Linkwitz Lab at AXPONA NYC

I've listened to the Orion-4s from Siegfrid Linkwitz on a few occasions now, and I have to admit I'm growing fond of these speakers. These are among the rare high-end products that are embraced by more objectivist audio people (the polar opposite of audiophiles, in other words) since they measure beautifully and feature a lot of solid engineering. In fact, one engineer friend of mine who hates the high end bought the Orions in kit form and absolutely loves them.

The Orions are medium-sized active floorstanders with an open baffle for the top half of the speaker and a front woofer that sits in an open lower section and fires upward. This recipe creates an open, airy sound that creates a huge soundstage. Driven by Bryston amplification and using a Marantz SACD player as a source, the Orions sounded natural and expansive and utterly disappeared like few other speakers their size. The Orions are not cheap (they start at $14,750 which includes the active crossover analog signal processor) but they do offer a sound that competes with much more expensive designs.