Напольная акустика — Pylon Audio Diamond 25 mkII

The Diamond 25 mkII is the entry floorstander of Pylon Audio's Diamond series, sitting below the Diamond 28 mkII and Diamond 30 mkII. The Polish company, based in Jarocin, tunes its designs in its own anechoic chamber and works with acoustic laboratories at the Warsaw University of Technology. For the mkII generation, Pylon reworked the drivers, the cabinet geometry and the base of the original Diamond 25.

Key specs that matter

Pylon uses a 2.5-way arrangement with two different 15 cm cellulose-cone units from Seas of Norway. The upper one is the Pylon Audio PSW 15.8.CA/P, a customised Seas CA15RLY/P, and the lower one is the PSW 15.8.CA, based on the Seas CA15RLY. A Pylon Audio PST 19.TN tweeter, which is the Scan-Speak D2010/852100 textile dome of 19 mm, covers the top. Pylon quotes 36 Hz to 20 kHz, an impedance of 4 ohm, 87 dB efficiency and power handling of 100 W nominal and 200 W maximum. The cabinet is 165 mm wide, 980 mm high and 410 mm deep, and each unit weighs 19 kg. Pylon suggests rooms of 15 to 30 m2.

Engineering and use context

Pylon calls this woofer differentiation - the two cones share the low range, while the upper unit alone carries on into the midrange. On the mkII the upper driver has a phase plug in place of the usual dust cap, intended to suppress resonances at the centre of the cone. The lower woofer uses a long, lightweight aluminium-copper voice coil, and all drivers use Spider Ring technology. For the tweeter, Pylon specifies a more powerful neodymium motor, reduced moving mass in the coil, twin resonance chambers and no ferrofluid. Its front plate is made of black cellular rubber, and the drivers now sit closer together on the baffle. The front and back panels are tilted more steeply than before so that the acoustic centres line up in time at the seat. The MDF cabinet carries internal ribs, and damping combines natural sheep's wool with a dedicated soundproofing material, with panel behaviour checked by laser vibrometer. The rear-ported reflex box stands on a redesigned plinth, and spikes plus a magnetic grille are supplied. Finishes range from oil-waxed and lacquered oak veneer in many shades to American walnut, white or black lacquer, and RAL colours to order.

Pairing

Pylon points to quality valve or solid-state amplifiers able to drive a low-impedance load, and with moderate efficiency the amplifier needs real power reserves rather than a few watts, while staying within the maximum rating.

Alternatives

The Pylon Audio Diamond 28 mkII is a larger 2.5-way tower with two 18 cm Seas-based woofers, 89 dB sensitivity and a room range of 25 to 42 m2.