Loudspeakers

Leading light of Living Voice, Kevin Scott, looked back at the origins of the brand. '35 years ago I was setting up and optimising systems from a very strict portfolio of equipment', he recalls, 'but the biggest impediment to success was always the loudspeaker – surely the most editorial and blunt instrument in any system. This is why I started designing speakers... needs must.

'In the early '90s I collaborated with Vitavox to evolve its historic designs into what became the Air series of horns. The Air Scout and Air Partner were big three-way systems suited to SET amps. These led to the Vox Series – uber exotic five-way fully horn-loaded systems consisting of the Vox Olympian, Vox Elysian, Vox Palladian and Palladian Basso'.

Kevin has also been designing reflex-loaded MTM loudspeakers for nearly 30 years – the Auditorium series – but the new R80 is the first to incorporate Scan-Speak's Ellipticor drivers. 'We have a longstanding relationship with Scan-Speak', he says. 'They are proud of these driver designs and strongly encouraged me to explore their potential'.

Was it the technical or subjective qualities of the Ellipticor drivers that Kevin found most compelling? 'They have a range of qualities that are unusual in conventional drivers – an unforced ease to the resolution of dynamics, and freedom of articulation that allows you to see into the music. They capture musical gestures without imposing a technical fingerprint, bridging the gap between the best compression and conventional drivers.' PM