This review page is supported in part by the sponsors whose ad banners are displayed below

Inspired. It's very true that a speaker's signature trait or personality inspires what type of music we reach for instinctively. Some readers might know that my conservatory upbringing on clarinet has me treat classical music today as mostly a past-life obsession. They'll appreciate how the Wave's expertise with acoustic instruments having me reach for lots more of such material was quite unusual indeed. But this went further still. The sparky Dutch songstress Nynke Laverman who mainly signs in Frisian kicks off her Nomade album with a massive cabaret or carneval-type number called "De Ûntdekker". With its martial marching-band drums this would usually be the stuff of bigger speakers. Those with proper low-down fortitude mostly lack the Wave's deep-throated openness in the critical vocal range however to kill off some of that rah-rah sparkiness.


Augmented by the Submission at a low 3 on the dial with a 40Hz low-pass, the coinciding of massive but perfectly controlled utterly non-boomy bass power and Nynke's let-'er-rip vocal exuberance was absolutely brilliant. It's simply not something I'd usually reach for. But power belters are exactly what the Wave thrives on. In with Chaka Khan—or if you're into Samba, my old flame Alcione—and out with wispy breathies. On Nomade Nynke too does a very cool neo-samba impression with "De Toek-Toek Tuorren" including some hair-raising high-pitched yodeling. Major wave mojo!

Context. Having reviewed Rethms with Lowthers and later Jacob's own driver; Ocellia with PHY drivers; Voxativ with their own AER-type variant; and various Zu... the Wave in my estimation moves right to the front of this pack ahead of Voxativ's Ampeggio which does however make a bit more bass. With Ampeggio's €16.900 price when I reviewed it (this has since increased considerably) one always spent heavily on Schimmel's flawless true Piano-lacquer gloss skins which arguably didn't do much if anything for sonics. With soundkaos the same sticker feels far easier justified by the nearly impossibly demanding build and pricey tone woods which most assuredly pool directly into the sound. Ampeggio's higher sensitivity also came at the price of greater inherent leanness. This ideally wanted to be compensated with prime valve amps like my friend Dan's Trafomatic Marie monos with 10Y driving 50 direct-heated power triodes or his 300B Berning Siegfried. The Wave clearly lacks this must-have triode need as antidote to any borderline whitish zippiness and textural dryness. Like Martin I thought that the Exicon Mosfet-based push/pull Bakoon was simply perfect. Bakoon's Soo In Chae ordered a pair of Wave to serve as their in-house reference monitor in Korea, suggesting he suspects likewise.
Where to my ears the Wave eclipses the Ampeggio is in rendering different recordings far more different than alike. The Ampeggio had a peculiar propensity for painting everything with the same brush. And though the Ampeggio's faceted rear horn delivered bass to 40Hz, it also suffered some LF resonance which the Wave 40 doesn't. Finally and regardless of propaganda, I hear more finesse and extension with the Raal ribbon than—with due apologies to Rethm, Lowther and Voxativ—one ever gets from even the snazziest of whizzers.


Not yet having heard Jacob George's magnum opus of latest unibody Rethm Saadhana with new 7-incher, I must reserve judgment on how it would compare - safe to say that previous encounters would have the Wave as the tonally fuller and more generous. How Zu compares is amply explained in my recent Druid V review.


This leaves Ocellia. Their models too have undergone refinements and changes for 2013 since last I crossed paths. Here I'll only say that Aleksandar Radisavljevic's Raal ribbon should still have the upper hand and that I find Martin's industrial design more attractive. Regardless Ocellia and Rethm ought to be the competitors a customer shopping these leagues and type of transducers should consider for the full picture and for distinctive sub flavors in an otherwise shared aural aesthetic.

Martin Tillman's Poet - Romances for Cello
  The heart. Listening to music serves all manner of needs: distraction, background fill, moody ambiance, day dreaming, revitalization, quasi meditation, grooving, dancing, getting it on, being overwhelmed, stimulated, carried away and more. The bundle of qualities the Wave 40 packs would seem most strongly aligned with revitalization. If you meant to be nourished by your tunes as though they were some sort of actual manna or soul food, the Wave's transmission of energy, charge and light would seem to be that exactly. That said, without a subwoofer acoustic music is best. Scale thereof isn't qualified. Even large symphonic expanses and complexity are properly served. Kick drum and timpani simply won't develop full impact and power unless augmented below 40-50Hz (this depends on room size). The same obviously goes for electronica. Thankfully the Wave's reach is low enough where one central sub for the bottom octave will do the job without giveaways.


Conclusion. As quintessentially Swiss as Gruyère cheese or Emmenthaler—its very wood was grown in the Swiss alps and finessed by a Swiss master craftsman—the Wave 40 from Feutersoey embodies the country's reputation for fastidious workmanship in every single aspect. Be it the veneered zigzag Raal tweeter edge; the Auditorium 23 umbilical; the custom four-spade termination with one-way guide pins between it and the cylindrical solid-Maple xover; the choice of dense felt footers for exposed wooden floors or pointy jobs with felt-covered receptors; the shipping crate with very thick sewn felt sleeve for the wooden carcass (the stand ships disassembled in the same crate); the flawlessly executed wood shaping and finishing; the luxury brushed finish on the metal plinth... absolutely nothing has been left to chance or oversight. Whilst others have championed the speaker-as-musical-instrument angle before, only the Wave 40 actually looks the part. Though not exactly shaped like a cello, its similar size and flotation above a short stand are more reminiscent than not. Considering merely the curvy Maple sides and color of the shellacked front one would instead think guitar relative. Thus enjoying a distinctive sculptural or art aspect, the Wave 40 opens doors on appearance alone. Whilst I can't speak to the Enviee driver's claimed ±2.5dB measurable linearity from 50Hz to 15kHz, it certainly sounds amazingly even. Perhaps this really is the mythical widebander perfected?


As PHY builders Samuel Furon, Hans Kortenbach and Keith Aschenbrunner have learnt, in these leagues a good driver is just the beginning. Unleashing its full potential requires a different sort of enclosure. Here Martin Gateley and his resourceful wheelwrights contribute something new, attractive and successful to the art. As always the final proof is in the listening. There the soundkaos Wave 40 sounds exactly like theory predicts a high-efficiency light-coned point source in a low-mass cabinet ought to. It's very quick. It lets go of sounds as though they were red-hot coins. It stages in grand style and scale. First and foremost though it's immediate, lucid and energized as the antithesis of dull and damped. This is a major accomplishment for the breed. It deserves enthusiastic accolades and a long standing ovation. Bravissimo!


As they'd ask in Switzerland by now, wo isch de nòòggscht Bankomaat? The meaning ought to be crystal. Not so for mis Luftchüssiboot isch volen Aal. That means your hovercraft is full of eels. But it does express proper surprise and delight over this discovery just the same. If you fancy free eel that is. Now the Wave 40 concludes with Grüezi mitenand! Hello everyone!
soundkaos website