High End 2012

Unsurprisingly, Kaiser is a German loudspeaker brand, but what’s not immediately obvious is that Kaiser is part of a small group of companies that take the combat of resonance and EMI extremely seriously, a group that includes British company Vertex AQ. The Chiara is Kaiser's new stand-mount, a two-way design built into a cabinet that incorporates Vertex AQ’s acoustic-labyrinth technology as well as Panzerholz, or "tankwood," in its construction, the latter being a high-density bulletproof laminate. The front baffle is fashioned from carbon fiber, and it hosts a Mundorf air-motion-transformer tweeter and a 5" Scan-Speak Illuminator midrange. The rear panel has a 7" passive bass radiator in place of the usual reflex porting. The stand is built with acoustic-labyrinth technology as well, and it houses the crossover and connecting cable that runs through it, ending in silver terminals at the base. The Chiara costs €15,000 per pair.