Whisper XD

The Whisper XD design radically increases piston area in the forward plane extending bandwidth, sensitivity, and frequency range. Because the design is open air, the system is virtually free of enclosure resonance and room limitations. Flaunting the latest in ribbon and cone technology, the elegant monoliths look just as dramatic as they sound.

Whisper XD’s differential alignment is analogous to a dual element microphone. Signals from the two baffles are combined acoustically with time compensation to steer the low frequency wave-launch forward, while creating a progressively reduced acoustic output to the sides until reaching a null at 90 degree off axis. This eliminates boundary interactions from sidewalls, ceiling and floor. The gradient acoustic pressure reaching the listener at each ear contains far less room noise, allowing the brain to lock in on the natural ambience in the recording.

The sweet spot is much wider with the Whisper XD design, allowing the listener to move outside the left speaker and still hear a balance with the right speaker, and vice versa. The manual recommends a strong toe-in, to cast the strongest acoustic shadow across the face. It explains that the imprint of the shadow of the nose into the opposite ear is the other portion of the stereo signal that is usually washed out by excessive room reflections with conventional speakers.

The nearly six foot towers host dual 15” woofers on each of the two baffles, which are spaced less than four inches apart. The woofers pumped in the same direction, so the pressure change between the two is virtually zero (reminiscent of the magnetic caterpillar drive from the Red October submarine). The midrange is covered by a carefully positioned array of four cast frame drivers with a silver-graphite/rohacell diaphragm. Highs shimmer from the neodymium ribbon tweeter and pleated ribbon super tweeter.

The ‘plug and play’ 24-bit Whisper system allows adjustment of channel separation, low frequency contour and proximity via the proprietary algorithms included in the Wave-launch processor. For the tube lovers, the upper portion of the highly sensitive speaker can be driven by the user’s choice of amplification. Most refreshing is the cost of the high end system; a down to earth $20k in standard finish.