Time to ditch all the tired tropes. The planar magnetic is alive and kicking! In France, it is being geared for maximum performance.
The good thing about planar speakers is the lack of an enclosure. This means that countless common loudspeaker problems vanish into thin air. What remains is a frame with one or more vibrating foils – and sometimes little ambition on the part of the designer to even think about making the technically flawlessly functioning structure actually look good. After all, the customer is buying sound, and the lights will be dimmed in the listening room anyway.
If you’re a style-conscious French Mélomaniac, you can’t afford to be so careless with the design. Gilles Douziech and his partner Eric Poix build planar magnetics in Montauban, near Toulouse, around which you nod respectfully even before you hear the first notes. No wonder, the brand is called Diptyque, and the name says it all – because, indeed, “diptyque” (French) and “diptych” (English) are the names for a work of art consisting of two panels.
Unlike museum exhibits, the loudspeakers do not require a contemplative approach. The value and the aesthetically reduced design are obvious. Take, for example, the harmonious proportions of the middle Diptyque model DP 140 MKII (there are five models in total): The two foils responsible for mid/low frequencies take up pretty much exactly two thirds of the panel width, the tweeter ribbon the remaining one. A closer look reveals the rigid sandwich construction. Front and back are made of two millimeter thick, matt lacquered sheet steel. Between them is a layer of MDF in which the transducer technology is embedded. The potentially unsightly edge of the fiberboard is covered all around with fine leather. When looking at the back, the observer is amazed at the 33 easily accessible screws that tightly clamp the planar magnetic together. Six more screws secure the crossover cover, which also houses the high-quality WBT connection terminals. In fact, achieving maximum mechanical stability and a modular design were two explicit development goals of Douziech and Poix. Thanks to the screw connections, a defective function group can be removed and replaced in a matter of minutes. This is not just sustainable, it is a minor sensation. The French have given the planar magnetic the serviceability of dynamic loudspeakers. Chapeau!
The multi-layer construction of the panels nips unwanted micro-vibrations in the bud and ensures that the wafer-thin Mylar foil covered with conductive tracks always remains perfectly aligned with the magnets. The mechanics, which cannot be disturbed by anything, also play their part in achieving development goal number three: a crisp bass reproduction with high impulse fidelity. To achieve this, the French company relies on a design with magnets on both sides of the foil. The advantages over designs with magnets placed on one side lie in the better linearity of the magnetic field, the higher magnetic flux density and therefore tighter control of the membrane. This design, which Diptyque has given the abbreviation PPBM (“Push Pull Bipolar Magnet”) and for which a patent application has been filed, can be found in all of the company’s transducers. Just like development goal number four: a broadband ribbon lined with extra-strong neodymium magnets as the high-frequency source. The ribbon built into the DP 140 MKII (which, strictly speaking, is a hybrid of ribbon and quasi-ribbon, as the conductor track sits on a Mylar carrier, but this is only attached at the ends in ribbon style) measures 55 centimetres. It sits recessed in the MDF, which is milled out towards the front and rear in the form of a conically widening sound guide. The separation to the two parallel midrange/woofer foils takes place with a 12 decibel slope at 1600 hertz.
A construction that is just as original and well thought-out as the many technical details mentioned gives the loudspeakers a firm stand. The developers have come up with a three-point system that requires nothing more than a spike and a steel bracket. The only disadvantage of this solution: on my sagging old building floor, the Diptyque speakers stand perfectly wobble-free, but also visibly crooked. In such a situation, one of the three support points must be shimmed at the appropriate height.
A pair of DP 140 MKIIs is a two-man job in terms of transportation and assembly. However, once they have been removed from their imposing wooden boxes and set up, the transducers, which are just a few centimetres thin, are surprisingly easy to handle at 141 centimetres high and 48 centimetres wide and, with a weight of 38 kilos, just about light enough to lift. My review samples are painted black. Diptyque gives its customers the option of choosing from 160 colors from the RAL palette. The surcharge for this is extremely moderate at 600 euros. Those whose lives are colorful enough can choose between black and white matt lacquer for the steel segments and four different leather colors for the edging at no extra charge.
The DP 140 MKII can be operated with the tweeters facing outwards or inwards. In my four-meter-wide room, the inward-facing ribbons produced the most clearly defined spatial image without even a hint of constriction – despite the “mere” two-meter distance between the left and right tweeters. When it comes to the distance to the rear wall, the path to the optimum is less clear. Here you can only reach your goal with patience and many small steps. If there is nothing and no one to stop you from positioning speakers one and a half meters away from the room, you should be able to achieve an acoustically suitable setup even in normal-sized living rooms. Electrically, the foils certainly like power because their efficiency is average, but otherwise they don’t require any special treatment. They react sensitively to the speaker cables, as the replacement of my Fadel Aphrodite with the O2A Cables brand supplied by the distributor proved. The added substance and physicality blended smoothly into the overall picture.
The DP 140 MKII, positioned in the middle of the five-model product family, is a large speaker. Not in the physical sense – it’s what comes out of the defensively positioned panels that raises two questions. Firstly, why are planar magnetics still so rare? And, secondly, can anyone seriously demand more from a loudspeaker? Once the break-in period is over – and yes, “over” is the right term, because it takes hundreds of hours before the treble gains substance, voices find plasticity and body, sounds emerge from nowhere and the bass can lift the door off its hinges – this dry spell is overcome, so it’s time to sit back and marvel.
Diptyque sound transducers are planar magnetics for people who don’t actually like planar magnetics. In other words, people who are not explicitly looking for a planar magnetic sound, who basically don’t care about the technical principle, but who take notice when sounds materialize holographically and have a grip and authenticity that is rarely found in conventional dynamic loudspeakers. The DP 140 MKII pair effortlessly masters this ever-inspiring planar magnetic trick. But what the compact flat radiators can also do is kick drum. And this is exactly where they pick up the technically disinterested, but musically all the more discerning listener. Because bass precision has always been considered the Achilles heel of the planar magnetic. Maria Callas, Miles Davis – please, you’re welcome, it doesn’t get any better than this. Jimmy Hendrix, Daft Punk: Give me a 38-cm paper bass! A nice, familiar world of clichés – and the Diptyque really stir it up. These foils can rock.
And then they are planar magnetic after all. Resolution and spatiality are world class. I listen to familiar jazz records that were recorded by hand in creaky, breathing studios and have no trouble determining the positions of the walls and the ceiling height by ear. I listen to classical music and enjoy the authentic timbres of various cellos and the weightless sparkle of piano notes. Here and with voices, another quality of the French transducers becomes apparent: they are accurate. Douziech and Poix have studied and listened very carefully, and they have instilled precision into their planar magnetic. The Diptyque loudspeakers are state-of-the-art high-performance transducers. They have an enormous dynamic capacity, a broad bandwidth and analytics that demand balanced chains and good, preferably larger rooms, and incorruptible tonal neutrality. No, nobody can really demand more from a loudspeaker.
Accompanying Equipment
Turntable: bauer audio dps 3 | Tonearm: bauer audio Tonarm | Cartridge: Lyra Kleos | Phono preamplifier: Hagerman Trumpet Wood | MC transformer: Consolidated Audio Silver/Nano | CD player: Electrocompaniet EMC 1 UP | Music server: Innuos Zenith Mk III | D/A converter: Aqua La Voce S3 | Switch: Silent Angel Bonn N8 | Preamplifier: Silvercore linestage two | Power amplifier: Rowland Model 2 | Power conditioner: AudioQuest Niagara 3000 | Loudspeakers: Ayon Seagull/c | Cables: Fadel Art, AudioQuest, Solidcore, O2A Cable | Accessories: Rack Creaktiv Trend
Planar magnetic loudspeaker Diptyque DP 140 MKII
Concept: 2-way planar magnetic with ribbon tweeter | Driver complement: two “medium bass cells” each made of Mylar foil, 55 cm ribbon tweeter | Bandwidth: 35 Hz to 22 kHz | Sensitivity: 87 dB | Impedance: 6 Ω | Power handling: 180 W | Special features: magnetically adhering acoustic adjustment elements for bass-heavy music included | Finishes: Black and white at no extra charge, RAL color €600; choice of 4 leather colors for surrounds | Dimensions (W/H/D): 48/141/5 cm (without feet) | Weight: 38 kg | Warranty period: 5 years | Price per pair: from €14,000
Conceptas Engineering
Hoher Markt 8-9/3/30
1010 Vienna
Austria
Phone +43 67684 10012