(November 6, 2019) US-based VANA Ltd. has officially opened the door to premium European audio luxury, recently announcing a distribution agreement with Marten. This marks the first time the Swedish audio company's loudspeakers are available in North America.
Marten's backstory is nearly rich and alluring as its speakers, digging deep into family roots that include the design and manufacture of fine musical instruments. The company designates itself as a family business, guided under the watchful eyes of three brothers that are obsessed with audio perfection.
"Marten's philosophy of uncompromising realism in audio reproduction makes them a great fit for us and for the North American audiophile community," said Roy Feldstein, CTO at VANA. "Marten doesn't shy away from using the best materials to serve this goal, whatever they may be — hence their reputation for utilizing diamond tweeters and ceramic drive units, as well as elaborately constructed high-damped cabinets. They obsess over their choice of materials; firstly, to eliminate unwanted vibration, and secondly, to avoid introducing any element of harmonic distortion. These components perform their tasks exquisitely and then disappear without influencing the sound."
Marten's PR materials detail components and design factors that literally drip with sonic luxury. Take, for example, the mention of ceramic and diamond drivers, expensive and critically damped capacitors, copper foil inductors, honeycombed Kevlar and carbon fiber damping materials, and computer-optimized cabinets. The company says it leaves no stone unturned when searching for the best parts for the job, striving to "banish" damaging vibrations from the entire speaker system for "sonic transparency and fatigue-free listenability."
Of course, true luxury performance typically lives in lofty price points, and Marten's lineup is no different. Its newly minted entry-level Oscar Series features Duo Monitors and Trio Towers that sell for $6,995 and $10,995 per pair, respectively. And its top-of-the-line Coltrane Series can top-out at a hefty $500,000.
For more information about all of Marten's offerings, visit https://www.marten.se.
