The Jetstream is Ferguson Hill’s finest-ever design, two decades in the making, building on the seminal FH001. Twenty years after unveiling its debut system, Ferguson Hill’s latest offering maintains those extraordinary, transparent visuals; however, the Kent-based maker upgrades practically every single component to create the Jetstream
Loudspeaker System. As Ferguson Hill founder and designer Tim Hill notes, “I have incorporated all the changes I have wanted to do since the launch of the FH001 twenty years ago.”
Ferguson Hill represents a labour of love for Tim. The former aeronautical engineer has had a passion for audio since he started building his own loudspeakers in Camden as a teenager. Unbeknown to Tim, who thought he was simply ‘recycling’ to make room for the next generation, a London music studio head repeatedly collected Tim’s prototypes and put them to professional use. A chance meeting between Tim and this avid fan helped reassure Tim that he was on the right path, and ultimately, Ferguson Hill was borne.
While Jetstream (and FH001 before it) occupies a price point beyond the reach of many – though not Apple co-founder the late Steve Jobs, who was (firmly) rumoured to be the USA’s first FH001 buyer – this is a ‘side effect’ of Tim’s ambition to create the ultimate sound system. Ferguson Hill is by no means an elitist maker. In 2007, it launched its sub-£1,000 FH007 Mini Speaker System to universal acclaim. Its looks beguiled, its sound wowed, it received numerous five-star reviews, and Macworld said the FH007 were the ‘most stylish speakers in existence’.
The new Ferguson Hill Jetstream Loudspeaker System comprises a pair of Jetstream Horn Loudspeakers, a pair of Jetstream Bass Speakers, and a Jetstream Bass Amplifier. As Tim Hill says above, the system has been entirely reworked from the ground up. For example, those magnificent horn speakers now feature the company’s own manufactured semi-full range drive unit, created in conjunction with Cube Audio of Poland. Improvements to the interface between the acrylic horn and the metal ring result in a more even sound wave expansion from the circular drive unit diaphragm to the oval mouth of the horn.
Above: Ferguson Hill Jetstream detail
Though a large portion of the new system is transparent, many of the improvements to the structure are internal – for example, the dampening structures between the metal ring and the drive unit and the internal leg dampening – and cannot be seen. But they can be heard. (Those of a technical disposition can view the results on Ferguson Hill’s website here: https://fergusonhill.co.uk/jetstream-loudspeaker-system-frequency-response-plots/.)
Further enhancements include the bass speaker’s three-part feet with internal dampening and removable spikes (for shipping in the flight cases). The bass drive units received significant development, including marked improvements to the neodymium magnets. The original FH001 set the bar for innovative speaker design; the Jetstream sees Ferguson Hill apply over 20 years of design learnings and technical advancements to scale new heights.
Ferguson Hill Jetstream System Features & Specification
Jetstream System comprises:
- Ferguson Hill Jetstream Horn Loudspeaker (pair)
- Ferguson Hill Jetstream Bass Speaker (pair)
- Ferguson Hill Jetstream Bass Amplifier
- Bespoke cables
- HiFi Rose RS520 streaming amplifier (optional extra available direct from Ferguson Hill)
Ferguson Hill Jetstream Horn Loudspeaker:
The Jetstream horn loudspeakers represent 20 years of horn speaker development and refinement, featuring several significant design changes. The new design uses Ferguson Hill’s bespoke full-range drive units developed with Cube Audio of Poland. The drive unit now fully integrates with the large metal ring support and acrylic horn to give a smooth, stable soundwave propagation from the high impedance at the drive unit cone to the low impedance of the air in the room at the horn mouth. The new drive unit basket and magnet structure result in an unimpeded sound wave from the drive unit’s rear.
Several vibration-dampening and absorbing structures exist within the anodised metal ring and the brushed stainless steel legs. This speaker is a super-solid construction, and the new drive unit phase plug gives an even more level and desirable frequency response for the higher frequencies. Ferguson Hill moulds the stunning-looking horn from 8 mm thick acrylic, resulting in extraordinarily effective damping due to the nature of the complex curves from the circular throat to the oval mouth. The horn rolls off naturally below about 140 Hz due to rear wave cancellation, with the size of the horn representing a quarter of the wavelength distance at 140 Hz. Below this level, the partnering Jetstream bass speakers handle the lower frequencies.
- Drive unit: Custom full-range drive unit developed with Cube Audio and a Neodymium motor
- Nominal impedance 8 ohm
- Sensitivity 1M/1KHz/1-watt 100db
- Dimensions: 1.65 m high / 0.92m wide / 0.72 deep
- Weight: 32 kg each (including damping fill)
Ferguson Hill Jetstream Bass Speaker
Ferguson Hill Jetstream designs the Bass Speakers to match the Jetstream Horn Loudspeakers acoustically and visually, seamlessly integrating the bass and horn speakers. The Jetstream bass units come as a pair of 600 mm diameter clear acrylic spheres, with neodymium-powered 300 mm drive units and a distributed port loading. The Jetstream Bass Amplifier controls the bass units with an internal low pass filter of 140 Hz.
- Drive unit: 300 mm diameter/high efficiency
- Internal volume: 150 litres
- Internal wiring: high-purity silver/PTFE sleeve
- Nominal impedance: 4 ohms
- Dimensions: 600 mm diameter sphere
- Weight: 5 kg each
Ferguson Hill Jetstream Bass Amplifier:
The Jetstream bass amplifier is a stereo 200 W per channel (400 W Total power) class D design. Ferguson Hill uses 10 mm thick CNC machined aluminium billets with a bead blasted and anodised finish to build the amp. The maker also fully damps the amp’s internals, complete with a soft start and circuit protection circuitry. The Jetstream bass amplifier’s internal low pass filter is set to 140 Hz to acoustically match the Jetstream bass speaker’s output seamlessly with the Jetstream horn speakers. Its mains input is universal for 110V / 240V.
- Amplifier 2 x 200W, Class D
- Anodised Aluminium block construction
- Internal 140Hz low pass filter
- Dimensions: 11cm high / 47 cm wide / 37 cm deep
- Weight: 12.5 kg
Ferguson Hill Jetstream GBP (RRP) prices:
- Ferguson Hill Jetstream System: £105,200.00
- Ferguson Hill Jetstream Horn Speaker: £72,955.00 (pair)
- Ferguson Hill Jetstream Bass Speaker: £22,295.00 (pair)
- Ferguson Hill Jetstream Bass Amplifier: £9,950.00
