Kingfisher Audio - Father and Son Unite for Beautiful Sounds

Kingfisher is the passion project of a father and son duo, Myles and Trevor Oliver-King. Born from a love of music and great sound, the brand was a natural progression from Trevor's forty years of experience as a furniture designer, creator and educator, and the younger Myles' obsession with speaker design and audio science.

Myles explains:

Kingfisher is the result of two guys just having fun making the speakers we want in our own living rooms. It's the satisfying intersection of science and art that we love so much about designing loudspeakers. The joy is in listening for us, so every detail of design is informed by how it will affect the sound.

Trevor tells us that throughout his career, he has salvaged suburban trees, often hundreds of years old, that would have otherwise been chipped. It's not the easiest source of timber by any stretch, but immortalising once beautiful trees makes it more than worth it in Trevor's eyes.

Often the conditions these trees have grown in gives them more interesting grain patterns than if they had grown in a forest. All my favourite pieces have been made from salvaged trees.

It's this experience and ethos that Trevor and Myles have brought to Kingfisher. Each speaker features thick hardwood veneers cut from logs sourced from local tree surgeons and selected by the pair for their colour and interesting character. The process from tree to speaker is a meticulous one, they explain. Still, their unique in-house method means Kingfisher Audio's speakers are available in unique timbers, including Buttonwood and Red Bloodwood. Each log produces only a limited number of veneers, so if you happen across a pair you love the aesthetic of, chances are it's a one-off as all veneers are effectively limited edition!

Kingfisher Audio's lineup currently consists of two models. The A16's are their no-compromise 2-way stand-mounts with a 6-inch geometrically reinforced mid-woofer and 1-inch aluminium tweeter with phase shield and saturation-controlled motor system. They feature double-braced trans-laminated plywood cabinets with curved, non-resonant walls internally lined with viscoelastic butyl rubber to further mass-load the enclosure. Precision crossovers are designed and assembled in house with high-quality parts to complement the premium Danish engineered drivers.

The SP15's are Kingfisher's smaller bookshelf speakers, similarly utilising exceptional components but forgoing the curved sides in favour of compactness. They feature a 5-inch treated paper cone mid-woofer and a 1-inch fine weave silk dome tweeter. Both models are meticulously assembled and finished by hand by Myles and Trevor. 

Myles explains that “both models have a flat frequency response for faithful reproduction with a small on-axis dip in the upper midrange to give a smooth power response as the tweeters wide dispersion takes over”. We haven't yet heard them in the StereoNET office. Still, early feedback from those that have suggests it makes for a rich and satisfying sonic character that maintains musicality and makes longer listening sessions a dream.

Specs and stats supplied indicate the A16's have a rated sensitivity of 87db/2.83V@1m, frequency response of 48Hz – 20kHz +/- 2db, crossover point at 2000Hz, dimensions of 24 x 43 x 26 (cm WHD) and weigh 7.2kg each. The SP15's have very similar specs with a sensitivity of 87db/2.83V@1m, frequency response of 55Hz – 20kHz +/- 2db and a crossover point of 2100Hz. They do this in a much smaller enclosure, coming in at 18 x 34 x 23.5 (cm WHD) and weighing 5kg each.

Kingfisher Audio's A16 is available now and sells for $4,250, while the SP15 sells for $2,650 or $2,450 for a Baltic Birch finish. Both models are available to demo and purchase at the renowned Tree-O Furniture and Art Gallery in Raleigh, NSW. They also offer online ordering with a 15-day in-home trial, but you'll have to contact them to see which veneers they have in stock.

We love a good Australian story, and Australia can be proud of many local manufacturers who have made it on the global audio scene. We can't wait to see Kingfisher Audio joining the likes of world-respected Australian brands, including Krix, Richter, Osborn, DEQX, SGR Audio, to name a few.

For more information visit Kingfisher Audio