RETHM LOUDSPEAKERS REDESIGNED WITH THE ADDITION OF THE RETHM AARKA STANDMOUNT

Rethm loudspeakers come from the Kerala region in Southern India. The designers have taken the time during the pandemic to totally overhaul their range.

We have come across the highly distinctive Rethm speakers before, notably, the original Rethm Maagra paired with Lampizator at the 2019 Audio Video Show Warsaw where we were impressed with their striking looks and their sound.

The new Rethm Maagra

FINDING THEIR RETHM

The brand was created by two architects in Los Angeles, who used their connections with India to manufacture there, giving them the ability to keep costs comparatively low. They brought their first pair of loudspeakers, the 2^nd Rethm, to market in 2000.

Jacob George, one of Rethm’s creators, told HiFi Pig: “With the covid shut-down in March 2020, I thought I would take the opportunity to redesign the line top to bottom. It was due for a major change as we had had the old line for 10 years….and I had some new ideas I wanted to experiment with. Not to mention we also felt that a fresh new look may also be something customers may appreciate”.

For the new range of Rethm loudspeakers, Jacob and his team focused on two areas of audio reproduction that they felt they could improve on. First was the lower midrange-upper bass frequencies, where it was felt that the speakers could do with more density and prominence; and the second was the area of bass dynamics. The former was managed by shortening the labyrinth within the speaker and changing the cross sections of it.  And the latter, by changing the positioning of the bass drivers to a forward firing configuration (in the older models they were all downward firing).

RETHM AARKA

After about 18 months of work, Rethm has four all-new speakers, inside and out. The one completely new configuration that hasn’t been seen before in the Rethm range is an active bookshelf speaker, called the Rethm Aarka. Jacob says: “I don’t want to call it a “monitor” as it is not designed for monitor duties but rather for musical playback”.

The name Aarka comes from the Sanskrit meaning “to sing in praise”.

Rethm Aarka standmount

SPECIFICATIONS

Driver configuration: 1 x 5 in. Wideband driver in front. 2 x 6 in. Bass drivers at the back.

Electronics configuration: 1 amp. for bass drivers: 70 wpc. class AB solid state amp. 1 amp for wideband driver: 25 wpc hybrid amplifier with FET output and tube driver stage. Tube used as driver is 6H6P.

Rear control panel has the following: Power on/off switch, Internal amplifier bypass switch, Level control, Crossover filter control, RCA input socket for line level signal, Banana sockets for speaker level inputs, Power input socket.

Size: 8..3 in. (21.1 cm) Wide, 17.71 in. (45 cm) Deep, 18.66 in. (47.4cm) High

Weight: 15 kg (33 lbs) Each. Speaker sensitivity: 94 dB/w/m

Minimum recommended amplification: 5 wpc.

RETHM LOUDSPEAKERS EXTERNAL CHANGES

There has been a redesign of the external aesthetics, including all the side panels having been redesigned to be as being customer swappable. If somebody wants a different finish, they can just buy a new set of side panels of their choice and change them in their homes, themselves. No tools are required.

RETHM SAADHANA

The Rethm Saanda is the brand’s largest model and the name comes from the Sanskrit for “the devotion to practice”. It features a full range driver along with a 4-driver isobaric configuration for bass.

The flagship Rethm Saadhana

SPECIFICATIONS

Driver configuration: 1 x 7 in. Wideband driver in front, 4 x 8 in. Bass drivers at the back.

Electronics configuration: 1 amp. for bass drivers: 400 wpc.@ 8ohms. Hypex UCD digital amp.

Rear control panel has the following: Power on/off switch, Level control, Crossover filter control, Banana sockets for speaker level inputs, Power input socket.

Size:   11.25 in. (28.6 cm) Wide,   23.62 in. (60 cm) Deep, 47.12 in. (119.7cm) High

Weight: 30 kg (66 lbs) each

Sensitivity: 100 dB/w/m

Minimum recommended amplification: 2 wpc.

RETHM LOUDSPEAKERS PRICING (USD$)

Rethm Aarka: $5250 inclusive of stands

Rethm Trishna: $6750

Rethm Maarga: $9750

Rethm Saadhana: $15750

Shipping is extra

Rethm Trishna

HiFi Pig Says: We very much enjoyed hearing Rethm’s speakers previously. At HiFi Pig we really love finding new and unusual brands and we are very much looking forward to hearing their latest offerings.

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