IF you’re an amplifier manufacturer whose products have been matched with some of the finest speakers in the homes of audiophiles over the past decades, you would naturally be curious about one thing – how well could you design speakers if you were to go into that business?
Canada’s Bryston Ltd, which built its reputation on some of the toughest-built amps in pro-audio and hi-fi realms, decided to find out this year, and teamed up speaker specialist Axiom Audio for this project to design an affordable reference-grade loudspeaker … made in North America.
The result is the Model T, which is offered in three versions – with internal passive crossover, with external passive crossover and with external active crossover.
Each unit uses dual one-inch tweeters, dual 5.5-inch midrange drivers and three eight-inch woofers, crossing over at 160Hz and 2.3kHz. They’re mounted in an enclosure designed to reproduce extremely high SPLs without introducing any cabinet resonance – Bryston quotes its maximum SPL at 118dB!
The Model T covers a frequency range of 25Hz to 22kHz, presents a load of four ohms and at 91dB sensitivity, is relatively easy to drive – Bryston recommends upwards of 10 watts, but make sure they’re quality ones.
Each speaker measures 1334 x 267 x 419mm (h/w/d) and weighs a substantial 49kg. Standard claddings in vinyl are black ash, natural cherry and Boston cherry but optional wood veneers and high-gloss painted finishes are available on order.
Given that Bryston amps are known for their neutral nature, the Model T was subjected to more than 200 different anechoic tests at its design stage to ensure the highest level of accuracy, and for a precise balance between direct and reflected energy.
Bryston claims the Model T is a wide-dispersion design, which means a wide and balanced stage.
The base price for the Model T is US$6,495 – add US$1,000 each for the custom finishes and external passive crossover (the active one is US$3,000).
The Model T takes into consideration home cinema needs, so centre and surround (and in-wall) units are in the works, along with a matching powered subwoofer.
The speakers are already shipping and if you’ve got Bryston amps in your system, this could be the perfect match for them. Even otherwise, they promise quite a bit of bang for your money … just like Bryston amps.
