And now for something completely different.

The Rethm room was among my favorites at Axpona 2022. That room featured Rethm’s new Aarka Active Loudspeakers and that very pair are here, in Barn.

The sharper eyed will notice that one speaker is missing the Rethm clear acrylic nameplate that surrounds the 6H6P driver tube which is part of the 25 Watt hybrid amp driving the 5″ wideband driver. Shipping damage is becoming a regular thing these days no matter how bullet-proof the packaging and these Rethm’s were packed really well.

There’s a single RCA input on each speaker’s back panel for your analog input of choice along with a pair of banana terminals for adding your own amp for that 5″ wideband driver, something I don’t plan to use.

A pair of 6″ bass drivers also reside around back and they get their very own 95 Watt Class A/B amp per side.

I very much enjoy the play of materials and textures and hard and soft edges of the Aarka. I think they’re handsome with an architectural quality where form and function dance.

I have a few streaming DAC preamps in mind as partner for a simple and elegant Aarka system. Stay tuned!

Rethm Aarka Active Speakers Price: $6000/pair Company Website: Rethm

Each enclosure contains the following:

• 1 no. 5 in. Wideband driver in front. • 2 x 6 in. Bass drivers at the back.

• 1 amp. for bass drivers: 95 wpc. class AB solid state amp. • 1 amp for wideband driver: 25 wpc hybrid amplifier with FET output and tube driver stage. Tube used as driver is 6H6P.

Rear control panel has the following:

• Power on/off switch • Internal amplifier bypass switch • Level control • Crossover filter control • RCA input socket for line level signal. • Banana sockets for speaker level inputs.

Real Retro-Appeal: the PSB Passif 50 Loudspeaker

Listening in the Barn (Video): Episode 1 with Klipsch, Feliks, and more

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