I thought it would be a good time to post about about two new speakers in the pipelines from Greg Takesh of GT Audio Works. The first model which will be debuting at CAF in November is the "Giulietta Bellissima" named in honour of his late wife. Greg is aiming for a target price of $16US for the panels, or $25kUS for the panels with a pair of his matching OB active subs with AudioControl RS1000 external bass amps. The speakers will be sold direct, and thus will have high cost/performance compared to the big players like Alsyvox and Clarisys Audio. Additionally Greg manufactures his own planar magnetic and ribbon drivers (including the anti resonant sub structure that holds the drivers). That allows for greater design freedom, quality control and and integration. Though he has commissioned a business in the US which manufactures speaker cabinets for some well known high end brands to manufacture the hardwood frames and crates, which will ensure a high standard of fit and finish and keep costs down.
The Giulietta Bellissima's will be a 3 way design using 1st order crossover networks. They will differ from all other planars, in that the planar magnetic bass drivers (which will be a stack of 3 x 24" tall panels stacked 72" h x approx' 9" w) will be driven directly without any crossover or electrical filtering of any kind. Therefore the coherence of such a design allows for a power response and phase accuracy not possible with multi driver systems with complex electrical filters, with the added benefit of greater efficiency. Greg told me the prototypes have an amazing hit in the 50-100hz range which gives acoustic and electric bass a response you feel in the gut. But for electronic music or pipe organ as well as the hit of a kick drum, the speakers will benefit from sub support. They also feature a planar magnetic midrange driver measuring 2.5" w x 72" l, and true ribbon tweeter measuring 1" w x 72" l. And the frames will be simple oiled Mahogany with aluminum bases and spiked feet.
To give you an idea of the calibre of these speakers. The forerunner to the Giulietta Bellissima was the Reference 3 which debuted in 2021. The late Peter Breuninger told me those speakers played in the same league as the Infinity IRS-V's, only with better midrange and overall refinement. And Greg commented that the new 3 way design is a better speaker than the old 2 way REF 3 for less money. Anyway, when Greg posts images of the full production speakers he's bringing to CAF, i'll update the thread. Though based on previous show reports of the Ref 3's, I suspect the Bellissima's + OB subs will embarass a few of the big $$ rooms at the show. For now, here is the final rendering -
And here are the preliminary specs -
- Bandwidth - 55Hz - 35kHz (+/-3db)
- Nominal Impedance - 6 ohms/Sensitivity - 93db
- Power handling - 50w - 300w
- Dimensions - 198cm h x 47cm w x 3.5cm d (not incl base)
- Weight - tbc
- Crossover points - tbc
- Finishes - Oiled hardwood (standard). Exotic veneers with matt or piano gloss and Automotive finishes (optional for an upcharge)
Greg also has another speaker in the works which will be called the Giulietta Magnifica. The target price will be around $40kUS for the panels + the cost of subs. This will be a cost no object speaker which, together with an array of his OB subs, will be similar in size to the classic Infinity IRS-V's (see rendering below)..
Links to further info -
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https://www.avnirvana.com/threads/gt-audio-works-launches-its-new-reference-3-speaker.8111/-
https://www.enjoythemusic.com/Capital_Audiofest_2022/Weaver/CAF_Top_5/page2.htm-
https://www.stereophile.com/content/gt-audioworks-loudspeakers-pass-labs-electronics-basis-audio-turntable-and-tonearm-mosart-
https://www.gtaudioworks.com/
