Review by ADM: ... "First I needed to find the right spot for this dipolar loudspeaker to ensure the required distance to the walls. This is the second problem of this type of loudspeaker. While the rear radiating sound of a box speaker is either destroyed or used - phase corrected - to boost the low frequencies, a dipolar loudspeaker can only use the distance to the rear wall to emphasise certain frequencies. Therefore, it is quite difficult to attribute a definite sound characteristic to dipolar speakers. Listening to electrostatic loudspeakers by Martin Logan quickly revealed that at different sitting heights, vocals varied from buffo to falseto.
After adjusting the placement of these easy to handle speakers I quickly found an acceptable position. In difficult rooms it's often helpful to put some damping material behind the HX 132 to reduce rear radiation slightly. Absolutely mandatory is, however, that the Cira is facing the listener directly, limiting the number of people enjoying the music. But then, if I examine the accommodation of people who are allowed to put wide, open baffles into their living room, not many simultaneous listeners are to be expected.
Adequate compensation for this solitude was achieved by putting a suitable CD into the CD player. We are wasting our time ecplaning, how surprisingly well the Cira managed complicated music in our listening room and how little coloration was added to vocals and instruments. Away with the esoteric junk, no jazz, no classical music, no transistor! Keep the vintage valve coming and the old discs, which I unfortunately don't own any more. Cira is a fun speaker and should, therefore, be tested under the right conditions. I started with Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, who in the Fifties used to appear in the in clubs together. Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass and Herb Ellis on acoustic guitar. Obviously the recordings were in mono, but the lifelike depth, that depicted the vocals and instruments meters behind one another, made me sitting in the club. Loudspeakers? Where were the loudspeakers? In the live concert department, all the greats in rock were on stage, Tina Turner celebrated "Proud Mary", Jimi Hendrix ripped up the "Star-Spangled Banner", Janis Joplin made her impersonators, that are currently marching through the charts, look like amateurs. Once again it was a long evening with many beautiful recollections of hand made music. The Cira always strikes the right note, showing lots of dynamics, and the music is detached from the physical speakers. The final question: the answer is yes, live concerts on DVD are just great, and even better with five Cira's, but then on a big screen please!" ...
The kit contains:
Kit price per unit without wood: - not available
Impedance linearisation for valve amps: The impedance linearisation contains an ELCO, one MKT capacitor, one core and one air core coil, as well as two MOX4 resistors.
Impedance linearisation per speaker without wood: EUR 31,00 excl. VAT: € 26.05 / $ 27.87