Given that it’s extremely difficult to cover the entire audible range (or enough of it to satisfy) with a single drive unit, the speaker will employ multiple drivers blended by a crossover. The requirement to produce 20kHz suggests a driver no larger than 20 to 25mm diameter, with a usable bandwidth that won’t extend much below 2.5kHz. From that you can extrapolate a two-way system that crosses over at around 3kHZ, with extension defined by the size of the box and its sensitivity. These days, if we look at a typical compact speaker like the B&W 606 S3 (€1,000/pr) it pairs a 25mm titanium-dome tweeter with a 165mm bass driver. It extends from 52Hz to 28kHz (±3dB) and has a quoted sensitivity of 88dB. It’s a pretty typical set of numbers. Look at equivalently sized/priced models from the likes of Focal or KEF and you’ll find extremely similar performance – at least on paper. But what’s more interesting is if you look at B&W’s most expensive compact speaker, the 805 D4 Signature (€10,000/pr). That uses a 25mm diamond dome tweeter with a 165mm bass driver. Bandwidth is quoted as 42Hz to 28kHz (±3dB) and sensitivity is – you guessed it – 88dB. That’s the beauty of physics: follow the rules and you end up with the same answer, even if you throw ten times the money at the problem. The conclusion is clear: if you want to achieve a different result, you are going to need to change the rules.
Why change the rules? Because when it comes to current notions of live performance, traditional compact speakers simply aren’t big enough to do the necessary bass, or sensitive enough to do the demands for dynamic range and level. Shifts in the way that so many people are consuming music and the music that they are consuming, suggested to Avantgarde that it’s time to consider changing the paradigm, to re-examine the compromises that shape audio system design and the performance that results.
Breaking the rules…
If the logic laid out above holds, then let’s summarise the conclusions:
Rather than combining electronics and speaker design into integrated systems that risk obsolescence, the industry should separate customer investment into fast-developing digital solutions and the far more stable acoustic engineering involved in loudspeakers.
Loudspeakers need to offer greater longevity, sensitivity and bandwidth to meet modern customer expectations.
A quality loudspeaker solution can offer greater longevity than its associated electronics package, justifying a significant imbalance in initial investment.
A quality loudspeaker solution will grow with improved electronics as time and opportunity allows.
Whether of not you buy into those conclusions, they are the basis of the thinking behind the Colibri. If you apply conventional thinking this speaker makes no sense at all. Yet work with their essential premise, allow it to shape your decisions when it comes to selecting components and you might be surprised at just how enjoyable a Colibri system can be. There’s no confusion in this product’s intent. It sets out to offer seriously engaging, exciting and satisfying musical performance to an audience with limited funds and limited space – and boy does it succeed! Take one look at the price (€7,995/pr) and you might scoff at the idea of ‘limited funds’ – but that’s because you are applying traditional thinking to budget disposition. The speakers might cost €8K: the whole system needn’t cost much more.
