His conclusion: "This is an excellent small speaker, completely exceeding my expectations. Today many components claim to have no competition among others in the same price range, but how many of them can you truly believe? The Platinum Duo is one of the very few you can count on."
Mark Block of The Audiophile Voice wrote about the Duo: "My overriding impression of these speakers can be summed up in one word - transparency. This level of clarity is one I'd heard before - but rarely - in other people's (usually very expensive) systems. I'd never heard it in my own home until the Platinums came along. The Duos have a sense of openness and detail - without harshness, along with the bass power and dynamics that only more costly speakers can be better in."
"Right out of the box, the Duos construction and distinctive design impressed me," wrote Don Keele in Audio. "The sound was smooth and well balanced, with loud, clean bass matching that of some larger systems. ...Percussion and complex orchestral sounds were quire open, clean and clear. The Duos offer superb looks, small size, and high performance coupled with real bass capability."
Bill Brassington of The Audiophile Voice
wrote
this about the Reference I:
"What a beautiful jewel of a
speaker....The Platinums present a full musical experience similar to a concert
hall, and with such bass that you would swear there was a subwoofer in the
room - from a 5" driver!...Upper bass clarity and detail were the most musical
I've heard....The treble sounded grainy, airy and open, with terrific life
and sparkle...Extended listening reinforced my view that here was a
true-to-the-music reproducer. By comparison, other speakers sound slow, dull
and compressed....The margin of superiority in these Reference I's is quite
obvious from bass on up to the very sweetest highs. Timber, harmonic integrity,
tonal balance, stereo perspective and imaging are all of the highest quality.
...These speakers are simply marvelous. In my estimation, Phil Jones
and his associates have built a winner."
A reviewer from Stereosound Magazine in Japan wrote,
"while the Reference I has further upgraded sound quality of
Solo, and acquired precise imaging as well as high resolution, Reference
II is drowned in size in obtaining abundant sound scale. It also has more
superior performance than that of Duo and Reference I in terms of imaging.
It not only inherits sound quality of sharpness, freshness and full imaging
that the Reference I provides, but also greatly exceeds it in terms of dynamics
and mellowness."
A critic in the October 1996 issue of Audio Land (Hong
Kong) wrote of the Reference I:
"The sound quality is clean,
fast and dynamic. The most unbelievable thing is that it performs with
great ease in delivering sound in every frequency range....The Reference
I has wide and extended frequencies that appear to have no limitations. It
has extended and transparent treble that 'shines' with sparkles. It materializes
the form of every instrument. Its ability to describe details is ideal. Its
bass is muscular, elastic and fully sufficient....It has shocking explosion.
Combined with great speed, the response and variation is phenomenal.
When reproducing large scale orchestral pieces, all musical instruments
fall into clear placement in any occasion. The Reference I provides endless
dynamics, and when needed, detailed harmonics that are as soft and smooth
as a quiet stream. In addition to its transparency, this metal cone speaker
even conveys warmth, which really exceeds my expectations. I believe only
Phil Jones can create a speaker like this."
"...(Phil Jones has) definitely created a masterpiece.
The imaging is incredibly spacious. The frequency response is exceptional.
The dynamics and transient response are intense and unbridled. In short,
these speakers will remain on our Neve for quite sometime. Very few speakers
deliver the clarity that the Session-1's produce..."
Mike Landy,
Chief Engineer/Technical director GRP Records
"The need for a great sounding near field studio monitor
has
been extremely great for many years. The new Session speakers by Platinum
finaly provide the smooth, musical performance that I have been looking for.
Their incredibly tight, full bass is remarkable for such a small enclosure,
and their high end is a pleasure to listen to."
Don Murray, Grammy
Award winning engineer
"...It is extremely rare to hear a nearfield monitor that
balances
a non strident upper register with a focused attack to the lower registers.
The Platinum Sessions are a nearfield dream. Bass response is both dynamic,
yet accurate while mids and highs are airy and transparent without a sense
of harshness. A truly remarkable achievement..."
Jeff Weber, Grammy
Award Winning Record producer
"...We hear a transparency that is virtually 'real life'.
Since
I have the privilege of hearing the artists in some of the finest studios
in the world, the play back reflects the feelings of the recordings. Hearing
the effects of musicians and the articulation of the musical interpretation
through the Platinums is truly a joy and an experiece..."
Oscar
Ciornei, President - Sheffield Lab Recordings
"It is very important for DMP to have good reference systems
that are an accurate representation of how other speakers will reproduce
our new recordings. The Session-1 combine the imaging of a quality high end
speaker with a rock solid low end punch that many audiophile speakers lack.
The balance between the two is terrific."
Tom Jung - DMP
Records
"I thought either I was getting jaded or my ears were just
tired. I just didn't think I could get excited about listening to music coming
out of speakers anymore. The Platinum Session Series changed all that. I
hear the instruments in their own space. They maintain their individual timbre.
The imaging is truly amazing. They make me want to get out my entire record
collection and start listening all over again! And for professional studio
monitoring...they are so accurate!! They allow me to hear exactly what we've
got recorded. I'm hooked!"
Bob James, Fourplay
"...Phenomenal speakers for YES to use as control room monitors.
I expect that the band members will be so impressed with the speakers that
they may want to purchase a pair for themselves."
Jon Anderson -
YES
"Finally a speaker that can handle the lowest bass frequencies
with the highest fidelity. Platinum speakers have greatly enhanced the listening
experience at my home studio. My standards in the creative process have been
elevated as a result of the high standards that went into the creation of
these monitors. They sound FANTASTIC!"
Nathan East, Bass player
- Fourplay/Eric Clapton
"These speakers are the most incredible sounding loudspeakers
I've ever heard!!...The sound spectrum is unlimited with remarkable clarity,
imaging and bass response that goes right to the center of earth! I've never
heard such clear, defined natural bass from a speaker this
size"
Mark Egan, Bassist, Pat Metheny Group, Sting, David
Sanborn
"...They (the Session I) deliver a sizzling top end response,
which I love, but it's the accuracy of the top and bottom which is most pleasing,
and, long overdue in a studio monitor. I no longer need to use my headphones
when I'm mixing!"
Chieli Minucci - Special EFX
Platinum Audio was founded in January 1994 by British speaker designer
Phil
Jones and audio store owner Mike Pickering, two bass guitar players with
a love of music, a love of hi-fi sound, and a love of loudspeakers. Their
vision was to create the best speakers in the world. And we think they've
succeeded. "I don't believe in making a product unless it can be heads above
everyone else's," Phil says.
Phil Jones was already an award-winning speaker designer when he moved to
the United States from Britain. A pioneer in metal cone speaker technology,
he was co-founder of Acoustic Energy and designer of the well-known AE-1.
In 1990, Phil moved to the US and designed the high-end loudspeakers, the
Lynnfield Series, for Boston Acoustics. When Platinum was established in
1994, Phil's goal was to create a speaker that was better than anything he
had done in the past and better than anything else that was available. He
found that the only speakers able to satisfy his musical requirements
were always in the high five-figure price range. He wanted to produce a speaker
that could give the same high-fidelity sound reproduction but be more affordable.
The Professionals Use Platinum
Since 1995, professionals in the music industry have been using Platinum
speakers in their own recording studios. Jon Anderson of Yes called
Platinum speakers "phenomenal" and is using them to record their next album.
Grammy award-winning record producer Jeff Weber called the studio monitors
a "nearfield dream " and "a remarkable achievement." World-class bassists
Nathan East and Mark Egan, Special EFX andFourplay are all
using Platinum speakers. Mike Landy, chief engineer at GRP Records called
our speakers "exceptional" and said of our pro studio monitor: "Phil has
designed great speakers in the past and the Platinum Audio Session 1's are
in my opinion his best work to date." (See review page for more.)The list
of professional endorsers is growing and we will keep you updated.
Beautiful Sound, Beautiful To Look At
Every speaker Platinum makes uses their own unique drive units and proprietary
technology.
They have designed tools that allow them to custom build the individual
components, and any parts that they can't make for themselves, they have
specifically produced for them. Platinum also uses proprietary software to
test all of their speakers.
Another important element of their speakers is the exterior design. Although
they use state of the art, even futuristic, technology, their speakers are
not ostentatious or eccentric. They are classic and elegant in design.
Platinum Listening Room Series Loudspeakers Platinum's First Speaker: The First Of The Listening Room Series
The first speaker they introduced was the Solo. The critics were astounded by the sound that came from these speakers. (See reviews.) The Solo is a small speaker with a wide dynamic and wide frequency range. It has the ability to recreate the complexities of music in a small speaker format, with more condensed power and bass ability than any speakers of their size anywhere - far beyond what has ever existed and even beyond what was believed possible.
They expanded the Listening Room Series to include the Duo, the Trio and the Quattro. Varying space and sound requirements created the need for a variety of speakers to meet these needs.
The Studio Series
The Studio Series was designed to require less power to produce optimum results. It has the uncanny ability to produce substantial low-frequency impact and dynamic true-to-life resolution - a Platinum speaker with high value, efficient styling and uncompromised performance.
The Reference Series
Their third and top line, the Reference Series, was sculpted with precision even beyond the highly-praised Listening Room Series. These speakers utilize the ultimate in Platinum components matched to seemingly impossible tolerances. The result is absolutely pure transparency.
The Professional Series
In addition to Platinum's hi-fi speakers, they are creating a line of speakers for the professional audio market. They are already being used by professionals in the music industry such as bassists Jeff Weber and Nathan East,Yes, Special EFX, and FourPlay. You can read some of their comments on our review page. (If you would like more information on their professional audio speakers and muscial instrument speakers, conact Platinum directly.
You've Got To Hear the Platinum Speakers
"One of the reasons we are so successful is that we are the customer," Phil says. "We are music aficionados and hi-fi enthusiasts so we have a deep understanding of what the purpose of a speaker is: to be true to the musical performance - in music reproduction, transparency is everything."
We know that Platinum has created speakers unlike anything you've ever listened to. But we can't prove that here: you've got to hear them for yourself. Let your ears convince you.
Platinum Reference Series Loudspeakers
Designer Phil Jones calls the Reference Series speakers the most musical speakers in the world. Sculpted with precision beyond the highly-praised Listening Room Series, these speakers utilize the ultimate in Platinum components matched to seemingly impossible tolerances. The striking result is their absolutely pure transparency and, in music reproduction, transparency encompasses everything. The Reference Series shows that the very best things do indeed come in small packages.
Bill Brassington, critic for The Audiophile Voice, called the Reference 1 a "true-to-the-music reproducer. By comparison, other speakers sound slow, dull and compressed." And Hong Kong's Audio Land wrote of the Reference 1: "It has shocking explosion. Combined with great speed, the response and variation is phenomenal." See our review page for more.
The Reference Series speakers are available in a finish of polished granite with solid acrylic top and bottom panels in gloss piano black. For detailed specifications, see charts below.
Frequency response (Hz-KHz, +/- 1 dB) 40-20 Recommended amplifier power (watts RMS) 100-250 Sensitivity (dB @ 1 watt/1 meter) 84 Nominal impedance (ohms) 6 Crossover 2-way Crossover frequency 2.5 KHz Weight, ea. 43 lb (19.5 kg) Originaly $4995.00 /pair Soundscape's Price $3995.00 /pair *Delivered Matching Stands $395.00/pair *Delivered Reference 2 Specifications
Frequency response (Hz-KHz, +/- 1 dB) 37-20 Recommended amplifier power (watts RMS) 100-300 Sensitivity (dB @ 1 watt/1 meter) 86 Nominal impedance (ohms) 4 Crossover 2.5-way Crossover frequency 500 Hz & 2.5 KHz Weight, ea. 68 lb (31 kg) Originaly $7995.00/pair Soundscape's Price $6500.00/pair *Delivered Matching Stands $395.00/pair *Delivered
The Listening Room Series encompasses a range of sizes from the small,
stand-mounted Solo and Duo to the larger, floor-standing models, the Trio
and Quattro. These speakers have more condensed power and bass ability than
any speakers
of their size anywhere. They deliver dynamic sound with detail and imaging
in harmonious balance. Every instrument has its own space - with complexity
and no congestion.
"Amazing, awesome, hellaciously transparent" are some of the words
reviewers are using to describe the LR Series speakers. Take a look at our
review page to read more.
The Listening Room Series speakers are available in a matte or high-gloss
finish of rosewood, bird's-eye maple or ebony with solid acrylic top and
bottom panels in gloss piano black.
Frequency response (Hz-KHz, +/- 2 dB) 40-20 Recommended amplifier power (watts RMS) 100-200 Sensitivity (dB @ 1 watt/1 meter) 84 Nominal impedance (ohms) 6 Crossover 2 way Crossover frequency 2.5 KHz Weight, ea. 26.5 lb (12 kg) Originaly 2497.50/pair Soundscape's Price $1695.00/pair *Delivered Matching Stands $395.00/pair *Delivered Duo Specifications
Frequency response (Hz-KHz, +/- 2 dB) 37-20 Recommended amplifier power (watts RMS) 100-250 Sensitivity (dB @ 1 watt/1 meter) 86 Nominal impedance (ohms) 4 Crossover 2.5 way Crossover frequency 500 Hz & 2.5 KHz Weight, ea. 38 lb (17 kg) Originaly $3795.50 Soundscape's Price $2195.00/pair *Delivered Matching Stands $395.00/pair *Delivered Trio Specifications
Frequency response (Hz-KHz, +/- 2 dB) 34-20 Recommended amplifier power (watts RMS) 100-250 Sensitivity (dB @ 1 watt/1 meter) 86 Nominal impedance (ohms) 4 Crossover 2.5 way Crossover frequency 500 Hz & 2.5 KHz Weight, ea. 65lb (29.5 kg) Originaly $4500.00/pair Soundscape's Price $2995.00/pair *Delivered
Quarttro Specifications
Frequency response (Hz-KHz, +/- 2 dB) 31-20 Recommended amplifier power (watts RMS) 100-350 Sensitivity (dB @ 1 watt/1 meter) 86 Nominal impedance (ohms) 8 Crossover 2.5 way Crossover frequency 500 Hz & 2.5 KHz Weight, ea. 70lb (32 kg) Originaly $6000.00/pair Soundscape's Price $3895.00/pair *Delivered