Radiant Acoustics Clarity 66 Speaker Review

[amirm]

All from well respected and established companies with international dealer support and that have been around long before Radiant Acoustic's inception (2022). Don't get me wrong, the Clarity 66 speakers are very nice, but IMHO don't demand the $10k asking price.

It is difficult for members in EU to source and especially get support for a number of the ones you listed. To wit, pretty sure Revel support is difficult in Europe. For them the situation with Clarity is reversed with home town advantage.

Until such time as there is distribution in US, these speakers (and reviews) are mostly for our audience in Europe, not Americas.

 

[amirm]

Because i do sometimes listen to heavy bass titles and in my listening levels in my living room, i canot detect distorsion, never. Neither did some buddies do.

But you have no reference. You hear bass which could very well be distorted and consider it part of the music. Until such time that you play content that clearly distorts that you realize what is, or is not right.

 

[DonH56]

Agree , but at what listening levels? Because i do sometimes listen to heavy bass titles and in my listening levels in my living room, i canot detect distorsion, never. Neither did some buddies do.

Why not if some guys crank up volume to madness listening levels distorsion will be audible but in normal volume levels ( which i believe 99% of us do) , distorsion is not a subiect, regardless of good speaker we are listening to.
I do know a guy that will crank up volume to madness levels, but that only because he wants yo show he has 250w amps ... Pass that, average listening levels are around 75-85db ..

But you have no reference. You hear bass which could very well be distorted and consider it part of the music. Until such time that you play content that clearly distorts that you realize what is, or is not right.

To expand a bit on this, distorted deep bass often sounds "richer" or "fuller" because distortion creates higher harmonics easier to hear than truly deep bass. And of course higher harmonics of low bass notes sound louder to us (see loudness curves) so again the music may sound "better" even though it is more distorted.

 

[HJCarballosa]

Measurements from their site :

Measurements from their site :

View attachment 547428

Hello. Polar Response chart: Noting how solidly red it is from 200 to 20K, could I infer that the speaker creates a very coherent sound over +/-30-degrees off-axis? I can picture these charts for other speakers where +/-30-degrees it looks like a pineapple crown, but not in this chart -- WOW!!!
Is there anything in the polar response chart that could indicate sibilance, chestiness, or some such other "audiophile" term? Thanks.

 

[capslock]

It doesn't need to be programmable if the amp is purpose-built. In the case of an active loudspeaker with integrated amps, an amp with mixed-mode feedback is likely to be the cheaper solution if production numbers are high. As you say, however, it isn't a particularly accessible or cost-effective option for the DIYer.


This is what I did for my main speakers. Passive networks to balance sensitivity (minimizes noise) and raise driving impedance where useful (minimizes distortion), and digital filters for the rest. More info here.

If you know enough to build a current mode amplifier or modify an existing one for current mode, adding a feedback path to force it into voltage mode near fs should be easy.

 

[ElJaimito]

WOOH! Idea picked up from Monitor Audio!

AFAIK a whole lot of monitors have used the idea for the last 40? 50? years. It's basic cabinet engineering. I'd have to go into old docs to produce a list, though.

 

[henz]

All from well respected and established companies with international dealer support and that have been around long before Radiant Acoustic's inception (2022). Don't get me wrong, the Clarity 66 speakers are very nice, but IMHO don't demand the $10k asking price.

Radiant Acoustics, as a brand, was established in 2024 but our company (Nordic Hi-Fi) was founded well before that (2019).
Nordic Hi-Fi is part of a bigger, very healthy corporate group that includes several other Peter Lyngdorf ventures - such as DALI, Lyngdorf Audio and the distributor and retail-chain HiFi Klubben (around 100 shops and 700+ employees in Northern Europe dating back over 40 years).

So while we might not currently have US dealer support, I would respectfully challenge the infered notion that we are not a well respected or established company

 

[Waxx]

It's true that Peter Lyngdorf is not unknown or unexperienced in speaker design and hifi bussiness. He is also involved in Purifi btw. But i also think these speakers are seriously overpriced, and the brandname is new, not known in the Hifi world. We will see who is wrong on that in the futur altough...

 

[DoctorRobert]

It is difficult for members in EU to source and especially get support for a number of the ones you listed. To wit, pretty sure Revel support is difficult in Europe. For them the situation with Clarity is reversed with home town advantage.

Until such time as there is distribution in US, these speakers (and reviews) are mostly for our audience in Europe, not Americas.

This. And appreciated. Sensible choices, specially for heavier objects like speakers, will be different for the US vs Europe. Even with that in mind, this speaker has a special set of properties on offer that can make it a valid proposition in the US. It is definitely more interesting than the next B&W offering or so. Thanks again for reviewing.

 

[Penelinfi]

This speaker looks a lot like a Focal:

View attachment 547694

It must be getting pretty old. Is that a DIY speaker?

That's from the era of focal JM labs where you could buy the drivers and diy or maybe there were clone kits. I had a speaker using those same drivers that was a taller cabinet. Seemed like a clone as it didn't have the exact baffle feature around mid tweeter.

 

[AudioJester]

I often feel at shows - full range loud with low distortion makes a bigger difference in appeal than small deviations in frequency response smoothness.

As in these speakers would be killer!

 

[kimmosto]

I would have preferred it to be a 2.5 way implementation as this wouldn't have as big vertical directivity issue

I generally agree, but not so much in this case. 2.5-way MMT or MTM is very good solution with conventional dome tweeter without or with (shallow) wave guide. Presumably better than 2-way MMT or MTM with smallish woofers such as 5-6". Too low baffle step due to cone losses at mid-range or high Le could still force to select 2-way instead of 2.5-way in passive speaker. Active does not have those limits so 0.5 way could have linear-phase low-pass providing more symmetrical vertical plane, and quite total muting before XO frequency to avoid too high directivity - etc.

More directive tweeters such as mid-sized or large AMTs with wave guide probably require 2-way MMT or MTM to avoid too high directivity step at XO and slope of directivity index. Next problem is that upper bass...lower mid should also have more directvity. Otherwise slope of DI could remain too high requiring too bright on-axis or listenig in a spot only. For example, 66 has DI slope of ca. 1.76 dB/oct (100-16k). 6.2 has 1.95 dB/oct which is the highest (=worst) I've seen in 2-way. From 1.0 to 1.25 dB/oct would be more balanced allowing casual listening almost anywhere, and does not "need" harsh acoustics or heated highs to provide adequate sound pressure to off-axis.

 

[see_no_evil]

i also think these speakers are seriously overpriced

provide reference point please

 

[kimmosto]

provide reference point please

Last pair sale https://aaltospeakers.fi/en/product/taipuu-kero-l-active-pro/

 

[see_no_evil]

Last pair sale https://aaltospeakers.fi/en/product/taipuu-kero-l-active-pro/

While form factor is similar, they are not exactly comparable in terms of looks and construction, and better looks with that CNC machined aluminum front baffle are worth extra 1.2K to me personally (Radiant 66 listed at 7.998 per pair). I just don't see where "seriously overpriced" comes from.

 

[SigbergAudio]

While form factor is similar, they are not exactly comparable in terms of looks and construction, and better looks with that CNC machined aluminum front baffle are worth extra 1.2K to me personally (Radiant 66 listed at 7.998 per pair). I just don't see where "seriously overpriced" comes from.

And the suggested reference isn't 1.2k cheaper, it's more than 5000 euro more expensive. Comparing normal price of one product to sales price of a discontinued product makes no sense.

 

[GavriloD]

Still, $10K (in the US) is a price point that opens a load of options. You don't have to look only at Purifi-based speakers.
But Radiant 66 is an appealing choice.

 

[kimmosto]

And the suggested reference isn't 1.2k cheaper, it's more than 5000 euro more expensive. Comparing normal price of one product to sales price of a discontinued product makes no sense.

It's also active with linear-phase XO, FourAudio DSP, 3x245 W Pascal S-Pro power. None sold with normal price so 6800 €/pair is correct.

 

[SigbergAudio]

It's also active with linear-phase XO, FourAudio DSP, 3x245 W Pascal S-Pro power. None sold with normal price so 6800 €/pair is correct.

Sounds more like a charity than a commercial company, but if they're making it work that's great.

 

[kimmosto]

Sounds more like a charity than a commercial company

Non-profit commercial is the best kind of DIY hobby.