And another announcement from Mark Levinson just came in. The Daniel Hertz M4 speakers (90,000 CHF + VAT) is first bi-amplified, high efficiency speaker with Mighty Cat tuning, in rare hardwood finish…
Daniel Hertz announces the production start of the M4 speaker that offers ultimate performance and luxury finish in a size that fits comfortably in any living room. The Daniel Hertz M4 is a hand crafted minimalist design engineered to faithfully reproduce every type of music. The M4’s companion is the new Daniel Hertz M11 amplifier which provides the four channels of power amplifiers and active crossovers required for bi-amplification. The Daniel Hertz Mighty Cat software embedded in the amplifier enables fine sound tuning to achieve the most natural sound quality.
The Daniel Hertz M4 offers reference performance similar to the iconic Daniel Hertz M1 but with a 15” subwoofer instead of an 18” subwoofer, thus is more compact and lower in cost. The M4 features a new cabinet design with exotic hardwood sides, top and rear, with a black piano front panel and a thin black piano radius edge detail all around.
The M4 is a bi-amplified speaker requiring one amplifier channel for above 80Hz and one amplifier channel for below 80Hz. In professional audio, it is well known that to achieve the best bass, a large subwoofer, typically 15” or more, must be used. Such woofers must be driven directly from the power amplifier because passive crossovers cause serious sonic degradation due to the large inductor size required. (This is a fact defined by the laws of physics.) The M4 can produce sound pressure levels above 120dB with ease at all frequencies across the audio band.
The M4 features the same high performance hand built compression driver tweeter as the M1 with a 4” voice coil with a hand crafted wood horn for ulra-smooth high frequencies above 2kHz. A 12” woofer (same as M1) covers the range from 80Hz to 2kHz. A newly designed 15” subwoofer covers the range from 25Hz to 80Hz.
High Efficiency
In the early days of audio, high efficiency speakers were required because amplifier power was limited to 1 or 2 Watts. As amplifier power went up, speaker efficiency went down with the theory that you can make up for lower efficiency with more power. But in fact, the lower the efficiency of a speaker, the more energy is turned into heat and lost. This means you hear less of the original musical signal because less of it is turned into acoustic output. The M4 uses proprietary Daniel Hertz drivers that combine the benefits of high efficiency with extremely natural sound. The lower the efficiency of a speaker, the more music energy is turned into heat instead of acoustic output. With DH high efficiency drivers, the M4 enables the listener to hear more of the music in all analog and digital formats.
Matching Components
Music lovers have traditionally optimized the sound of speakers by carefully selecting the associated components for the best match. The Daniel Hertz M4 is designed to work with the Daniel Hertz M11 Integrated Amplifier which has Mighty Cat software embedded in the DSP, allowing fine sound tuning beyond what has previously been possible with hardware-only engineering. No tweeter or woofer is perfect, but perfection can be approached with the use of Mighty Cat tuning. Mark Levinson personally developed Mighty Cat software to enhance loudspeaker performance to a new level of faithfulness to live music, using live performance, recording and playback as a reference comparison. Because faithfulness to live music never goes out of date, the M4 is an excellent long term investment.
Artisanal Cabinet
The M4’s wood cabinet features heavy duty construction that has minimal vibration even with loud deep bass content. The black drivers are mounted on a 25mm thick black piano front panel. The sides, rear and top of the M4 are finished in sapele pomele, an exotic hardwood favored by guitar makers with a thin radius edge with black piano finish. The entire speaker is finished in clear piano for a lustrous rich and durable appearance. The selection of hardwood can be customized as per the wishes of the customer.
Daniel Hertz Speaker Connectors
Daniel Hertz proprietary speaker connectors are featured on the rear panel for the ultimate in cable connection quality. The Daniel Hertz speaker connector has a delrin body with solid brass hardware including two brass plates that sandwich the speaker cable and are tightened with anodized aluminum knobs a Daniel Hertz tightening tool. The Daniel Hertz speaker connector accepts bare wire, spade lugs or donut lugs. Daniel Hertz speaker cable is typically supplied with bare wire ends for optimum connection quality and no unecessary cost.
Compact Size
The dimensions of the M4 are 130cm x 45cm x 48cm (HxWxD). From this modest size, a sound is projected that eclipses typical residential speaker capabilities. At all volume levels from the most delicate to the most dynamic, the sound remains clear and perfectly defined across the audio spectrum with lighting fast response and ultra-low distortion. Every detail is clearly audible at very low volume levels, while there is virtually no dynamic compression with high peak signals.
Powered by the DH M11
The M4L is ideally powered by the Daniel Hertz M11 amplifier. With the M11, the M4 is just as easy to connect as a normal stereo speaker except with one additional pair of wires from the M11 to each M4 speaker.
A vailability
The DH M11 is available from a network of distributors and dealers around the world. Contact Daniel Hertz for a referral to the representative nearest you. Because DH is highly innovative, it is not compatible with the typical high end audio business model of most countries and is harder to find than many brands. Daniel Hertz will make sure you receive the factory level support you need and deserve.