Jupiter Audio - EUROPA speaker

The birth of a loudspeaker

Okay, so I've got this idea for what I want to do with a speaker system, now what? The next step was to go shopping for some drivers. Several things came into play: reasonable cost, a brand or brands that people hadn't heard of a million times over, and something not quite on the beaten path in terms of driver technology. A ribbon tweeter eventually sprung to mind, because, however good conventional tweeters are (and some are very, very good), there is still something utterly conventional about them both in terms in looks and sound. After seeing hundreds of different speaker designs, I can't help but think "ho hum" every time I see a conventional tweeter. Conventional woofers are different matter altogether, because although there have been some pretty cool ways to reproduce bass, I don't think any of them are as ultimately satisfying as a really good cone woofer.

So to make a long story short, I settled on some drivers made by a Chinese company called Silver Flute. They make a couple of different ribbon tweeters, and three different woofer sizes. I decided on the larger of the two tweeters, and the biggest of the three woofers to concoct a speaker that is in a way a classic design--a large bookshelf 8 inch two way, but with the huge advantages of a ribbon tweeter and computer designed crossover network. Couple that with a very solid cabinet made of 3/4" MDF, excellent bi-wireable speaker terminals, hand-soldered connections, solid PVC port tube, and real oak veneer cabinet, and you have a speaker that is exciting to listen to and beautiful to look at.

Click here to read our review featured in TNT Audio. Don't forget! We offer a 45 day money back guarantee on all of our products.

Features and specifications:

Frequency range: 50-20,000 Hz
Amplifier power: 20-100 watts
Impedance: 8 ohms
Efficiency (approx.-in room) 88 dB, 1 watt at 1 meter
Curb weight: 23 lbs
Woofer: Silver Flute 8 inch with wool impregnated paper cone and cast metal basket
Tweeter: Silver Flute 3 1/2" x 6 3/4" ribbon tweeter
Crossover freq.: 2.7 kHz
Cabinet dimensions: 10 1/2" W x 7 3/4" D x 21 3/8" H
Available finishes: Black lacquered oak veneer and
Pecan stained oak veneer

regular price: $1350 per pair, including free shipping anywhere in the continental United States

So what's the bottom line?

The sound quality is tremendous. The Europa has a zippy, dynamic quality that speakers costing ten times as much often can't equal. It also has a neutrality from top to bottom that is exceptional. Bass guitar notes sound like bass guitar notes. Runs on a piano don't hit "sour spots" in the frequency response. The tweeter response is crisp and articulate, with a wide open sound that is very fun to listen to. The woofer, while being very accurate, also has a robust quality to it that produces bass that is very tight and authoritative. And these speakers don't have the typical "goose" in the high frequency response that is often equated with high end sound, thus lending themselves to extended listening sessions. Lastly, they are an easy load to drive, with above average efficiency, thus allowing for a wide range of electronics. But make no mistake: the better the electronics the better the Europas will sound.

Speaker Instructions