Напольная акустика — Scansonic HD Q8

Built in Denmark, the Q8 is a floorstander from Scansonic HD with a very rigid body. According to Scansonic, no earlier model in its lineup had an 8-inch woofer. It belongs to the Q range with the Q3 and the Q10, which Scansonic presents as mini Raidho speakers suited to any contemporary interior and carrying technology from Raidho, the parent super high-end brand.

Key specs that matter

Drive units per cabinet are one ribbon tweeter, one 5.25-inch midrange and one 8-inch woofer, both cones made of carbon fibre. Frequency response is 37 Hz to 20 kHz measured at the minus 6 dB points, sensitivity is 87 dB and nominal impedance is 8 ohm. The crossover splits the band at two points, 400 Hz and 2800 Hz. The bass reflex cabinet, ported at the rear, measures 240 mm wide, 1095 mm high and 500 mm deep, and each speaker weighs 27.5 kg. It comes in black high gloss or natural walnut veneer, with an EU retail price including VAT of EUR 9,000 per pair in black and EUR 11,000 in walnut.

Engineering and use context

In this 3-way layout the carbon midrange is a separate driver, so the 8-inch woofer and the ribbon tweeter each hand over to it at the two crossover points. The Q series woofers are each made from one piece of moulded woven carbon fibre and are bespoke units developed by the Raidho engineering team. The quasi-ribbon tweeter, joined by woven carbon fibre diffusers, is designed to extend the high-frequency range. The streamlined Q cabinets are drawn straight out of the thinking and philosophy of Raidho, following the idea that a very rigid construction need not be heavy, and the crossover uses the same principle as the Raidho models. The company singles out the cabinet construction and finishing precision of the Q8 as unusual at its price, and products in its most critical series are made in-house by skilled craftsmen.

Pairing

Scansonic states a minimum amplification of 50 W for the Q8, a figure it applies to the Q3 as well, and the crossover network is assembled from branded components. For home cinema use, the Q line also contains the Q10, which the brand designed for large rooms or home cinema, and the L series adds the L10 centre speaker and L12 SUB active subwoofer to build a multichannel setup around the Q8.

Alternatives

The Scansonic HD Q3 is the smaller Q series floorstander, a 2.5-way design with two 5.25-inch carbon-coned drivers and a quasi-ribbon tweeter.