March Audio Sointuva

[Keith_W]

Absolutely great looking and sounding speakers, for early adopters with real wood, anyone could comment did wood movement affect it or it’s fine after a year or so?

Wood movement is always a risk when the wood is acclimatised to one environment and then moves to another. Therefore how much the wood moves depends on what species was selected, how it was dried and for how long, and what new climate the wood has to adjust to - so the experience of one might not be comparable to another. Albany might be a coastal town in Western Australia, but it can get punishingly hot and dry.

 

[YSC]

Wood movement is always a risk when the wood is acclimatised to one environment and then moves to another. Therefore how much the wood moves depends on what species was selected, how it was dried and for how long, and what new climate the wood has to adjust to - so the experience of one might not be comparable to another. Albany might be a coastal town in Western Australia, but it can get punishingly hot and dry.

Yea that’s the only concern for me, I know Alan says he have some secret sauce that can minimise or mitigate the issue, but just wonders how well it hold up for others, I am living in HK where it’s hot and humid in majority of the times, I just wonders how well this gorgeous speaker holds

 

[Axo1989]

Wood movement is always a risk when the wood is acclimatised to one environment and then moves to another. Therefore how much the wood moves depends on what species was selected, how it was dried and for how long, and what new climate the wood has to adjust to - so the experience of one might not be comparable to another. Albany might be a coastal town in Western Australia, but it can get punishingly hot and dry.

Yes, certainly in Sydney's climate I know solid timber never really stops expanding/contracting as humidity cycles seasonally, and by seasons I also mean longer-term wet years vs drought years (we've just had 3-4 wet years). Expansion/contraction occurs in % terms so smaller pieces (like these speakers are made of) suffer less than larger hardwood structures. And they are basically kept indoors, which also helps. It would be interesting to know which joins and adhesives are used (we appear to know which finish/sealant).

 

[Holmz]

Yea that’s the only concern for me, I know Alan says he have some secret sauce that can minimise or mitigate the issue, but just wonders how well it hold up for others, I am living in HK where it’s hot and humid in majority of the times, I just wonders how well this gorgeous speaker holds

I suspect that they would be inside, and likely air conditioned?
It could be worse in Albany, where it would not be uncommon for many houses to not have A/C and the windows are open for A/C part of the year.

 

[YSC]

I suspect that they would be inside, and likely air conditioned?
It could be worse in Albany, where it would not be uncommon for many houses to not have A/C and the windows are open for A/C part of the year.

Normally indoor but not always AC, in winter windows will be opened and humidity will drop from high 90s to low 40s, and for working hours AC will be off so room temp will go from 25 to 36C

 

[Holmz]

Normally indoor but not always AC, in winter windows will be opened and humidity will drop from high 90s to low 40s, and for working hours AC will be off so room temp will go from 25 to 36C

Which wood were you looking at getting?
Sometimes there is data on them in terms of expansion with water content.

 

[YSC]

Which wood were you looking at getting?
Sometimes there is data on them in terms of expansion with water content.

The Tasmanian ones? Actually personally I have a preference on any real wood look but not really a fan of potential problems for such a pricy speaker

 

[Holmz]

Ywah - I dunno, there is a gasket, so they would seem to have to move a pretty good distance to cause an issue.

 

[Penelinfi]

I had some Advent speakers with real wood front baffle; seemed ok for being 20+ years old.

You can always get your Sointuva in mdf or plywood if you are worried about timber

 

[Matias]

Mine have finally arrived, they look even better in person! The next days are for fine tuning of positioning, measuring, EQing modes, listening, repeat, etc.

 

[Purité Audio]

Interested to hear your thoughts/ measurements I hadn’t realised that Purifi had used a pair of Sointuvas at last years Munich show.
Keith

 

[boXem]

Interested to hear your thoughts/ measurements I hadn’t realised that Purifi had showed a pair of Sointuvas in their side of the show apartment at last years Munich show.
Keith

Corrected to avoid misunderstandings .
They were demoing their own speaker prototypes with the 8 and 4 inches midwoofers and also had a pair of Buchardt A500.

 

[Matias]

Interested to hear your thoughts/ measurements I hadn’t realised that Purifi had used a pair of Sointuvas at last years Munich show.
Keith

If you mean this show and here, then it is not the Sointuva but rather their new speaker prototype with new tweeter, as discussed here. Which uses a very, very similar box design as the Sointuva, and if I was to bet, March Audio supplied it to them.

 

[boXem]

If you mean this show and here, then it is not the Sointuva but rather their new speaker prototype with new tweeter, as discussed here. Which uses a very, very similar box design as the Sointuva, and if I was to bet, March Audio supplied it to them.

Last year was 2022 Christmas is approaching, how much for the bet?

 

[Matias]

sorry, my mistake... May 2022 is indeed a Sointuva WG here, the paper cone woofer version.

 

[Purité Audio]

It was Alan who told me that Purifi had used his design, I am hoping to represent March Audio ( again) in the very near future.
Keith

 

[Matias]

First impression is similar of what Erin describes for a great speaker: it just has no faults to point out. To me sonically they fit like a glove.

Bass extension is just awesome, no subwoofer needed for me. I am still using the bass PEQ from the old speakers to tame room modes while I have not measured them yet. But disabling the EQ the same old nodes of 41 and 51.5 Hz come pounding back into the room, but now with a bookshelf speaker instead of 3 way 10" woofer tower speakers. That says a lot about the bass extension in room!

Fine sound stage recreation, detailed, great tonal balance, natural sounding and beautiful to look at. What is not to like, really?

Pic: front plate.

 

[Holmz]

First impression is similar of what Erin describes for a great speaker: it just has no faults to point out. To me sonically they fit like a glove.

I am not the most golden eared listener, but they were very impressive in a pretty standard brick living room/lounge at the March HQ.
And being easy on the eye, has a WAF that made them attractive.
I should probably try reaching out again to Alan and see if we can close on a pair.

 

[Matias]

I have asked and Alan sent me the spinorama for the Sointuva AWG performed independently by Warkwyn (link to download, too large to attach).
@pierre Could you please upload it to Spinorama.org?
@Maiky76 FYI too.

 

[Matias]

Thanks!

rating
Tonality: 7.3
Bass extension: 32Hz
Flatness: ±1.2dB

Measurements for speaker March Audio Sointuva AWG

www.spinorama.org