The ‘Bentley 100’ HYLIXA speakers – Precision manufacturing meets time-honored craftsmanship

For the event, Node produced a special edition pair of HYLIXA speakers, the ‘Bentley 100’ – inspired by the iconic Bentley ‘Blower’ racing car of the 1920s, with which they shared a stage at the event, the speakers were finished in British racing green livery (which was synonymous with Bentley at the time) and had gold fascia.

The ‘Blower’ and HYLIXA formed a natural pairing as, not only does HYLIXA emulate the care and thought that was applied, and is still applied, at Bentley, air flow management is critical to their success. Developed from the already-exceptional Bentley 4 ½ litre model, the ‘Blower’ was fitted with a supercharger to produce more power from what was, by 1920s racing standards, a lighter and smaller engine. Meanwhile, the shape and aerodynamics of HYLIXA are intrinsic to its unique approach.

Sharing a process widely used in Formula One, HYLIXA is made (or rather ‘grown’) using selective laser sintering (a type of 3D printing.) This means the body of the speaker exists as one succinct, streamlined object, free from joins and fixings that could otherwise cause micro-diffraction and interfere with the harmonics. The body also has the correct amount of inertia for it to be dynamically decoupled from its stand – in the same way a car has methods of recycling vibrational energies, the cabinet floats on top of a gasket which turns this sonically-obstructive energy into heat.

With HYLIXA’s components allowed to breath at the front of the cabinet, like the grille of a car, the wide bandwidth emanates along the smooth body of the cabinet. This achieves the lowest possible acoustic diffraction and allows the subtle harmonics to be delivered in their crucial time-domain, so you hear the texture and timbre that make the instruments sound so real.

Once the body of a HYLIXA speaker is completed, it is finished by hand before its drive unit is tested, logged and pair matched to ensure tonal equality. The final assembled units are then acoustically measured to ensure it conforms to a reference level before being checked in Node’s dedicated listening room - like Bentley, Node tests its products thoroughly against a very high standard – nothing is left to chance.

Produced in-house by Node at its Cambridgeshire site, using trusted local suppliers, each speaker is delivered in a bespoke finish to match the customer’s lifestyle – glossed or finished in silk, the metal facia and feet are available in a wide range of finishes, including 24 karat gold, rose gold and polished nickel, amongst many others.

Though from dramatically different industries, Node and Bentley share the same values - striving to create products of exceptional performance, beauty and longevity - in the same way Bentley crafts vehicles for motoring joy, Node exists to deliver moving musical experience.