Amphion Krypton3X

LOUDSPEAKER

- TOM FINE

One of the things I value most in life is clarity. In my work, in my intellectual pursuits, and in my relationships, I try to cut through the noise and find the place where I can clearly see facts, goals, feelings, the big picture. If I can find clarity, it's much easier to form opinions, make plans, and take action. Success becomes more likely.

In audio reproduction, my values are similar. I can't enjoy music if the system is producing a clouded, muddy, overly warm, or otherwise unclear sound. I want the electromechanical representation of music to be richly detailed, sharply focused, and full range in dynamics and frequency. In that kind of all-encompassing and attention-demanding aesthetic, I can truly hear what the music is about. Under those conditions, the nature of the recording—good or bad, craft or crud—is plainly heard.¹

Clarity is a tall order for audio components, especially loudspeakers. Speakers don't just translate electrical energy into mechanical energy (sound waves); they must also fight gravity (metaphorically) and obey the laws of physics at every step. A design or build can go wrong in so many ways. What looks good on paper may not sound good moving the impure air of real-world listening spaces.

Every loudspeaker inherently has a voice, asound unique to its drivers, cabinet, and crossover network (or in the case of digital speakers, the digital signal processing that performs about the same function), and how they all combine.

That “voice” sounds different to each of our systems in each of our listening rooms. Full-range speakers in particular interact with rooms in important ways, which makes a full-range speaker's voice especially room-dependent. Absolute clarity is elusive—likely unattainable—so it’s not a cross to die on.