Arcam Completes Radia Speaker Lineup With Six New Models, Marking Return to Loudspeaker Design

Driver material choices reinforce that intent. MCC cones are already known for damping break-up modes without resorting to overly thick profiles, but the move to a stiffer DCC diaphragm in the dedicated midrange suggests Arcam is particularly concerned with lowering intermodulation distortion where the ear is most sensitive. In practical terms, this hints at a voicing aimed at low listening fatigue and high intelligibility rather than exaggerated presence. The three-way models, on paper, look optimized for linear excursion and controlled pistonic behavior instead of brute-force bass output—an interesting contrast to similarly priced competitors chasing sheer displacement.

The more controversial talking point is AEQ, because it shifts part of the speaker’s “voicing” upstream into DSP, yet deliberately stops short of room correction. From one perspective, this is conservative: it standardizes the loudspeaker’s anechoic response without second-guessing room acoustics. From another, it’s quietly radical, as it treats the passive speaker not as a fixed endpoint but as a calibrated load designed to work best within a closed Arcam ecosystem. For purists, that may feel like heresy; for system builders, it reads as an attempt to eliminate variables before they ever hit the listening room—a very amplifier designer’s way of returning to loudspeakers.