Why the Granada?
Many of you have heard the incomparable Feastrex drivers at previous shows. We have demonstrated them in a variety of cabinets, all intended to deliver full range performance from a single driver. Indeed, Feastrex's raison d'etre is to create drivers that deliver maximum performance on their own without any crossover. So why venture into other territory?
The Feastrex field coil drivers represent the pinnacle of speaker driver design. Their use of the world's finest handmade washi paper cones, lambskin leather surrounds, and a variety of extremely powerful electro-magnets, are already legendary. Our intent in creating the Granada Loudspeaker is to take advantage of their greatest strengths and to augment those strengths so that a new previously unheard level of performance can be achieved.
Open Baffle Design
We have chosen an open baffle design as, with no "box" to contend with, there are no "box colorations". The speaker drivers breathe naturally and present their pristine innate qualities. No box means bass that is clear yet powerful and much less susceptible to room excitations. Our baffle is machined from a three inch thick slab of Finnish Birch plywood, not mdf which will deaden the sound. The Granada's represents the pinnacle of 'Made in America' craftsmanship.
Why Woofers?
Why mate a driver designed for full range performance with woofers? The Feastrex field coil drivers are a force to contend with. On their own, in a modest cabinet they will provide jaw dropping performance. Why then introduce more complexity to a loudspeaker designed for use by itself? Because in loudspeaker design, there is no free lunch: The box used to enhance the bass of a single driver, must necessarily add colorations even if benign, and a single 5" driver with limited cone excursion can only produce so much bass. When massively driven by an uncompressed bass signal or orchestral crescendo a single driver can only do so much before it will begin to distort or bottom out. This is in the nature of the 'beast' and comes with the territory. A confirmed single driver user will tell you that the compromise is worth it. This is not something we at all deny. In fact we embrace the single driver approach wholeheartedly, but in the case of the Granada we wanted to offer a speaker without limitations, or as close as humanly possible.
In order to produce adequate bass in an open baffle, high excursion woofers are required. These woofers feature massive under-hung motors with a full copper sleeve on the pole. This insures extreme linearity and extremely low distortion. Each driver features dual 8 ohm voice coils with a high Q and low Fs for maximum power and efficiency.
The Design
Our design objective was to realize a shape that would provide the best possible sound while fitting into a real world environment. Its proportions had to be pleasing and convey a sense of solidity as though the speaker itself had grown on the spot where it stands - monumental yet graceful. The pair we are showing at RMAF will be finished in Wenge, but The Granada can be customized to suit your taste. The range of possibilities is vast.
The Sound
The Granada delivers great purity, accuracy and delicacy with a sense of tremendous underlying power in reserve - while remaining utterly relaxed. The temptation to while away hour upon hour in listening will be great.
We are putting the final touches on the Granadas in preparation for RMAF, Please come and hear this exciting new development from The Lotus Group.
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Also on display in Room 550 will be the world class Hanss T-60 Turntable and PA-60 Phono Stage, along with their category busting CD-20 CD Player.
PranaWire introduces the Washi! Power Cable at RMAF - a unique design intended to deliver the most delicate and subtle nuances possible especially from front end equipment. The Washi! uses the same National Treasure quality handmade washi paper used in the Feastrex cones as a dielectric material. It's magical!
