Напольная акустика — Rockport Lyra

The Lyra is a floorstanding loudspeaker from Rockport Technologies of Maine, designed entirely by company founder and Director of Technology Andy Payor and launched in 2016. This dynamic reflex design divides the band in 3.5 ways, and the launch price in the US was USD 190,000 per pair, with custom colour finishes adding USD 10,000. An optional crossover version with isolated bass and upper-frequency sections and a bi-amplification input costs USD 1,800 more.

Key specs that matter

Each enclosure holds five drivers. Two 10-inch woofers use carbon fibre sandwich composite cones driven by massive 76 mm diameter motor systems, and Rockport states they have about 20 percent more internal volume to work with than those of the Cygnus. Two 6-inch midrange drivers of the same composite construction use cones of variable section thickness and ultra-low distortion motors, and the maker quotes distortion near -60 dB for both woofers and mids. A 1-inch beryllium dome tweeter completes the array. Response is rated at 20 Hz to 30 kHz at -3 dB, nominal impedance is 4 ohms and sensitivity is 90 dB SPL at 2.83 V. Each speaker measures 1,359 mm high, 358 mm wide and 673 mm deep and weighs 254 kg.

Engineering and use context

In the three-and-a-half-way layout, both midrange drivers work together in the lower part of their band, while the mids alone cover nearly six octaves. The tweeter sits in a precision diamond-machined waveguide, which Rockport says improves the acoustic impedance match and lets the dome run with lower distortion and greater dynamic headroom. The DAMSTIF enclosure has just two parts, an outer housing and an inner housing that doubles as the baffle, and each is a single continuous aluminium casting. The gap between them is filled with more than 68 kg per speaker of a custom high-hysteresis damping compound with a density of about 1,840 kg per cubic metre. With no joinery and no fasteners, the maker calls the result a true monocoque.

Pairing

Rockport gives a minimum amplifier power of only 30 W, yet the modest nominal impedance still favours amplifiers comfortable with lower impedances. Owners who order the bi-amp crossover option can feed the low-frequency and upper crossover sections from two amplifier channels. Given the mass of each cabinet, installation needs careful planning and several people.

Alternatives

The Rockport Lynx is a more compact Rockport tower with three drivers, among them a single 10-inch woofer, a 6-inch midrange and a one-piece cast aluminium shell.