Onkyo to launch new hi-fi speakers

[John Archer]

Following is the press info on a new pair of speakers from Onkyo…

”Having made waves in 2005 with the introduction of a new line of stereo-only hi-fi components, Onkyo is happy to announce that it’s continuing its push for quality two-channel reproduction with the launch of the remarkable D-312E loudspeaker. Speed, detail, low colouration throughout the audible range and ultimate musical insight were the goals set during the design process for this beautifully wood- veneered, compact bass-reflex design.

Advanced drive unit technologies played a major part in the end result. Take the tweeter for example. Most move in a different fashion to their partnering bass drivers but not the one in this speaker. The D-312E’s 4cm diameter Ring Drive Tweeter achieves much the same piston-like motion as the woofer, to deliver enhanced clarity and detail all the way up to 100kHz… ideal for SACD and DVD-Audio sources.

The 16cm woofers, for instance, employ Advanced Onkyo Micro Fibre (A-OMF) cones that feature a unique three-layer construction - comprised of cotton weave, aramid and polyethelene napthalate (PEN) - that’s exceptionally thin yet immensely light and rigid. The practical upshot is that the D-213E is capable of reproducing difficult transient sounds - such as a snare-drums and so on - exceptionally accurately.

Power handling is also much higher than you’d expect at 200W (max), thanks to the use of a 65mm voice-coil in the bass-driver, along with a high-strength 140mm diameter magnet, all affixed to a 6mm die-cast aluminium frame.

Unwanted resonances and vibrations are a speaker’s worst enemy so the D-312E incorporates a number of measures to counteract them. The bass-driver diaphragm, for instance, sports a V-shaped edge on its outer circumference, used because it’s particularly good at resisting vibrations at around 2kHz (the crossover frequency).

Even the port in this bass-reflex design also plays its part in the effort to minimise distortion. Deliberately located at the bottom of the speaker the port - dubbed the Aero Acoustic Drive - is separated from the rest of the cabinet, in order to reduce any possibility of mutual interference between high and low frequency sounds.

Inside the speaker, the electronic crossover network has been split into individual circuits for the bass/treble drivers, and placed on an isolated mounting system.

Last but not least, good quality gold-plated bi-wirable terminals reside at the rear of the speaker, to enable a secure and oxidisation-free connection. The sum of the parts is a musically satisfying loudspeaker that can do justice to the most expensive ancillaries.

The D-312E will come out in February for around £1299.95 a pair.

SPECIFICATIONS - D-312E
* New, improved A-OMF diaphragm for better transient response
* Supported by a large voice coil (65mm) for high power handling
* Oversized, high-strength ferrite magnet to maintain drive power
* Die cast frame construction to prevent vibrations
* New V-Line Edge to remove damaging vibrations from diaphragm’s surface
* Highly responsive ring-drive tweeter for high-frequency sounds
* Aero Acoustic Drive to cut off high frequency interference
* Wood-finished MDF cabinet
* Independent network circuit to mitigate woofer/tweeter interference
* Banana-plug compatible, bi-wiring speaker posts
8 Frequency Response: 34Hz-100kHz
* Maximum Input Power: 200W”