Figured after using these now for around two weeks, I'd put my thoughts up about them.

Background:
Audiotechnology is a Danish company, started by Ejivid Skaaning and his son Per. Ejivid cut his teeth over at SEAS many moons ago, before going out and starting up Scanspeak, and then Dynaudio. Obviously all these companies are quite well known in the 'hi-fi' fields, with the reputation for being cutting-edge in terms of driver development. Dynaudio has since fallen by the wayside when they pulled out of the DIY field, but their latest Esotar2 offerings offer us a glimpse that maybe something still exists there.....

So to start with, there is a lot of pedigree here. And a lot of smarts that push the boundaries of development, something that is severely lacking in the industry as of late. Audiotechnology offer two ranges of drivers, one being the flexunit and the other being the Cquenze. Flexunits have modular baskets, and are almost entirely customizable (only restraints are those pesky laws of physics), whilst the Cquenze have a pressed basket, and a modified cone to eliminate some small issues the Flex units were having.

In terms of pricing, they are fairly cheap for what you get, but you need to go direct to the manufacturer to do it. Australia has no official importer, but Soundlabsgroup does onsell them. For my purposes, SLGroup were too costly, and I enjoyed going straight to the source for a bit of custom work. Only problem here is you need to wait a while. For me, it was 6 months from order to delivery (a few logistical issues inbetween though, which if you avoid, would be shorter). Price will obiously change depending on your personal selection of specs, but expect to forkout around $800-$1000 landed for the pair.

Opening the Package:
The units I got were a pair of 23cm Cquenze midbasses, 23I522006SDK I 0.32 8ohm, which in short means they are a 9" midbass, with the SD motor and kapton former, nominally rated at 8 ohm. The I522006 simply relates to the specifics of the motor/coil that I wanted. They arrived pack neatly in a cardboard box, with a bit of foam and wrapped in plastic. This is my first indication that these are serious. All money spent on driver, nothing on fancy packing. The packing was good enough to protect the driver, but not enough to stroke the Ego's of those who look for the 'gold plated certificates' or 'welcome to the club' letters. Its purely an OEM style delivery! (as they should be IMO).

First impression, is the size. They are large, and very heavy. Best constructed driver I have ever seen, anywhere, ever. 4" deep, which isnt too bad, and quite a small surround for something boasting 1.5" Xmech. The cones look like Dyns, with smaller dustcaps, but the design is far more advanced. Cone material is a patented polypropelene mix, reinforced with magnesium. Its a 2nd to 3rd Generation rework of the Dyn cones, and are lighter, stiffer, less energy storage and breakup better. The motor is totally different though. Solid, fantastic tolerance, and great to see open cell foam in there to prevent anything getting in, all the while allowing the air to get out and prevent compression. Contains faraday rings too, which is a cheap addition, but very much worth it (and also severely lacking in Car Audio units these days). Keeps the distortion and inductance right down.

Installation:
Given the fact that I am a big 'installation is the key' person to the perception of 'sound' in our environment, I pushed real hard to make the install up to the task of hosting these magnificent drivers. That came down to the job of Simon, at Alberts Cannington, who (bless his soul) got down and dirty with a fairly substantial amount of lead (plumbum for you latin folks), marine grade ply and fibreglass to build sealed enclosures within my door cavity (17 litres). The final weight sits at around 9kgs per door, and the enclosure has NO resonance at all (damn door cavity still does though... stupid windows and the ability to 'open' them...grrr). Baffle is thick, and almost flat, but with a bit more work that will be perfect that in the near future too.

They are being powered off of two channels bridged from an Arc Audio 4200SE each. Thats around 450W RMS at 4 ohm. I'd say given that these are 8ohm drivers, its actually around half, but its not. I've measured the T/S specs, and the impedance curve peaks at 9 ohm, and sits around 4-5 through the passband these are playing in. I can assure you, there is power there.

Listening Impressions:
Tonally very rich, and extremely detailed. Lower distortion then the Dyn equivalent, but still has that slight warmth. I've crossed them over a bit higher then I'm comfortable with (currently at 315Hz to touch the Dyn Domes) but that will change when their smaller brothers (the Cquenze 15 mid) goes in. Seriously, these things slam like nothing I've ever heard. And they soak up power (even though they're 92dB sensitive) unlike any other driver I've experienced. You crank the dial, and they just laugh it off. If I were to move the bottom end up from 63Hz to 80Hz, I can run them full blast without any concerns. The combination of the enclosure and the crossover would prevent me from bottoming, but at the moment I prefer not to. They'll loosen up a little more over time.

Dire Straights: MTV
Great song, great guitar riff, underlaid by a great drum beat. These drivers ram home realism in a kickdrum. My old man plays the drums, and I've patted around the edges myself, so I know what they sound like. They sound like this. Impact, strength, balls and above all else, ease of dynamics (something a 6.5" will NEVER do). The moment the guitar peaks, and the drums come in, your body shakes. The definition is eery, the distinction between notes is sharp, highly audible and VERY clear. These drivers are, in short, pigs.

Pink Floyd: Another Brick in the Wall (Pulse album - live)
I'll get into detail somewhere else about how jaw dropping the ribbons are, at reproducing reality at live concerts. Lets stick with the midbass. At about 2 minutes in, the drums just stand up and shatter your reality. Its not just bass though. Its clarity beyond anything I've heard at this frequency in ANY car. You can feel the kickdrum smash your legs. You can feel the bass guitar overlaid ontop, rumbling the entire environment. Whats more, you can clearly hear the distinction between the two, and yet they play at the same time. Its like being there at the concert, which is in the end the entire point right?

Kings of Leon: Sex on Fire
Notice how all these songs are basic drumkit/bass guitar songs? Why? Because there is no such thing as tonal reality with electronica, and we are, after all, focusing on the midbass! This song is no different. A favourite of mine at the moment, from an awesome CD. In this track, the drum kit is not so forward, and a bit more subtle, but the Cquenze really does help to create the foundation for the rest of the music. Its beautifully sweet, deep and resounding, and subbass blend is so incredibly easy to achieve.

Conclusions:
I've heard a lot of midbass drivers in my short time, both in car and in the home. You'll never, EVER, convince me that a 6.5" is a midbass, EVER, after listening to these.

Dynamics are incredilby quick, distortion is audibly low (not Seas Excel, but not far off), clarity is razorsharp and response is absolutely insane. Dynaudio on steroids. I dont think I've ever spoken so highly of a driver for a long time, if ever, so thats saying something. Personally I think midbass is almost as important as the midrange, certainly more so then subbass and high frequencies. Its the stable, the building block, for the rest of the system to launch off. And the Audiotechnology Cquenze 23 is a concrete tower.

Pros:
Massive sensitivity
Incredible clarity for a midbass
Power handling beast
Dynamics and sheer output
Almost tonally perfect
That motor design

Cons:
Cost for custom work
Requirement for effort into enclosure if you really want the most out of them
T/S specs not provided (though I found out later, we could have gotten it done)
Super large
The fact that other people will probably now get a pair after this review!

Pics to come.

great write up matt. i seriously considered getting these about 3months back, but alas circumstances were against me in terms of money, and have remained that way. i settled for something else which is keeping me happy, but i am sure these cquenze would have made me even more happy (although with the custom work required to install them properly, i'm sure my wallet would have given thought to leaving home and never returning)

i would have thought Closer would provide a better listening experience with these drivers (from that particular album), but thats just me

so when are u coming over east??