Duelund components. The external X crossover is an upgrade that moves the filter out of the panel. Alsyvox gives a five-year limited warranty.
Pairing
The high sensitivity means the Botticelli can be driven by a very wide range of amplifiers, including designs of moderate output. The low nominal impedance still favours an amplifier with a solid current reserve, and owners who plan to add the X crossover later should keep space for the separate outboard filter boxes near each panel.
Alternatives
The Alsyvox Tintoretto is the smaller ribbon floorstander in the same range, rated at 93 dB with response down to 25 Hz.