REVIEWS & AWARDS

At €5'900/pr with stands, the story of Martin Gateley's smallest, the 4-driver Vox 3—the name indicates a proper three-way—wasn't complete yet when 2019 rang out. That's because its 3a version was still around the bend. 'f' is for ferrite motor, 'a' for AlNiCo. Those distinctions point at a 4" stock TangBand widebander for the former, a custom Enviée in a bronze basket for the latter. Either way, an upfiring Raal ribbon in a custom bronze plate and horizontally opposed Armin Galm custom 5" carbon woofers, all-wood construction in Walnut or Cherry, a matching stand and bronze-mesh woofer grills round out the Vox 3. Already with ferrite fuel, this Swiss mini driven by our AMP-13R impressed way beyond its dimensions and even pipped the Camerton on the final lap. By eliminating a typical filter in the presence region and putting midrange and lower treble on the same cone, immediacy and HF dynamics increase. Twin woofers loaded by port raise bass output and overall sensitivity, then force cancel mechanical vibrations. The upfiring ribbon counters a widebander's propensity to beam at the top, a wood enclosure sounds and looks better than MDF and direct sales from Switzerland deliver happier pricing. For décor-conscious flat dwellers keen on superlative sound that takes flight on little power, the smallest of all sound|kaos models factors biggest.

"The Wrap Up. The wonderful soundkaos Wave 40 are truly musical instruments. Their ability to freely rid themselves of internal energies and more freely project the music played through them adds a new dimension to the listening experience. The Wave 40 deliver music with a drive and pacing that commands your attention. Perhaps that’s why you can pivot the speaker cabinets on the stands to be able to hold them more like a guitar while they do their magic!"

“This is an excellent example of how to retain the very real virtues of single full-range driver working while taming its usual eccentricities. The Wave 40 is unquestionably costly, but it’s also very pretty, and the bottom line is that it also does the sound quality business, sufficient to justify an Audio Excellence award.”

"As always the final proof is in the listening. There the soundkaos Wave 40 sounds exactly like theory predicts a high-efficiency light-coned point source in a low-mass cabinet ought to. It's very quick. It lets go of sounds as though they were red-hot coins. It stages in grand style and scale. First and foremost though it's immediate, lucid and energized as the antithesis of dull and damped. This is a major accomplishment for the breed. It deserves enthusiastic accolades and a long standing ovation. Bravissimo!”