The floorstanding speaker is still a basic element of a good hi-fi system, since there is enough volume for the bass driver - a prerequisite for good bass reproduction. And besides, the tweeter is automatically at the right height - ear level. Below are some solutions by all major driver manufacturers.

Alcone by RCM

Alcone stands for aluminium cone and is a product range by RCM. The drivers feature a rigid cone and show, nevertheless, only a moderate resonance.

High recommendable for pop, jazz and classical music are Alcone / Vifa combinations in d'Appolito arrangement like the Pascal (picture left). Pascal is our bestseller in the medium price range with a phantastic price to sound quality relation.
if its too big we have the smaller Dirac XT
Highest dynamics and resolution delivers Nova 2; a bit less dynamic Nova 3.
The Descartes features higher output and more dynamics.
or still better Descartes II, which got very good test results in journal K+T.
If these speakers are all too big, have look at Laplace XT.
The classic Lagrange, Laplace, Dirac or Fourier show a little more excitement
Going for a song is the small Midi, quite suitable for pop and rock, delivering clean bass and mids.

Audaphon

We were looking for a new loudspeaker kit with an excellent price /performance ratio. After long discussions the Basis 3 with Vifa mids was born.

Newtronics

Many of our customers waited for Newtronics Temperance III (picture right). The review in journal K+T: ... "Soloists stay exactly there where have been assigned to, the precise depiction of depth and width is a piece of cake for the temperance."

The Magazine Hobby HiFi

Since this magazine is targeted at the DIY market, every edition features loudspeaker kits, indispensable information for the DIY community. Affordable kits are:

popular, the slim TBTL or the high end project Cento.
The slim Lancetta, a speaker with Tangband full range driver is highly recommendable

Top notch loudspeakers, especially for jazz and classical music are:

The most popular among the more expensive speakers is the Cumulus, an incredible point source with bass assistance. For this speaker the best coax driver known to us, the Thiel SCS3, was employed. Now a horn system is also available: Cumulus Horn.
Equally interesting is the E-Motion 2, a speaker known for extremely airy tops due to Eton Air Motion Transformer. The AMT is surrounded by two Eton bass / midrange drivers.
Should a considerably deeper bass (not volume) than that of the E-Motion 2 be required, then the E-Motion, would be first choice.
If you are looking for a speaker with perfect timing and one of the biggest Air Motion Transformers then the Project 1.3 by Audio Intl is the answer. Quite an expensive bit of fun for the enthusiasts.

The Magazine Klang+Ton

This loudspeaker DIY publication has a longstanding tradition. For many decades

top-quality kits have been featured and off course the extremely popular Cheap Tricks (CT) Some of the highlights in this section are:

CT 211 (picture right), an extremely popular speaker with affordable Tangband full range driver and bass assistance.
The best movers over a longer period are affordable transmission line speakers like CT 213 and CT 197.

If you need a bigger floorstanding have a look at the "Jack-of-all-trades" Descartes 2

For those who are placing great demands on tops we recommend the Air Motion Transformer (AMT).

you will find this driver plus a lot of bass in our high-end workshop Duetta
for full range driver enthusiasts we recommend the Cantare Spirit.

Seas, Excel, Peerless and Eton by Intertechnik

Intertechnik (IT) imports Seas, Excel and Peerless drivers from Norway or Denmark. All drivers feature a high quality sound reproduction. Intertechnik is the biggest wholesaler for systems, loudspeaker DIY and speaker drivers in Europe. We keep an extensive range of floorstanding speakers by Intertechnik.

For jazz or classical music lovers:

by Dr. Joseph d'Appolito: the Thor (picture right) or the Thor Evo 04
the Trio 22, a 3 way high-end speaker

Jim Thiel and Bernhard Thiel - high fidelity at its best (especially for jazz, classical music)

Bernhard Thiel manufactures an incredible
aluminium oxide driver, like e.g. for the Chorda.

Jim Thiel in the USA manufactures the high-end loudspeakers carrying his name. For his finished loudspeakers he is using a driver that surpasses all other drivers we know. This driver, called coincidentally mounted driver (or coincident source array, refer picture right), is a special type of coax driver, (where tweeter and midrange driver are mounted behind one another on the same horizontal axis). Jim Thiel goes one step further: he mounts tweeter and midrange not only on the same horizontal but also on the same vertical axis. This design produces a sound with a quality never heard before. A kit suggested by Hobby HiFi: the Cumulus (picture left), a speaker setting new standards regarding sound homogeneity and compares well with finished speakers setting you back a five digit Euro amount (according to Hobby HiFi).

If you are looking for a horn system, we recommend Cumulus Horn.

Scan Speak

Scan Speak is the manufacturer whose drivers are found most in finished loudspeakers costing more than 10.000 EUR. We stock a few kits

Vifa

Customers preferring conventional materials used in excellent designs often choose Vifa drivers. Highly recommendable is the Nykron as well as the somewhat older Quintadena XT
Soliude, Bild aus Zeitschrift K+T 4/04

Visaton

Visaton is one of Europe's best known manufacturers of loudspeaker kits and has a wide range to choose from.

Particularly recommendable kits by Visaton:

the Solitude (picture right), for those who prefer full range drivers without neglecting bass
Concorde or Noblesse, especially for pop music with great bass and dynamics
the Topas, a high-end transmission line speaker with magnetostat tweeter for moderate volumes or the VOX 253 MHT , a bass reflex speaker for higher volumes.
the Alto 2 , very popular and affordable floorstanding speaker
the VOX 80, the smallest and most popular 3 way floorstanding speaker

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