Satorique S1 - Compact reference
Why yet another Satorique 2-way box in a large bookshelf cabinet, when there are already two of them? That would be the question attentive readers of this website should ask when they see our new Satorique 1. Of course, there is an answer to that, and it's actually quite simple:
The Satorique 4 set a new standard, the Satorique Center continues it, the Satorique 3 built on it, and now come smaller versions at a comparable level.
Reference quality shelf speakers. Why not as a kit? Custom-made for you!
A question arises: Is it possible to build loudspeakers on the highest acoustic level at home on the table instead of in the tinkering room and thus without special tools? And whether that is possible, here you go:
Welcome to the Show: "custom-made" high-end speakers in a living room-friendly cabinet.
The arguments against do-it-yourself loudspeaker construction are quickly debunked: I have no tools, I want a reasonable appearance, I also have no wood knowledge in terms of processing ... and are also refuted just as quickly with our construction manual. In order to get an objective impression ourselves, a self-experiment was started and we built the boxes with the simplest means.
A last argument, namely to reach the technical level of high-quality ready-made speakers, has virtually taken care of itself in recent years through consistent further development of our crossovers and our speaker design. Our drivers and components have always been among the best that the market has to offer.
The ability to access a wealth of resources from within the company as far as the development of new turnout components is concerned, and to manufacture a new coil from scratch in a day, makes it clear what opportunities can arise when electroacoustic knowledge and, in particular, professional know-how in turnout development are added. And the whole thing has continuously developed in the right direction over the last few years through meticulous optimization of the kits. Now the result is an acoustic puzzle that is almost compelling to use the high-quality chassis of the Satorique family in perfect conceptions.
Finished crossovers in manufacture quality
For self-build novices: In the film about the construction of a Satorique 1 / BE you can see for yourself whether the construction of a high-end speaker in the form of the Satorique 1 appeals to you. At the time of filming, the final crossover layout was not yet ready. Finished crossovers of the best quality replace those built in the lab. The connections take place via screw terminals on the crossover among themselves, which further simplifies the matter.
From custom-made to DIY, everything is possible
For the cabinet construction you have the choice. Fall back on the ready-made housing, the complete speaker wood cut, on the 3D front wall milled by us or build the speaker completely yourself in the classic DIY manner. For this purpose we offer you the technical drawing for the cabinet construction as PDF in professional look for download. If you have another idea, please contact us, we will find a solution for your customized high-end speaker.
Not convinced yet?
In the film, Jockear explains the assembly of the housing kit in a self-experiment. The assembly instructions in picture form are also provided here, should something remain unclear in the film.
The film consists of two parts:
Part 1:
- Dry assembly of all speaker parts. Please make sure to do this, so you will quickly find out if something is missing or will be a problem in the later assembly!
- The actual cabinet assembly with final evaluation of the assembly.video
Part 2:
The assembly of the crossovers and chassis into the cabinet.
Many questions settle themselves through such a film and contribute to a successful construction of the speaker. That the fun is not too short, you can see clearly, and so all prejudices against the self-build compared to the prefabricated box scene melt.
The drivers - an uncompromising decision
The large shelf speaker - the new Satorique 1 reference - has been designed with the objective of becoming a small Satorique 3, a real Satorique for smaller rooms and for lovers of compact speakers.
The basic conditions for the Satorique 1 were therefore fixed: uncompromising, compact and beautiful!
Then it was time to select the drivers. The choice for bass-midrange was the 4-ohm and the 8-ohm version of the SB bass-midrange driver in 6.5 inches. The drivers are almost equal, but if you ask the question about a compact speaker, then you also have to ask the question about the quality factor of the woofer, so that the speaker later convinces in the fundamental as well as in the bass range.
Since we're talking about the maximum here, the 4 Ohm wins on the subject of installation quality, which is particularly low at 0.27. When considering amplifier compatibility, the 30 year old reference amplifier will not be able to give everything at 4 ohms, but today's amplifiers as well as the use of particularly low resistance and rather short speaker cables again clearly speak for an impedance of 4 ohms.
With the tweeter it is simple: Above the beryllium dome there is nothing more, this dome can play everything and shows relentlessly whether it is wired with the right crossover components. Just pay attention to the finished products in which you see this dome everywhere. And what the trade press writes about it. The choice between black and silver front is up to them.
The case design - an asset to any living room
When it came to the cabinet design, there were understandably quite a few specifications in order to continue the design line of the Satorique 4. The placement of the tweeter dome, the chamfer and the rounding, everything must be virtuously coordinated so that the high-frequency range is perfectly detached from the speaker. The baffle simulation helps immensely for optimization in advance.
The volume has to be a good compromise between a lot of air and small cabinet dimensions. So it's no wonder that the Satorique 1 has a similar volume as its predecessors, which could also already show the potential inherent in the Satori drivers. Finally - who would be surprised - the cabinet is really well damped, as is usual for top products in the speaker scene. This increases the bass performance and minimizes the distortion factor in the fundamental and kick bass range.
... with great attention to detail
For a special stiffening with simultaneous installation comfort, the kit was elaborated by us with great attention to detail.
We are particularly proud of the housing design and look forward to numerous customers realizing their own Satorique 1. This results in a multi-faceted line that encourages many people to build their own. In our modern times, we are satisfied with a few lines about the build as well as a few pictures, and new readers are happy to receive authentic testimonials. Writing a detailed report is not everyone's cup of tea. For those who do it, thank you very much for the great effort - I know very well what I am talking about.
For maximum liveliness, the damping in the cabinet must be minimized without resonances in the cabinet interfering with the midrange. An ideal cabinet calculation, Bitumex, and not using a lot of damping material are all part of our optimization process. "Less is more" hits the mark here.
So, and now the actual development of the speakers is just beginning: Up to this point, everything is simple and yet gray theory. The development of the crossover starts in the classic way with a theoretical analysis or calculation and the goal of achieving the most linear frequency response possible on axis with as few components as possible while taking the acoustic phase into account. This works perfectly with a third-order crossover, so that the midrange, the transition to the tweeter can be perfectly leveled and the acoustic phase also fits.
So set up and listen: The first attempt was not convincing. Well, I really expect more from a Satori speaker, too hard in the sound image, too striking the bass and the presence area emphasized.
The measurements for this look fine for an ordinary loudspeaker, but the distortion factor is still a bit too loud in the mid and high frequencies, this could certainly be better. So next we tested shallower filters in the passive crossover: a first order crossover circuit and the necessary additional circuit for linearizing the crossover and suppressing resonance effects of the speaker drivers.
And the result? The sound seems more balanced, the "distortion" drops significantly so that it remains exemplary low even at 100 dB.
Good for now. However, the midrange still lacked some presence in the listening test, and the clarity still left something to be desired. This raised the question: What else is possible?
What was the crossover of the Satorique 3 like again?
A circuit with a frequency response correction or lowering of the surround resonance was the solution of choice. So we tested this correction circuit. Of course, for this test the crossover was built with low-loss capacitors Audyn, so that everything is transmitted relentlessly and all errors of the crossover and the drivers are audible.
The final result is the total hammer, so really present the performers stand in the room and perform their pieces. That's what I wanted to hear, nothing less, only that is for me an uncompromising sound result and no wishy-washy.
The further listening tests with different music, with TV and Youtube were really good, all frequency bands are present, all qualities of the performers can be heard, all emotions can be felt and of course the shortcomings of bad recordings are unmistakable.
Thus, we have brought the construction to the point: a Satorique 3 in small. Now we are talking about another box: a Satorique 4 in Klein. Not so merciless and still playing everything without leaving anything out. A Satorique 1 with "edge smoothing" - one would say with a 4K TV, which is, after all, also high-resolution in its picture world.
For the "tamer" version is built on the existing Satorique 1 BE, in place of the beryllium dome, the Satori Ringdom with neodymium drive. A tweeter that stands out positively both for its precision and a softer brilliance range. Acoustically, it is a middle ground between a fabric dome and the beryllium dome.
The crossover of the Satorique 1 BE is not completely adopted, this is also adjusted in its presence, so that the Satorique 1 RN plays a shade softer throughout the frequency spectrum.
Thus, two Satorique speakers have now been created, completely in the line and quality of the great models of the Satorique 3 and Satorique 4.
Total control in all pitches
... you can take that literally. For me, the Satorique 1 is clearly the highlight of the year: a two-way speaker that gets louder evenly in the mid-high and bass range with increasing volume, nothing thickens and bloats, always convinces sonically, reveals everything without being over-analytical.
A Beryllium or also the Ringdome that performs in a concrete building with sparsely furnished furniture without being annoying (Jockear's living room). You can turn it up without compromising speech intelligibility, and it surprises me in my 33 square meter basement living room, where the drywall produces its own pitch that swallows everything around 100 Hz and makes even speakers from the "largest caliber in the bass range" collection look old - you would actually need more diaphragm area.
Thus, the Satorique 1 is more than a speaker for classical music lovers who prefer two-way systems, but also for everyone else, because it plays punchy without distorting, offers a listenable sound volume and transforms the spatiality of a large hall into the living room at home.
Musicals, even if you don't hear them often, can be s