Over the years, we have seen loudspeakers manufactured from a myriad of materials and that design decision has always impacted the sonic performance of the speaker. Designers have very different opinions about the sonic benefits of different materials and construction techniques. Acora Acoustics brought something insanely inert to T.H.E. Show at the Orange County Hilton on June 9-11 2023. How did it sound? We’re still trying to get over the sticker shock of this system.
Let’s take a look at what Acora Acoustics brought to the show.
Granite Enclosures
The unique feature of Acora speakers is that instead of wood or composite materials, the speaker enclosures are made of Natural Granite. Acora claims that using granite for speaker enclosures provides the following benefits:
- Extremely rigid baffle and enclosure.
- No need for internal bracing.
- Granite doesn’t swell or shrink with changes in humidity and temperature.
- A granite enclosure supports an excellent sound stage, imaging, dynamics, and clarity.
- Granite provides an elegant look. Acora provides a high-gloss polished finish.
The Speakers
The speakers demonstrated by Acora were their yet-to-be-released VRC and QRC-1 models as they have not posted official product pages for them on their website. However, here is some basic info that we do know so far.
Acora Acoustics VRC
- Enclosure: High Polish Blue Pearl Granite
- Speaker Type: 3-Way Bass Reflex (2 rear ports)
- Tweeter: 1 x 1.3-inch beryllium-dome
- Midrange: 2 x 5-inches
- Woofer: 2 x 12-inches
- Frequency Range: 18Hz–40kHz,
- Weight: Approximately 420 lbs each
- Price: $218,000/pair
Acora Acoustics QRC-1
- Enclosure: Natural Granite/Quartz Combination
- Speaker Type: 2-Way Bass Reflex (rear 2 ports)
- Mid/Woofer: 1 x 7-inch Sandwich Paper Cone
- Tweeter: 1-inch Soft Dome
- Frequency Range: 29Hz – 30KHz
- Weight: 240 lbs each
- Price: $28,000
Tip: The QRC-1 was not demonstrated. It was only shown in the hallway as a static display. Acora Acoustics Stands run another $8,500/pair for any Acora model.
Supporting Components
To bring out the stellar performance that impressed us (as well as other show attendees), Acora assembled components from several high-end audio companies.
Acora had a set of the VRC loudspeakers paired with Boulder 2150 monoblock amplifiers ($128,000 for the pair) capable of delivering 2,000 Watts into the 4Ω load. The analog source was a Raven LS-3 turntable from TW-Acustic that when fully dressed with tonearm, transformer, and cartridge added another $46,000 to the cost. Digital sources included a Nagra HD DAC-X ($70,875) and an Innuos Statement Streamer ($22,100) rounding out the kit.
Acora Acoustics System at T.H.E. Show
| Speakers and Stands | |
| Acora Acoustics VRC in Blue Pearl Granite (pair) | $218,000 |
| Acora Acoustics QRC-1 in Thasos Quartz (pair, static display) | $28,000 |
| Acora Acoustics Stands | $8,500 |
| Electronics | |
| Boulder 2150 Monoblock Amplifiers | $64,000 |
| Boulder 2150 Monoblock Amplifiers | $64,000 |
| Boulder 2110 Line Stage | $76,000 |
| Nagra Classic Phono Package w/PSU | $42,950 |
| Analog Sources | |
| TW-Acustic Raven LS-3 Turntable | $24,000 |
| TW-Acustic Raven 10.5 Tonearm | $6,000 |
| Lyra Etna Lambda SL Moving Coil Cartridge | $9,995 |
| Lyra Erodian EVOO step up transformer | $6,000 |
| Digital Sources | |
| Innuos Statement 2TB Music Streamer/Server with Next-Gen PSU | $22,100 |
| Nagra HD DAC X | $70,875 |
| Cardas Cables and Power | |
| Clear Beyond Interconnect (1.5-meter pair) | $5,050 |
| Clear Speaker Cable (2.5-meter pair) | $5,275 |
| Clear Beyond Power Cable (2 meters) | $2,965 |
| Clear Digital Coax 75 ohm (1.5 meters) | $800 |
| Cardas Nautilus Power Strip | $1,200 |
| Shunyata Sigma USB Cable | $2,500 |
| Total System | $630,210 |
Our Thoughts
The unique seating arrangement was the first sign something was going to be different in this room. The middle seat in the front row felt like it was too close to the system; the speakers were placed much further apart compared to the actual distance to the listening position.
Even through the front seat was closer than expected, multiple seating rows allowed us to experiment with the different listening positions, including one equidistant from each speaker. Each seat offered a dramatically different performance.
Sr. Editor, William Jennings remarked, “When the music started playing any doubts I had in the room configuration fell by the wayside. Wow, could those massive stone monuments image — even at a close distance. It sounded a bit like being in the first row of a concert with instruments close enough to reach out and touch at times and others sinking a bit further back behind the speakers. The amount of detail and nuance presented was extremely good as well and at the same time fluid and graceful. The dynamic range was very good with quiet passages still offering full detail and thundering crescendos feeling impactful without being over-emphasized.”
Brian Mitchell, eCoustics Founder & CEO, agreed and also couldn’t quite believe what he heard in the middle row center seat. He added, “The VRC loudspeakers’ holographic imaging magically enveloped the room — unlike anything I had heard. I could have sworn there were multiple speakers and subwoofers placed around the room. The sound was everywhere.”
Both agreed Acora Acoustics VRC loudspeakers offered one of the best listens at T.H.E. Show and made it very difficult to decide between it and the Gryphon Trident II system as the overall best in show.
Lastly, William concluded, “It’s a massive amount of money to layout for audio gear, but after listening I can understand why some people do.”
Scott Lylander
June 18, 2023 at 4:44 pm
I had no idea the Acora room was on price point with the Gryphon room, I do understand it’s Nagra. Great article on this exceptional room. What the gryphon room offered was exclusivity, you had to reserve your seat and that changed the perception of expectations for me. Gryphon also had TOOL.