Напольная акустика — Charney Audio The Concerto

The Concerto is a single-driver tractrix horn loudspeaker built by Charney Audio, the company of designer Brian Charney in New Jersey. Before the Lumaca series appeared, the Concerto marked the upper limit of the brand's single-driver horn designs, and the maker now describes it as the first model in its lineup where the horn reaches the scale needed for full-range reproduction without a subwoofer. The speaker was shown at the New York Audio Show in 2015.

Key specs that matter

Charney rates the Concerto at 20 Hz to 22 kHz with a sensitivity of 105 dB at 1 W and 1 m and a nominal impedance of 8 ohm. Each cabinet stands about 211 cm high, 64 cm wide and 91 cm deep, and weighs around 22.7 kg. The horn path inside measures about 305 cm, and the horn throat is about 53 by 53 cm. Prices depend on the driver fitted, at USD 27,500 per pair with the Voxativ AC-1.6, USD 30,500 with the Voxativ AC-2.6 and USD 35,500 with the AER bd-3, all in a veneer finish.

Engineering and use context

A single 8 inch wideband driver covers the whole range, so the signal reaches the cone with no crossover in its path. The cabinet shape is dictated by the tractrix expansion formula, which sets how quickly the horn widens along its length, and the column-like form is the outer trace of that folded air path. Because the driver is loaded by a long, expanding column of air, it needs far less cone excursion than a driver in a closed or ported box to produce the same level. The long path is what lets that loading extend into the lowest octave. The Voxativ AC-2.6 fitted as standard on the original version uses a twin-cone, light paper diaphragm and a neodymium magnet, and the AER bd-3 was later added as an option. Buyers choose from many custom veneers, and the footprint stays close to that of a conventional floorstander despite the height. Charney builds each cabinet with a CNC machine to keep dimensions consistent from pair to pair.

Pairing

Given the high sensitivity, Charney states that a low-powered tube amplifier is enough to go from very quiet playback up to concert levels. Since the horn reaches the lowest octave, the maker sees no need for a subwoofer, which leaves a single stereo amplifier driving the whole range.

Alternatives

The Charney Audio Lumaca VIII uses a 368 cm tractrix horn in a 239 cm tall cylindrical wooden cabinet rated down to 18 Hz.