Goldmund has followed up the launch of its Tethys loudspeakers earlier this year with another passive design that is, you might like to hear, more affordable.

Sitting beneath the £62,500 Tethys and many of the Swiss brand’s famed high-end active models, the £26,500 Melos Passive (indeed, our use of ‘affordable’ should’ve been taken with a pinch of salt) look at first glance rather… ordinary. For Goldmund speakers, anyway. Look closer, however, and you’ll see that these compact, monolithic cuboid boxes are really rather smart – opulent, even – with their ribbed side panels, sleek, iconic grey aluminium finish with black grilles, and rear-panel gold brand plate. In fact, the Melos Passive don’t look too dissimilar from the Tethys’ upper module!

Each speaker weighs 20kg, despite being only 25cm wide and 35cm tall and deep, so any prospective owners might be pleased to know that (optional) dedicated stands for the Melos Passive will follow shortly.

Considering the Melos Passive bookshelf speakers draw inspiration from the company’s Tethys and flagship (active) Gaiai speakers, we bet they sound pretty smart too. That’s certainly implied by the name ‘Melos’, which means ‘melody’ in ancient Greek. Goldmund says the name “captures the essence of this speaker’s capability – to deliver musical harmony and tune with unparalleled precision”.

To that end, Goldmund has fitted the Melos Passive with “high-end drivers” comprising a soft-dome tweeter and seven-inch mid/bass driver. Front-vent bass loading promises to boost low frequencies for “exceptional bass extension”, while advanced crossover technology ensures “seamless frequency integration and optimum dispersion”.

Link to the original article – What Hifi?