| Designer | Type | Build | Versions |
|---|---|---|---|
| SB Acoustics | 2-way stand-mount, bass reflex | Easy with SB's cabinet and assembled crossover; harder if you build the angled cabinet | Ara, Ara Be, Ara Tx |
Short answer: the Ara is SB Acoustics' compact 2-way stand-mount kit: a 6.5" Satori mid-woofer and a Satori tweeter in a small ported cabinet with a faceted, slightly reclined front. It comes in three versions that share the same cabinet: the standard Ara (ring-dome tweeter), the Ara Be (beryllium tweeter) and the Ara Tx (TeXtreme mid-woofer and tweeter). With SB's ready-made cabinet and assembled crossover, it's a screwdriver-and-soldering-iron job. Building the cabinet yourself is a step up, thanks to those angles.
A quick note before we start: we haven't built or listened to the Ara. This is an overview of what's in the kit and what's involved, not a review. Everything about how it's designed and how it performs on paper comes from SB Acoustics' own pages and manuals.
What SB says about it
In SB's words, the Ara is "the smaller brother of Rinjani", its floor-standing sibling. The design notes SB highlights:
- A faceted baffle to reduce high-frequency diffraction (sound bouncing off the cabinet edges).
- A front reclined by about 7° for time alignment between the drivers, which SB says allows a simpler crossover.
- 18 mm MDF with internal bracing, and wedge-shaped inner rear walls behind the mid-woofer to cut down reflections inside the box.
- A large rear port and binding posts on a metal terminal plate.
SB's published specs
| Ara | Ara Be | Ara Tx | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tweeter | Satori TW29R ring dome | Satori TW29BN beryllium | Satori TW29TXN-B-8 TeXtreme |
| Mid-woofer | 6.5" Satori MW16P-4 (paper) | 6.5" Satori MW16P-4 | 6.5" Satori MW16TX-4 (TeXtreme) |
| Crossover frequency | 3,000 Hz | 2,300 Hz | 2,500 Hz |
| Frequency range (±3 dB) | 49 Hz to 25 kHz on SB's site (45 Hz in the manual) | 45 Hz to 30 kHz | 45 Hz to 32 kHz (manual; ±3 dB) |
| Sensitivity (2.83 V/1 m) | 87 dB | 87 dB | 87 dB |
| Nominal impedance | 4 Ω | 4 Ω | 4 Ω |
| Recommended amplifier | 40 to 150 W | 40 to 150 W | 40 to 150 W |
| Enclosure | Bass reflex, tuned to 36.5 Hz | same | same |
| Cabinet | 18 mm MDF, 391 x 190 x 388 mm (H x W x D) | same | same |
All figures are SB Acoustics' own, from its product pages and user manuals.
Which version?
All three use the same cabinet and port, so the choice comes down to the drivers and the crossover that goes with them.
- Ara: the original, with SB's ring-dome tweeter and paper-cone mid-woofer. The most affordable way into the Satori drivers.
- Ara Be: swaps in SB's beryllium-dome tweeter, with a revised crossover at a lower 2.3 kHz. The beryllium tweeter is by far the priciest part.
- Ara Tx: uses SB's TeXtreme (spread-tow carbon) cone mid-woofer and matching tweeter.
Each version has its own crossover, so the parts aren't interchangeable. Pick one and build to its schematic.
The parts
Drivers for a pair of speakers. Each link shows today's price:
| Mid-woofers (x2) | Tweeters (x2) | |
|---|---|---|
| Ara | MW16P-4 | TW29R-B or TW29R |
| Ara Be | MW16P-4 | TW29BN |
| Ara Tx | MW16TX-4 | TW29TXN-B-8 |
Then add:
- Crossovers: Ara assembled crossover pair, one per version (ring dome, beryllium or TeXtreme)
- Cabinets: SB's ready-made pairs in satin or gloss finishes, Ara cabinet pair, in several finishes. Or build your own from SB's drawings: by our rough estimate, one sheet of 18 mm MDF covers a pair, plus glue, damping and terminals.
Or get the full kit, with every part for a pair in one go: SB Acoustics Ara speaker kit (all three versions).
What's involved
With SB's ready-made cabinets and crossovers
SB's manual walks through it step by step. In short:
- Cut the supplied damping material to SB's cutting pattern (seven pieces per speaker) and fit it.
- Fix the crossover to the bottom panel inside the cabinet, with the two big inductors towards the rear terminal.
- Wire the crossover to the terminals and drivers. Note: SB's schematic connects the tweeter in reversed polarity. That's deliberate. Follow the schematic, not your instincts.
- Fit the drivers with the supplied hex screws into the cabinet's threaded inserts.
If you can strip a wire, make a solder joint and use an Allen key, you can do this.
Building the cabinet yourself
SB publishes full cabinet drawings. Be aware it's not a simple box: the reclined, faceted front and wedge-shaped rear walls mean angled cuts and careful glue-ups. It's very doable with a table or track saw and some patience, but it isn't the best first woodworking project. Keep the internal dimensions, the port size and the driver positions exactly as drawn: the crossover was designed around this cabinet. Building the cabinet covers the techniques.
Building the crossover yourself
The standard Ara crossover, per SB's schematic, is 12 parts: five resistors, three capacitors and four inductors. If you're comfortable soldering, it's a nice first crossover. SB's schematic lists every value; Passive crossovers explained covers layout and parts.
Who it suits
- Good fit: anyone after a compact, well-documented 2-way built on SB's top Satori drivers, for a bookshelf, stands or a desk at a sensible distance. Also a nice step into DIY with the ready-made cabinet.
- Think about: it's a 4-ohm speaker at 87 dB sensitivity, so give it a decent amp (SB recommends 40 to 150 W) that's happy with 4-ohm loads. For deep bass at high volume, a 6.5" two-way in a small box has limits; pair it with a sub, or look at the floor-standing Rinjani.
SB's documents
- Ara user manual (specs, drawing, parts list, damping pattern, crossover schematic, assembly)
- Ara cabinet drawings
- Ara Be and Ara Tx manuals: on SB's Ara Be and Ara Tx pages.