Think speakers are a simple paper cone that vibrates to translate electrical signals into sound? Like much of the tech we feature, there’s rather more to it these days – as the European debut of a new high-end wireless speaker system from Scotland has just demonstrated.
The Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 is the name given to a pair of state-of-the-art Bluetooth bookshelf speakers that make your humble superstore own brand setup seem like a prehistoric ear trumpet. The system features precision audio engineering that most people who listen to music could never imagine, including using rare-earth magnets and cryogenically freezing some components for 24 hours to improve their performance.
Meet the Cubitt 5 Active loudspeakers
At the heart of each speaker is Fyne’s award-winning IsoFlare technology, which involves precise placement of the driver parts of the speaker to create perfect sound. The system, developed by Fyne’s founder Dr. Paul Mills, is currently making big waves in the audio world, and the Cubitts were one of the stars at the international High End Vienna audio technology show this month, having been showcased at a similar Asian event in Shanghai earlier this year.
The British loudspeaker manufacturer has grown rapidly in the last couple of years to establish a global footprint with over 50 employees and a significant share of the high-end hi-fi market.
Mills was head of research at Tannoy for decades before leaving nine years ago to set up Fyne, which is based in the small industrial town of Bellshill in central Scotland. Since then he has developed and fine-tuned the IsoFlare system.
Fyne Audio
The basis of this is broadcasting high and low sounds from exactly the same point, rather than in traditional speaker design where bass and treble come from a woofer and a tweeter spaced perhaps several inches apart. In all Fyne speakers, the high-frequency tweeter is placed directly within the throat of the bass/midrange cone. Exactly where it is placed is the result of some math and geometry that I confess is way beyond me… As is the whole design of the special little chamber in the high frequency magnet. But it all creates what audio engineers call a ‘point source output.’ Let’s keep it simple: it means all the sound comes from the same place, like it did originally.
In addition, unlike older designs that use traditional alloys, Fyne Audio utilizes newer high-performance materials to push audio performance further. This includes titanium diaphragms for smoother high frequencies and more responsive neodymium magnets instead of traditional ferrite. Precision computer-designed ‘fluted’ (and patented) FyneFlute rubber speaker surrounds prevent sound reflecting back into the cone.
Incredibly, Fyne also uses a deep cryogenic treatment process to cool the entire wiring linkage at the heart of each speaker. This involves cooling the entire assembled crossover to below -150 °C (-238 °F) for 24 hours to release micro-stresses in the wire, solder and components, which reportedly increases detail and eliminates harshness in the sound.
The Cubitt 5 – so named because of the 5-inch IsoFlare driver at its heart – is the latest of Fyne’s products to showcase this level of tech. It has all the multi-connectivity you’d need for it to work from your phone or at the center of a hi-fi or TV sound system – Bluetooth 5 with aptX HD, HDMI with ARC, analog RCA and optical connections, plus a built-in phono stage for boosting the signal from a turntable. There’s an output for a subwoofer too, should your low-end require a little outside help.
Fyne Audio
From its 240-watt integrated amp featuring active DSP-optimized crossover to the studio quality 24-bit/96-kHz hi-res playback resolution, it’s a serious active Bluetooth amp/speaker system and, of course, has a serious price: £549 in the UK, $749 in the US and €649 in Europe per pair. The units are available in cool colors like Midnight Black, Pearl Titanium, Olive Green, Pebble Grey and Arctic White.
Observers claim the sound shows precise stereo imaging and immersive natural sound no matter where you are in the room. Fyne claims it’s a way to play the music, even from your phone, that reveals every nuance from the texture of a bow on a string to the gasp of breath before a vocal.
Incidentally, if you’re curious about why things get their names, like me, you’d be interested to know that Number 1, Cubitt Court, Bellshill, Scotland, is Fyne Audio’s headquarters. And the road was named after Thomas Cubitt, a renowned and successful Victorian builder and philanthropic employer, who happens to be the great-great-great-grandfather of Britain’s Queen Camilla.
Product page: Fyne Audio Cubitt 5
