TACTIC II DRIVE UNIT

There are no transient delays in nature – when a singer sings, or a drummer strikes you hear the sound almost instantly. But when a drive unit tries to replicate this sound from a recording, the transient response time, although minute, is easily detected by the ear and the brain. When designing a drive unit, it is critical to reduce the transient response time as much as possible. Any delay, informs the brain that what is being listened to is in fact a recording and not a real human voice or instrument.

Wilson Benesch developed the original Tactic drive unit and subsequent Tactic II drive unit around this philosophy. We employed a light cone material, with phenomenally powerful NdFeB Rare Earth Magnets, with a highly evolved motor geometry to optimise flux. The result was a dynamic drive unit that could excurse through the in and out range of its movement during use very quickly and under a high degree of control. The original Tactic design was described as “lightning fast” in the first test reviews.

SEMISPHERE TWEETER

Designed and manufactured in house, the Semisphere has been developed to match the Tactic II Drive Unit, creating seamless integration across the mid-high frequency band. At the heart of the Semisphere is the Silk-Carbon Hybrid Dome. The hybrid dome tweeter, retains the natural sound of a soft dome tweeter, remaining free from sibilance. However the addition of carbon fibre through a proprietary technique, allows the Semisphere to remain flat through the frequency range to 30kHz.

Built around the dome is a combination of highly engineered components, which have been precision machined in house at Wilson Benesch. At the front a curved front plate creates the ideal launch surface for high frequency sound. To the rear of this is a complex motor front and rear plate that hold a ring of six powerful rare earth magnets. The design allows optimal venting and allows the Semisphere to remain cool during extended use.

PORT TUBES

Like a fine watch the components from which it is manufactured are celebrated rather than hidden in a Wilson Benesch loudspeaker. Precision machined details like the alloy external port tubes bear witness to the engineers attention to detail that the brand is recognised for. It is another novel facet that underlines our perspective of what High End audio is all about the benefits of small improvements in every detail in this case the small benefit enables that little extra air that would normally be robbed from the precious internal air volume of the cabinet. It might appear to be a huge amount of additional work to achieve such a small incremental gain but for Wilson Benesch this is how the difference is realised.

A.C.T. MONOCOQUE

A sophisticated three-layer composite structure comprised of carbon fibre, high compression blast core and glass fibre. In terms of energy damping and therefore signal-to-noise ratio, the A.C.T. Monocoque exceeds with consummate ease the materials traditionally used in loudspeaker design.

Wilson Benesch have optimised the A.C.T. Monocoque by creating a curved form. The geometric form of the cabinet negates standing waves by reducing the number of flat surfaces on the loudspeaker surface. Thus any sound waves interacting with the surface of the A.C.T. Monocoque are diffracted across a wide angle and thus diminished. As a result such distortions are impossible for the ear to detect, allowing the loudspeaker to disappear within the listening space; stealth like the loudspeaker creates a wide open and life like soundstage.

CABINET CONSTRUCTION

Speaker stands can be regarded as an integral part of a loudspeaker system since attaching an enclosure to a stand couples the two in terms of energy transfer. As such, the Vertex is built and shipped as a complete system with the upper cabinet bolted to the high-integrity stand.

The Vertex stand comprises a y-shaped laser cut steel top, elegantly designed to allow the Vertex ports to exit from the cabinet's underside without obstruction. The top attaches to the stand post, an extruded aluminium construction housing the Vertex wiring and bi-wireable terminal plate. At the base of the stand is a high-mass laser cut steel foot that ensures stability. Three precision machined spikes couple the Vertex stand to the floor, with the two adjustable rear spikes providing pitch and tilt adjustment. For use on hard floors, the stand can be supplied with in-house machined floor protectors.