High End 2022 • Hot Product

Göbel’s new Divin Sovereign active subwoofer ($29,500) is designed to underpin the performance of the Divin-series speakers and was shown alongside the compact (we use the term advisedly) Divin Marquis ($89,000 per pair). Finished in matching piano white lacquer, this sub is an object lesson in making something big, bluff, intrusive and potentially ugly into an elegant aesthetic statement. The tapered cabinets and facetted baffles (shared with and echoing the rest of the Divin speakers) result in an attractive, almost sculptural quality a world away from the cuboid blocks that constitute most subs. The active electronics/DSP are Bluetooth controllable from any portable device, and results at the show were excellent, delivering all the scale, space, dimensionality and rhythmic fluidity that are the hallmarks of a great subs when they’re really well integrated.

This easy-breathing and expressive system was the musical highlight of the show. Doubtless helped by the quality of the Kronos and Wadax front-ends and the TLA amps doing the driving, this was nevertheless an extremely impressive performance from what are the smallest speakers in the Göbel Divin line, testament to the quality of the Divin Sovereign subs.

In many respects this should come as no surprise. All of the Divin speakers are characterized by their clean, uncluttered, linear and expressive bass performance, so extending their approach, driver and cabinet technology to dedicated low-frequency systems should generate superb results. But what makes the Divin Sovereign especially interesting is the option to pass on the installation of the internal electronics and instead use the active crossover that Göbel already produces for the Epoque Aeon speakers and their matching Baforce subwoofer. That would allow you to use the same amplifier to drive the subs and the main speakers, an approach with readily demonstrable benefits. Given the performance of the show setup, that is an enticing proposition.