Are You Rich? Buy Planets!

Well, this is indeed one really cool thing to look at, namely Markus Duevel's Planets loudspeakers. Nothing like spherical enclosures, in case you were thinking something like Cabasse or Bang & Olufsen, but neat, cool-looking, high-performance omnidirectional loudspeakers with such a modern attitude I've longed for quite some time.


The Planets is a series of floorstanding loudspeakers which bring a breath of new, fresh air in the industry with their design; even if the 360-degree dispersion idea is not at all a new concept, the way Mr. Duevel has put it at work simply rocks. We're talking about most stylish loudspeaker cabinets painted in sparkling vivid colors and even custom finishes like gunmetal and other cool stuff. Two-way architecture, with some serious bass/midrange drivers and a horn-loaded tweeter capable of delivering both the brawn and smoothness we're all looking for.

What's with the spheres, you might ask. Well, on each Planet, you'll see two chrome spheres, with different diameters, placed in front of the drivers. For those who are less informed in the field of loudspeaker industry, these are called waveguides and their role is to direct the sound in a certain dispersion pattern.

In our case we're dealing with a spherical shape, with a circular cross-section, meaning a 360-degree pattern; in even simpler words, the sonic response of the drivers will evenly spread across your room, creating a sound field like nothing you've experienced before. And if you think that the dimensions of those spheres have been chosen for design purposes solely, you're wrong: their size is in a very precise mathematical relation with the drivers' specs, so the sound spread is at optimal efficiency, providing only the right acoustic response, without futile coloration, damping or useless, harmful reflexions. Just make sure you leave enough space beneath them so that the bass ports can breathe normally and things will be just perfect.

The Planets will sing with powers starting at 10W, with 85dB sensitivity and sell for just under $1,300 a pair. They're also suitable for home theater use, so take a closer look at what you can do with them on the Planets' web home.

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