In 2014 to celebrate their tenth year shipping of their first loudspeaker design, the B1 loudspeaker; Vivid Audio decided to commemorate with the release of a limited edition version of the B1. Borrowing much of the technology developed for the Giya series, the B1 Decade is a limited edition of 200.
The 10’th Anniversary limited edition B1 Decade (2015) includes many improvements over the original B1 design (2004), discussed by Stereophile's John Marks in Feb. 2011 and reviewed by John Atkinson in Oct 2011:
1. Lightweight balsa-core, polymer-composite cabinet structure similar to the Giya series; with a much higher resonance frequency than that of the original B1’s carbon fiber reinforced, plastic cement cabinet.
2. Woofers are a fresh design where the motor assembly has been pushed forward to encapsulate the voice coil, reducing flux leakage considerably, leading to greater woofer efficiency.
3 With the new bass/mid woofers, Laurence Dickie has improved the crossover to better attenuate the output from the rear driver above the 100Hz lower crossover point..
4. New tweeter grills were designed to protect the individual catenary domes.
5. A magnetically attached grill, similar to that used in the Giya series is now offered for this new B1 Decade.
6. At the suggestion of a British High-End editor (living in the USA) the shape of the ports have been altered to a more conventional oval design.
The limited edition B1 Decade will retail for $28k in piano black or Ferrari corsa red. While the original B1 stays in the line-up at $17k. We have received many enquiries from existing B1 owners wishing to upgrade to the B1 Decade, so this limited edition series should sell out quickly world-wide.
On A Higher Note is proud to announce the N.American Launch Party for the B1 Decade at Music Lovers, Berkeley on Saturday afternoon 5 December, from 1 -3:00PM and 4 - 6:00PM. We will of course show Merging Technologies stunning NADAC at this event along with the LUXMAN PD-171AL turntable and of course Philip O’Hanlon will play a wonderful blend of the best analogue (tape & vinyl) as well as DSD and PCM in the highest resolutions. Please RSVP to Music Lovers as space is limited - phone 510 558 1000 or info@musicloversaudio.com
I look forward to meeting forum members at this event. For those who can't attend, we will also show these speakers at CES 2016 in Las Vegas and the Canadian launch will be at the end of January in Montreal.
Ciao,
Philip