Funk Audio 8.2P Floorstanding Loudspeaker Preview
Funk Audio 8.2P Tower Loudspeakers
Summary
- Product Name: 8.2P Tower Loudspeakers
- Manufacturer: Funk Audio
- Review Date: November 23, 2012 05:00
- MSRP: $4,240/pair ($3,540/pair pre-release price)
- First Impression: Pretty Cool
- Specifications
-
Cabinet
- Curved laminated side walls.
- Solid wood inlayed corners
- 1.5” thick front baffle
- Extensive bracing
- Baltic Birch ply construction
- Premium real wood veneer(s)
- Adjustable brass spikes
- Rear firing low turbulence slot port
Midbass drivers
- 1” p-p excursion
- Cast aluminum, (enclosed magnet structure) basket
- High energy Neodymium magnet
- Lightweight optimally damped treated paper cone
- Lightweight high excursion “M” roll surround
- Aluminum Demodulation ring
- Glass fiber voice coil former
- Lightweight Aluminum voice coil wire
- 2” diameter voice coil
- Variable weave spider profile
Mid tweeter driver
- Large format Planar
- High temperature foil
- Low distortion
- High bandwidth
- CNC machined black anodized Aluminum “full face” plate
Specs
- 35hz-40khz Frequency range
- 96db/watt efficiency
- 11”wide (12.5 base) 12”deep (13.5”base) 48” high (plus feet)
Executive Overview
Funk Audio has made a name for themselves with some very high quality subwoofer offerings. This Internet Direct company is looking to make the move into loudspeakers and they aren't going to do it quietly. Their new, flagship, 8.2P floorstanding speaker takes a very well-known design and tries to push it to new heights. First, the details.
As you can tell from the picture, the 8.2P is a fairly traditionally shaped floorstanding speaker. Featuring curved sides and a slightly larger plinth at the bottom. The cabinet is constructed out of high quality Baltic Birch plywood rather than the traditional MDF. The front of the speaker has a 1.5" thick baffle for additional support for the drivers. Funk Audio offers a range of premium real wood veneers and provides solid wood inlaid corners. Under the plinth there are adjustable brass spikes and the back has a low turbulence slotted port. The 8.2P speaker is 11” wide (12.5" plinth) 12” deep (13.5” plinth) 48” high (plus feet).
The drivers are configured in a midrange/tweeter/midrange "D'Appolito" arrangement. The 8" midrange drivers have high energy Neodymium magnets, 2" voice coils, and a 1" peak-to-peak excursion. The mids have cast aluminum rather than stamped baskets, a variable weave spider, and treated paper cones. Of course, if you are familiar with speaker design, you probably did a double-take at the 8" woofer for a midrange. Funk Audio went with two, larger drivers and have called them "Midbass" rather than "Midrange" drivers. This is because of the tweeter.
And of course, the tweeter is the most striking part of the Funk Audio 8.2P speaker. Funk Audio chose a large-format planar driver. The planer driver has a high temperature foil with a CNC machined black anodized aluminum faceplate. With the larger planer driver, Funk Audio allocated not only the highest frequencies as you might with a normal tweeter but part of the upper midrange. For this reason they are calling the planer driver a "Mid Tweeter".
One thing that Funk Audio was concerned about with the design of the 8.2P speaker was efficiency. With an inefficient speaker, you need to provide a lot more power for the same level of output. Funk Audio wanted to make sure that their 8.2P speakers would provide an easy load on your amp with a high efficiency. At 96dB rated efficiency, you aren't going to need much power for these speakers.
While we don't have the full specs yet, Funk Audio rates their speaker from 35Hz to 40kHz, a very respectable bass response for a floorstanding speaker. This means that, for music, you may go without a subwoofer if you choose. Of course, that depends on your taste in music and whether or not you plan on using these speaker for home theater.
One of the complaints of planar drivers is directionality. Many times, they typically have poor off-axis performance. Funk Audio has promised smooth frequency response out to 60 degrees off axis! If that is true, it will be an impressive accomplishment. Funk Audio has also stated that their design goal wasn't a flat frequency response. While they used measurement techniques, the final arbiter was their ears.
Conclusion
At $4,240 a pair ($3,540/pair pre-release price), Funk Audio is looking to provide a sonically impressive offering in the 8.2P speakers. With a combination tweeter/upper midrange planar driver and two 8" mid-bass woofers, the specified 35Hz low point certainly seems credible. Featuring real wood veneers, plywood construction, a high efficiency design, and quality drivers, Funk Audio wants you to be interested enough to open your wallets for the 8.2P. We can't wait to get our hands on a pair.
For more information, please visit www.funkaudio.ca.
Hello. I've been following audioholics for a while now and this is where I found out about Funk Audio. I am interested in their 8.1P loudspeaker/monitor, and since manwithnocape is so excited and vocal about these speakers, why are you radically redesigning them? They seem to have excellent qualities. What kind of "redesign" are they getting?
They are very good.
I can state that unequivocally. And they are a pure Nathan production. All I did was some contouring that would smooth out the top end.
So yes there is nothing "wrong" with them.
Grab them while you can.
The next version will be a little smaller, use a different mid-woofer and a different planar. Reasons are simple. I wanted to setup a small speaker that fulfilled the proper mini monitor niche but had the high efficiency that matched the product line we have developed for Funk-Audio.
We need a good entry level two way, and one that is also appropriate for say small room home theater, or hi-end computer speaker, or even recording monitor. The current two way is a little to large to fill that niche. We have settled on a 6 1/2 inch driver that will produce a beautiful speaker coupled with the smaller brother of the planar we use in the MTM. So we will have a truly different offering that will have a different polar response and is much better suited to smaller scale sound reproduction or near field monitoring uses.
Nathan and I have done our homework. We are setting up a very well thought out small lineup of speakers that are not available from many commercial sources if at all.
Wait...
I promise to knock your socks off. I have a three-way coming that needs no sub for all intense purposes, and has efficiency in the Klipsch horn category.
We do things differently. We do things well.
And we make them look dam good!
mwmkravchenko;942608
Actually the measurement is Anechoic down to 230 hertz, as in reflection free. Done outside elevated off of the ground. High resolution discrete sine waves. 144 points or individual measurements. Something you wish on your worst enemy. Oh what an evil thing to listen to!
If I take this measurement and run it through the marketing filter it looks like this:11126
This is One sixth octave filtering. You never see this commercially. Should I extrude it through the one third octave filter it is essentially flat. I prefer to present it as close to real life as is possible. Second thing to note is that the vertical axis on the graph allows for a lot of information to be gleaned. If I compressed it more it to will look much flatter. Did I mention that we have no marketing department?
So when you listen to this speaker what do you get?
Clean and clear sound. I listened to it almost every day for the ten days I worked with Nathan measuring. Pretty darn good sound.
If I take this measurement and run it through the marketing filter it looks like this:11126
This is One sixth octave filtering. You never see this commercially. Should I extrude it through the one third octave filter it is essentially flat. I prefer to present it as close to real life as is possible. Second thing to note is that the vertical axis on the graph allows for a lot of information to be gleaned. If I compressed it more it to will look much flatter. Did I mention that we have no marketing department?
So when you listen to this speaker what do you get?
Clean and clear sound. I listened to it almost every day for the ten days I worked with Nathan measuring. Pretty darn good sound.
I run a Funk Audio three channel dsp amp. However, this is the raw audio before dsp. So this is just the passive crossover design at 2m ground plane.
+/- of 2.5dB
If you have any questions, feel free to ask or pm me.
11125
ADTG - here is a link to see my system. http://www.funkaudio.ca/Specials_Complete_Systems.html [funkaudio.ca] would be amazing at rear channels, just takes two XLR (L&R)