Speaker Porn

Sprague Dawley

Sprague Dawley

Member
Joined
May 18, 2019
Messages
171
Location
Japan
I have the Sonab OA-14's from Sweden but these are my holy grail speakers. I will never own them. The top of the line Sonab OA 2212's. Production ceased in Sweden in the late 70's. Peerless tweeters. Surely the sound of buxom angels motorboating your brain in blub-inducing synchronicity.

sonab2212b.jpg
 
No thread like this is complete without the Infinity IRS. Four towers that are 7.5 feet tall. A dedicated amp for the bass towers, and an electronic crossover. You still had to buy another amp (or two) to drive the midrange/tweeter towers.

I heard a pair when they came out. I was 14. They blew my mind. I've never forgotten them. When they first came out they were $30k. When they were discontinued four decades later they were over $100k.

Pictured are the speakers required for one channel.

IMG_3025.JPG




I like big speakers and I cannot lie.
 
Sprague Dawley said:
I have the Sonab OA-14's from Sweden but these are my holy grail speakers. I will never own them. The top of the line Sonab OA 2212's. Production ceased in Sweden in the late 70's. Peerless tweeters. Surely the sound of buxom angels motorboating your brain in blub-inducing synchronicity.

sonab2212b.jpg
Click to expand...

How do you like the OA-14s? I've never heard a pair of Sonab and I think they're particularly rare here in the states. I know they are all over Blocket if you live in Sweden, but I've never been able to give them a whirl.

I've always been really interested in their design. They're beautiful from a strict industrial design perspective but the driver array is crazy! Seems a bit like early Bose with the massive array of speakers pointing everywhere but at your ears. Is the goal similar, to create a less directional sound / wider sweet spot?
 
zombie.modernist said:
How do you like the OA-14s? I've never heard a pair of Sonab and I think they're particularly rare here in the states. I know they are all over Blocket if you live in Sweden, but I've never been able to give them a whirl.

I've always been really interested in their design. They're beautiful from a strict industrial design perspective but the driver array is crazy! Seems a bit like early Bose with the massive array of speakers pointing everywhere but at your ears. Is the goal similar, to create a less directional sound / wider sweet spot?
Click to expand...
yeah the omni-directional thing means they HAVE to be placed right in the corners of the room. They sounds gorgeous but don't have much grunt to them. Not really designed for rattling the windows but still, I wouldnt trade them for anything
 
HiFi Guy said:
No thread like this is complete without the Infinity IRS. Four towers that are 7.5 feet tall. A dedicated amp for the bass towers, and an electronic crossover. You still had to buy another amp (or two) to drive the midrange/tweeter towers.

I heard a pair when they came out. I was 14. They blew my mind. I've never forgotten them. When they first came out they were $30k. When they were discontinued four decades later they were over $100k.

Pictured are the speakers required for one channel.

View attachment 1046




I like big speakers and I cannot lie.
Click to expand...

Those Infinity Reference Standards are magical creatures. I couldn't own any since they cost as much as my house.

I walked myself down the mountain til I hit my money means and bought a pair of Infinity Kappa 7 in 1988. Still running 'em today and I'm still in love with them. Wonderful soundstage and a very accurate, uncolored sound. Gotta feed 'em some current but that's OK.

D0D14A47-1473-44A2-A19F-55058BC42D2B.jpeg
 
Last edited:
uvwxVinyl said:
@Sprague Dawley or others could you describe the difference in sound with these Sonab speakers. The arrangement is so hard to comprehend but I do like designs that think outside the box.
Click to expand...

their inventor Stig Carlson
www.carlssonplanet.com

History of the Carlsson loudpeakers - CarlssonPlanet

Carlsson speakers have been around for fifty years. We will cover the speaker models decade for decade. The fifties The sixties The seventies The eighties The nineties The new millennium The fifties In 1953 Stig Carlsson designed the peculiar Coalscuttle, a cannon look-alike bass reflex...
www.carlssonplanet.com

the sound is hard to explain. The OA-14's absolutely cream their daks with synth stuff. John Foxx etc. Rock a wee bit less impressive in comparison. Maybe just don't have the girth. Maybe synth is what ol' Stig was thrilling over in the 70's?, about the right time period for the synth boom.

I'm no audio expert, but after having experimented with placement, it is ALL in the placement. Position them away from the corners and its "whats the big deal?" Which is weird cos their newsletter shows the speaker next to the dudes chair?

carlls.jpg


But if they're in the room corners, and if I lie flat on the floor at a 45 degree angle to the pair, sometimes I will SWEAR the sound on my right is coming from about 15 feet BEYOND the top left corner of the room. So weird.

Sweden better have a statue for the ol' Stig. A Sonab-shaped statue.
 
Sprague Dawley said:
their inventor Stig Carlson
www.carlssonplanet.com

History of the Carlsson loudpeakers - CarlssonPlanet

Carlsson speakers have been around for fifty years. We will cover the speaker models decade for decade. The fifties The sixties The seventies The eighties The nineties The new millennium The fifties In 1953 Stig Carlsson designed the peculiar Coalscuttle, a cannon look-alike bass reflex...
www.carlssonplanet.com

the sound is hard to explain. The OA-14's absolutely cream their daks with synth stuff. John Foxx etc. Rock a wee bit less impressive in comparison. Maybe just don't have the girth. Maybe synth is what ol' Stig was thrilling over in the 70's?, about the right time period for the synth boom.

I'm no audio expert, but after having experimented with placement, it is ALL in the placement. Position them away from the corners and its "whats the big deal?" Which is weird cos their newsletter shows the speaker next to the dudes chair?

carlls.jpg


But if they're in the room corners, and if I lie flat on the floor at a 45 degree angle to the pair, sometimes I will SWEAR the sound on my right is coming from about 15 feet BEYOND the top left corner of the room. So weird.

Sweden better have a statue for the ol' Stig. A Sonab-shaped statue.
Click to expand...

Wish i could test drive these somewhere, genuinely intrigued.
 
mondie said:
If we are doing speaker porn then let's do proper endgame speakers like this active Lenard Audio system from Australia :p These are a fully active, valve driven high-efficiency system using 27" bass drivers. Alas, I haven't yet had the opportunity to hear them.

11174406_640118452755916_2306350168011897625_o.jpg
Click to expand...

Imagine having that system and then arranging your furniture that way.
 
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