Sigberg Audio Saranna (fullrange, cardioid active floorstander) development thread

[Purité Audio]

The Mantas are superb (imho) so if the Saranna can even approach that quality without the extra real estate ( 2xD10 here) , that would be spectacular.
Can they have the contrasting base of the Mantas?
Keith

 

[sigbergaudio]

The Mantas are superb (imho) so if the Saranna can even approach that quality without the extra real estate ( 2xD10 here) , that would be spectacular.
Can they have the contrasting base of the Mantas?
Keith

The plan now is to have wood veneer on the sides (showing the edge on each side of the baffle as with the prototype) and painted baffle and backs. So it likely won't have a horizontal wood base. The wood veneer is planned to be quite dark (so not anywhere as bright as the prototype), so it will be less of a contrast at least to a black paint option. Not sure what to do with white yet, possibly a different wood option for that.

As we're on the topic of base: On the current prototype absorbing feet are mounted directly into the bottom of the speaker. They are two different sizes to give the speaker a backwards tilt, currently 5 degrees (plan for production is 4 degrees, exactly the same tilt as the Manta and the SBS). But this feet arrangement won't be stable enough for the production model, so we need something wider at the bottom. I haven't decided if that will be metal outriggers or a plinth/base made of wood. In the latter case, I think this will probably be painted the same color as the baffle.

 

[sigbergaudio]

Will likely increase height further, so new dimensions (including base and feet) will be:

250x1167x340mm (WHD)

I contemplated implementing the 4 degree tilt in the base or feet, but will likely implement in the cabinet itself. These are also the actual wood veneers that will likely be used. So there will be two tone finish, with Satin black paint combined with very dark wood, and Satin white paint combined with white / grey wood.

I'm focusing on listening sessions + measurements this week and the next, if everything looks good, we're on to CAD work and then a new "real" prototype with production grade finish.

 

[sigbergaudio]

Not 100% sure how I feel about the one with white paint, but hard to visualize how it will look in real life. An alternative would be that both versions have satin black paint. So you have one with black baffle / rear but light wood and grey grille.

 

[Mister.Mole]

Looks amazing with the tilt.

Any experience how high one can go with rear facing drivers?

 

[sigbergaudio]

Looks amazing with the tilt.

Any experience how high one can go with rear facing drivers?

Thank you!

I've tested 200hz for a couple of days now. Based on measurements this looks to work well. But I am not completely convinced this will work 100% for 100% of the tracks. There's a tiny bit of murkiness on some tracks, unless I am imagining things. So today I switched to 160hz, which based on the couple of hours I've tested so far sounds promising.

The question is a bit complicated for this particular speaker since it's not a clean crossover. The front facing coax is allowed to roll off naturally, so it's still only 10dB down at 100hz. This is done intentionally so that you are getting some direct sound between 100-200hz to fill in for the sound from the rear facing drivers and help with localization issues.

 

[AlmaAtaKZ]

Surely you mean H 1,117 or 1,170, right?
117 is a bit too short

 

[sigbergaudio]

Surely you mean H 1,117 or 1,170, right?
117 is a bit too short

Haha, yes, edited now! Thanks!

 

[sigbergaudio]

The cardioid effect seem to be working well too, and the overall response at 180deg is pretty even. This is preliminary and not optimal measurement conditions so take this with a grain of salt. The cardioid naturally stops when we cross over to the bass drivers at the back, but they also reduce the SBIR effects in their own way, so they serve the same purpose with a different approach.

9dB down at 150hz
11dB down at 200hz
11dB down at 300hz
12dB down at 400hz
13dB down at 500hz

A traditional speaker is typically 2-5dB down at 180deg in the same frequency range (1-2dB at 150hz, 4-5dB at 500hz).

This is 30deg vs 180deg (50cm semi-anechoic so some distortions from the room here)

 

[sigbergaudio]

Update / Summary on where we're at with the Saranna development with regards to progress and timeline

There are always some moving parts, but the overall design is starting to stabilize, and we're currently working on CAD drawings for the cabinet manufacturer. The goal is to get a production grade (with regards to finish) sample/prototype pair by January 2025 at the latest. Following this, Saranna will be presented publicly for the first time at the Oslo Hifi Show (https://www.oslohifishow.no/) on the 22nd and 23rd of March 2025.

I am carefully optimistic that we will be able to start accepting pre-orders around the same time, and that the first batch of production speakers will start shipping to customers in June 2025.

My experience so far is that nothing goes quite as expected and things are always delayed, so in reality we may be talking August or September, but I've put in more buffer than I've used to as well - but time will tell.

 

[sigbergaudio]

Preliminary product page is now live. https://www.sigbergaudio.no/products/saranna

 

[Sacha]

Just came here to say I love that tagline

 

[sigbergaudio]

Just came here to say I love that tagline

Woop woop!

 

[ryanosaur]

Why is it that I have a sudden urge to listen to The Beatles?

 

[sigbergaudio]

Have a couple of visitors in the listening room, thought I'd share a picture to show a size comparison. These are the Kef LS60 of course.

Note that the feet below the Saranna is just temporary to get the correct height and tilt on the prototype.

 

[Purité Audio]

Those visitors look very familiar, interested to hear your thoughts when you have time.
Keith

 

[sigbergaudio]

Those visitors look very familiar, interested to hear your thoughts when you have time.
Keith

I am not sure it would be fair for me as a manufacturer to comment on these, at least not publicly. They are in a different price class entirely as well of course. Can send you an email at some point.

 

[sigbergaudio]

What I can say is that the dynamic range is of course very different, that is not surprising to anyone given the difference in size. This is one of the huge differences with our products and a lot of the competition. The LS60 begins to feel a bit strained at around 95dB at the listening position, and at around 100dB they don't seem to get much louder.

At that point the Sarannas (or SBS or Manta) are just getting started of course.

Beyond that the tonality seems good (to my liking), and the app gives you easy access to basic EQ that makes it easy to tune them in reasonably well in the room.

 

[sigbergaudio]

We're working our way towards a proper preproduction model of the Saranna. Soon ready with the 3D model that is required to get there.

 

[sigbergaudio]

The prototypes have been moved to the second listening space. This room is twice as big and has significantly less acoustic treatment / higher reverb.