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British Design  |  Performance Loudspeakers  |  Experts Since 1972

Spotlight: Engineering Vestra Subwoofer Series

6th May 2025

Posted in: Articles | Product News

We sit down with Senior Acoustic Engineer Chris Wells to discuss his input in the creation of the Vestra Subwoofer series and what makes it so special.

 

 

 

Briefly introduce yourself and your role at Monitor Audio.

I'm Chris Wells, and I am a Senior Acoustic Engineer at Monitor Audio Group. I, along with the rest of the acoustics team, am responsible for designing, measuring, testing, and listening to all of the loudspeaker products within the Monitor Audio range. Some of the recent products I’ve worked on are Silver 7G, Studio 89, and Hyphn.

 

Vestra is a brand-new subwoofer range—what sets it apart from other subwoofers in the market?

Vestra is a great example of a product that fits perfectly with our Transparent Design Philosophy. That is to say that the mechanical and aesthetic design, along with the acoustic and electronic design, are created in harmony and hold equal importance. This ensures that this new range of subwoofers is able to recreate program material exactly as the artist intended. Vestra offers great performance at an affordable price point. It is simple to set up and use, and contains all the features a music or cinema enthusiast will need.

 

 

Can you discuss the driver technologies used in these subwoofers and how they impact performance?

The driver cones make use of our C-CAM (Ceramic Coated Aluminium Magnesium) technology, which allows the moving assembly of the driver to act as a perfect piston within the subwoofers' operating frequency range. The 12” and 15” drivers contain our triple suspension driver design. The triple suspension features two Nomex spiders and a nitrile rubber surround, which have all been FEA optimised to give controlled and linear excursion. Both of these technologies help to reduce distortion and maximise acoustic output and dynamics.

 

Subwoofers often face challenges with unwanted resonance. How have we addressed this in Vestra?

Building on years of experience in MDF cabinet design, the cabinets contain very strong and stiff internal bracing. This ensures that any cabinet resonances are pushed high enough in frequency that they are no longer excited by the driver. The geometry of the cone and surround has been developed to reduce unwanted resonances and distortion as much as possible, especially when the subwoofer is operating at high excursions.

 

 

What are the main technical differences between the Vestra subwoofers and Anthra subwoofers?

Anthra drivers contain RST II C-CAM cones and motor units with large-diameter magnets and voice coils, along with aluminium shorting rings. On the amplifier side, there is higher power delivery, more inputs and outputs, and MaestroUnite capability. Since the Vestra subwoofers were developed alongside Anthra, we were able to integrate all of the knowledge and learnings from Anthra into this new, more budget-friendly range to give more audio system options to the customer.

 

When is it beneficial to use multiple Vestra subwoofers in a system?

Is it beneficial to use multiple Vestra subwoofers in large rooms where one subwoofer might struggle to fill the space, or when very high sound pressure levels are desired. Multiple subwoofers can also be arranged within the room so that they cancel out the strongest room modes allowing for a more consistent frequency response which is particularly beneficial when there are several listening positions.

 

How do you see the future of subwoofer design evolving, and how does Vestra fit into that vision?

I see the future of subwoofer design evolving towards smaller subwoofer sizes. With advances in driver and amplifier technology it will become possible to extract amazing performance from compact cabinet and driver sizes. Attractive subwoofer aesthetics will continue to be an important element of design so that they are able to fit seamlessly into their surroundings. I believe Vestra is the epitome of these two elements.

 

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