Osprey illustration by Alessandro Troisi - Illustrator, Graphic Designer and Naturalist |
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To say that the Osprey, or ‘sea eagle’ is a formidable predator is indeed an understatement. With a combination of overwhelming force and apparent effortlessness that we humans would call ‘grace’, the Osprey’s swooping flight teaches one resounding lesson: do not be a fish. Our new three way was created to embody the vigorous skill and elegant form of its namesake. With Osprey, Meadowlark Audio boldly underscores its place in the audio world as the ‘American Speaker Artisans’. While the rest of the speaker world is moving toward offshore production, injection molded plastic, stamped perf metal and a ‘me too’ look, we are avidly handcrafting this wonderful speaker using native hardwoods, here in our new plant in nether regions of Northern New York. |
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Seen side by side are Ospreys dressed in Pennsylvania Cherry with a Rock Maple Stringer and in Light Ash with a Heritage Walnut Stringer. The baffle and top sections are deeply sculpted from wood solids, then carefully finished by hand to achieve a radiant depth of character and deep glow that simply cannot be mimicked by even the best of today’s artificial materials. Even our hand applied lacquer has been custom formulated for a crystal clear look and an inviting warmth to the touch. Just as with a fine musical instrument, there is romance and beauty in wood, and a desirable uniqueness in each and every speaker made in this way. Sonically, nothing has yet been devised that can compare; that is why you have yet to see an acrylic violin or a composite piano! |
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Inside the sleek and stunning exterior lurks a no compromise music reproduction system starting with the famous Scan Speak carbon graphite 7” woofer married to a BASSIC bass alignment. BASSIC, which stands for Impedance Coupled Bass, is the next generation in transmission line loading. Simply put, the system forces the driver to effectively couple to the air in the room - even below system resonance - for amazing dynamics and extension. |
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Osprey boasts robust and quick bass output to 30Hz, a feat that has so far been considered unattainable in a seven inch system. Osprey’s five inch midrange faces a full wavelength transmission line that is well damped with long hair sheep’s wool - a material long regarded as the ‘gold standard’ in line damping. The result is a lush and natural midrange with stunningly ‘human’ sounding vocal reproduction. Treble duty is dispatched with elan by the Scan Speak 9500 series fabric dome tweeter that has become renowned for its silky extension. Detail and dynamics are first rate, all the while being sublimely natural. Sonically, Osprey presents a lively, dynamic and powerful presentation that plumbs the depths of the bass with resolve and clout, and excels overall at coherence and timbral reality. As always, midrange believability is at the top of our list. |
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Of course, the system is exactingly time coherent, a minimum requirement for realistic music reproduction. Toward this end, the heart of this raptor is a simple first order crossover that resides in its own isolation chamber and is executed with the very finest parts. All connections are point to point silver soldered by hand and internal wire is Tara
RSC. |
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Please notice some of the small details of Osprey’s appearance including the Meadowlark logo that is carved into the baffle and the ultra glossy cast acrylic back plate that is hand silk screened with the stylishly proud Hunting Osprey logo. If you’ve been shopping you’ll know that the pond full of three thousand dollar speakers has some pretty big fish. |
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Dimensions: 8.25”W x 45”H x 16.5”D Specifications subject to change without notice. |
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