Standing only 13” tall, the diminutive Strada 2 delivers astonishing dynamics, unexpectedly satisfying clean bass, and huge perfectly-focused soundstages. Bass is enhanced by using the adjustable-tilt table stand to exploit the strong acoustic reinforcement of low on-the-floor mounting (or mounting directly onto a large desk surface). The Strada 2's 90db efficiency allows it to work well with small, low power amps or in modest systems; in large living rooms and home theaters, its 150 watt power handling delivers immersive, undistorted loudness with sufficiently powered front ends. For all-out home theater systems, Stradas on wall mounts are the ultimate perfectionist surround speaker.
The Strada 2's unprecedented price-to-performance ratio depends on the meticulous melding of five unique Gallo design technologies:
• Two ultra-rigid stainless spheres smoothly faired into a massively heavy cast “backbone” of ample volume form a far more resonance-free and diffraction-free speaker enclosure than any box speaker, an essential foundation for the Strada's almost eerie imaging and naturalness of detail. The striking shape is the culmination of Gallo's 25 years of pioneering spherical enclosure research.
• The cylindrical thin film tweeter between the two mid-woofer spheres delivers nearly omni-directional dispersion and ultra-quick, undistorted transients that make it, to our ears, the most natural-sounding tweeter we've ever heard. Every major speaker producer tried to exploit the tremendous speed and lightness potential of piezo-electric thin films; only Anthony Gallo succeeded with his patented CDT (Cylindrical Diaphragm Transducer).
• Not visible is the Strada 2's brilliant crossoverless design, critical to achieving true naturalness that's free of hifi-sounding artifacts. Years of cut-and-try experimentation went into refining small, resonance-free, super-fast carbon fiber woofers with distortionless upper frequency rolloffs to merge seamlessly with the lower frequency cutoff of the CDT tweeter—far more work than designing a first rate crossover that can't quite perform as well.
• The Strada surprisingly satisfying bass would not be possible without Gallo's proprietary S2 thin-flake stuffing, designed to “fool” such a small enclosure into performing like a far larger one by radically reducing the speed of sound inside the enclosure. S2 is the latest and best sounding of the five speaker stuffings that Gallo has evolved and patented over the last 20 years.
• The Strada 2's striking advance over the already highly acclaimed original Strada is largely due to its Optimized Pulse Technology, a family of refinements in diffraction-reducing reshaping, speaker driver vibration control, improved tweeter components and more precise time alignment of tweeter and woofer—all aimed at delivering the faster, cleaner transient leading edges essential to breathtaking transparency.
We encourage discerning listeners to consider our Strada Upgrade Stands. Custom-designed for optimum mounting of Stradas, these handsome and massive floor stands are uncompromising implementations of Mapleshade's Vibration Control System (link). The Stands unleash breathtaking levels of clarity, detail and warmth. Low bass extension and bass impact improve to the point where the use of a subwoofer becomes an option, not a necessity.
For perfectionist audiophiles, "Pierre's Strada 2.2 System" combines a pair of upgraded Stradas and a pair of upgraded TR3 subs with our Double Helix speaker wires. This all-out Strada system will deliver three-dimensional imaging perfection, micro-dynamic realism and hypnotically revealing details that even the top-rated floor standing speakers can not achieve.
Specifications
Frequency Response: 68Hz to 20hz +/- 3db (in-room with boundary reinforcement, speakers within 1 foot of wall)
Sensitivity: 90 dB (1 watt at 1 meter distance)
Nominal Impedance: 8 Ohms
Power Handling: 150 Watts RMS unclipped music power. Minimum suggested power 10 watts RMS.
Finishes: Brushed stainless steel spheres with a black frame or all-black matte.
Tweeter: Patented CDT3 (Cylindrical Diaphragm Transducer) sporting 180+ degrees horizontal dispersion from 6kHz to above 20kHz; 120 degrees vertical dispersion.
Woofers: Two 4” dynamic hyperbolic carbon fibre drivers, vibration control mounted from the rear and optimised to integrate seamlessly with the CDT3 tweeter without any a crossover.
Crossovers: None
Enclosure Type: Sealed spheres with auxiliary bass cavity supplementation and patented S2 loading.
Dimensions: 127mm (W) x 343mm (H) x 191mm (D).
