Loudspeakers, But In A Different Way
Not many manufacturers attempt to build speakers with such a fundamentally different approach as this brand.
Cabinets made from natural slate. Not easy, but the results are spectacular.
About the SN/SL 1000.1AMT
This is Fischer&Fischer's (F&F) top of the line machine. It's made of slate – or maybe half a mountain. Each speaker actually consists of four boxes. That's a bonus for practical reasons as well as sound quality. The total mass is 283Kg.
Obviously the basic specs of this speaker reflect the intent here. Bass goes down to 22Hz and the efficiency is fairly high at 92dB/W. And that translates to lots of headroom. And for system matching, whilst lots of power (perhaps you already have it) certainly makes its presence felt, some good solid valve amplification at say around 100W is very appropriate too.
Driver quality is excellent of course, as is the quality of the crossover circuitry. And because of the whole slate cabinet construction, the combination opens the window to amazing levels of transparency and resolution. Indeed, we would say this is possibly the unique position of this product in the market right now – a reference level of speaker in general terms combined with that multi-box slate cabinet construction provides all the drive and power you would ever need combined with such an obvious lack of colouration that opens the window wider than you've probably ever heard before.
Tech Insight
As well as the the obvious multiple drivers featured in this design, the main technical talking point has to be the multiple slate cabinets. By using such a concept the designers ave significanly reduced both the mechanical interaction and the acoustic interaction (the air mass behind the drivers) with this arrangement. The result is an uncanny sense of control and transparency even at rather high SPL levels. This is a very special speaker indeed.
Specifications
Frequency response – (+/- 3 dB)22 - 25.000 Hz
Impedance – 4 ohms
Sensitivity – 92 dB (1 W / 1 m)
Max. acoustic pressure – 118 dB
Frequency dividing network – 1st and 2nd order phase and impedance corrected filters
Function principle – bass reflex
Subwoofer system – two 260 mm FISCHER & FISCHER cone speakers with carbon paper foam sandwich membrane
Bass system – two 220 mm FISCHER & FISCHER cone speakers with carbon paper foam sandwich membrane
Midrange system – two 180 mm FISCHER & FISCHER cone speakers with carbon paper, carbon foil sandwich membrane, neodymium magnet and aluminium phase plug
Tweeter – one FISCHER & FISCHER-Air Motion Transformer (AMT), special custom made by Mundorf
Connecting terminal – Tri-Wiring, with pure silver bridges, 63 A connecting terminals, rhodium plated
Cabinet material – 20 / 23 mm thick low-resonance natural slate
Floor system – aluminium, levellable
Dimensions – slate cabinet (H x W x D)1560 x 275/320 x 715 mm. All over dimensions incl. floor system (H x W x D)1620 x 420 x 830 mm
Weight – 283 kg
Matching & Setup
Okay, All the usual sort of big speaker setup requirements apply here. You'll need quite a big room and great upstream components – plus a great system architecture too. Remember these spekers are so transparent that every improvemet in supports or mains conditioning will be instantly apparent in the sound.
But where this speaker is really fascinating is how it responds in the best way possible to different types of sources and amplification. Vinyl and valves (with say 100W) – you're treated to the most amasingly authentic and three dimentional experience that the medium is able to deliver. A great streaming solution and solid state amplification – you're treated to the absolute top levels of grip and drama, dynamic range and detail.
All that painstaking slate construction that goes into the cabinet simply makes this speaker get out of the way.