Cello Speakers - Lawrence Audio - CES 2012

CES 2012 doesn't officially kick off until tomorrow, but today I decided to check out the layout of the High-Performance Audio floors at the Venetian.  All the exhibitors were very busy setting up their exhibit rooms and it was nice to chat to them before the large crowds arrive tomorrow.  Secretly my real intent of visiting the show a day before the official start was that I was hoping to get some private listening opportunities.  While walking down one of the hallways the seductive voice of Rebecca Pidgeon pulled me into the Lawrence Audio room who are based out of Taiwan.  Just my luck, their system was ready to play and my private listening session was just moments away.  While it was the voice of Rebbeca that initially caught my attention, I was immediately struck the unique looking speakers on display and the wonderful sound emanating from them.

Lawrence Audio Cello and Violin Speakers at CES 2012

In the photo above are the new Cello speakers (larger, inside) and the Violin speakers (smaller, outside).  The Violin ($7500US) speakers won an Innovations award at CES last year and this year the Cello ($20,000) speaker have received an Innovations award this year.  The unique looking speakers resemble the instrument that they are named after which really is a refreshing change from typical boxy speaker designs.  The Cello speakers each use five drivers to make a 3.5-way floor standing loudspeaker.  The loudspeaker employs an air motion tweeter and an air motion mid-treble.  The woofer and subwoofer units are 8-inch aluminum framed drivers with a non-woven carbon fiber cone.  There is also a rear firing ribbon tweeter which I quickly identified as an Aurum Cantis G2Si.  The crossover frequencies are set at 700Hz, 1.7kHz, 2.6kHz and 9kHz with preimum crossover components used throughout.  The speakers have a nominal impedance of 4 ohms (3.2 ohms minimum) with a frequency response noted as 32Hz to 40kHz and a sensitivity of 90dB.  The loudspeaker enclosures are vented at the bottom.  Shown below with the Cello speaker is Lawrence Liao who is the acoustic designer and founder of Lawrence Audio.

Lawrence Liao of Lawrence Audio with Cello Speakers

The private listening session with Rebbeca Pidgeon and the Cello speakers was wonderful.  I am very familiar The Raven recording and the Cello speakers did a fabulous job reproducing this excellent Rebbeca Pidgeon recording.  The Cello speakers produced a very wide and deep soundstage.  Most impressive was the focus and the deep bass.  With closed eyes one can distinctly pick out all the instruments in the recording.  With it's unique looks and excellent sound reproduction, I'm sure many will be wrting about these speakers at CES 2012.    For more information see the Cello Loudspeaker at Lawrence Audio. 


More CES 2012 Show Coverage

• 2012 CES, Las Vegas - diyAudioProjects.com Show Coverage thread