he Diamond 28 is a new flagship of Polish company Pylon Audio and a part of a new top line of their speakers. Although we have a great pleasure to inform you that even more expensive model is under development and that High Fidelity is involved in the project. This will be the first model using Pylon Audio's own drivers (I mean designed and manufactured by them). For now we are at prototype stage of the whole process – we'll keep you informed about progress of this project.

We have written a lot already about this vigorous, Polish company – you will find more details in „PYLON AUDIO in HF” section. History of this company, written without any rush, according to a certain plan, is a story that started with inexpensive models, and then developed into creating new, more advanced and more expensive ones. Each new model proves that company's designers learn, gain experience that allows them to create better products. This progress is also reflected by the names of following lines: Pearl, Topaz, Saphire, Diamond, with the one exception of least expensive line Onyx that was introduced after Pearl.

Looking at this history Diamonds 28 seem to be a culmination, a top achievement of the up to date activity of this manufacturer. It's a two-and-half-way speaker, using 3 drivers, still acquired from external suppliers – a 19 mm Scan Speak tweeter and two 180mm Seas woofers. The latter sport a coated paper cones.

These are quite large speakers, but they don't look overwhelming in a room due to a narrow front baffle that is also tilted back and metal, shiny spacer placed between plinth and cabinet – both these elements reminded me of PMC twenty.26. Due to large internal volume and relatively high maximum power (max. 250 W) these speakers can work in large and very large rooms. Manufacturer suggests room with a floor space of 25 to 45 m2.

Recordings used during this test (a selection)

• Daft Punk, Random Access Memories, Columbia Records/Sony Music Japan SICP-3817, CD (2013);
• Deep Purple, Now What?!/Now What?! Live Tapes, EAR Music 0209064ERE, 2 x CD (2013);
• Ed Sheeran, X, Warner Music UK/Warner Music Japan WPCR-15730, CD (2014);
• Enya, Enya, BBC Entertainment BBC CD 605, CD (1987).
• Leonard Cohen, Popular Problems, Sony Music Labels SICP-4329, CD (2014);
• Macy Gray, The Way, Kobalt Label HMBT001CD, CD (2014);
• Maroon5, V, Interscope Records/Universal Music LLC (Japan) UICS-9146, CD + DVD (2014);
• Nahorny Sextet, Chopin Genius Loci, Confiteor 005, 2 x CD (2010).
• Porcupine Tree, Deadwing, Lava 93437, CD (2005).
• Tool, 10,000 Days, Volcano Entertainment 819912, CD (2006).

Japanese CD editions are available from

One expects a large scale sound from large speakers, right? But it doesn't always work like that. Setting up Diamonds 28, knowing how much they weight, seeing how much space they occupy (these are not compact speakers!), and realizing how much they cost I was entitled to think that they would offer a large volume sound.

And they fulfilled this expectation and done even more than that. They delivered unconstrained sound without even slightest hint of compression, large phantom images and a proper impression of a large acoustic environment of the recording. These loudspeakers offer us a taste of a scale of sound that might be achieved with such refined speakers like Dynaudio C4 Platinum. Obviously the latter represent completely different level of performance, that should be obvious, but in regard of huge, unconstrained presentation and rendering of a large soundstage Polish speakers are not that far behind famous, much more expensive “cousins”.

Hearing this type of presentation I reached out to artists like: Maroon 5, Deep Purple, Enya, Ed Sheeran, Portishead, Led Zeppelin and many others. To be sure of speaker's qualities in regard to resolution and selectivity I also listened to some jazz recordings, but it wasn't them that really “got me going”.

The most interesting part of my listening session was the one when I listened to some recordings that usually didn't go very well with “audiophile” speakers. But the same recordings played on high quality system will always present some qualities. Whatever went wrong in the process of creating such recording we might perceive as an interesting case study, as a memento of certain times, or certain techniques used at the time. Of course there is one prerequisite condition – this must be a recording of some interesting music – without it recording is worthless obviously.

You can't really expect that inexpensive speakers will be particularly resolving – Diamond 28 are no different in this regards just as less expensive Pylon Audio speakers aren't. Sure, there is some progress here, but not big enough to create a new quality level. Differentiation is pretty good. It allows us to notice how differently were individual pieces on Ed Sheeran's X made, it will let us understand the intentions of Nahorny Sextet Chopin Genius Loci producers. But this insight won't ever be a key factor, it won't be something that we'll be looking for in each following recording.

These speakers appeal to a listener with something else – the large scale/volume of the sound combined with the ability to (subjectively) improve sound quality of those less-than-perfect recordings. It is not a slow sound lacking a spark, it doesn't just mask harshness, hide compression (the one introduced on mastering level). It's an open sound, there is as much treble as needed, we don't have to make effort to hear a “heavy” cymbal, or a drumroll, or a bass guitar in a way we expect to hear it.

And yet, these less-than-perfect albums somehow become friends with Pylon Audio loudspeakers. These a bit too bright, like V by Maroon 5, sound in a very pleasant way. One can easily spot a lot on energy focused in the upper midrange but it doesn't create any discomfort for listener.

Same goes for Leonard Cohen's Popular Problems – the disproportion between wonderfully recorded back track and poorly recorded vocal isn't so “painful” as usually, everything “sticks” together into a nice piece of music. I'd even say that the back track sounds even more three-dimensional and more harmonious than with other speakers.

On top of that comes the impressive dynamics of Diamond 28. Their bass performance is well balanced – bass extension is good and there is quite a lot of low range presence. At the very low end one might hear an influence of bass-reflex ports, as the impulses don't end quickly but are slightly elongated. If you can place the speakers at least 50cm from back and side walls, or even better 80-100cm away from them, you'll be rewarded with a really well balanced sound that will include a rich, punchy bass but also a sweet an “present” treble. Plus a very nice, enjoyable midrange. All these qualities will be served equally well when you push the volume beyond normal limits, as well as during very quiet, night sessions.

And finally some words on imaging – the ability to combine presentation of a large soundstage with images of particular instruments is one of strongest advantages of these speakers. Pylons render a large scale soundstage which makes their presentation sound a lot like a live performance. Obviously the performance has to be scaled down, but still, as for a reproduction in a room, the scale was impressive. This way we can listen to the music without a need of focusing on particular element and “extracting” it from background and “enlarging” it in our head. It is already provided by the speakers.

Images of particular instruments are not very distinctive – to achieve that one needs more resolving and more selective sound. These speakers are also not masters of dynamics “shading”, they won't show us every little change of dynamics, every tiny detail, every change of tonality. They have other qualities though, as described above.

Summary

Diamond 28 by Pylon Audio will find their fans among people who appreciate proper scale of music reproduction. Ease of sound reproduction and the amazing ability that allows them to “humanize” these recordings that most people won't even play on their hi-fi class systems because of their not so great quality, will cause 99% of potential customers to fall in love with them. These are people just want to listen to the music they like regardless of the recording's quality. Also music streamed from Internet with these speakers will have a new, more “human” face.

Thanks to the slight slanting of the construction an intended visual effects combined with the optimization of phase dependence between the loudspeakers was achieved. The make & finish is very good – Pylon is a manufacturer of loudspeakers cabinets after all. MDF cabinet is finished (not only on the outside but also on the inside) with natural veneer, available in several colors. One might also choose a high gloss finish. Large cabinet is susceptible to vibrations so the design has been reinforced with internal ribs.

To make the whole design more stable manufacturer used an additional plinth. It is made of MDF with a lacquer finish. It is separated from the cabinet with a spacer, probably made of some metal. Plinth sports also four steel spikes. Manufacturer adds four small washers to protect the floor but I would suggest replacing them with bigger ones.

Diamond 28 is a two-and-half-way, vented speaker. A large bass-reflex port is placed on the rear baffle. Manufacturer for this model chose a soft dome tweeter – the 19mm, modified Scan Speak D2010/8513002. After modification Pylon calls it: Pylon Audio PST 19.T. Two woofers come from Seas – it's the CA18RLY model (Pylon Audio PSW 18.8.CA) with a coated paper cone.

Crossover was built using point-to-point technique – you won't find a PCB there. It sports polypropylene capacitors. The single, gold-plated speaker connector are mounted on a small plate fixed to the rear panel of the speaker. Diamond 28 sport magnetic grills – a solution that improves speakers aesthetic.
These are well made, nicely finished, large loudspeakers with cabinets of classic dimensions and proportions.

Specifications (according to manufacturer):

Impedance: 4 Ω
Frequency response: 36 Hz-20 000 Hz
Nominal power: 120 W
Maximum power: 250 W
Sensitivity: 90 dB
Dimensions [W x H x D]: 1040 x 196 x 370 mm
Weight: 25 kg/PC.
Woofer: 2 x Pylon Audio PSW 18.8.CA (2xSeas CA18RLY)
Tweeter: Pylon Audio PST 19.T (Scan Speak D2010/851300)
Spikes + stand: yes
Grill: yes, magnetic
Warranty: 3 years + 1 year (upon products registration)
Finishes: natural veneer: wenge, black, walnut, cherry.
High gloss: white HG, black HG.
Upon individual orders colors from RAL palette available.