A new speaker company has been established by former Scan Speak engineers.

Scandinavian Audio Research consists of Lars Goller, former Director of engineering, and designer of the revelator and SD series patents, Ulrik Schmidt, former senior engineer, Frank Neilsen, former senior mechanical engineer, Torben Sondergaard, former president of Scan Speak, Benny Frank Pedersen, Alan Hydel Jensen, and David Stephens, VP and director of Sales and marketing for VIFA and Scan Speak in North America from 1995-2003. The initial offering of drivers will be sold under the SB Acoustics brand, and will consist of a 1" soft dome tweeter, 5" Midwoofer, 6" Midwoofer, 10" Woofer, 12" woofer and 15" woofer. The new drivers are designed from scratch, and utilize a new, proprietary cone material, low distortion magnets and a new chassis design. A new driver manufacturer with such impressive credentials is certainly welcome.

We look forward with interest to see which manufacturers choose these drivers for their designs. Drivers by SB Acoustics will be available at Madisound and other retailers on December 7.

Stereophile recently got their hands on a pair of JL Audio Fathom f113 subwoofers for evaluiation.

The JL Audio home subwoofers entered the crowded subwoofer market like Godzilla rising out of the Sea of Japan and entering downtown Tokyo when they launched last year. Owners and reviewers alike have found favor with how well they perform for both music and home theater application. This time around, Stereophile is giving a pair of Fathom f113's a thorough shakedown for music perfomance.

Go take a look at their review of the JL Audio Fathom f113 if you're interested in a premium sub that excels at both music and home theater reproduction.

Canadian loudspeaker maker Paradigm has announced three new models for their Reference Signature series of loudspeakers.

Paradigm describes the new additions as "compact, lifestyle speakers" with entirely new form factors. Shared with the rest of the Reference line, the new models will utilize Beryllium tweeters, which Paradigm states is lighter and stiffer than aluminum, without being brittle like some premium tweeter materials. Mid and mid bass drivers are a new cobalt-aluminum alloy, which offer better stiffness and damping than aluminum, according to Paradigm. Finally, Paradigm will continue to use mineral filled polypropylene for the larger bass drivers. Voice coils, magnets and chassis remain relatively unchanged from the last generation of Reference Signatures. T

The three models announced are the S1, a 2 way bookshelf starting at $1499/pair, the 3 way, 4 driver C1 center channel, starting at $1199 and the 3 way, 5 driver ADP1 surround staring at $1199/pair. Available in cherry, birdseye maple and piano black.

The audiophile community enjoys an avid DIY contingent. The allure of the DIY loudspeaker is that for any given price point, with technical skill, proper loudspeaker design and testing, a loudspeaker of surpassing quality can be made for a fraction of what the equivalent commercial design would cost. A DIY'er can take pride in the sonic and visual fruits of their labors, and the knowledge that Joe Smith down the street doesn't have the same pair in his listening room.

DIY loudspeaker designs are especially prolific, and there are many online sources for speaker components, plans and kits. Commercial and freeware software is available to assist DIY'ers with enclosure and crossover design. One site I would like to point readers toward is Troels Gravesen's excellent page devoted to his loudspeaker designs. Troels obviously takes his projects quite seriously, as evidenced by the beauty of his enclosures and the premium drivers and crossover components he uses. Troels spends quite a bit of time ensuring that his crossovers are just right for the drivers and enclosures. His published plans are easy to follow, and aren't a bad read, even if you won't be building your own loudspeakers anytime soon.

Readers interested in learning more about DIY loudspeakers and DIY audio in general can head over to the forums at diyAudio.com and engage in conversation with the community of knowledgable, dedicated enthusiasts there.