For 20 years, Denmark’s Lyngdorf Audio has been making products that are both technically advanced and lifestyle-friendly—the latter meaning that interior designers might approve of using Lyngdorf components in the home. That can’t be said of all hi-fi brands.
Enter the Cue-100 standmount loudspeaker, which was announced earlier this year and sells for a not-insignificant €19,980 per pair. Let’s face it—that’s a lot for a standmount speaker. But prospective buyers should know that there’s quite a bit to the Cue-100 technically. Plus, the Cue-100 is built in Denmark, and it looks devilishly good with its thick, bottom-rounded oak base and supplied three-legged oak stand. It’s larger and more substantial than it looks in photographs. The Cue-100 stands just over 40″ tall. Judging from the photos I saw before seeing the Cue-100 in person, I’d have guessed it was between 24″ and 30″ tall.
Viewed from the top, the Cue-100’s cabinet has a triangular shape. The Cue-100 is available with a black- or white-finished base, and Lyngdorf offers a choice of fabric grilles, sourced from Denmark’s Gabriel A/S, to cover the upper part of the cabinet, which is made of MDF. Buyers can choose between black or white finishes for the sides of the cabinet; the top is finished in oak.
On the side that faces the listener (i.e., the front baffle), an AMT (air motion transformer) is mounted above a 6.5″ aluminum midrange-woofer. The two drivers are crossed over at 2.3kHz. The other two sides each have a 6.5″ passive radiator to augment the bass. The midrange-woofer and passive radiators are from Purifi Audio.
There’s a tie-in here. Entrepreneur Peter Lyngdorf is the founder of Lyngdorf Audio and Purifi Audio, which is also based in Denmark. Purifi doesn’t sell finished hi-fi products directly to consumers. It was founded by Lyngdorf to develop components such as speaker drivers that can go in other companies’ products—not just the Cue-100, but speakers from other brands as well. Purifi’s outstanding Eigentakt amplifier modules are used by NAD and other companies.
The hallmark of all Purifi devices is exceedingly low distortion, which is one technical claim for the Cue-100. Another Cue-100 claim is a frequency response of 35–22,000Hz (-3dB), which, if true, should mean a robust sound—35Hz is pretty low. But you’ll need some amplifier power to get the best from the Cue-100. Sensitivity is said to be 83dB (2.83V/m), and impedance is rated at 4 ohms, which are both a little low. That said, any amp with Purifi Eigentakt output modules should drive a pair of Cue-100s quite easily.
Unfortunately, when I visited the Lyngdorf room, the Cue-100s weren’t playing. Other Lyngdorf speakers, as well as the company’s electronics, were being demonstrated at the back of the room. But the Cue-100’s visual presentation struck such a chord with me that I’d like to follow up what I saw in Munich with a full review, so I can listen at leisure. Time will tell if Lyngdorf Audio is game for this idea.
Doug Schneider
Founder, SoundStage!