Напольная акустика — Davis Acoustics STELLAR

Davis Acoustics, active since 1986, describes the Stellar as the most elaborate floorstanding model it has made since its creation. This three-way column was designed from start to finish by engineer Olivier Visan, son of the founder, over nearly four years of development. Inspired by the film Interstellar, the speaker was unveiled in Munich at High End 2022 and launched in September 2022 at a base price of EUR 35,000 per pair in black lacquer.

Key specs that matter

Three drivers cover the band in a reflex cabinet with rear decompression. The woofer is a 25 cm unit with a carbon fibre membrane, the 17 cm midrange uses a Kevlar and fibreglass membrane with a TiCoNAl motor, and the tweeter is a Kevlar cone type. Davis rates the response at 30 Hz to 30,000 Hz within 3 dB, sensitivity at 90.5 dB and nominal impedance at 8 ohms. Power handling is 200 W nominal and 300 W maximum. Each speaker is 33 cm wide and 60 cm deep, and weighs 100 kg.

Engineering and use context

In profile the cabinet has a teardrop shape, narrower at the top and wider at the base, with a rectified front panel and bell mouth profiles around the drivers. It is built from reinforced Medite fibreboard and leans slightly rearward on a cast iron base of about 20 kg. Its decoupling spikes are adjustable in height and machined to a tolerance of 1/100 mm. The TiCoNAl magnet combines titanium, cobalt, nickel and aluminium. Davis also lists ferrite magnets among the materials of the design. High grade components go into the crossover, which uses steep filters of 24 dB per octave to limit the overlap between drivers. The cone tweeter was developed from the TWZ tweeter of earlier Davis designs, and the whole speaker pays tribute to the Galaxie 200 model that Davis produced in the 1970s and 1980s. Internal wiring is pure copper surrounded by silver. Standard versions come in black with a matte front and lacquered sides, grey, or Pop Art, and custom orders can have metallic coatings, colour gradients, marble effects or shades such as Rose Chrome, Gold and Lamborghini Green at extra cost.

Pairing

Davis specifies the Stellar for rooms of at least 40 m2. Davis advises a distance of at least 70 cm from the walls. With its base the Stellar stands between 130 and 135 cm tall.

Alternatives

The Davis Acoustics MV One Master is another floorstander of the brand, built around a single 21 cm full-range driver without crossover in a 100 cm tall cabinet.