In Uppsala, Sweden, not far from Stockholm, the company Guru Audio has been producing exciting loudspeaker systems for years. The distribution of these solutions is now handled by a company from Mülheim an der Ruhr, namely ATR Audio Trade Hi-Fi Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH.
One thing can be said with absolute certainty, especially in the field of loudspeaker systems, there is an almost remarkable, if not unmanageable number of companies dedicated to development and production. Some of them are of global importance, serve a worldwide market, are considered to be true big players, although their importance sometimes varies from country to country. Others are more restricted to their local markets, even if they are among the leaders in those markets. And then there are the countless comparatively small manufacturers, some of which also enjoy a good reputation in the global market, but only address a small target group. Then there are even more suppliers who are considered a real insiders’ tip, not to mention all the developers who have turned their hobby into a profession and, above all, can celebrate respectable successes in their respective local markets.
To put it in a nutshell, for the enthusiastic hi-fi enthusiast it is not easy to choose the ideal speaker systems from this diverse range, but one thing is certain, there are products on the market for every taste, for every requirement and for every wallet.
One of these suppliers, who is well known to a wider field of interest as a proven specialist in its field, is the Swedish company Guru Audio, based in Uppsala near Stockholm. Guru Audio has for some time now been known as a specialist for particularly compact loudspeaker systems, which, and this is the special feature, are able to offer an enormously impressive performance, as if they were significantly larger than they actually are.
The developers from Sweden have succeeded in implementing a further special feature in their products, namely an image that not only has a pronounced sweet spot, i.e. only one place where the sound is optimally emphasised, but rather a very wide range. The Swedes therefore like to refer to a sweet field instead of a sweet spot. The result should be an image that allows a very wide sound stage similar to a live concert.
The loudspeaker that introduced this principle to the market was the Guru Q10, a compact full-range monitor that was actually designed for professional use. The QM10 woofer, which is only a good 10 centimetres in diameter, produces solid bass down to 30Hz thanks to the Helmholtz resonator cabinet and the long, linear hub. The two Q10 drivers are integrated over an unusually wide frequency band between 2kHz and 7kHz. This is of crucial importance for the homogeneity of the sound field, according to the developers. The mineral fibre membrane of the Guru B59mf driver ensures perfectly controlled behaviour throughout the entire working range.
Guru Audio’s Guru Junior is even more space-saving. Of course, it is based on the experience and technology of its only slightly bigger brother and thus, according to the manufacturer, represents the ideal image of a small, easy to place and above all space-saving loudspeaker. Thus, the Helmholtz resonator principle is also used here, but in an even more compact form. This is intended to form the basis for the Guru Junior to achieve class-leading phase coherence with rich, accurate bass and a detailed mid-range image as well as the finest treble, but above all a neutral sound from 34 Hz to over 30 kHz.
Another key feature of Guru Audio’s solutions is that these products are available at very attractive prices in terms of quality. For example, a pair of Guru Q10s costs only € 2,144.53, while the Guru Junior pair costs only € 1,559.66.
By the way, Guru Audio of course also offers matching accessories for its speakers, most notably the Guru Standpoint, an extremely elegant stand that, together with the speakers, can be considered a prime example of typical Scandinavian design. This is handcrafted as a tripod with solid oak and a footprint of anodised aluminium and costs € 584.87. Matching cables are also available in the form of the Guru Solid, which are assembled with banana plugs as solid-core speaker cables and are available in lengths of two, three and four metres from a price of € 175.46.
As already mentioned, all of the Guru Audio products mentioned are now to be available for the German market from ATR Audio Trade Hi-Fi Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH.
Getting to the point
Guru Audio’s Swedish developers have always succeeded in incorporating a particularly striking feature in their solutions, namely an image that not only has a distinct sweet spot, i.e. only one place where the sound can be heard to its best advantage, but rather a very wide range. The Swedes therefore like to speak of a sweet field instead of a sweet spot. The result should be an image that allows a very wide sound stage similar to a live concert.
Manufacturer: | Guru Audio |
Distribution: | ATR Audio Trade Hi-Fi Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH |
Price: | Guru Q10 € 2.144,53 Guru Junior € 1.559,66 Guru Standpoint € 584,87 Guru Solid € 175,46 |