Sony SS-AR1 is a 57Kg, $27 000 loudspeaker that up until now has not been available in Europe. This scenario looks set to change as the company have been demonstrating the loudspeakers at this years Munich High End event to German dealers.

The SS-AR1 is predominantly a wooden loudspeaker with the baffles being sourced from the Japanese island of Hokkaido, where cold winters are reflected in the incredibly tight grain of the wood. Finnish birch is used for the side and rear panels.

Construction of the loudspeaker is meticulous and the design of the SS-AR1 is such that it helps control resonances – essentially the cabinet is two separate enclosures; one for the woofers and the other for the mids and tweeters. Each of these sub enclosures is bass reflex ported.

Drivers are sourced from Scandinavia and include twin 200mm aluminium woofers, a 130mm midrange unit (which incorporates a sliced paper cone to help suppress any resonance) and a 25mm soft dome tweeter.