(2024)  $1600 
Available in either American Walnut or Cherry

As the exclusive dealer rep for *Davidson Audio we are pleased to announce their latest creation...Trois Facon (French for "three ways" pronounced "traw-fa-cone").  

*NOTE: The boutique artisans at Davidson Audio have previously created and designed the Bel Suono, Febrero, Ottobre, Froy, Augustus and other models over the years.  Those who decide to buy any of Davidson Audio's designs can rest assured they will own exclusive, "one-off" custom designs hand-built by a master craftsman with many years of teaching and building unique speaker systems.  Mr Davidson is always available for personal contact regarding any questions about his designs.

Each of the 46 lb enclosures measures 21" tall x 11.25" wide x 16" deep.
When placed on the matching stands, they are 42" tall.  They have a nominal impedance of 6 ohms.   The cabinets have your choose of either luxurious American Walnut veneer or Cherry.

*NOTE: as of 7/27 the Trois Facon with cherry finish is sold and no longer available.  

John Davidson describes the Trois Facon:
"The Trois Facon is my second 3-way design. My last two designs (Bel Suono and Augustus) focused on using top-of-the-line drivers and, as a result, proved to be more costly than expected.  Even though I've never been (and probably will never be) profit motivated when it comes to building speakers, I usually end up with a final price that's related to build costs. 
Having said that, it's probably more than likely a lot of people are not comfortable paying over $2000 for a pair of speakers. So, the focus for the Trois Facon was to build the best speaker I can with moderately priced drivers and, ultimately, reduce the cost. 

The bass driver I selected for the speaker is the Peerless SLS-830667. This driver has been around for many years and has a reputation for value and performance. Also, this woofer is optimized for use in a sealed box, easily reaching the F3 roll off at 45Hz. But in addition to this, sealed woofers have a gentler roll off than ported boxes giving this design usable bass below 40Hz. The Peerless woofer also has a great flat extension up to 1Khz.

The midrange driver is a SB Acoustics 4-inch ceramic cone drive with a beautiful flat response through the midrange frequencies. The driver starts to roll off at about 3 Khz and has no breakup until about 7 Khz, well past the intended crossover point.

The tweeter also comes from SB Acoustics. This 1" ceramic dome tweeter has a ruler flat response from 800Hz to over 30 Khz. The ceramic dome is very stiff pushing any breakup mode well past the audible range. This tweeter is easy to listen for without any fatiguing characteristics.

The cabinet is constructed out of ¾” MDF on all sides except the front baffle. The baffle is constructed from 1” MDF and the cape with ½” piece of solid American walnut or Cherry.
An internal enclosure is also constructed inside the box to isolate the midrange from the woofer. The box is also integrated into the cabinet to provide bracing on the tall side of the cabinet. The sides and top of the cabinets are covered in thick walnut veneer to match the baffle.

I also built a pair of very sturdy, matching wood finish stands.  These stands are so strong they easily support the 46 lb. cabinets.
This combination gives this system a sleek and elegant look.

The crossovers are constructed using air core inductors, and polycaps. No electrolytic capacitors are used in the crossovers. I use a combination of 1st order; 2nd order and 3rd order filters to take advantage of the wide power bands and natural roll offs of each of the drivers. This provides a seamless transition between the drivers. The crossovers frequencies are 650Hz and 3Khz. Overall, this is one of the smoothest speaker systems I have ever built and I will miss them. I have enjoyed them so much I am finding it difficult to hand them off to my Cherry Vintage Audio in Greenville SC (since 2019, they are the exclusive dealer handling my designs.)  

The speaker has a sensitivity of about 87dB per 2.83V. The impedance never goes below 6.5 ohms and stays at 8 ohms or more for 90% of its frequency range. It is an easy speaker to drive. It does well with any amp or receiver of about 50 watts. Max power is about 100 watts but as always, any time the speaker starts to sound stressed you need to turn down the volume. I personally was using a 300-watt amp.

About Davidson Audio...
Based in Easley SC, John Davidson has over 25 years experience in custom loudspeaker design and technology.  During the late 60's, at the tender age of 12 and through the teen years, the addiction to HiFi led to a serious study of electronics.  For his senior high school project he built his first amplifier.  Eventually he earned a degree in electronic engineering technologies and began to work in the industrial manufacturing area.  All the while, the HiFi bug continued as a serious hobby.  Today, his designs can be seen and heard exclusively at Cherry Vintage Audio in Greenville, SC

In the mid '90s, with the consent and encouragement from wife and family, he decided to build a high quality media room at home. After setting a substantial budget for the intended gear, he discovered, very quickly, just how little the speaker budget had actually brought to the table. This led to researching the REAL cost in manufacturing high quality speakers which, in turn, led him to the surprisingly abundant world of DIY.  From that point on he never purchased a new set of commercially built speakers.

With his substantial and continuing understanding of electronics and the benefits of his other serious hobby, woodworking, he set out to build his own speakers. By intensive reading and studying (along with trial and error), he gained the understanding and formulas of speaker construction.   Over the next 25 years he built many sets of speakers of his own design along with some from other designers he had come to respect.

As he states "my designs typically start by combing through hundreds of data sheets from driver manufactures to find specific drivers that fit the acoustic and electrical characteristics I want.  Using that reference data, I make base calculations on the crossovers.  However, since drivers are a type of motor and dynamic by nature, the static calculations serve only as a starting point. It is impossible to produce a design with just base static calculations that will be pleasing to the ear.  So next comes the most difficult and time consuming aspect of any new design: hours, days, weeks, and even months of listening, testing and tweaking the crossover to produce the desired final product. Once the crossover is worked out the woodworking starts.  Selecting the best materials, I construct the cabinets. I use proven construction techniques and try to add visual interest using contrasting solid woods and veneers.  Internal bracing adds rigidity and lining the enclosures with acoustic foam eliminates standing waves and distortion. In the end, the enclosure must be functional but also pleasing in cosmetic design.  My philosophy towards loudspeaker design begins with the realization that it's an artful process that's based in science and engineering.  The final tuning of the crossover by ear combined with the design and construction of the enclosure is what elevates a loudspeaker into something you never tire of listening to."

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(2015)  $800 (mint, includes factory upgrades)

In absolutely mint cosmetic condition, this pair of Tekton Lore Reference speakers are fully operational and come with factory supplied upgrades.  

The upgrades include solid billet copper Cardas inputs, mil-spec internal wiring, Mundorf caps within the tweeter section and oversized Erse Sledgehammer inductors within the woofer section. 
They come with two different grill options: The full length factory black cloth grills or custom magnetic round black fiberglass screen grills just for the woofers.

Besides the stunning "Clemson Orange" finish, the other upgrades include the custom factory built grills with badges and chrome feet.

The Lore Reference is the medium-sized version of their popular Lore model, with a similar dynamic, punchy sound. Perfect for tube and analog lovers, it has high resolution and brings out the subtle details and nuances in audio.  It should be duly noted that the Lore Reference has won "Product of the Year" not once, but twice. It’s that good.  

During its concept design stage, the Lore Reference goal was neutrality...not hyped sound.  These are a 96dB-efficient floorstanding system that is perfect for many smaller to moderate sized rooms.  Basically, any quality amp will power up the Tekton Lore Reference speakers
NOTE: Tekton offers many gorgeous and often vivid stock colors, but will allow you to go full car paint with a pretty low-cost upgrade.)

Each "Clemson Orange" enclosure has an 8" driver at the top with a single tweeter below and then, not one, but two front-facing ports. Sold new, this pair is competitively priced at $880.  When you add the included upgrades, that comes to about $1250.  The towers measure 36" tall, 10.5" wide, and about 12" deep. They weigh a very manageable 44 lbs each.

Tekton speakers are handmade in Utah, though, and that counts for something no matter what side of the aisle you come from. Real workers using CNC machines, paint booths, and doing hand assembly. There’s a sense of hand craftsmanship here.

Specs:
Perfect impulse time-alignment
8″ transducer (woofer)
Hybrid HF transducer96dB 1W@1m
8 Ohm impedance
37Hz-40kHz frequency response
400 watts power handling
Manufactured in the USA


About Tekton...
Eric Alexander started Tekton Design in Orem, Utah in 2006. Alexander has a storied background, having designed over sixty different loudspeakers and crossovers in a 30 year career. Perhaps his most revolutionary design (U.S. Patent 9247339, 2016) inspired Alexander to make an audacious-sounding claim: the speaker’s ability to “…align the moving mass of speaker cones to the harmonic spectra of the musical instrument being played.” This, in addition to his simple but sophisticated crossovers is, in essence, the impetus behind the Tekton brand.

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(2005)   $850 (bases are for showroom demo only)

In excellent cosmetic condition and fully operational, this pair of Monitor Audio Silver RS8 speakers were obtained from the original owner.

The British firm Monitor Audio is known for building loudspeakers based on exotic metal-alloy drivers, and for some years Monitor’s Silver S models have been quite successful in the marketplace.

At CES 2005 the company announced a new Silver RS-series intended to take “the performance of the award-winning Silver S range to the next level.” The flagship of the new line is the Silver RS8—a two and a half-way, bassreflex, tower-type speaker. I found myself mesmerized by the review samples’ gorgeous “Rosenut” enclosures, and by their driver array: a 1″ gold-dome C-CAM (Ceramic-Coated Aluminum Magnesium alloy) tweeter, a 6″ C-CAM mid/bass driver, and two 6″ C-CAM woofers. The drivers are mounted in non-metallic cast-polymer frames whose matte silver matches the appearance of the speaker diaphragms. 

First, the RS8s offer unusually extended frequency response, with bass that reaches down into the midto- low 30Hz range and treble that extends beyond audibility. They also have quite good driver integration, with crossover points for the most part seamless. They, along with other affordable new near-full-range speakers such as Revel’s Concerta F12s, dispel the myth that full-range sound has to cost the earth. Second, the RS8s offer spacious imaging (though traces of treble “zing” occasionally peek through) with good image height and width. They also produce deep soundstages that consistently draw favorable comments from guest listeners.

Third, the RS8s are easy to drive, and so work well with moderately powered, moderately priced electronics. They also sound dynamically alive, so you may find yourself playing them at higher volumes than you would (or could) with most competing speakers. The RS8s are downright happy playing ebullient jazz and rock material; they did a fantastic job of capturing the exuberant, punchy sound of “Vertigo” from U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb [Interscope].

Finally, the RS8s possess an updated interpretation of the Monitor Audio “house sound,” which emphasizes bright (but not painfully bright) well-defined treble response, a lively yet smooth-sounding midrange, and hearty, robust bass. It’s this sound, which— more than any other single characteristic—defines the RS8s. If you believe the stereotype that all British speakers sound “polite” or “subdued,” the Silver RS8s will change your mind—they love to boogie.

Specs:
System Format: 3 Way
Frequency Response: 32Hz - 35kHzSensitivity (1W@1M): 90dB
Nominal Impedance: 4 Ohms
Maximum SPL: 116.8 (pair)
Power Handling (RMS): 200 watts
Recommended Amp: 80 - 200 watts
Bass reflex: Twin HiVe®II port System
Crossover Frequency: LF/MF: 500Hz / MF/HF:2.7kHz
Drive Unit Complement:
~Two 6" RST Bass drivers.
~One 4" RST Mid-range driver.
~One 1"  C-CAM Gold dome tweeter
Dimensions 40"H x 7.5"W x 12"D
Weight: 52 lbs each

M60 V2 / VP150-V2 / QS8-V2   

('06-'10)  SOLD 
boxes & free Sony STR-660P surround receiver 7.1 channel, 70 WPC

Obtained from the original owner and in absolutely perfect cosmetic and operating condition, this Axiom set includes the M60-V2 main towers, QS8-V2 rear speakers and the VP150-V2 center channel.

They are all finished in Boston Cherry veneer.
The stands, brackets, original factory boxes and documentation are included.

Since we specialize in vintage stereo and rarely offer surround components, this price on this set is generously discounted.

Rather than write a lot of copy, it's probably easier to go to the following links for information on these components.

M60-V2
https://www.goodsound.com/equipment/axiom_m60v2.htm

VP150-V2
https://www.axiomaudio.com/vp150-center-channel-speaker 

QS8-V2
https://www.axiomaudio.com/qs8-surround-sound-speakers 

About Axiom Audio...
Canadian loudspeaker and electronics manufacturer Axiom Audio is celebrating their 44th anniversary this year. Located in Dwight, Muskoka, Ontario, the company offers a range of wired and wireless speakers, systems and amplifiers. Double-blind listening and omnidirectional radiating patterns are key elements of Axiom’s design approach.
The founder and president is Ian Colquhoun and their R&D manager is Andrew Welker.
Mr Colquhoun (like other famous entrepreneurs) literally started out in a garage where he built his fist pair of speakers.  As time progressed, at the core of the research was the double-blind listening test, which allowed measurements taken in an anechoic chamber to be correlated with listener preference in an unbiased test environment. The double-blind loudspeaker testing resulted in very consistent scores that related to the measurements across all listeners. 
It should be noted that if the same tests were conducted sighted, then the results tended to be skewed towards price, brand, and size; [and] not just [correlated to] the measurements like the double-blind test results.
They went on to build their own laboratory at the Axiom factory in Canada. The lab included a full-sized anechoic chamber and a 100-foot bass measurement tower. The bass tower was built so they could accurately calibrate their anechoic chamber below 80Hz. The height allowed them to measure down to 10Hz with no reflections, so it is anechoic without being in a chamber. They also built a “torture chamber” for testing speaker power handling, double-blind listening test facilities, and a full electronics lab. They have continued their research at Axiom to the present time.

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