New High-End Speakers from Acoustic Zen

If you're into high-end audio gear, then the newest release from Acoustic Zen should raise your interest. It goes by the name of Maestro (indeed, not one of the newest things in the industry) and it is a very expensive piece of technology. Obviously, this high price was also caused by the fact that the Maestro is the flagship loudspeaker in Acoustic Zen's range, surpassing the former number one, the Crescendo.

If you were expecting something completely new and even groundbreaking, you should either wait longer, or look in other places, as it seems that the Maestro is nothing more than a hyped-up version of the Crescendo.




Nevertheless, there is nothing bad in this, because we're still talking about an impressive loudspeaker that has received more power and more clarity, and that's a good thing. The Maestro sports the same driver complement like the former flagship, namely a 2" top-drawer horn-loaded ribbon tweeter, which can reach a 40 kHz upper frequency point suitable for any of the most discerning audiophiles' ears, flanked by dual 5" underhung voice coil high-mid drivers.

On the LF side, the Acoustic Zen Maestro sports two 10" woofers loaded in the bottom enclosure and delivering a rolling bass down to 20 Hz via the rounded oval bass reflex front-firing port. The contraption has received a new enclosure placed at the top, containing a 5" low-mid driver, completing the array for a real 4-way sonic reproduction.

This device can handle 150-300 W RMS per channel, and sports an 87 dB sensitivity. It measures 1702 mm H x 381 mm W x 457 mm D, and weighs in at a hefty 112 Kg a piece. The finish choices are the same like in the case of the Crescendo, that is rosewood, walnut burl, and grenadilla. The announced price puts the Acoustic Zen Maestro off your Christmas gift list, unless you're filthy rich – a whopping $36,000 per pair.