ANTE Supersonic One

The Supersonic One is conceptually a genuine 5-way speaker. Both 21.6“ woofers, which are driven by oversized motors, extend as deep as to unbelievable 8Hz (!) in rooms with an average response. To make a perfect grip of the woofer on the baffle they are bolted from behind into a massive ring-shaped piece of steel in the way the speaker’s assembly is almost welded into its front plate subpanel. A midtone driver occupies his own compartment and uses a neodymium assembly with Transcoil technology compensation – an extra stationary coil significantly reduces second and third harmonic distortions and helps to align the midbass impedance response to tweeters. The Ante (in a kind of flashback) uses paper membranes, carbon fibres loaded to suppress parasite resonances. By this the mass of the moving cone pushes down the resonance mode under 20Hz which is quite exceptional. On top of that, the cones are sprayed with a carbon fiber coating from outside, so they are velvet-like on touch. The upper range in the Supersonics is taken by three dedicated planar systems by Bohlender & Graebener. Whole crossover assembly is heavier than most commercial loudspeakers on the market. The 24dB/oct crossover utilizes Jantzen PP caps for the cones and Jantzen Silver line for the planars.

Papers specify the Supersonic One the bottom end extension at 12Hz+/-3dB. The baffle uses a Helmholtz resonator principle to reach down to subterranean bass. There is no real bassreflex port in the Ante, however, there is a 1050cm2 rectangular duct firing upwards that is conceptually not far from is known as a transmission line. To prevent your home pets falling down to the sizeable duct it is covered by a detachable grill. If you need so it is possible to use grilles on the Ante´s front plate as well to make it aesthetically more appealing in an interior.

The framework of the Supersonic reflects requirements for maximum acoustic inertness and zero-resonances. Not easy to find a manufacturer with skills and equipment to accomplish such a project. That is how PETROF, a famous piano manufacturer, has become involved. The basic construction work uses 1.18“ thick multiplex sandwich of Baltic birch (a very dense material with good shaping properties). The multiplex is further reinforced by 0.79” thick composite board (from inside of the front plate) and by a glass-fibre loaded fabric finished with a compression-molded ebony veneer (from outside of the frontplate). The rest of the cabinets is lined by 0.50” thick panels coated with hand polished piano lacquer – we have something to do with a company that has been doing this for 150 years, right? If you count all of this you will arrive to the framework thickness varying between 1.70“ and 2.00“.

The good thing is that the high gloss lining can be removed which may come handy in case of scratch repairs or repainting. On top of that, in PETROF they are ready to fulfill any wish for color or veneer you may like.

Well, let us not forget a base. The plinth of the speaker uses aircraft grade dural and adds another 70kg to the total weight of 370 kg (!). Optionally one may bolt spikes into the plinth but I would discourage you to do so unless you want to split your floor. Quite opposite - it is necessary to make sure that the carrying capacity of your floors and ceilings is high enough before you place the Supersonics in your house.