home entertainment 2007

Michael Fremer
DESCRIPTION Three-way, dual-ported,
floorstanding loudspeaker. Driveunits:
1" non–ferrofluid-cooled, softdome
tweeter; 5" plastic-cone
midrange unit; two 9" plastic-cone
woofers. Crossover frequencies:
200Hz, 4800Hz. Frequency response:
20Hz–45kHz, –3dB. Sensitivity:
94dB/W/m. Nominal Impedance: 7
ohms.
DIMENSIONS 44.5" (1140mm) H
by 11.8" (300mm) W by 21.5"
(550mm) D. Weight: 188 lbs
(85.5kg).
FINISH Italian Walnut.
SERIAL NUMBERS OF UNITS
REVIEWED 5150A, 5150B.
PRICE $65,000/pair. Approximate
number of dealers: 6.
MANUFACTURER Peak Consult, Langelandsvej
12, DK-5500 Middelfart,
Denmark. Tel: (45) 64-400-580. Fax:
(45) 64-400-680. Web: www.peakconsult.dk.
US distributor: Signals
SuperFi, LLC, Atlanta, GA 30318. Tel:
(678) 528-8077. Fax: (678) 884-
1167. Web: www.signals-superfi.com.
EQUIPMENT REPORT
Peak Consult
El Diablo
LOUDSPEAKER
Peak Consult El Diablo
The devil’s in the details, so here’s one detail you should know going in:
The El Diablo, a deceptively modest-looking, casket-like, compact,
three-way loudspeaker from Danish firm Peak Consult, will cost you a
penny less than $65,000/pair. Why? Yes, the dollar’s continued slide has
alarmingly driven up the price of imported audio gear, but even so…
The Details
Though it’s only 44.5" tall, 11.8" wide, and 21.5" deep, the Diablo weighs a hefty
188 lbs. Clearly, a great deal of something has been packed into its relatively small
cabinet, and it’s not lead.
The hand-built enclosure is a glued sandwich of various thicknesses (1.5–3") of
high-density fiberboard (HDF), with specially designed resonance suppressors at
key spots. Encasing that is a 1"-thick skin of solid, hand-selected Italian walnut.
Despite the speaker’s outwardly rectangular shape, no two of its interior walls are
parallel, to avoid standing waves. This is one well-put-together cabinet that I feel
absolutely confident will pass John Atkinson’s accelerometer test with ease.
The front baffle’s slant and back-tilt are said to align both the phase and the arrival
times of the outputs of the tweeter, midrange, and woofers. Though often promised
by speaker makers, this is rarely delivered—as anyone who pays attention to JA’s
www.Stereophile.com, May 2007 89