Raidho Acoustics X1.6

We all know Raidho Acoustics. The company makes stand-mount and floorstanding loudspeakers that cram a lot of technology into their cabinets. And that technology… costs. A pair of TD1.2 two-way stand‑mounts will set you back £23,000 with their stands. But what if you could get most of that performance for less than a third of that price? Then, you have the Raidho Acoustics X1.6 stand-mount loudspeakers.

The specification sheet of the Raidho Acoustics X1.6 is admirable. The rear-ported design has a 20mm thick aluminium front baffle. Mounted on that baffle are Raidho’s ribbon tweeter and a 165mm Ceramix mid-bass unit. It’s the same tweeter throughout Raidho’s loudspeaker ranges. Meanwhile, the mid-bass driver featured in the brand’s former top line of loudspeakers before it got into diamonds! The new X1t entry-level stand-mount and the X2t floorstander also use tantalum-coated Ceramix cones.

Clever Ceramix

That mid-bass unit is very clever. Raidho makes all its drivers easy to swap out for repair purposes. Raidho’s Ceramix technology uses a thin aluminium cone to which an aluminium-oxide ceramic is bonded to the outer surface. That bonding process features a liquid plasma and requires high voltages to achieve. Meanwhile, its motor system sports two rows of neodymium magnets in a push-pull configuration. These are focused around a very open system, allowing ventilation to the driver while also cooling the titanium voice coil.

Mid-bass driver aside, what’s the big difference between the X1.6 and the TD1.2? From the outside of the Raidho Acoustics X1.6 stand-mount loudspeaker, that’s easy to spot. The rear panel of the X1.6 is squared off, compared to the elegant boat-backed TD1.2. It has a standard port behind the tweeter without the fin arrangement of its bigger brother. The terminals sit in a panel in the rear of the enclosure. However, this is not a custom back plate.

The other big difference is how the stand mates to the loudspeaker cabinet. The two connect through a single bolt and a piece of dowel. It’s simple and effective, although accessing the bolt when the uprights of the stand are so close together is ‘challenging’. From a ‘don’t drink and drive loudspeakers’ perspective, you won’t knock these speakers off their stand. This is a welcome boon as the TD1.2 sits on its stand like a coconut in a shy in comparison.

Why compare?

There’s a reason why I keep comparing the X1.6 to more up-scale Raidho models. Before the TD1.2, there was the D-1.1. We could even reverse-begat the range back to the Eben C1.1 reviewed in Issue 91. All this history of Raidho two-ways is because I’d place the X1.6 above all of them except the current TD1.2. Given a second-hand pair of D-1.1 costs about the same as a new pair of X1.6, the comparison is valid. A mint D-1.1 in one of its luxury finishes slightly level the playing field.

Raidho suggests giving the loudspeaker 250 hours of run-in before they come on song. As a UK demonstration pair, they had already been put through their paces before I received them. As ever with Raidho, they benefit from careful care and feeding. The more time spent on precision installation, ensuring the optimum cable choice and layout, and the right electronics… the better. But, unlike the demanding TD series, the X1.6 is more forgiving. You can start with some relatively modest audio equipment and the Raidho’s will make the most of them. Or you can max out the system and the X1.6 will rise to the challenge.

Room integration

Similarly, the Raidho Acoustics X1.6 responds well to careful room integration but – unlike its bigger brothers – isn’t so highly strung that molecular-level installation is required. This is more an ‘adjust over time’ tuning-in process; you’ll find the ideal degree of toe-in and distance from the room gradually, as the loudspeaker sounds fairly good in the standard ‘at bases of a six-feet wide triangle’ with the loudspeakers a couple of feet from the rear and side walls. And after you have acclimatised yourself to that, it’s easy to experiment because the speakers rest on cones and not armour-piercing, floor-shredding spikes. One point to note here, however. The placement of the loudspeakers is sensitive to its upstream equipment choices. Even a cable change might result in moving those loudspeakers slightly to react to that change in the system profile.

That might sound like the Raidho Acoustics X1.6 is a bit of a diva, but it speaks to their ability to resolve details. And it’s here where that comparison with other Raidho models kicks in. The company’s best loudspeakers need the same adjustment after system changes because they are detailed and nuanced enough to highlight system differences so well. That the X1.6 continues that trend shows just how well-engineered and resolving this loudspeaker design gets.

Jaw-drop

I have always admired the Raidho design concept, even when it missed the mark. A loudspeaker that resolves musical information with such intense precision and clarity can be a jaw-dropping experience; jaw-dropping enough to overcome a distinct dip between treble and midrange in older models. That was ironed out long ago, and instead, you get incredible detail, clarity, and absolute focus across the frequency range, with a naturally extended-sounding treble. Even the bass is good; the Raidho Acoustics X1.6 resists the temptation to ‘sex up’ the bottom end (no giggling, please), instead opting for a clean, honest roll-off. In most small to medium-sized rooms, unless heavily bass is trapped into deadness. most people today prefer that frequency response honesty.

There is a trend in audio – even in very high-end audio – to opt for a bright, almost etched, and zingy high-frequency response. The cynical might claim this is being passed off as ‘detail.’ The highs of the Raidho Acoustics X1.6 never fall into this trap; another trait common to Raidho designs in general.

Never peaky

That treble is highly detailed and extended but never peaky. Joyce DiDonato’s mezzo-soprano voice [Stella Di Napoli, Erato] highlights this well; it’s powerful and articulate but never strident or bold on the X1.6… as it should be.

If the Raidho Acoustics X1.6 were just about the detail and the frequency response accuracy, that would be good enough to make it an outstanding performer. But it’s the tonality and staging of the X1.6 that sets them apart from the pack. The soundstage is a truly holographic thing; when playing a track with a simple vocal and piano in a natural environment, such as ‘Clara’ by Jarvis Cocker and Chilly Gonzales [Room 29, DG], you get the sense of listening to the two of them in a well-appointed hotel suite, with the reverberant field extending in front, behind and to the sides of the cabinets. This also highlights that tonality, Jarvis Cocker’s distinctive baritone voice with its occasional vocal fry, is easy to get wrong, the piano is notoriously tricky to get right, and the two together are a challenge, that the X1.6 rises to well.

Sweet taste

The X1.6 gives you a sweet taste of what Raidho does so well. The jump – and it is a jump – to the TD1.2 brings more precision, even more clarity, and more depth without notable downsides, but with great power comes great responsibility, and that loudspeaker is more demanding of upstream products and installation. The impressive part of the Raidho Acoustics X1.6, however, is it covers its tracks extremely well; unless you compare it to one of the big-boy flagship models (like the TD1.2), the only differences you’ll notice are cosmetic; the boat-backed design, beautiful burr wood finishes, and a better stand. And for those not wanting to devote the time to fettling a thoroughbred, the X1.6 comes very close.

I like the idea of the Raidho Acoustics X1.6. It doesn’t shout ‘giant-killer’ but offers the sort of performance that puts it close to some of the best two-way stand-mounts (a lot of) money can buy. I also like that it gives much of that Raidho sound and resolution without being as demanding of room, system… and wallet. And I like the fact that for all their cerebral imaging, detail, tonal precision, and clarity, they never sound like they are taking music too seriously and can also bring the fun back to music.

Technical specifications

• Type: Two-way, rear-ported stand-mount loudspeaker
• Drivers: 1× Raidho Ribbon tweeter, 1× 165mm Raidho Ceramix mid-bass
• Crossover point: 3.5kHz
• Frequency Response: 45Hz–50kHz ±3dB
• Sensitivity: 87dB (2.83V/m)
• Nominal Impedance: > 6Ω
• Finish: Piano black, piano white
• Dimensions (W×H×D): 20 × 36 × 26.5cm
• Weight: 11.5kg
• Price: £7,300, $7,300 per pair

Manufacturer

Raidho

www.raidho.dk

UK distributor

Decent Audio

 www.decentaudio.co.uk

+44(0)1642 267012

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