PS Audio aspen FR30 Speakers On Demo At Fanthorpes HiFi

Designing and building a new loudspeaker is both the easiest and hardest engineering challenge in all of high-fidelity. On the one hand, anyone can go online and buy a few drivers and bang together a box to make decent sound. On the other hand, the most difficult task in all of high-performance audio is crafting a seamless phase-correct output from two or more driver technologies. Over nearly a century of loudspeaker designs, few models have ever achieved legendary status. The FR30 joins the ranks of a rare handful of true full-range speakers that can honestly cover the frequency range of 28Hz to beyond 20kHz with grace, dynamics, slam, and low distortion. What's captured on the disc is exactly what you'll hear with a greater resolution than most have ever experienced. Grace, beauty, PRaT, power, and a musicality that is rare amongst 6 figure offerings from other manufacturers await owners of the aspen FR30. That this speaker is financially within reach of many makes it a miracle.

Loudspeakers are part of the family. With their presence, they grace our homes and living areas by bringing the joy of music into our lives. Unlike the electronics that drive them, to perform their best most loudspeakers depend on proper placement and optimized room parameters. The aspen FR30, however, is designed to more easily fit into any living environment and perform at their best with a minimum of setup hassles and a maximum of options. Using the rear-panel adjustments, FR30 owners can place their speakers where they best fit into the decor with nothing more than the flick of the baffle-step switch, or the turn of the rear tweeter control. While the FR30, like all high-performance speakers, appreciates some breathing room between them and the front wall, these unique rear-panel controls offer users greater flexibility of placement without sonic compromise. Using the included step-by-step guide and CD, setup, from unboxing to playing music, happens easily in a few short hours.

The heart and soul of any loudspeaker are its drivers, the transducers that in response to the amplifier's demands pressurize the air and generate the music. Each driver must be optimized for the task at hand. In the FR30, it quickly became apparent we could not source from even the most advanced driver manufacturers in the world the ultra low-distortion high-dynamic output drivers we would need to build the FR30. We started with our tweeter and midrange for here are the two most difficult drivers to perfect. Moving air at high frequencies without colorations or distortion is a daunting task. On the FR30 we chose to go with a technology that has the speed of an electrostat with the dynamics of a cone. Planar Magnetics. These ultra-low distortion drivers are equally driven with front and rear magnetic structures that offer inherent linearity through symmetrical “push-pull” neodymium motor structures and directly driven ultra-low mass diaphragms with none of the cone or dome breakup, inductance modulation, or hysteresis distortion that plagues traditional drivers. For the low end, we crafted long-throw high-excursion woofers with massive 12-pound motor structures that match the effortlessness and transparency of the planar magnetic drivers. To lower distortion, we employed a unique split magnetic gap and a double faraday ring for low, linear inductance and wide bandwidth, coupled with a symmetrical double spider. Lastly, to achieve maximum linearity and extended deep bass extension without the compression and distortion of ports, we designed our own high compliance passive radiators.

Loudspeakers have an honored place in our homes. They often are the focal point of our living rooms and in that capacity must proudly make a statement of fitting elegance. The aspen FR30 enclosure design starts with the internal structure necessary for great sound and then lovingly sculpted into a work of art befitting our homes. With industrial design by famed Studio 63, the FR30 stands as a proud sculpture comfortable in almost every decor. Internally, the FR30 is an extensively braced enclosure designed to minimize external vibrations that have the potential of coloring the sound. Externally, the enclosures are lovingly finished with 20 coats of hand-rubbed high-grade “piano gloss” lacquer. While the main body and baffling structure are built with MDF, the sculpted front baffle is formed from a dense, rigid and well-damped high-tech thermoset fiberglass resin composite material with integrated high-frequency acoustic waveguides. Despite the FR30s cumulative weight of 230 pounds each, the speakers look to be almost floating as its curved bottom rests upon its sturdy aluminum base featuring large milled brass spikes with removable tips and integrated plastic feet for hard surfaces (and to aid in speaker placement). When delivered, the FR30 comes in two pieces: the upper midrange tweeter enclosure that easily couples onto the lower woofer enclosure through a custom machined sliding system. Together, the FR30 is stunning both visually and sonically. A masterpiece of design and love, crafted by those of us that care deeply about music and its reproduction in the home.

Trade In

At Fanthorpes we love to trade in, so if you want to trade in your existing HiFi against new HiFi, contact us and we will let you know what it is worth as a trade in.

Finance Available

We can also offer buy now pay later on orders above £400, allowing you to spread or defer your payments over a year.

Nationwide Delivery and Installation Service

When you buy equipment from Fanthorpes HiFi, we will provide a nationwide delivery and installation service within mainland UK. Our installer will drive to your house and install your new HiFi. For more information about our delivery and installation service email shop@fanthorpes.co.uk or call 01482 223096.