Amadeus of Paris, France,  has begun shipping its passive version of their Philharmonia speakers, co-designed by architect Jean Nouvel.

Amadeus unveiled the Philharmonia Mini at the High End Show in Munich, Germany, where they paired the passive speakers with a Grandioso C1 preamplifier and a Grandioso S1 amplifier, both from Esoteric, Japan, along with the NADAC digital-to-analogue converter from Merging Technologies, Switzerland. The band-new passive speaker design is based on the Amadeus’ top-of-the line Philharmonia powered speakers, which were initially created specifically for the Philharmonie de Paris recording and mastering studios. The new Philharmonia Mini speakers have a retail price of 36,000 € (VAT Incl.) in Europe.

“The sonic philosophy of the Philharmonia Mini is inherited from the initial model, Philharmonia, which has been our ultimate reference throughout the development process,” said Michel Deluc, Director of Research & Development for Amadeus.

“The original Philharmonia-first released in 2015 and created from our collaboration with Jean Nouvel and the Philharmonie de Paris-has touched, charmed, and surprised many music lovers over the last few years,” adds Gaetan Byk, Marketing Manager at Amadeus.

“The Philharmonia Mini is a form of response by Amadeus and Jean Nouvel to requests from our customers, users, and partners from the consumer world. Extending the brand and therefore the Philharmonia range was necessary. We had to offer a more compact version, more discreet, less pricey and non-powered and not digitally-managed, incorporating a state-of-the-art passive filtering section, all without distorting the shape, finish and construction technique imagined by Jean Nouvel,” states Byk.

The new Philharmonia Mini speaker design features a curved structure consisting of 288 wood veneers machined, aligned and glued. The speaker in itself features a 432mm height with a 353mm depth. The cabinets are custom manufactured from layered Birch and stand 1.23 meters tall. The speaker enclosure features a hybrid laminar port using progressive termination inspired by the original Philharmonia.

“The distinctive construction technique helps neutralize standing waves affecting sonic clarity and low-frequency definition through an extremely complex internal structure using a combination of interlocking panels arranged in two perpendicular planes, each hosting several tuned notch resonators. This allows a dramatic decrease in sound coloration through a crossed structure of longitudinal and trans-verse reinforcements,” reveals Deluc.

The Philharmonia Mini 2-way, passive speakers feature the original Philharmonia’ 28-mm soft-domed tweeter and a custom 170-mm woofer, for an amplitude linearity range (±2dB) from 54 Hz to 22 kHz, and a cut-off frequency (-6dB) of 44 Hz. in wood. The pedestal contains the passive components inside the lower part of the speaker enclosure, including the custom Amadeus-designed passive crossover.

“This new model features a passive crossover built into the pedestal that allows the system to be driven by just one external amplifier. Achieving such a linear response without active components -and digital correction-created an enormous amount of work on the design of the enclosures’ internal structure, the hybrid laminar port, and the waveguide expansion,” states Deluc. “The passive filter design philosophy matches the aesthetic of the speaker. It is very minimalist. The passive crossover features a subtle combination of two different orders, inducing an absolutely perfect phase summation between the two speakers, and an excellent impulse response.”

The rear panel of the pedestal features a pair of binding posts from Japan-based manufacturer FURUTECH. These carbon-finished binding posts feature rhodium-plated conductors.

Specifications:

Transducer (HF): Ø 28 mm soft dome

Transducer (LMF): Ø 170 mm bass driver

Recommended Power: 50 – 300W/8Ω

Amplitude linearity (±2dB): 54 Hz –  22 kHz

Cut-off frequency (-6dB): 44 Hz

Peak SPL 1-meter (Pair, IEC Short Term): 118 dB peak

Peak SPL 1-meter (IEC Short Term): 112 dB peak

Sensitivity (2.83V/1m): 90 dB

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