S T A N D M O U N T L O U D S P E A K E R
"From the 1960s, brands like KEF and Bowers & Wilkins pioneered the use of new materials in drive unit technology, but arguably no company pushes the envelope of materials science these days quite like Wilson Benesch."
Alan Sircom, Editor HiFi +, 2012
The mathematical nomenclature afforded the Vertex and it floorstanding sibling the Vector pay homage to the fundamental importance of organic, geometrically optimised forms that have been exploited in pursuit of ultimate performance within the company’s reference loudspeaker line, the Geometry Series.
Wilson Benesch invested heavily in new manufacturing technology and the latest 3D CAD/CAM software and tooling to realise a highly optimised product line which surpasses in every respect, the previous reference line, the Odyssey Range. The Geometry Series celebrates the importance of music and its importance within our life.
A compact 2-way design, the Vertex features the revolutionary Semisphere Silk-Carbon Hybrid Dome Tweeter and a single Tactic II drive unit. The drive units are secured in an aluminium baffle, precision machined in house from a solid billet. To the rear of the cabinet, the A.C.T. Carbon Monocoque leaves no question, this is a high-performance Geometry Series thoroughbred.
As the entry point into the company’s reference line, the Vertex is a compact high-technology stand mount loudspeaker that represents incredible value for money. Thanks to the common drive technologies shared across the Geometry Series, the Vertex shares a family sound with the companies reference loudspeaker, the Cardinal. But up with a choice of luxurious wood veneers and high-gloss polymer finishes, the Vertex is a powerful statement of high-end audio luxury.
The mathematical nomenclature afforded the Vertex and it floorstanding sibling the Vector pay homage to the fundamental importance of organic, geometrically optimised forms that have been exploited in pursuit of ultimate performance within the company’s reference loudspeaker line, the Geometry Series.
Wilson Benesch invested heavily in new manufacturing technology and the latest 3D CAD/CAM software and tooling to realise a highly optimised product line which surpasses in every respect, the previous reference line, the Odyssey Range. The Geometry Series celebrates the importance of music and its importance within our life.
A compact 2-way design, the Vertex features the revolutionary Semisphere Silk-Carbon Hybrid Dome Tweeter and a single Tactic II drive unit. The drive units are secured in an aluminium baffle, precision machined in house from a solid billet. To the rear of the cabinet, the A.C.T. Carbon Monocoque leaves no question, this is a high-performance Geometry Series thoroughbred.
As the entry point into the company’s reference line, the Vertex is a compact high-technology stand mount loudspeaker that represents incredible value for money. Thanks to the common drive technologies shared across the Geometry Series, the Vertex shares a family sound with the companies reference loudspeaker, the Cardinal. But up with a choice of luxurious wood veneers and high-gloss polymer finishes, the Vertex is a powerful statement of high-end audio luxury.
Technology
EXPLORE THE FEATURES OF
BY CLICKING THE ICONS
Tactic II driver
S.M.A.R.T. Research funding of £130,000 kick started the Bishop Project in 1999. This Public funding from the UK Government established the company as a manufacturer of novel high performance technologies. Over the last 16 years, on going research and development has enabled Tactic II to be realised. The ultimate loudspeaker demands that every drive unit has completely unique parameters. This exacting science sees 35 precisely defined versions of the Tactic II. Nothing is ordinary about a Wilson Benesch loudspeaker.
Semisphere tweeteR
The science of carbon fibre is just one small element of the materials science that has been developed in Sheffield but it is one that has taught us a great deal especially where vibrational energy is concerned. One of the most important lessons has been that strength is nothing without the control of damping. Even the stiffest materials can be excited by sound that is audible or perceptible. From this knowledge came the worlds first hybrid tweeter dome featuring carbon fibre and a soft dome. This is just one element of the radically different and superb sounding Semisphere tweeter. We believe that unlike most tweeters today the Semisphere can be appreciated for hour after hour without any fatigue.
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
If the sophisticated A.C.T. monocoque structure was judged by purely engineering function, it would lay claim to being one of the worlds lightest, stiffest and most highly damped structures ever manufactured. In terms of energy damping and therefore signal to noise ratio, it would exceed with consummate ease the traditional conventional materials typically seen in loudspeaker design to date.
HIGH INTEGRITY STAND
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.
"Some loudspeakers try to be musical instruments, this tries to be a reproducer of music in it’s entirety. Highlighting specific examples of this is to try and pigeon-hole a loudspeaker that defies classification. Play Blues and it sounds like the Blues. Play an orchestral piece and it sounds orchestral… It does what speakers are supposed to do, and so few really achieve; it plays what it is given."
black titanium
white gloss
regal silver
white gloss with stands
silk black
oak satin
natural cherry satin
zebrano gloss
walnut gloss
ebonised walnut gloss
red tulip gloss
red birdseye gloss
birdseye maple gloss
burr walnut gloss
Front
Side
Back
SCHEMATIC
VOLUMES
1 x 25mm ( 1") Wilson Benesch Semisphere tweeter
1 x 170mm ( 7”) Wilson Benesch Tactic II mid-range drive unit
Poly-alloy hybrid construction,
High performance carbon composite A.C.T. monocoque
Mid-range dual ported enclosure
2-way stand mounted monitor
Impedance: 6Ω nominal / 4Ω minimal
Sensitivity: 89dB at 1 metre on-axis, 2.83V input
Frequency response: 44Hz - 30KHz +/- 2dB on-axis
Minimum amplification power recommendation: 100 W / channel
Crossover frequency: tweeter filtered at 5kHz
Height: 1100mm ( 43.3")
Width: 230mm ( 9.1")
Depth: 370mm ( 14.6")
Volume: 12.7L
Weight per channel: 23kg (50.7 lbs)
Anodised black baffle
Silk black stand
High gloss satin weave carbon fibre cabinet
High gloss black acrylic top and base
Bespoke side cheek options - see FINISHES above
Drivers
CONSTRUCTION
MEASUREMENTS
DIMENSIONS
FINISHES
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IN 3d
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Wilson Benesch Ltd | Falcon House | Limestone Cottage Lane | Sheffield | United Kingdom | T +44 (0)114 285 2656
Designed and Built by Wilson Benesch 2019 | All rights reserved
"From the 1960s, brands like KEF and Bowers & Wilkins pioneered the use of new materials in drive unit technology, but arguably no company pushes the envelope of materials science these days quite like Wilson Benesch."
Alan Sircom, Editor HiFi +, 2012
stand mounted LOUDSPEAKER
The mathematical nomenclature afforded the Vertex and it floorstanding sibling, the Vector, pay homage to the fundamental importance of organic, geometrically optimised forms that have been exploited in pursuit of ultimate performance within the company’s reference loudspeaker line, the Geometry Series.
Wilson Benesch invested heavily in new manufacturing technology and the latest 3D CAD/CAM software and tooling to realise a highly optimised product line which surpasses in every respect, the previous reference line, the Odyssey Range. The Geometry Series celebrates the importance of music and its importance within our life.
A compact 2-way design, the Vertex features the revolutionary Semisphere Silk-Carbon Hybrid Dome Tweeter and a single Tactic II drive unit. The drive units are secured in an aluminium baffle, precision machined in house from a solid billet. To the rear of the cabinet, the A.C.T. Carbon Monocoque leaves no question, this is a high-performance Geometry Series thoroughbred.
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.
Technology
"Some loudspeakers try to be musical instruments, this tries to be a reproducer of music in it’s entirety. Highlighting specific examples of this is to try and pigeon-hole a loudspeaker that defies classification. Play Blues and it sounds like the Blues. Play an orchestral piece and it sounds orchestral… It does what speakers are supposed to do, and so few really achieve; it plays what it is given."
REVIEWS
FINISHES
FRONT
SIDE
BACK
VOLUMES
DRIVERS
CONSTRUCTION
MEASUREMENTS
DIMENSIONS
FINISHES
1 x 25mm ( 1") Wilson Benesch Semisphere tweeter
1 x 170mm ( 7”) Wilson Benesch Tactic II mid-range drive unit
Poly-alloy hybrid construction,
High performance carbon composite A.C.T. monocoque
Mid-range dual ported enclosure
2-way stand mounted monitor
Impedance: 6Ω nominal / 4Ω minimal
Sensitivity: 89dB at 1 metre on-axis, 2.83V input
Frequency response: 44Hz - 30KHz +/- 2dB on-axis
Minimum amplification power recommendation: 100 W / channel
Crossover frequency: tweeter filtered at 5kHz
Height: 1100mm ( 43.3")
Width: 230mm ( 9.1")
Depth: 370mm ( 14.6")
Volume: 12.7L
Weight per channel: 23kg (50.7 lbs)
Anodised black baffle
Silk black stand
High gloss satin weave carbon fibre cabinet
High gloss black acrylic top and base
Bespoke side cheek options - see FINISHES above
Gloss: Piano Black, White, Zebrano, Birds Eye Maple, Red Birds Eye, Red Tulip, Walnut, Burr Walnut and Ebonised Walnut
Satin: Oak and Natural Cherry
SPECIFICATIONS
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Wilson Benesch Ltd | Falcon House | Limestone Cottage Lane | Sheffield | United Kingdom | T +44 (0)114 285 2656
Designed and built by Wilson Benesch 2019 | All rights reserved