June 2025

Raidho X2.6 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review
Unlocking the enchanting potential of sonic art.
Review By Tom Lyle

  The subject of this review, the Raidho X2.6 floorstanding loudspeaker, is from their newer "X" Series. In its literature, Raidho states that the "X" in this series moniker denotes "eXtreme performance for the price." Yes, their X series features four models that, on average, are priced lower than most of Raidho's other models. Even though these four models in Raidho's X series speakers might have been built to a price point, I couldn't find anything about their X.2 — including their level of technological precision, fit and finish, not to mention their sound quality — that would indicate any cost-cutting measures.

The Conclusion
Rather than having the reader skip to the conclusion in the last paragraph of this review, I'll save you the trouble – I found these speakers to have an awe-inspiring level of sound quality, which includes about every characteristic any demanding audiophile could list. There's more to this story, and you'll need to read on to find out.

Goals
On their website, Raidho mentions that the goals of the X2.6 are the same as those of all their loudspeakers, which include low noise and coloration, a "dramatic, energetic" sound with a "vast soundstage," and a detailed sound that doesn't induce fatigue, among other traits. $21,000 might be a low price for a pair of Raidho speakers, but still, any audiophile who spends this amount of money should demand a certain level of quality. The Raidho X.2 exceeded any expectations I had before hearing them in my system.

Raidho's X series includes two stand-mounted models, the X1t and X1.6, and two floor-standing models, the X2t, and their top model in this series that is the subject of this review, the Raidho X2.6.

Impressive
As I have implied, the X2.6 speakers also look impressive. Their fit and finish are comparable or better than any speakers I've ever reviewed, seen, and heard that cost anywhere near the X2.6's asking price.  When reading about these speakers' internal minutiae I learned that they are quite elaborate, and I will explain what went into designing and building these Raidho speakers further below However, for a more complete, more detailed explanation of the technology inside and outside of the Raidho X2.6 speakers, I suggest one visit Raidho's website, where their technical description goes into much more detail than I have the space for in this review. 

When reading about this technical info, it was clear that there was a level of meticulousness that went into designing and building these speakers that was very impressive. It was as though Raidho's designers were obsessed with creating the best speakers possible, and they somehow happened to align with their relatively affordable asking price.

Drivers
Raidho's website has an entire section devoted to their ceramic counted bass/midrange drivers "that can keep up with Raidho's ribbon tweeter." These drivers have a base with a "very rigid and stiff" aluminum cone. Raidho says aluminum creates challenges since under certain circumstances it can ring, so Raidho coated it with a thin layer of ceramic. This task is much more difficult than it sounds. Raidho applies it with a plasma process that binds the ceramic coating to the aluminum.

These drivers' impressive technical specifications include a standard-setting level of resonance and a high-level of ventilation, which increases dynamics and lowers distortion. The drivers' unique construction uses high-strength geodynamic magnets for "ultimate control." The Raidho bass/midrange drivers are the antithesis of "off-the-shelf."

Ribbon
Raidho's proprietary, trademarked sealed ribbon tweeter is located above the speaker's two bass/midrange drivers. The foil's aluminum tracks form the tweeter's voice coil.  It is simply integrated into the membrane instead of having an external former like a dome tweeter. The tracks in the tweeter's foil make it a planar magnetic ribbon tweeter.  This foil is only 11 microns thick. In comparison, a conventional dome tweeter has about 50 times more mass, mainly because a convention tweeter uses a voice coil, an unnecessary component in a ribbon tweeter. It weighs only 20 milligrams and has no resonances or measurable or audible distortion.

Besides having virtually no resonances or distortion, the tweeter's breakup point is at an incredible 82 kHz! What one will hear is an amazingly clear and natural sound. Raidho describes this as "all the detail in the world, but with no fatigue, distortion, or coloration."

For Raidho's TD series, they claim that they looked at how they could improve the tweeter to match their new drivers. A redesign of the magnets, waveguide, and rear panel to optimize airflow helped raise the sensitivity by 3 dB and reduce its already low distortion levels by 35 dB. They state that this "raised the level of performance further, making our world-class tweeter even better."

Looking
These sleek, aerodynamic-looking, 3.5-feet tall speakers aren't held up by spikes but on "smartly constructed" feet with "integrated decoupling." The ceramic balls that the speakers rest on aren't visible and, luckily, won't damage floors.

An added benefit is that the Raidho X2.6 are beautiful speakers.

The X2.6 is much smaller than my reference Radio TD4.2. Therefore, the high-wattage power amplifiers in my main system that I use for these very large speakers are not necessary with the subjects of this review. And so, I auditioned the Raidho X2.6 speakers in my second system, which is in our dining room/living room area, which uses much more modestly powered amplifiers.

This System
Although I use a Pro-Ject X2 turntable in this system, I used only digital sources throughout the review period. The digital front end of this system is centered around a high-performing Italian DAC made by Audio Analogue, their aaDAC. Connected to the DAC was a Simaudio Moon 681 DAC / Streamer and a FiiO S15 DAC / Streamer. I spun 5" silver discs, either SACDs, Blu-ray, or DVD-audio discs, on a now-discontinued but excellent-sounding OPPO BDP-203 universal disc player. The aaDAC also has an aptX Bluetooth receiver; the sonic differences between this and a wired connection are awfully close.

I did quite a bit of listening by sending a high-resolution digital signal to the Moon 681 or FiiO S15 streamers from Tidal or Qobuz apps on my iPhone or iPad. Occasionally I fed a Bluetooth signal directly to the Audio Analogue aaDAC.

Power
Power amplifiers used for this review included the solid-state Simaudio Moon 641 integrated amplifier that has 125 Watts per channel. This was the most power I sent to the Raidho X2.6 speakers. More often I used a pair of vacuum-tube powered PrimaLuna DiaLogue Six monoblocks that had 70 Watts in ultra-linear mode, but I preferred the 40 Watts these monoblocks provided in triode mode.

When using the PrimaLuna amps, at first, I used the Moon integrated amp as a preamp, using its "preamp out" to connect to the inputs of the PrimaLuna amps. As expected, I obtained better-sounding results employing the Pass Laboratories' exceptional two-chassis XP-22 linestage. I also had excellent sounding results using the Pass Labs INT-25 Class A integrated amplifier that sounded much more powerful than one might assume from its 25 Wpc rating.

Associated
I spent a considerable amount of time switching out different associated equipment for this review. What I learned is that the Raidho X2.6 floorstandinf loudspeakers were incredibly versatile. Even though in their specifications Raidho suggests using more than 100 Watts per channel to power these speakers, they still sounded exceptional with as little as 25 Watts per channel (Wpc). Of course, The X2.6 also sounded great when powered with 125 Wpc. Regardless of which front-end I used, which preamplifier, or which power amplifier, it was impossible to get "bad" sound out of the Raidho X2.6 speakers! These are very transparent speakers.

So, rather than the Raidho X2.6 sounding poorly with certain associated gear and sources, they merely reflected the traits of equipment that fed them. In the meantime, if one uses the audio equipment one had before acquiring their Raidho X2.6s, there's no need to worry. But still, the Raidho X2.6 speakers will reward those who use the best gear that one can acquire.

Good
With a good recording, the Raidho X2.6 floorstanding loudspeakers could sound frighteningly realistic. These relatively small floor-standing speakers also sounded much larger than I expected. As a bonus, they were also not overly sensitive to setup, as I positioned them up in various locations throughout the multi-use space that I used as a listening room doesn't have many options as far as setup choices. But as long as I didn't have them too close to the front wll and kept each speaker equidistant from the other.

Within Enjoy The Music.com's July 2020 issue, I reviewed Raidho's TD 4.2 loudspeakers. Describing my review as "positive" is an understatement. They are now my reference speakers. The Raidho T4.2 is a large, 7-driver speaker that stands over 5 feet tall. After carefully examining the smaller, twenty times less expensive Raidho X2.6 speaker, I found it amazing that the smaller, less expensive Raidho had a striking family resemblance to its larger sibling. Even though they didn't have the massive sound that emanated from the TD4.2 behemoths; the sonic similarities to the X2.6 were indisputable.

With the best recordings, the Raidho X2.6s could fill the front of my listening room with a very realistic sound, contributing to the sense that they sounded much larger than what I would have expected, despite these speakers being only about 3.5 feet tall with a front baffle only about 14 inches wide.

Tapered
Viewed from the top, the tapered cabinet had a triangular shape. The width of the cabinet tapered to a rear panel that was only a few inches wide. At the bottom of the cabinet's rear panel were two speaker binding posts, and above them on the side panels were vented ports. I found these speakers to be very attractive, and if one uses their living room as their listening room, I can't imagine them not looking great even in the most decorous rooms.

Another trait these speakers had in common with my reference was that they were indifferent to different genres of music. During their audition period, I listened to a plethora of musical genres, including everything from small jazz ensembles to full orchestras, what some might call classic rock to a few metal bands' latest releases, electronic music, funk, and everything in between.

Listened
Here's a partial list of the most memorable selections I listened to during the Raidho X2.6 audition period:

· The Rolling Stones's Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed SACD

· The Pixies Surfer Rosa and Bossanova SACD

· Todd Rundgren A Wizard A True Star SACD

· Miles Davis In A Silent Way 24-bit/176.4kHz streamed via the Qobuz app 

· Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 7 Karl Bohm conducting the Vienna Philharmonic 24-bit/48kHz via Qobuz 

· Sleep The Clarity EP 24-bit/96kHz via Qobuz

· Autechre Incanabula via Qobuz

· Genesis Selling England By The Pound (remix) DVD-A 24-bit/96kHz

· James Brown Motherload (compilation) 16-bit/44.1 kHz via Qobuz

Before I discuss how the X2.6 performed with these musical selections, it's important to mention these speakers' low-frequency performance. I found it remarkable that the X2.6's specifications list its lowest frequency response as 32 Hz. In practice, regardless of what type of music I played through them, I was never unsatisfied with the amount or quality of their bass response.

Bass
Somehow, the Raidho engineers were able to make these speakers' bass more than "adequate" sounding, which is quite impressive given that these speakers use only two 6.5" bass/midrange drivers in a relatively small cabinet. I sometimes use a small SVS subwoofer with some of the speakers that pass through this system. When I first set these speakers up, I assumed I would need to use the subwoofer to augment the low end. But it quickly became obvious that the Raidho X2.6 did not need a subwoofer. Audiophiles who only listen to extreme heavy metal or solo pipe organ recitals might be happier with a subwoofer in the system. But I did not.

Raidho's X2.6's two woofers are located below its ribbon tweeter, near the center of gravity of these speakers. These are not exceptionally large, yet the designers of these speakers were somehow able to endow them with enough excellent-sounding bass to allow me to enjoy all the music I fed them. This bass wasn't the type with pumped-up mid-bass to make them sound as if the bass is sufficient. This was real bass, and any support they had with the mid-bass or higher added to the prowess of their transient response and realistic-sounding bass guitar and even the largest drums.

Replicate
No loudspeakers the size of the Raidho X2.6 can realistically replicate the scale of a symphony orchestra's large concert hall performance within one's home. Yes, I've heard some gargantuan systems in their equivalently sized listening room that were able to come awfully close. But our systems can't come close to mimicking the 50-proscenium of a theater and the large, often empty space in which they were recorded.

However, like all great modern speakers, which include the Raidho X2.6, playing a recording such as Bruckner Symphony No. 7 with Karl Bohm conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, the gestalt of the orchestra allowed me to be captivated by this excellent performance, taking me back decades to the day it was recorded. The right side of the orchestra created a thundering backdrop to support this vast orchestra. When the horn section blasted their octave jumping multiple Scherzo-like sections, it was as if I could feel the air compressing around me so I could revel in their sound. The initial blast of the horns playing sustained, majestic parts of the score were brought front and center into my listening room. All this from a pair of speakers that were barely three and a half feet tall, that could easily blend into the decor of one's room.

Master
The doom-metal band Sleep was formed in the early 1990s in Southern California, led by master guitarist Matt Pike. He later formed the Grammy-winning metal band High On Fire, a band in which he also managed the vocal duties. Bassist Al Cisneros provided vocals for Sleep and cemented Sleep's lineup to form one of the greatest "wall of guitar" bands ever created. With their Clarity EP recorded in 2014, despite the Raidho X2.6's moderate size, was able to create what I can only describe as a lifelike, powerful besiegement of my senses, with each instrument, sound, and vocal remaining separate from the others while seemingly bending time and space to create a sound that drew me into their world.

If one is into this type of music, other than their very first album Volume One, recorded in 1991, I can recommend any of their releases. But this monumental Clarity EP proved that Sleep, even though their genre-defining Dopesmoker album is objectively their best, its double album length requires a bit more dedication to the cause. Yet they have newer, less lengthy releases with no loss in their ability to captivate their underground metal fanbase.

Rolling Stones
Some might forget how popular the Rolling Stones were during their heyday. This enabled them to record at some of the best studios throughout the Western world, with many of the best recording engineers available. Both Beggar's Banquet and Let It Bleed from 1968 and 1969 respectively deserve to be heard in high-resolution. Both SACDs were released along with their entire catalog in 2002 in the U.S. in cardboard Digipack sleeves.

When listening to the Beggars Banquet album (this being the millionth time) through the Radio X2.6 speakers as reviewed here, thanks to this high-resolution remaster, I was able to hear every instrument and every voice separated within a vast soundstage that extended far beyond the location of the speakers in my room. I could close my eyes, and the location of the speakers became undetectable.

Because founding member Brian Jones was still very active during the recording of Beggar's Banquet, and his chemical dependence was not yet conspicuous, his contribution to the instrumentation on this album was with various instruments. It was 1968, so it's not that surprising that he added sitar, mellotron, tambura, slide guitar, and harmonica to many tracks on the album.

Because I began listening to this album at an incredibly early age, I often get goosebumps when listening to this album on a high-end system. When the Stone's SACDs were released this furthered my fascination. Thankfully, we can stream these SACDs via Qobuz and high-resolution streaming services. Through the Raidho X2.6 floorstanding loudspeaker, on certain tracks I felt as if I was hearing this album again for the first time, except now I was able to hear all the details I was missing throughout the years. The Raidho X2.6 are extremely transparent speakers; they were able to reproduce every detail of both Rolling Stones albums. Regardless of how long I listened to them, and regardless of how loud I had the volume on my preamp, my ear-brain never became fatigued. In fact, the opposite occurred. The more music I played, the more I wanted to hear.

Awe-Inspiring
As I hinted at the beginning of this Raidho X2.6 floorstander review, I found these speakers to have an awe-inspiring level of sound quality, which included about every characteristic any demanding audiophile could want in a mid-sized speaker. I highly recommend these made-in-Denmark works of sonic art. My praise for the Raidho X2.6 floorstanding loudspeakers is not due to my reference speakers being made by the same manufacturer. My praise is due to their outstanding sound quality in a loudspeaker design with an extremely small footprint, yet are full-range floorstanders that are price well below what their performance would indicate.

Specifications
Type: Floorstanding loudspeaker with vented enclose design
Frequency Range: 32 Hz – 50 kHz
Tweeter: Raidho 11 microns thick ribbon
Midrange/Woofer: Two 6.5" drivers 
Crossover Point: 140 Hz + 3.5 kHz
Ports: Rear ported
Sensitivity: 87dB/W/m
Nominal Impedance: > 6 Ohm
Recommended amplification: >100 Watts
Dimensions: 14.2" x 41.9" x 16.1" (WxHxD)
Weight: 66 pounds (30 kg) each
Finish: Black piano and white piano are standard. But custom colors are available on request. 
Price: $21,000 per pair 

Manufacturer
Raidho Acoustics
co/ Dantax Radio A/S
Bransagervej 15
9490 Pandrup
Denmark

Voice: +45-99505040
E-mail: sales@raidho.dk  
Website: Raidho.dk