Russell K Red 120Se Precision Audio Loudspeaker System
How to improve a speaker already heralded as “sounding fast, controlled and natural”? Enter the RED 120Se which succeeds in raising the performance of the RED 120 to an even higher level.
The new RED 120Se floor stander shows exemplary coherence and delivers even more true-to-life dynamic nuance and detail. It’s vivid and highly engaging without resorting to an unnaturally bright in-room performance. And because it delivers more micro-detail, we hear the true relationship between musical events and their time-base. Detail flows from clever design and delivers great timing with a fast, rhythmic, deep bass.
Designed and Manufactured in the UK
RED 120Se technical improvements versus Standard RED 120
- New upgraded tweeter with metal faceplate
The new tweeter may look similar to the standard RED 120 HF unit however this is a far higher quality device with much superior build and sound quality. There is a sense of more detail in the music without sounding brighter but the biggest benefit is the ability to play complex music and difficult recordings without sounding harsh or fatiguing.
- New tweeter crossover design
The new tweeter has a higher output so an adjustment was necessary to the shape of the response curve to match the output of the bass/mid driver. At the same time this gave an opportunity to fine tune the speaker to sound even more realistic. All without changing the excellent phase response so important for music to time well.
- New sub bass coil
A bigger coil, both in value and size, built with a larger frame and thicker wire. Plus there are now two of them, one in the positive signal path and a second in the negative return path. This creates a balanced circuit with an improvement in “bass tunefulness”. The result is a speaker that is both easier to place in the listening room as well as enhancing the tuneful bass reproduction. This completes the picture by adding more drama to the bass while maintaining the significant bass extension of the standard RED 120.
- New plinth and spikes
The interface between the floor of the listening room and the cabinet of a loudspeaker is critical to its real-world performance. Especially with so many variations in floor finish – from wood to carpet to concrete and everything in between. Adding a polymer insert to the double plinth system of the standard RED 120 creates a sophisticated plinth of differing materials which means the isolation from the floor is significantly improved. Improved spikes are the icing on the cake. Bass performance is an obvious beneficiary but soundstage, coherence and dynamics are also enhanced.
- Other RED 120Se specifications are the same as the RED 120.
- Dimensions H- 860mm (910mm including plinth, base and spikes) W-200mm D-190mm
- Construction 16mm MDF all sides apart from front baffle which is 19mm.
- Totally undamped cabinet
- 3 acoustic loading bracing shelves with multiple apertures, mounted below the tweeter, below the bass mid driver and below the sub bass driver
- 1 bracing shelf mounted near the bottom of the enclosure containing an internal port
- Internal port vents into a small chamber containing 2 asymmetric length reflex ports tuned as a system to 21Hz
- 2 x 5” Bass units with impregnated paper cone and curved optimised acoustic profile
- High power Ferrite magnet driving a 25mm voice coil with aluminium former and Faraday distortion cancelling copper ring
- 25mm soft dome tweeter
- Double Ferrite magnet system
- Copper Clad Aluminium voice coil wire on a Fibreglass Former and Faraday distortion cancelling copper ring
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- All drivers connected in positive phase
- Sub bass driver starts roll off at 80Hz 6db/Oct fed by “Enclosed Field Iron Core Inductor”. Features high power without saturation, very low DCR and almost no stray magnetic field
- Bass/Mid driver crossover frequency 1800Hz nominal 12 dB/Oct. Utilises an “Enclosed Field Ferrite Core Inductor “in the signal path. Very low DCR nominal stray fields
- Tweeter attenuation by misaligned Zobel network as opposed to conventional L-Pad
- All Drivers have only one component in the signal path
- Phase optimised through the crossover region
- In room usable frequency response 22Hz-25KHz (dependent on room)
- Sensitivity: 86db 1 watt 1 Metre
“The instruments remain distinct, separate and easier to discern in the busiest, most complex, or most dynamic passages.”
“These modestly-sized speakers have redefined what I expect from this size of cabinet, and driver complement. That £6,000 asking price doesn’t feel like a stretch at all.”