#Coppice meaning how to#
#Coppice meaning drivers#
#Coppice meaning license#

A listening panel was commissioned to test this out and its members also preferred the warmer-sounding ash over MDF.

Ryan’s music production experience came into its own here and he really liked the warmer sound of the solid ash cabinet. The cabinet has a cavity in the base to fill with sand to improve sonic performance and, as standard, spikes are provided although the review pair came equipped with the optional Gaia II isolation feet from Isoacoustics. The cabinet is then sealed internally to control both movement and resonance. The 22mm thick timber goes into a specially-constructed kiln to remove unwanted moisture which would cause the wood to move.

“When we compared our MDF prototype with hardwoods there were clearly sonic differences and we spent time trying different woods and damping solutions until we arrived at the ash X1s with GR Research’s No Rez damping material which worked wonders.” The world of solid, hardwood cabinets brought its own challenges, as Mal explains.

#Coppice meaning license#

“We could have had our own design”, says Mal, “but felt it would be a wiser move to license an existing one, at least until we had tested the market’s reaction to our solid-wood products.” Through their collaboration, Coppice admit that they have learnt a lot about speakers and crossover design, now having a good understanding as to what it is that makes them sound so good. The Coppice team began work on their own crossover but quickly realised that they needed some help, so contacted Danny after watching some of his audio-based videos. Also if they were active they couldn't be used with valve amps, which is where they really come to life.” We would have had to make them active with the Icepower Class-D boards (which we were using at the time) but this would have added a lot of expense as we would have to CE certify them. As Mal explains: “I had limited experience of DSP while the licensee at outdoor music venues but we quickly realised that if our speaker didn’t have a crossover it could not be used in a standard system and would need a bi-amp/DSP set-up. The solid-timber cabinet being the ideal volume for the main drive unit.Ĭoppice credit much of the sound quality of the X2 to audio designer Danny Ritchie from GR Research, who has licensed his designs. To the rear is a single pair of robust terminals and a letterbox reflex port. We have the same drive units as the X1 in a 165mm high-excursion, coated-paper mid/bass unit alongside a 1-inch fabric-dome tweeter, both sourced from Peerless. The editor was suitably impressed with the sound under show conditions and so the X2s were soon winging their way to me to try in my system. This work resulted in the brand’s our own sheep’s wool room treatments (more dense than traditional mineral wool/fibreglass) and equipment racks, both things which went down well at the show, alongside the new floor-standers. This necessitated much evening and weekend working because their established joinery business was also booming. With space booked for their next public appearance at the North-West Show, Cranage, the Coppice team decided to create a bigger impression so quickly got to work on some of the other solid wood products that they had contemplated. Visitor reaction was hugely positive and cemented the solid-wood design concept as one which audiophiles appreciated. Some of these will incur extra finishing costs but all Coppice models are made to order so the price will be known in advance.Ĭoppice made their public debut at the UK Audio Show at Staverton in October 2021 as guests in the Malvern Audio Research room, showing a pair of X1s and stands. Available finishes are ash, oak, sycamore and a range of high-quality paint options.

A variety of finishes is offered, custom-made so that they are sure to suit any listening environment. The X2 is lovingly constructed in the Cotswolds from sustainable hardwood, my pair using top-quality timber sourced in Europe.

#Coppice meaning how to#

Professional carpenters by trade, they know how to handle wood and that’s evident as soon as one sees their cabinets. Without repeating the story, Coppice Audio is the creation of Mal Hyde and Ryan Morse in the Malvern countryside.

#Coppice meaning drivers#

Those same drivers feature in the new X2 floorstander which turns out to be something of an audiophile bargain. The Coppice X1 gave me considerable pleasure with both the beauty of its English oak cabinet and also a highly-competent application of Peerless drive units when I reviewed it earlier in the year.