Dream Speakers Black Ocean Audio [M] Stack Review

Mar 9

Written By AAE Audio

"I knew that what I heard at BOA was HiFi without spending six-figures" - Scotty

The handcrafted Black Ocean Audio [M] Stack in Walnut, consisting of Le Chiffre 2-way above the Pale King bass extension cabinet.

I just received my dream speakers in crates.

During my very first audition of the [M] Stack, I clearly remember racing down LA County’s Interstate 710 from Audio Element in Pasadena with Emiko - That HiFi Girl - to Nick’s Orange County shop. We had just listened to Wilson Audio Alexia V powered by Boulder.

I knew that what I heard at BOA was HiFi without spending six-figures. I fondly reminisce on that day and associate the Stack with it.

During our February ‘24 Washington listening sessions with Nick, I learned a lot more about this pair, design choices and tuning the room + system to create optimal sonic preference. After several weeks of ownership and listening in my system, here are four defining sonic characteristics of the Black Ocean Audio [M] Stack:

Resolution. It’s understandable why Le Chiffre is used for monitoring, with its ¾” soft dome Hiquphon tweeter, the detail draws you further into the music. Resolution rewards you with great recordings and makes music new again.

Dynamic Range. Low levels details are as clear and engaging as the high level peaks. A great example of this are the crickets heard at the intro of the track To Sheila by The Smashing Pumpkins on Adore. This also makes for great sounding concertos, notable the Deutsche Grammophon recording of Visions of Prokofiev, by Lisa Batiashvili.

Transparency. Localization occurs when you can hear and separate the left channel from the right. Transparency is the opposite, when both speakers integrate and you become unable to localize sound from a channel and feel like sound is all around you, 3D and holographic. Transparency contributes to soundstage and imaging, whereas to identify the positioning of sounds and instruments as recorded on a stage or club, etc.

Beauty. What you see influences what you hear and the desire to call something your reference. The [M] Stack is stunningly beautiful and cabinets are at the core of design. The influence of real wood and cabinet inertness not only creates a unique timepiece, but vastly improves sonic performance.

Wood selection is critical to the construction and beauty of Black Ocean Audio’s speakers. [M]aster Built series uses the finest hand selected hardwoods and matches the grain amongst all cabinets.

So how important is real wood and does it truly add sonic improvement? Ask James Dasteel, owner of Reference Components in Santa Monica CA, distributor for Zingali Acoustics, or Trevor Doyle, Owner of Massif Audio Design in Waterloo Ontario Canada. Real wood matters.

Jim’s personal system. Reference Components, Zingali Acoustics, Massif Audio Design, Hard Wood floors

Ron Brenay of New Record Day recently talked about the sonic impact of speaker cabinet vibration and resonance to performance on sound. Interestingly, Ron said that some manufacturers do this intentionally to add tone and warmth. I’ve had a hard time discerning such “tones”, but after owning the [M] Stack i’m starting to understand. In our listening session to Harbeth monitor’s Nick said he could hear the tone.

“Was I nervous to hear how the [M] Stack was going to integrate into my system, yeah, absolutely.
I have no regrets, the [M] Stack exceeds my expectations and is timeless in beauty and sonics, a true reference component.”

— Scott Lylander

The System: