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Socrates

Socrates exists for one reason: to remove everything between your amplifier and the music.

No passive crossover. Each driver is powered directly by your amplifier.

You control the crossover point, the slope, and gain. You hear your amp, not our parts bin.

Cabinet: Solid woods, book-matched mirror-image pairs. No veneer. No MDF.

Vent alignment held to 0.5 mm. If it’s off by 0.6 mm, it becomes firewood.

Requirements: Biamplification. Two stereo amplifiers or four mono blocks. Active crossover or DSP ahead of the amps. If you don’t own this yet, I’ll spec it with you.

Socrates Speaker

Note: Driver photograph is real; background is AI-generated.

Specifications

... Description
Type 2-Way Stand Mounted
Tweeter Custom 1” Alysoid Silk Dome
Woofer Custom 5” W-Profile
Cabinet Solid wood, front vent array, mirror-image pairs
Sensitivities Bass: 89 dB SPL/2.83 V/1 m, Treble: 92 dB SPL/2.83 V/1 m
Impedances Bass: 8-Ohms, Treble: 8 Ohms
Dimensions 17” High x 11” Wide x 8” Deep
Crossover External active crossover
Finish Hand-rubbed oil
Weight 20 pounds
Delivery Time 8 Weeks from deposit
Option Altisonus Bass Recovery Module, Mass Plate Set

The Socrates Tweeter

Refined. Sweet. The sound of '90s European hi-fi. Top end is extended but never splashy. Cymbals shimmer, not crash. Air and detail without drawing attention to itself. That slight 12 kHz lift that makes recordings sound "expansive." Open, spacious, not bright, not harsh. The silk dome for adults. Doesn't impress with fireworks, seduces with truth. Detailed, airy, and utterly non-fatiguing.

Excels at low-level detail. 70dB late-night listening? You still hear the room, the breath, the fingers on strings. Won't do rock concert SPL, but at sane volumes it's gorgeous.

That European "refined" top end. Jazz, classical, acoustic, vocal. BBC monitor vibe, European refinement.

Socrates Tweeter

Note: Driver photograph is real; background is AI-generated.

The Socrates Woofer

Quick. Detailed. Polite with power.

Splits the difference between paper warmth and polypropylene control. Bass is tight and detailed, not boomy. More "solid" than "bloom." Kicks feel punchy. Snare has crack. Mids are where it wins. Low distortion from 400 Hz to 2.5 kHz. Clean, not sterile. Acoustic guitar has string and body. Male vocals don't get chesty. No shouting at you.

The gentleman's midwoofer. Wool fibers damp the nonsense and keep the music. Fast enough for rock, smooth enough for classical, honest enough for master tapes.

A modern take on "monitor neutral." Pairs with metal or soft dome tweeters, planar tweeters, ribbon tweeters, and air motion transformers. Classic 1980s “mini-monitor” vibe.

Socrates Woofer

Note: Driver photograph is real; background is AI-generated.

Interested in commissioning a pair? Contact us to begin the conversation.

Each pair is built to commission. Final pricing depends on configuration, finish and customer-selected options.

This includes: cabinet build, driver tuning to your amps, measurement session in Bonner Springs, and crated shipping in the continental US.

This is not for everyone. It’s for you if:
• You own, or will buy, proper amplification.
• You want a speaker built to your system, not a showroom.
• You believe performance beats pedigree.