Description

TWO LOOKS – TWO TECHNOLOGIES – TWO GREAT SPEAKERS

Introducing the Raidho X-5 and XT-5

The Danes are famous adventurers, building remarkable wooden ships and sailing them faster or further than anyone else, crossing the widest seas, reaching new lands, extending our horizons. More recently we have become renowned as World-leaders in loudspeaker design, developing new technologies, creating musical masterpieces and recreating musical masterworks. At Raidho we like to think that the new X-5 series is quintessentially Danish, combining our present with our past – but also our future. When we describe the Raidho XT-5 as our flagship design, for us it’s about more than just the price. The XT-5 stands tall and proud – like a mast against the sky. Its lines are long and sleek – like the hull of the fastest ships. But above all else, its performance breaks new ground – allowing the music to transport the listener further than ever before.

Designed with a single goal – to deliver not just performance, but THE performance – the X-5 and XT-5 speakers pair the legendary Raidho Ribbon Tweeter with no fewer than six of our latest (and significantly more powerful) Ceramix drive units, creating speaker systems capable of extraordinary resolution, bandwidth, headroom and power handling. From the subtlest nuance or tiniest vibration to the loudest orchestral crescendo or rock climax, nothing escapes or challenges the Raidho X-5s. Instead, the X-5s allow the music to challenge the listener. The result is breath-taking musical experience: the presence and immediacy of great recordings; the excitement and power of the live event; the raw emotion of the greatest players and singers. We can sum it up in a single phrase – as each new listener settles down and embarks on the voyage of discovery that is the Raidho X-5 or XT-5, we simply say, “Enjoy the ride”. After all – it’s a Danish tradition!

Making The Best Better – Or, Time For T

At the heart of all Raidho speakers lie our proprietary driver designs, the brilliant simplicity of our ribbon tweeter, the astonishing dynamic capabilities of our Ceramix units. The X-5 Series uses the latest developments of both, but the bass and mid drivers offer a step-change in performance over previous versions, with huge developmental effort expended on maximising both the power and power handling of their motors. The result is unprecedented dynamic capabilities from a dynamic driver, coupled to incredibly robust construction that will handle incredible levels of continuous, clean power. Deployed in the X-5, our latest Ceramix drivers offer remarkable – and remarkably affordable – musical performance.

But we wanted to take things further. As impressive as the capabilities of our deep ceramic cone technology are, experience with the CVD process that we used to create our incredible (and incredibly costly) Diamond drivers means that we know what’s possible. The goal became to approach or even match the performance of the D-Series drivers – at a far more affordable price: the result is our new Titanium/Ceramic sandwich membrane. We started by taking our existing three-layer aluminium/ceramic sandwich and on each side depositing two layers of a carefully calculated combination of Titanium and Titanium Nitride particles, using a high-temperature sputter process, to create a composite, seven-layer membrane. The twin titanium coatings act as incredibly dense constraining layers that further increase the stiffness of the diaphragm while reducing internal resonance and overall Q. These incredibly sophisticated new cones grace the XT-5, a speaker that’s even better than the outstanding X-5. In terms of price and performance, engineering and execution, it’s the most complete speaker we have ever made.

Form and Function – Musical Majesty and a Majestic Finish

The stunning musical performance of the Raidho X-5 Series deserves an equally striking appearance, a finish that builds on their sleek lines, elegant proportions and commanding visual presence. Maple veneers are hard and closely grained, their sonic properties well-known and widely exploited. The beautiful Birdseye figuring occurs in less than 1% of the Sugar Maple Population, its patterning and character as distinctive to each individual tree as fingerprints to each person. Even rarer still is the conjunction of Birdseye and Burl, the tree’s natural response to injury, a hardened callus that surrounds and isolates the intrusion, like a pearl growing around a grain of sand. Add the disruptive effects of both Birdseye and Burl to the natural qualities of Maple and you introduce diverse, random elements to the grain structure, spots and whorls that are at once uniquely beautiful and uniquely challenging to work with. Birdseye Maple Burl is amongst the rarest and most beautiful veneers. It has also always been the exclusive preserve of only the most skilled of craftsmen. 

It has taken the latest diamond and tungsten carbide, segmented spiral cutting heads and most sophisticated, high-speed CNC technology to make Birdseye Maple Burl an available – if expensive – veneer, usually confined to the luxury interiors of private jets and super-cars. But at Raidho we believe that the ground-breaking musical performance of the X-5 Series deserves the best and most beautiful finishes possible, that its lines and heritage demand the finest and rarest of woods to grace its cabinet. So, as well as classic piano black, the X-5 Series will be available in an optional Birdseye Maple Burl finish. Take one look at the stunning contrast of sharp lines and soaring surfaces with the organic intricacies of the natural wood finish and we are sure that you will agree, this really is beauty beyond price – but at a price that is surprisingly affordable.

The X-5 Series –Not Just Technology or Design Philosophy, More A Musical Way Of Life

What makes our X-5 Series our new flagship product? It’s not the most expensive speaker range we make – but it is the pinnacle of our current thinking. New materials, new technologies, our latest engineering and most luxurious finishes – the Raidho X-5 Series boasts them all. At this point, we could talk about the resulting increase in resolution and micro-dynamic definition, the deeper and more natural bass response, or the drop in system noise floor. But instead, we’d prefer you to listen. We’d like you to hear the dramatic increase in clarity and musical impact. We’d love you to experience the emphatic dynamics and natural, expressive range. But most of all we want to take you on a new musical adventure: to rediscover old favourites, familiar tracks but to hear them – really hear them – for the first time: to marvel at new music and new artists, new opportunities and new discoveries: to fall in love again, with your system and with listening, with your music, your past and your future. 

Raidho X-5 Series – Pointing The Way