Bo Bengtsson's $2 Million Ultimate Speakers
Bengtsson builds the world’s most expensive speakers. The $2 million Ultimate can hit 150 decibels with almost no distortion
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You use 40 subwoofer cones, all lined up in a grid, for the bass. Why not fewer big ones instead?
This way, you get extremely low distortion, so low you can’t measure it. Frankly, that was more or less how I wanted to challenge myself: by asking, “What would it take to make a no-compromise speaker that could play very loud with a distortion so low that it’s barely measurable?”
What sets the Ultimate apart—proprietary technology or precision?
It’s both! But mostly proprietary: I designed the woofers and the ribbons as well. They have small, very powerful magnets—neodymium, the most powerful you can get—and you have a line of these, as tall as a tall American, 2 meters-plus. They move a thin metal ribbon [which moves air and produces sound].