German audiophile-grade speaker maker Avantgarde Acoustic takes on iDevice audio with the Zero 1, a (relatively) compact horn loudspeaker set with an iPhone-inspired design.
Standing at 1.5m tall with "polyurethane-based sandwich-structured integral rigid foam" construction, the Zero 1 drops the more traditional horn loudspeaker look in favour of a minimalist cuboid with large conical indentations. Inside are "ground-breaking" 66-bit FPGA processing (reportedly " redefines digital quality through a series of filtering features") and a "recessed spherical wave horn" apparently able to replicate sound produced by a 1m-long traditional horn.
In fact, according to the company the Zero 1 is nothing less than a "fully integrated system" complete with digital processors, analogue-to-digital convertors, power amplifiers and loudspeakers.
Pushing sound are 2 50W horns (high- and mid-range) and 400W bass woofer, while connections come through USB, Toslink, SPIDF, AES/EBU and AirPlay.
Also included in the package is one one of our favourite remote controls ever-- a solid aluminium cylinder armed with 4 tiny buttons at the end large enough to look like a portable iPhone speaker.
The Zero 1 is available now in European markets for the eye-watering price of €110000.
