STRATTON ACOUSTICS

bike builders and fine artists in making true one-ofa-kind free-reign pieces that blur the lines between HiFi and art, but that’s mostly because that’s where my tastes lie. It may not be for everyone, but the results would be incredible.

In your case would you like a particular Pantone reference of pink or maybe some pink graphics over a gloss white base, possibly a pink acrylic baffle with satin white sides? Would 18 carat gold plating suffice, or would you want specific pieces to be made in solid gold by our jewellers? The choice is entirely yours….let us know and we’ll produce concept visualisations as part of the “Absolute” consultation process and show them installed at HiFi Pig Towers.

NB: People are naturally going to draw similarities between your loudspeakers and the big studio monitors from the likes of JBL. Is this comparison founded or are the similarities only visual?

DF: This question always surprises me as I’m not sure other loudspeaker brands get the same question. Do people ask Acoustic Energy if the AE1 was the same as the LS3/5a? Both are compact standmount 2-way speakers with a small directly radiating dome tweeter above a compact midwoofer. And both are nearfield monitors and both are exceptional. But they are completely different in philosophy, execution and performance.

The only similarities between the Elypsis1512 and the vintage JBLs, Tannoys and Ureis are in their diaphragm diameters and layout of the bass and midrange drivers, everything else is unique to the 1512. We spent five years in development and objectively exceed the performance of any of those iconic products in any applicable metric other than brand recognition.

Please don’t take what I’m saying as arrogance. Those products were stunning in their day, but that day was over forty years ago. The Elypsis1512 is a truly modern loudspeaker in all respects and partly configured the way it is so that we could deliver a product that is as much a piece of fine furniture as it is a fine loudspeaker. You’d never describe the JBL4350 as a fine piece of furniture. We could have produced yet another towering angular or curvaceous monolith high-end speaker, but there are many wonderful brands already doing that very successfully.

We wanted to produce something that could complement an interior; subtly blending and or making a wild statement, but without dominating a listening space, and that isn’t really possible with a twometer-tall monument to conventional audiophile thinking and trends.

NB: In a way my previous questions have been leading to this question, but what is it about Stratton Acoustics that you think sets it apart from any other loudspeaker manufacturer in the world right now?

DF: In a word; obsession. We as a company are obsessed with the power of music to move us and communicate ideas and emotions. And we’re obsessed with the engineering required to deliver the passion and engagement, with attention to detail ensuring every single aspect of our products will delight for every moment of ownership. We are obsessive about providing our customers with a level of service, dream fulfilment and a long-term relationship that ensures each one will enjoy their Stratton Acoustics speakers for the decades to come as members of a small club that values high quality engineering and fine, hand-crafted products.

NB: How do you go about communicating your values and unique proposition to potential customers?

DF: Currently we are working with HiFi and luxury press in loaning our 1512 demo pair for listening and review. We are doing as many shows as we can so that potential customers can experience the speakers for themselves and hopefully be moved by them. We host occasional two-day listening sessions at the wonderful Brighton Electric Studios; in the same live room that’s been used by countless great artists over the years. And we can arrange home demonstrations for potential customers who want to experience the 1512 as part of their own systems.

We are enormously privileged in being invited to work with a well-known podcaster to talk about industrial design, start-up business and high-end HiFi. We are so proud to be involved in the podcast as it gives us a chance to represent the generosity and positivity of brands and individuals who have supported us and without whom we wouldn’t have been able to get to this point. Massive thanks to Vertere, Innuos, AudioNote, Bryston via PMC, Benchmark, Quadraspire and Cyrus for supporting