Diptyque 115 Speaker Review. A Better Magnepan?
By Steve Huff
As we go full bore into 2025 I have yet another new set of speakers to talk about and these are very different from any speaker I have ever reviewed before. I am talking about the Diptyque 115’s from France and these are speakers can be quite intoxicating due to the way they reproduce the sound from the music that is fed to them.
In this review I will discuss how I got them in, how they were packaged and shipped… and of course, how they sound with various amplifiers in my 13X18 space as these need a little power to really perform to their best. Again, these are quite different not only in looks, but in sound as well. These are not box speakers nor are they open baffle, rather they use an extremely thin mylar membrane sandwiched in between two pieces of MDF and then two sheets of steel to reproduce the sound of music. They have been a real treat indeed and I am excited to share my thoughts!
Thanks to the Music Room!
A few weeks back The Music Room asked if I would like to review these very unique speakers that come from France. The folks over there said they were having tons of fun with these so of course I said “send ’em on over”! A few days later they shipped a set off to me via Freight. When they arrived the packaging was so small and flat that I wondered where the speakers were at! They were flat packed in a very slim wooden crate. I told my wife “oh these will be easy to move into the house”! Hahahaha, yea. Anyway, The Music Room is a valuable source for everything HiFi as they sell new and certified used gear that has been tested and inspected. Big savings can be found for some dream gear every now and again. I check their “Fresh Arrivals” page every day as they actually post new gear daily. They are also the exclusive online dealer for Diptyque!
Heavyweight
These are HEAVY suckers when in the shipping crate for being so slim and thin, but on their own they are not monstrous in weight. The 115’s are made of many materials but one of them happens to be steel and this made the crate come in at around 180 lbs as it housed both of them, with the stands. If you order a set be sure to get some help unpacking them. I could not do it by myself but with the help of my wife who is 5’1″ and 110 lbs, we managed to move the crate to the front porch : )
When out of the box, the speakers themselves weigh somewhere between 75-85lbs each and there is also a metal stand for each speaker that takes literally two minutes to attach. Once the stand is put on, they are much easier to move and I was easily able to do this by myself, move them around for best placement. I bent down, grabbed from underneath as I held the top with the other hand and lifted. Also, once in place it was super easy to move them over an inch or two when fine tuning just by rocking them into place.
The crate that the 115’s ship in. This houses both speakers and stands.
After we got them in the room and set up I was digging the slim looks and profile of these planar magnetic speakers. They look different from most speakers of this type, more modern, more room friendly I feel. When a friend stopped by who is also a fellow audio nut he fell in love with the looks of the 115’s and wanted to hear them. He did and now he is considering buying a set of the smaller versions. He sat here for two hours listening to the music he enjoyed and was very impressed. He listened to some modern EDM, bluegrass and some instrumentals with guitars and cello’s. He loved them and what they did for the music he enjoyed. He said they were very immersive and 3D, and he got a thrill from these for sure.
Diptyque makes several models and this one, the 115, sits in the mid range of the line. Not too small, not too big. These are the “medium” size variety and perfect for my room size of 13X18. There are a couple of models up the line and down the line for even smaller spaces. The 115’s I have here come in at $11,999.00 and they look and feel every bit of that cost. There is nothing “cheap’ about these in looks or build but I was curious about the sound, which I was expecting to sound like a Magnepan. Spoiler, they didn’t really sound quite like a Magnepan.
Here they are in this slightly blurred image (sorry) in the system being powered by some pretty snazzy Nagra gear. The good news is, they sounded awesome with a pair of Orchard Audio Class D mono amps as well. I think they look pretty good in my space!
PLANAR MAGNETIC (Magnetostatic)
I have heard speakers of this type in the past and if I can be 100% honest, I was never really a fan of Magnepan speakers for two reasons. They always seemed to need massive amounts of amplifier power and also subwoofers to supplement the lower bass output. In all other areas I loved them though as the details were striking and the voices were intimate and magical. I always said to myself that if these two issues were solved, they could be some of the greatest speakers made available. Sure, you can solve it with big amps and subs but what if you do not have the space or the funds for this?
I may be in the minority on that though as the reality is, Magnepan speakers are beloved by many HiFi enthusiasts. There are some who will only listen to Magnepan speakers so yes, they can be excellent and offer up something that many seem to crave within their audio reproduction. Also, many music lovers do buy those big power amps for them as well as subs. This can get expensive. Diptyque has claimed that they have solved these two issues with their speakers so I was excited to find out if these were the real deal! I mean, all of the benefits of a flat panel magnetic speaker without the cons of mass power and subwoofers? This is starting to sound really good.
The 115’s come with a felt padding around the edges. Higher tiered models come with a wood type of edging. These are demo models so they have been around the block a few times but since they are made of steel and immune to humidity changes, they will last forever. You can see just how thin these are.
SPECS OF THE 115’s
These are considered “isodynamic speakers” which are also know as “magnetostatics” which in reality is the same as “Planar Magnetic “and they offer many benefits over standard box speakers. The way these are designed means that they have a large area where the sound emits from (about as tall as the speaker itself), creating a full immersive experience and yes my friends these are about as immersive as it gets.
Sound comes from the front and back equally as these are true dipole speakers and this allows the music to fill the room in a way that is what I will call “ethereal” at times. There is zero box sound here as there is no box at all.
Diptyque uses ultra thin mylar membranes that deliver high speed sonics and when listening the attack and decay are extraordinary, just as they advertise. Due to the way these are designed everything is on a level playing field here so the bass, mids and treble are all equally as prominent and this means that these sound balanced from top to bottom. Oh yes, these can pump out some lower frequency bass without adding subs.
No Big Power amps needed?
Diptyque does recommend 160 WPC for these to be their best but I was running these with a 100 WPC Nagra Classic amp as well as a set of 300 WPC Class D mono block amps. More on what each sounded like in a bit but both did well here.
Diptyque claims that these are also good at low volume listening levels which is awesome as I love listening at 1-2 AM when all is quiet. I will put this to the test as well.
Finally the 115’s are 86DB efficient and are 6 ohm speakers so they will need some power indeed. I would not try to run these with a low power amp as they will sound a bit lackluster if you do. While they do not need 300 WPC they need more than 25 WPC. The Nagra Classic amp at 100 WPC drove them nicely but if I wanted to go really really loud, they wanted a little more power than that but overall I’d say you can get by with 75 or 100 but 150 would be better.
I think the 160 WPC recommendation is correct. You may be able to get away with 75 WPC for lower volume but if you want to rock the house, I’d say 200 WPC is the better choice. It really depends on the size of your room and how loud you listen.
The good news is that these days you can find all kinds of integrated or power amps with plenty of power and you do not have to have small refrigerator sized amps to power Diptyques.
More info on the technology of the Diptyque speakers
At the end of the day it looks to me as if Diptyqye may have really made a planar magnetic that is nice looking, sturdy as can be, easier to drive than others and provides much more lower bass presence than the competition. This is the claim really, so I was excited to give them a listen!
TIME FOR SETUP
These are serious high end speakers and require you to put some thought into the setup. I am lucky to have a dedicated room in my house just for my audio so I started by setting these up where almost all other speakers sound perfect. That wasn’t exactly the best spot for these but they still sounded rather amazing. I kept experimenting and ended up with them about 8 feet apart and toed in to my ears when I sat in the sweet spot. They were also pulled out more into the room than usual and I sat about 7 feet from them. This is where I found some magic with these 115’s and yes, these can make some magic when all is groovy.
Overall the setup is pretty easy as they are not very fussy about where you place them but they will need some space from the walls to sound their best. You will notice that the ribbon tweeters, which are proprietary here, can be faced inwards or outwards. I tried both ways and in my space I preferred the tweeters as you see below, facing inwards. When out, the sound was a bit more diffuse up top. This is almost like a fine tuning and for this I would just go with your ear, your preferences. There is no right or wrong way to do it.
The 115’s are quite lovely and look like a modern day speaker. Your wife may like these more than a big box but you will need more space around them as in, do not place them against a wall. Also, these sounded a little better with my window blinds up as that allowed some reflection. For some reason these sounded awesome with the blinds up and when down the sound was just a touch more subdued. Either way they sounded quite special and unique.
Listening. WHAT THEY EXCEL AT and NOT.
I first set them up with a full Nagra setup of HD DAC X, HD PREAMP and Classic Amp.
When listening to some Jazz vocal classics the music was everywhere yet at the same time the imaging performance was stunning, some of the best imaging I have experienced in a set of speakers. Vocals came out large and 3D, right in the center between the speakers when sitting in a sweet spot in a perfectly set up space. Everything else is positioned in a 3D space when seated in the sweet spot. These delivered a very clean, very open and transparent sound but there was nothing here that was ever strident or harsh, nor lean. This is when sitting in the sweet spot and yea, these are AMAZING when in that spot.
I threw on some Carbon Based Lifeforms and was shocked at how much bass was coming from the 115’s. This kind of music was sounding amazing here, fully immersive and again, three dimensional. The bass, lower bass, is extraordinary on these speakers for being a flat panel.
When out of that sweet spot the sound changes and has more of a room filling sound so these sound their best when sitting in front of them, taking it all in, while in the spot you set up for them. When you do this with the 115’s it’s quite the experience and again, it’s almost intoxicating with some music like ambient, acoustic instruments, female vocals are spooky good here as well. Jazz, classical and bluegrass sounded lovely as well. The details are all here and pop out in a 3D space with some vigor, life and excitement. Nothing will ever sound dull, but nothing will ever sound bright.
Listening to some good old bluegrass I put on Alison Krauss and Union Station Live, an old favorite from back in the day. The sound was so real, present and “there” but uber clean and open. I have not heard this sound so open and clear, ever.
The 115’s excel at a few things like the way they present music in such a transparent way. If you ever wanted the ultimate in transparency, look no further than Diptyque. When listening it is as if there are no speakers at all, just music. In fact, these are the most “see through” speakers I have ever encountered when it comes to sound quality and transparency. Sometimes when a speaker is uber transparent I have found that could also mean they may be thin in the body, the fullness, the “meat” of the sound. Not so much with these but I will say that the midband, while wide open, clear and at times haunting, does not have the punch, kick or drive that some box speakers have in the midrange area. That is the trade off here. To achieve this world class transparency a speaker can not have a full or muddied midrange. So there is no fluffy or bloated midrange here, just a wide open clean presentation from top to bottom that sounds “right”. This means when I played some Metallica or Lindeman the sound was a touch thin in the mid gut punch area. These are not made for “slam” so pull out the old JBL’s for when you want to headbang.
The speaker binding posts are metal and sturdy. You can also see the screws on the back that sandwich all this tech together.
The way the mid-bass is done here is what makes the 115’s so open and clean. They have some punch, but it’s not like a big box speaker with big bass drivers here. Instead it’s a different kind of sound that happens to be very beautiful with most music but anything that needs a driving rhythm with big mid bass will not sound like you expect on the 115’s. I did not find metal and rock to be the best on the 115’s but if you do not listen to these types often, just about any other kind of music sounds extremely detailed, clear and with enough body to make you move and the imaging is stellar, as is the human voice. These brought me the goosebumps on more than one late night.
These also excel up top in the treble due to the proprietary ribbon tweeter which is at play here. The treble is very extended and prevalent but it will never sound bright or etched. It’s very hard to describe these speakers and how they sound but the treble is world class and very natural all while being super open. The lowest frequencies are also mighty impressive. While the mid bass is clean and does lack some punch and drive, the low end of the Bass is stunning for a speaker of this type. These go pretty deep my fiends and I could not believe my ears when I played my bass test tracks. When I was messing with the positioning there was one setup that actually rattled my walls! I couldn’t believe it. These do go pretty low in room and I was not wanting for more lower bass.
I found that these speakers truly sounded out of this world with acoustic, piano, jazz, classical and vocals. While the midbass was very clean and lacked some drive, vocals were pure magic and at times intoxicating, real and super holographic.
My wife loves Taylor Swift and I sat her down and played her some of her faves. She said she never heard Taylors voice so real, clear and present. She said it was “ethereal” at times and for days I played tracks that were instrumental, electronic and ambient. These sounded out of this world with this music, even if I was in the next room I could hear the quality. With those Taylor Swift songs there was body, life and fullness and her voice, stunning and real, into the room.
These Orchard Audio Mono Block amps are true powerhouses at 300 WPC into 8 ohms and 500 into 4. These should bring about 400 WPC into the 6 ohm Diptyques.
POWER
I tested these with a Nagra Classic AMP which is a Class AB 100 WPC amp. I also tested them with Orchard Audio mono blocks that have up to 500 WPC (4 ohms) and come in at $5k for the set. Finally, I tried them with a budget monster, The Wiim Amp Pro and that was a big fail as that 60WPC couldn’t drive them as well as the big guns.
When powering with the Nagra I heard a drop dead gorgeous sparkle up top and these sounds would give the floating effect as they vanished into thin air. The midrange was clean and seductive and the bass, pretty darn great for a flat panel speaker, really, pretty amazing in this regard. The treble was more lit up with the Nagra HD Pre and Classic Amp running the show but not in a hard or harsh way at all, instead it was almost analog like. When I moved to the Orchard Audio mono blocks, I had to turn up the volume on my preamp MUCH higher for some reason to get the same volume as the Classic amp. I think the Orchard Audio amps must have a low gain input, and my HD Pre is also a low gain design so it takes a higher level on the dial to get the speakers juiced up. When I pumped it up (see volume setting on the pre) the sound was pure silk.
The Nagra HD setup with Class D Amps from Orchard Audio.
When at volume the Orchard Audio amps sounded smooth as silk and the treble was more subdued vs the Nagra. Bass was about the same and the midrange was a touch flatter with the Orchard Amps vs the Nagra Classic amp, but both sounded fantastic. I wanted to try a different preamp so I hooked up a HiFi Rose RD1160 DAC, which has a preamp function, directly to the Orchard Amps. Now I had more volume as the Rose can be set to a higher voltage output, which matched the Orchard Amps better. Now I was hearing what the extra power was bringing and I loved this setup with the 115’s as they seemed to have more drive and power. Synergy is a thing in audio!
While these sounded uber transparent and open with the Nagra, this was subdued just a little bit with the Orchard Amps that brought on a super smooth and 1/2 shade darker kind of sound. These Orchard amps are killer sounding GaN amps. I will review those soon.
LOW VOLUME?
Late night low volume listening was magical. The speakers retained their signature sound but at a lower volume. They did not get thinner or leaner really, just lower in volume. So this claim is true as well, these make for some super immersive low volume speakers.
CONCLUSION
I spent weeks listening to the 115’s and they brought an all new listening experience to my room. One that made magic with female vocals and all kinds of music. These would not be my preferred speaker if my main music choice was 80s rock or metal but for Jazz, instrumentals, vocals and just about everything else these sound beautiful and wide open, see through really. These deserve a proper setup as well and when you sit in the sweet spot, you will instantly hear these “lock in” and bring a huge soundstage, rather amazing imaging and music created in a large open 3D space. These are super immersive.
When you step out of this sweet spot, you lose that but gain a more room filling sound. These are quite unique speakers and for me they excelled over the Magnepans I have heard in the past as well as the Martin Logans I have heard and honestly for me it wasn’t even close. These come in at $11,999 but you can go smaller or go for the top of the heap reference model. Each should bring the magic just as the 115’s do.
These are built with steel and tech that brings out real low bass here, without the need for subs. Sure, you can add subs for more “meat” but I am not sure if this would detract from the crystaline and soulful midrange that is magical when on their own. These speakers can sound intoxicating, magical and sublime when set up in room and if that is your vibe, you must hear these speakers. Oh and while I say these are not the best for rock and metal, I have listened to these with both Genres and did get into the music, I just prefer more mid bass meat for these kind of tunes. They are not “bad” with metal or rock, just do not expect the gut punch without a sub.
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