2024 – The Year of SIGAO DRIVE

It’s been quite the year for us here at Kudos Audio. Two words have been at the forefront of every conversation we’ve had since December 2023 turned into January 2024.

Those two words? SIGAO DRIVE.

This year, we launched our unpowered active crossover for the first time – and subsequently pushed it into production last month. The feedback from customers, retailers and critics alike has been nothing short of remarkable. We’re completely bowled over by SIGAO DRIVE’s reception, and thank you all for your kind words (and orders!) up until now.

In this blog, we thought we’d round up how the year played out. From concept to shipping, and everything in between. It’s been a remarkable journey – and it’s only just getting started!

THE CONCEPT

Derek Gilligan, Kudos Audio’s MD and Chief Engineer, had been pondering a different approach to active loudspeaker configuration for some years. Here at Kudos Audio, we talk a lot about ‘Masterful Simplicity’, and though some may dismiss this as simple marketing-speak, it’s no exaggeration to say that philosophy guides everything we do at Kudos. 

Here at Kudos Audio, we have been vocal, long-time champions of ‘active configuration’. We have, in fact, advocated for the considerable benefits of active listening on this very blog. Yet even in the best active systems, there remains a significant roadblock on our route to audio perfection. However well designed, the required high-quality DC power supplies in active systems add noise and distortions to the signal, which inevitably mean deviations from neutrality. These deviations are especially obvious in an active system, due to its incredibly high resolution.

We were convinced that there was a better, more efficient route to the many benefits of active listening. Utilising our trademark, masterfully simple methodology, we asked ourselves what seemed at first to be a fairly straightforward question (but proved anything but). What if we could create a crossover that allowed the power amplifiers to directly grip the drivers of the loudspeaker, without needing a power supply? 

If this weren’t enough, SIGAO DRIVE represented one more exciting and unmissable opportunity. By creating our own, custom-made crossover from the ground up, it meant we could allow Kudos listeners to pair their loudspeakers with virtually any amplifiers on the market – opening up near-infinite brand compatibility with Kudos Audio for the very first time. 

And so SIGAO DRIVE was born. 

THE TEAM

To create this product – one that would prove to be essentially new to the field of mainstream HiFi – would require some considerable out-the-box thinking. And so to make this concept a reality, we partnered with two of HiFi’s most revered engineers – ex-Naim Audio CEO Trevor Wilson, and ex-Naim Audio Technical Director, Roy George. Both Trevor and Roy were instrumental in making SIGAO DRIVE possible, helping the Kudos Audio team breathe life into the technologically groundbreaking electronics that would make this product a reality. They fully embraced our philosophy of masterful simplicity – a methodology that is present in every aspect of SIGAO DRIVE’s design.

Earlier this year, we interviewed Roy on this blog to get his thoughts on the design and concept of SIGAO DRIVE. His insights were fascinating and deeply revealing, and you can read that piece in full right here. 

Derek and Roy spent months collaborating on designs for SIGAO DRIVE’s circuitry and build. By early 2024, we had a working prototype we could show to the world. 

BRISTOL HIFI SHOW 2024 – THE FIRST GLIMPSE

Bristol HiFi Show was the place where we demonstrated SIGAO DRIVE to press and listeners for the first time. 

Early feedback was positive, and excited. HiFi & Music Source called it “a highlight of the day” while AV Forums notes it was “one of the most technically interesting things I’ve seen in a while.”

Whilst Bristol offered attendees a tantalising glimpse at SIGAO DRIVE and its possibilities, listeners would have to wait a few months before more was revealed. 

MUNICH – THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH

For SIGAO DRIVE’s official launch, we found the perfect location in MotorWorld. Located literally just across the street from the MOC (about a three minute walk, in fact), MotorWorld is a museum and luxury automotive storage facility, celebrating the very best of classic and contemporary motorsport and elite car design. 

Arriving in Munich early in the week, we set about transforming the Hans Joachim Suite into something of an audio sanctuary. Our demonstration system for the event was pretty formidable. Alongside SIGAO DRIVE, we had an Innuos server, Linn Klimax DSM streamer, and three Chord Electronics Ultima 5 power amplifiers. HiFi support came from the Quadraspire Sunoko Vent, all cabling and power from AudioQuest, and a pair of Titan 808 Loudspeakers in a special, limited edition ‘racing green’ finish completed a truly formidable listening setup. 

Thursday 10th May – the opening day of the show – was set for our worldwide launch. To celebrate, we invited a hand-picked selection of leading HiFi journalists, retailers, and distributors to join us for a special listening event – the first ever public A/B test of SIGAO DRIVE.

Kudos Audio MD Derek Gilligan opened proceedings, taking the invited guests through exactly why and how SIGAO DRIVE had been brought into production. The demonstration started with playback in conventional ‘passive’ configuration – with the Chord amplifiers connected to the Kudos Titan 808’s via their inbuilt passive crossover filter network. The track chosen for this demonstration was Fink’s ‘Trouble’s What You’re In’ from their 2012 live album ‘Wheels Turn Beneath My Feet’.

Once the track had played through, the cabling was quickly swapped out. In this new configuration, the SIGAO DRIVE unpowered crossover was introduced in front of the power amplifiers in the signal chain, allowing the (now three) amplifiers to bypass the inbuilt crossover filter via the Titan 808’s dedicated ‘active inputs’, and directly grip the speaker drivers. The same track was then played for a clean comparison. 

For everyone in the room, the results were jaw dropping. Silences became more intense, clarity in the sonic delivery elevated dramatically, and the soundstage became noticeably broader – enveloping the listeners in a wholly new dimension of breathtaking musicality. 

The early press reaction was equally fervent – HiFi & Music Source described SIGAO DRIVE’s launch as a “stunning presentation”, whilst in their Munich roundup, HiFi Pig noted SIGAO DRIVE eliciting a “distinct change in sound”.

SIGAO DRIVE’S RECEPTION

By the autumn, our revolutionary unpowered crossover was finally fully built and ready to ship. Demand was such that our first production run proved to be a sell-out, with demand continuing apace throughout the back end of 2024. 

HIFI & MUSIC SOURCE

The first official reviews followed in November. HiFi & Music Source published theirs first, and it was straight out the gate with an OUTSTANDING award.

Following on from his video review shared earlier in the month, Simon Wilce offered an in-depth and detailed review of SIGAO’s performance, as he took his Kudos Titan 505 loudspeakers active with the help of SIGAO DRIVE. Simon wasn’t shy of lavishing praise on the system’s performance, describing it in these terms…

“This is unreserved excellence, reinforcing my contention that Kudos makes the best loudspeakers. The Sigao Drive is the purest expression of musicality I have encountered in these last ten years. It is nothing but the most outstanding performance and certainly the best I’ve ever heard. If you are lucky enough to own a pair of Kudos loudspeakers, you might need to chat with your better half or better self and take a listen.”

THE EAR

In The Ear, Ed Selley was similarly keen to express his admiration for this new and novel product from Kudos throughout a glowing 5-star review.

Starting out with a detailed and helpful breakdown of SIGAO DRIVE’s set up and functionality, Ed then dived into performance. It’s safe to say that he enjoyed what he heard. 

“This is a technically impressive device but that technical excellence is secondary to an innate desire to make music.”

He concludes, confidently;

“It’s this consistent ability of the SIGAO Drive to find and extract musical joy plus the impressive flexibility it offers in terms of partnering equipment that marks it out as rather special. All of a sudden, it’s possible to use amplifiers that might not have featured as candidates for use in an active system before…and do so knowing that the result is going to be effective.”

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

To round up this piece, we’ll give the last word to one of the very first listeners to install SIGAO DRIVE into his setup. Having picked up his unit from Acoustica in Chester earlier in the week, customer Chris then shared this feedback with us…

“WOW! WOW! WOW!

I am utterly convinced my system has been bettered by going active and I am looking forward to an indulgent future listening to and hearing my favourite music for years to come… I am thrilled and delighted with the sound which may still improve as the Sigao is run in.

Congratulations to you and your team. I have spent a lot, but it all seems vindicated now I have such a wonderful set-up.”

Understandably, this put a big old smile on the face of everyone at Kudos! Our warmest thanks to Chris for taking the time to reach out. If you have a photo of SIGAO in your system to share, get in touch! We’d love to see it.

EXPERIENCE SIGAO DRIVE

The best way to understand what SIGAO DRIVE is capable of is to experience it for yourself. Throughout 2025, we’ll be on the road demonstrating its transformative properties to discerning listeners around the world. Check back with us to find out more.

Retailers across the country are currently stocking SIGAO DRIVE – want to book a demo? Find your nearest here!