High End 2023 • Hot Product

The Living Voice R80 (£52,000 per pair with matching outboard crossovers), which was three years in the making, features a symmetrical MTM two-way driver configuration in a reflex-loaded enclosure. The speaker uses two 8" midrange/bass drivers and a 1 1/4" soft-dome tweeter. The R80's unique cabinet construction is further development of what Living Voice created and improved on for its Auditorium series: a stiff, light, and diffusive substrate that benefits tonality and dynamics. The R80's form relies on classical golden-ratio proportions, making for what Living Voice calls "a timeless aesthetic."

The R80's sensitivity is "in the mid 90s," and it has a very benign impedance characteristic. Living Voice says it "wanted to create a speaker that combined the lyricism, coherence, and innate musicality of the OBX-RW4, with the scale, dynamic range, and visceral thrill of the Vox Olympian," and the R80 succeeds because it got awfully close to the great sound of the full-blown Living Voice models at a fraction of the price and size.