Ara Be
A 2-way bookshelf speaker built on the Satori TW29BN beryllium tweeter and a 6½" Egyptian Papyrus midwoofer, in a slanted, faceted 18 mm MDF cabinet. The same tweeter used in the floorstanders.
2-way Bookshelf speaker with Satori® Beryllium tweeters
The little one that retired a customer's danish flagship bookshelf speakers. We're not naming names, but he hasn't looked back.
The Ara Be takes the same Danish engineering from the Rinjani — slanted baffle, faceted edges, isolated internal chambers — and shrinks it into a bookshelf that fits on an actual shelf. The tweeter is a Satori TW29BN-B: the same part number the Rinjani Be uses, carried over whole. Under it sits a 6½″ Satori MW16P Egyptian Papyrus midwoofer.
AV2Day’s reviewer came to the beryllium expecting brightness, and found it extended, smooth and free of fatigue. That is what beryllium does when it is done properly — you hear the music, and the metal disappears.
What's Inside
Tweeter — Satori TW29BN-B, 29 mm beryllium dome. Neodymium motor, two-part aluminium faceplate with mechanical decoupling, dual copper caps, CCAW voice coil. Identical to the unit in the floorstanders — you can check the part number against the Rinjani Be.
Midwoofer — Satori MW16P-4, 6½" Egyptian Papyrus cone. Proprietary natural-fibre blend, manufactured in-house. Low damping rubber surround for transient speed. Sits in its own isolated chamber — the tweeter gets a separate one — so neither driver's backwave contaminates the other.
Cabinet — 18mm MDF, slanted 7 degrees for time alignment. Faceted top edges to break up diffraction. Wedge-shaped internal partition kills standing waves. Rear-firing port tuned to 36.5 Hz. Piano gloss finish that photographs well and sounds better.
Crossover — 2300 Hz, pre-assembled. Gold-plated WBT-style binding posts. Plug in, sit down, stop overthinking it.
Key features
- Advanced High End Satori® Beryllium tweeter, paired with our unique Egyptian Papyrus midwoofers
- Elegantly inclined cabinet for time alignment
- Faceted baffle and optimized tweeter position for reduced diffraction
- Slanted internal partition for reduced standing waves
- Large low noise rear firing vent
- Gold-plated WBT-style binding posts
Technical specifications
- Frequency range
- 45-30000 Hz +/-3dB
- Sensitivity ( 2.83V/1m )
- 87 dB
- Nominal impedance
- 4 Ω
- Max SPL
- 105 dB
- Recommended amplifier
- 40-150 W
- Cross-over frequency
- 2300 Hz
- Enclosure type
- Bass reflex
- Port tuning frequency
- 36.5 Hz
- Driver units
- Satori TW29BN & 6 ½” Satori MW16P-4
- Cabinet material
- 18 mm MDF
- Dimension (HxWxD)
- 391 x 190 x 388 mm
- Net weight
- 9.6 kg
Reviews
"I was quite surprised that the tweeter which has a beryllium dome did not sound bright or hard. I have heard other beryllium dome tweeters that sounded bright, hard and even metallic. Indeed, the SB Acoustics’ treble sounded extended and smooth without any touch of harshness." - AV2Day.com
Schematics
Two isolated internal chambers — one for the midwoofer, one for the tweeter — so each driver keeps its backwave to itself. The slant is doing acoustic work: it time-aligns the drivers, which leaves the crossover free to stay simple. A simpler crossover means fewer components between your amplifier and the music.
Small speaker. Big sound. Unreasonable value. Come hear for yourself — bring your favourite tracks and your most sceptical friend.
SB Acoustics was formed to bring an alternative to the high-end transducer market. Marrying the design talents of Danesian Audio (Denmark), a company filled with industry veterans, responsible for many well known and revolutionary designs, and manufacturing expert Sinar Baja Electric (Indonesia), a vertically integrated company with more than 40 years of transducer manufacturing experience.
Tweeter — One Satori TW29BN-B per cabinet
A 29 mm beryllium dome on a high-saturation neodymium motor with a T-shaped pole piece, a two-part decoupled aluminium faceplate, dual balanced compression chambers and dual copper caps.
| Parameter | Value | Parameter | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominal impedance | 4 Ω | Force factor, Bl | 3.1 Tm |
| Free air resonance, Fs | 700 Hz | Voice coil diameter | 29 mm |
| Sensitivity (2.83 V / 1 m) | 95 dB | Voice coil height | 2.0 mm |
| Total Q-factor, Qts | 0.46 | Air gap height | 2.5 mm |
| Mechanical Q-factor, Qms | 2.1 | Linear coil travel (p-p) | 0.5 mm |
| Electrical Q-factor, Qes | 0.60 | Magnetic flux density | 1.5 T |
| Effective piston area, Sd | 9.6 cm² | Magnet weight | 0.11 kg |
| DC resistance, Re | 3.0 | Rated power handling | 80 W |
| Voice coil inductance, Le | 0.02 mH | Net weight | 0.41 kg |
| Moving mass incl. air, Mms | 0.46 g |
95 dB at a free air resonance of 700 Hz, on a moving mass of 0.46 g. HiFiCompass and Troels Gravesen have both measured this platform; there are quotes on our reviews page.
Midwoofer — One 6.5″ Satori MW16P-4 per cabinet
A 35.5 mm voice coil under a black Egyptian Papyrus cone, on a neodymium motor and a cast aluminium chassis.
| Parameter | Value | Parameter | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominal impedance | 4 Ω | DC resistance, Re | 3.4 Ω |
| Free air resonance, Fs | 28 Hz | Voice coil inductance, Le | 0.20 mH |
| Sensitivity (2.83 V / 1 m) | 90.5 dB | Moving mass incl. air, Mms | 12.80 g |
| Total Q-factor, Qts | 0.27 | Force factor, Bl | 5.20 Tm |
| Mechanical Q-factor, Qms | 5.00 | Net weight | 1.01 kg |
| Electrical Q-factor, Qes | 0.28 | Recommended port tuning | 28 Hz |
| Equivalent volume, Vas | 50.20 L | Suggested ported volume | 15.76 L |
| Effective piston area, Sd | 119.00 cm² | Suggested sealed volume | 8.70 L |
90.5 dB at a Qts of 0.27, Fs 28 Hz. SB Acoustics’ own suggested volumes for it are 15.76 litres ported or 8.7 litres sealed, which is how a driver this size ends up in a cabinet you can put on a shelf.
The cabinets arrive finished
Every cabinet in the photographs on this page is what turns up on the pallet. They are cut, assembled and finished at the same works that makes the drivers, on the same machines, to the same tolerances — so the job in front of you is the acoustics: mount the drivers, wire the crossover, fit the damping.
Six finishes are drawn up for the Ara Be: white satin, white high gloss, black satin, black high gloss, red high gloss and orange high gloss. Magnetic grilles are part of the set, and the set covers two cabinets.
Tell us which finish you want when you enquire and we will confirm it against the current factory list before anything is ordered.
Artisan Acoustics was founded with a passion for high-end High-fidelity audio in Singapore, and now distributes SB Acoustics products in Asia (Malaysia) outside of Indonesia. Here at AA, we want to bring the masses to enjoy, and appreciate the art of music and audio, and the amazing engineering that goes behind audio systems.