The Music Company – Craftsmanship
The cabinet’s contribution to natural sound is of major importance; that’s why we devote so much care and so many development resources to its construction.
At the same time, we want all cabinets to be uniquely attractive, not only because such technological effort and quality deserve to be accompanied by equally exceptional appearance, but also because, more than any other element in a music or film reproduction system, loudspeakers become a part of your lifestyle. Happily, a great deal of the beauty in the appearance of Vienna Acoustics speakers is inherent in a design crafted for perfect sound.
All of our designs feature carefully curved, narrow baffles. They’re actually intended to minimise early reflections and edge diffraction, but at the same time they result in cool European design – this timeless and simple elegance is not only easy to integrate into your living room, but Vienna Acoustics speakers are in reality pieces of fine furniture of which you can be proud.
This is achieved by employing true furniture-grade materials and assembly techniques and hand finishing each cabinet to perfection. As an example, please let us demonstrate to you our exceptional Vienna Acoustics veneer wrapping technique.
In reference to veneer: nothing can compare to the naturalness, warmth, and beauty of real wood. There’s simply no way to replicate it with the artificial vinyl foils used on most speaker cabinets. Of course, PVC foils are cheap in terms of material; but also in terms of labour, as using this plastic does not require the intensive hand-lacquered finish that we execute in seven individual layers.
Only the high-grade, real wood veneer technique clearly reveals the beauty of the wood – wood is unique, it has a history, it is alive.
We select all of the veneer for Vienna Acoustics speakers ourselves, visiting the various veneer dealers to personally ensure that they have collected only the prescribed, premium veneer-quality specimens for each of our finishes. For beech, it’s the highest-grade quality: “Grade A Extra.” For rosewood, in addition to requiring “Grade A Extra,” we have a particular specification for the grain and contrast, which limits the usable veneer to 3% to 5% of all available. For ash, which is used for our black speakers, our specification pertains to the exact kind of grain required in connection with our clarity standards, and the deepness of the grain.
Cabinet Manufacturing
Manufacture of Vienna Acoustics cabinets is executed according to and exceeding the toughest European furniture standards. We integrate extensive use of old world craftsmanship, as this is, quite simply, the only way to create truly beautiful speakers to complement your living room. Each cabinet is lovingly finished by hand, and the concentrated work of the skilled joiners is interrupted only by the requirements of a large number of quality control stages. In addition to employing the secrets of old world craftsmanship, over the years we’ve devised intelligent joinery solutions specifically for our cabinets, resulting in the most cost-effective, efficient manufacture possible.
Of course, for our customers the outcome of these techniques is paramount. We achieve such a high level of workmanship and precision that the superior quality and value of Vienna Acoustics speakers can be recognised immediately. We encourage you to convince yourself by making a comparison at your nearest dealer. No matter which Vienna Acoustics speaker (or which finish) you select, you’re in for an exceptional experience.
Veneer Wrapping Technique
Through years of experience working with real wood and real-wood veneer techniques, especially for curved baffles, we have now developed a real-wood veneer process that to our opinion is exclusive and unrivaled: the membrane press / handcrafting veneer wrapping technique.
As you can follow in the accompanying pictures, the manufacturing starts with a medium-density fiberboard, which is milled to its final shape. Glue is applied to the board in carefully selected areas, then a sheet of veneer is wrapped around it, pressed, and dried. As is evident in the pictures, the veneer can follow only the two curves on the long side and then must make the complex transition at the corners. In this critical corner area, where the two curves meet, the joiner has to approach the optimal transition line carefully by cutting out veneer with a knife, step by step. Obviously, this technique requires considerable handwork and demands a craftsperson with talent, patience, and extensive experience in joinery.
After the cutting is done, the two open curves and the overlapping veneer are raked in glue and must immediately be transferred to a special machine, the membrane press. The complicated operation that is performed by this machine can succinctly be described as compression of the baffles on all surfaces by a warm bag, which wraps itself over the baffles exerts very high pressure.
The baffles remain within the machine until the glue is dry, and then the corners of the baffles are refinished with a sharp knife. Following a final all-around inspection, the baffles are released for the next steps of fine workmanship, including the construction and assembly of the whole cabinet, and a seven-layer lacquering process.
Our veneer technique complements our real-wood joinery solutions and all their advantages to further enhance the character of Vienna Acoustics cabinets: exceptional beauty through great workmanship.
