Earthquake Titan Telesto Speakers

The Telesto, like its big brother Tigris, descends from the Reference speaker Titan Tethys. The Telesto is a slim and striking entry to the Titan series.

Telesto is the result of 5 years intensive development and the natural continuation of the research that began nearly 25 years ago with Joseph Sahyoun’s dream of the perfect loudspeaker. During the development of the original Titan, it was recognized that the combination of individually uncompromising units failed to achieve the homogeneous perfection and true to life reproduction Joseph so ardently desired.

Luxurious Piano Surface

Titan Telestos exterior surface is made of deep luxurious black glossy piano lacquer. The elegant finish complements the iconic design and sculpturally adds sophistication and exclusivity to any home. Titan Telesto – more than sound.

Hemi elliptical cabinet technology

The cabinet construction is derived from time honored Scandinavian boat building principles. The Hemi Elliptical design reduces reflections and standing waves which ensures a transparent, dynamic and neutral reproduction.

Typically cabinets with curved surfaces are made with router grooves in the wood so it can easily be bent. This is quick and efficient, but the disadvantage is a significantly compromised structural thickness as the grooves cut deep into the wood.

The Telesto Hemi elliptical cabinet is built using the Earthquake proprietary N-Flex method. Layer upon layer of steam bent wood are adhered together with no loss of structural thickness and rigidity resulting in a superior cabinet. Each layer is in fixated for 60 min before the next layer is added. A uniform thickness of 30 mm is achieved by 8 layers of steam bent HDF (high density fiberboard). This thickness is constant and not compromised by grooves or foam.

Each cabinet is built around an internal skeleton made of a unique wood and epoxy composite material. The combination of uniform thickness and strong geometric shapes results in an anechoic and incredibly strong cabinet.

The finish for such a carefully crafted cabinet is a unique process requiring several stages. The cabinet surface is primed and sanded before multiple layers of black lacquer are applied. The cabinet is then finished with a smooth and deep clear coat that is masterfully polished. The result of this detailed and multi-step process is a smooth and soft, super refined finish that sets the standard for elegance.

T1 Super Tweeter

T1 super tweeter resides in its own Stilla-Sphere housing on top of Telesto. This location provides optimum dispersion, minimal interaction and a stable sound stage.

T1 is phase tuned to work uniformly with the Super midrange M2. It has traditionally been difficult to get a separate super tweeter to work homogeneous with the rest of the speaker. This is overcome by the synchronous development of the drivers. Their dispersion and energy constant is synchronized so they appear transparent as one unit.

T1 super tweeter is based on a silk dome diaphragm resulting in precise, soft and fatigue-free reproduction. The silk dome is Accumax coated which retains the excellent audio properties of pure silk while eliminating the mechanical break-up inherent in pure silk at higher frequencies.

T1 has a very powerful motor system based on a rare earth neodynium magnet. This construction ensures a uniform and stable response and tonality regardless of frequency and volume.

A special elongated version of Earthquakes Vortex cooling unit effectively removes heat from the tweeter motor system thus safeguarding against compression.

M2 Super midrange

The unique M2 super midrange is the result of Earthquakes Hybrid Phase Corrected Parabolically Loaded Compression Driver Technology using the PLD (Parabolical loading device). The advanced design solves several longstanding challenges in loudspeaker design. And its increased upper frequency response ensures perfect transition to the T1 super tweeter. The good sonic properties of a super tweeter is often difficult to integrate as traditional mid-tones are not fast enough or their dispersal pattern is different, leading to noticeable non-uniformity.

the M2 super midrange overcomes these challenges by having a very controlled dispersion, perfectly matching the T1 super tweeter. The unique design also allows the cone diameter to be kept at 1.25 inch, making it fast and articulate. It is this speed and thus increased upper bandwidth that categorize M2 as a super midrange. The M2s high-tech design has many advantages. Its fundamental design elements eliminate problems that traditionally have been tried solved by way of refinement. Here they are genetically removed from the design resulting in a detailed and completely compression free sound – so unhindered and shackle-free that sound exits the speaker almost as if it was lightening.

It is an uncanny sensation when you find yourself blinking at the onset of transients as the body’s natural defense mechanism takes over, detecting that this is “real” and something is coming your way – impact imminent.

The parabolic loading, has many of the advantages known from typical horns, without the horn artifacts and inherent sound characteristics. The drivers coupling to the air is increased by the parabolic loading, which increases sensitivity. Optimization and strict control of air impedance in the parabolic dish ensures maximum coupling without tonal shift or hardness. The aerodynamic Phase-Corrector in the middle of the parabolic dish ensures proper phase and accurate dispersion control.The M2s dome is made of Accumax coated silk, ensuring an accurate and organic reproduction.

Often, compression drivers made with metal cones, this can give a hard sound because the sound is reproduced by metal and then acoustically amplified by metal / hard surface through a horn. The M2 compression driver design has a significantly milder compression factor / acoustic multiplier, which coupled with the silk dome results in dynamic and artifact free sound.

Integration homogeneity and optimization

Telesto is equipped with 2 M4 bass-mid tone in a Vertical Line Array setup. The Line-Array configuration optimizes the radiated energy and concentrates it within the desired dispersion field. The properties of the vertical line array are reinforced by the special Earthquake CALA pods (Concave Audio Lense Apparatus). Like the parabolic dish in the M2 Super midtone the Audiolense pods guides the sound. This dispersion control ensures the most accurate integration of the drive units.

Typically, a speaker is designed and optimized by being taking measurements of the on-axis response with a single microphone. This means that a single microphone placed in front of the speaker is the primary feedback the designer has to work with apart from subjective listening tests.

The human hearing is always in stereo, even when the sound is coming from a mono source. Sound is always perceived and interpreted as a differential of the sound picked up by both ears. It is not enough that a speaker measures well on-axis with one microphone. For development of the Titan series, Earthquakes engineers built a complex sound analysis computer that simultaneously receives and analyzes input from 21 microphone pairs. The microphones were arranged in a half circle in front of the speaker, measurements of the entire sound field could now be made.

Early in the development phase it became obvious that a speaker that measures perfectly on-axis, could be far from good when measured just 10 degrees off-axis . This is a problem that not even the most complex crossover could rectify. Only precise unit spacing and mutual phase synchronization could produce a response that was optimal across the speakers broadcasting field. This led to the development of M2 Super midtone PLD Parabolical Loading Device and the CALA pods (Concave Audio Lense Apparatus)

Dual M4 Ballistic Kevlar bass-mid tones

The M4 bass-midrange is a 4-inch long-throw driver with a ballistic grade Kevlar Cone. To ensure a perfect and seamless transition from the M2 super midrange and a solid hand-off to the XLT-8 subwoofer driver, a very fast and light bass-mid range is needed.

Kevlar was invented by the Dupont Corporation in the early 60s and have been used in loudspeakers for many years because it is light, rigid and anechoic. These advantages come with their own set of challenges, Kevlar is expensive and difficult to integrate which is why you often see a low-grade Kevlar (low-thread-count) used in loudspeakers. By using a low-grade Kevlar most of its special properties are lost. The M4 bass midtones use the highest ballistic grade Kevlar. The cones are lightweight and extremely rigid guaranteeing pistonic behavior far beyond their crossover point. Kevlar is an aramid fiber and is very sensitive to moisture and absorbs moisture if not specially processed. The Kevlar cone constructed by Earthquake undergoes a special epoxy evaporation process making the Kevlar invariant to moisture.

The M4 units are of the Long-throw type. It is somewhat unusual for a bass-midrange to be designed using the long-throw geometry, especially when it is crossed at 350 Hz which equates to the unit rarely being exposed to low frequencies that could exploit the long stroke.

The great throw potential is obtained by useing high Santoprene edge suspension and the Special Earthquake Super Spider centering unit, and a voice coil with a winding height of nearly 2 cm.

Several unique benefits arise by the use of the long-throw design in the M4. Since only a small portion of the large throw potential is needed, the unit can be designed so that the suspension compliance is unchanged within the unit’s actual travel. It overcomes any kind of CMS compression found in typical drive units. The Unit’s suspension is so compliant that it easily moves if you blow on it.

The high voice coil winding height combined with an oversized strontium-cobalt magnet system provides a strong electromotive interaction which keeps the unit in an iron grip. Since the device can move more than ever required, the travel will never be hampered by the suspension. This means that it is always the electrical impulse that controls the cone. It ensures that the distortion caused by mechanical self-braking will never arise.

This gives the engaging and infectious dynamic sound you can experience during live music.

XLT-8 deep sub bass unit

Telesto is equipped with Earthquake’s XLT8 (Xtra Long Throw) woofer mounted in the side of the Telesto tower. The XLT-8 woofer is a variant of the woofer that has excelled Earthquake’s MiniMe P8 subwoofer as the market’s most powerful subwoofer in its size class.

With thunderous response linearly down to 30 Hz, many find a subwoofer utterly superfluous. XLT-8 woofer is constructed using Earthquakes XLT geometry which is an evolution of the generic long-throw architecture.

The cone is a composite of cellulose and fiberglass which is characterized by being lightweight and rigid. High Santoprene surrounds and Super Spider results in excellent mobility.

An over-sized copper voice coil coupled to a strong strontium-cobalt magnet system result in an articulate and detailed bass response. The strong electromagnetic interaction between voice coil and magnet results in a very high reactive impedance. This guarantees that the energy is converted into motion and not heat. This avoids heat derived compression.

The Telesto bass response stays accurate and taunt regardless of complexity and listening level.

Indulge your senses with the Titan Telesto.

The focus was then broadened from optimization of individual technical details to approaching the design as a complex, intrinsic organism. A new generation of devices and components had to be developed. Organically In-Circiut became the new paradigm at Earthquake. The drive units were developed in-parallel and designed to work harmoniously together. Mimicking natures organic growth as close as possible the drive units grew up together instead of being introduced to each other as adult strangers attempting to connect through a complex and diluting crossover network.

This new approach combined with Earthquake’s high-tech development and production facilities offers a new degree of differentiation. Nearly all traditional speakers are assembled by manufacturers purchasing a variety of devices from different suppliers. These individual units are then put together into a whole using complex and expensive crossover designs that seek to compensate and offset the drive units different characteristics

Titan differentiates itself as everything is engineered from initial conception to work together. This improves all aspects of the design.The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

The result is a loudspeaker with constant energy dispersion. A speaker with no tonal shift regardless of volume. A speaker where detail is not achieved at the expense of dynamics.