Jessica PereiraFerguson Hill has introduced the Jetstream Loudspeaker System. Ferguson Hill claims that the Jetstream is its finest-ever design, two decades in the making, building on the seminal FH001. 20 years after unveiling its debut system, Ferguson Hill’s latest offering maintains those transparent visuals; however, the Kent-based maker upgrades practically every single component to create the Jetstream Loudspeaker System. As Ferguson Hill founder and designer Tim Hill notes, “I have incorporated all the changes I have wanted to do since the launch of the FH001 20 years ago.”
The new Ferguson Hill Jetstream Loudspeaker System comprises a pair of Jetstream Horn Loudspeakers, a pair of Jetstream Bass Speakers, and a Jetstream Bass Amplifier. As Tim Hill states above, the system has been entirely reworked from the ground up. For example, those impressive horn speakers now feature the company’s own manufactured semi-full range drive unit, created in conjunction with Cube Audio of Poland. Improvements to the interface between the acrylic horn and the metal ring result in a more even sound wave expansion from the circular drive unit diaphragm to the oval mouth of the horn.
Though a large portion of the new system is transparent, many of the improvements to the structure are internal – for example, the dampening structures between the metal ring and the drive unit and the internal leg dampening – and cannot be seen. But they can be heard.
Further enhancements include the bass speaker’s three-part feet with internal dampening and removable spikes (for shipping in the flight cases). The bass drive units received significant development, including marked improvements to the neodymium magnets.
Ferguson Hill Jetstream System features and specification
Jetstream System comprises:
● Ferguson Hill Jetstream Horn Loudspeaker (pair)
● Ferguson Hill Jetstream Bass Speaker (pair)
● Ferguson Hill Jetstream Bass Amplifier
● Bespoke cables
● HiFi Rose RS520 streaming amplifier (optional extra available direct from Ferguson Hill)
Ferguson Hill Jetstream Horn Loudspeaker
The Jetstream horn loudspeakers represent 20 years of horn speaker development and refinement, featuring several significant design changes. The new design uses Ferguson Hill’s bespoke full-range drive units developed with Cube Audio of Poland. The drive unit now fully integrates with the large metal ring support and acrylic horn to give a smooth, stable soundwave propagation from the high impedance at the drive unit cone to the low impedance of the air in the room at the horn mouth. The new drive unit basket and magnet structure result in an unimpeded sound wave from the drive unit’s rear.
Several vibration-dampening and absorbing structures exist within the anodised metal ring and the brushed stainless steel legs. This speaker is a super-solid construction, and the new drive unit phase plug gives an even more level and desirable frequency response for the higher frequencies. Ferguson Hill moulds the horn from 8mm thick acrylic, resulting in effective damping due to the nature of the complex curves from the circular throat to the oval mouth. The horn rolls off naturally below about 140Hz due to rear wave cancellation, with the size of the horn representing a quarter of the wavelength distance at 140Hz. Below this level, the partnering Jetstream bass speakers handle the lower frequencies.
● Drive unit: Custom full-range drive unit developed with Cube Audio and a Neodymium motor
● Nominal impedance 8 ohm
● Sensitivity 1M/1KHz/1-watt 100db
● Dimensions: 1.65m high / 0.92m wide / 0.72m deep
● Weight: 32kg each (including damping fill)
Ferguson Hill Jetstream Bass Speaker
Ferguson Hill Jetstream designs the Bass Speakers to match the Jetstream Horn Loudspeakers acoustically and visually, integrating the bass and horn speakers. The Jetstream bass units come as a pair of 600mm diameter clear acrylic spheres, with neodymium-powered 300mm drive units and a distributed port loading. The Jetstream Bass Amplifier controls the bass units with an internal low pass filter of 140Hz.
● Drive unit: 300mm diameter/high efficiency
● Internal volume: 150 litres
● Internal wiring: high-purity silver/PTFE sleeve
● Nominal impedance: 4 ohms
● Dimensions: 600mm diameter sphere
● Weight: 5kg each
Ferguson Hill Jetstream Bass Amplifier
The Jetstream bass amplifier is a stereo 200W per channel (400W Total power) class D design. Ferguson Hill uses 10mm thick CNC machined aluminium billets with a bead blasted and anodised finish to build the amp. The maker also fully damps the amp’s internals, complete with a soft start and circuit protection circuitry. The Jetstream bass amplifier’s internal low pass filter is set to 140 Hz to acoustically match the Jetstream bass speaker’s output seamlessly with the Jetstream horn speakers. Its main input is universal for 110V / 240V.
● Amplifier 2 x 200W, Class D
● Anodised Aluminium block construction
● Internal 140Hz low pass filter
● Dimensions: 11cm high / 47 cm wide / 37 cm deep
● Weight: 12.5kg
Ferguson Hill Jetstream GBP (RRP) prices:
● Ferguson Hill Jetstream System: £105,200.00
● Ferguson Hill Jetstream Horn Speaker: £72,955.00 (pair)
● Ferguson Hill Jetstream Bass Speaker: £22,295.00 (pair)
● Ferguson Hill Jetstream Bass Amplifier: £9,950.00