When I bumped into long-time industry member Alan Kafton of Audio Excellence/The Cable Cooker, he urged to check out a new loudspeaker company, Songer Audio of Portland, OR, on the third floor. It seems I missed the company when its founder, former software engineer Ken Songer, premiered his speakers at last year’s Pacific Audio Fest outside Seattle.
When I entered the room, Brubeck’s classic “Take 5” was playing courtesy of a computer running Audirvana. The sound was wonderful, the percussion totally clear, fast, sharp, and believable. Clarinet sounded warm at the bottom of its range, alive on top, and clear as can be. Even after hearing the hi-rez files of this piece countless times, I sat riveted by the sound.
Then came Gregory Porter’s “I am at Ease in the Arms of a Woman.” This certified audiophile classic sounded so clear and musical that the man sitting next to me whispered “Wow” under his breath. Other speakers may deliver more body and weight to sound, but few sound as clear and musical as these in this system.
Songer Audio fashions 100% handmade, full-range, point-source, field-coil loudspeakers. Of the two models shown, the S1 Ported Enclosure Field Coil loudspeaker ($37,000/pair) and S2 Open Baffle Field Coil loudspeakers ($49,000/pair), I heard the S1. Both models boast a 93dB sensitivity, but the S1’s frequency response of 29Hz–20kHz ±6dB means that it dips 1dB lower than the S2’s.
Songer claims that his single-driver design “preserves perfect phase presentation throughout the entire frequency range.” The S1’s port is tuned to 24Hz to help produce deep bass, its field-coil driver is 10″ in diameter, and its cabinet is made from 1″ thick hardwood.
Songer speakers are driven by the PS1 Variable Power Supply ($3000/pair). Manufactured by Whammerdyne Heavy Industries in partnership with Songer Audio, it supplies 9–12.5V with a constant current to the two drivers. With very low impedance, it is designed to reject AC line noise and harmonic noise and prevent it from reaching the DC-regulated output driving the field coils. Songer claims the PS1 delivers “locked-down pure DC power to the driver with no overlying AC audio signal.”
Songer speakers contain a 1.7 Tesla electromagnetic motor whose current is adjustable via the PS1 Variable Power supply. Adjusting the current allows you to tune the speaker’s sound to personal preference. In retrospect, had I known this when I entered the room, I would have asked for a demonstration. Next time . . .
AlexSound Technology, run by Alex Tkachov and Leo Benfeld, supplied the 8Wpc Takatsuki TA-S-1 single-ended tube power amplifier ($32,000) equipped with 300B and 274B tubes, Sforzato DSP-030EX Roon-ready network player with external power supply ($9900), Plixir BAC-400 balanced power conditioner ($1500), AlexSound True Power Lab cabling, and ATL Power and IeGO power connectors.
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