Every Component Earns Its Place
Inside the StoneSonic Arcus
GR Research Neo 3
The Neo 3 is a planar magnetic transducer — an ultra-thin Kapton film suspended between opposing rows of neodymium magnets, driven simultaneously from both sides across its entire surface. No voice coil. No breakup modes. Just a flat membrane moving in perfect phase from edge to edge.
Cross-section breakdown below
Why Planar Magnetic
Dome Tweeter
Driven from a voice coil ring at the dome's outer edge. Force transmits mechanically inward. The dome breaks into resonant modes at higher frequencies.
Planar Magnetic
Driven uniformly across its entire surface. Both magnet rows act simultaneously — push from behind, pull from in front. No breakup. No phase incoherency.
GR Research Network
The crossover is the least visible component in a speaker — and the first place manufacturers cut costs. Every part in this network was chosen for what it does to the signal, not what it does to the bill of materials. These are the same components found in reference-grade speakers at five to ten times the price.
Capacitors
Sonicap Film & Foil
Most speakers — including many expensive ones — use electrolytic capacitors. Same technology as a $2 power supply filter. They absorb and blur fine detail through dielectric absorption: the signal goes in, and a slightly smeared version comes out.
Sonicap uses actual metal foil conductors separated by polypropylene film. No absorption. The signal passes through unchanged. This is the capacitor you find in reference-grade crossovers — speakers that cost five to ten times more.
Film & foil construction · polypropylene dielectric · zero absorption
Inductors
US Coils Air-Core
Iron-core inductors are the industry standard because they're small and cheap. They're also magnetic. Under power, the iron core saturates — adding distortion exactly when you're playing music loud enough to care. This is measurable and audible.
Air-core inductors cannot saturate because there's nothing to saturate. The trade-off is size: without a core to concentrate the field, you need more wire. US Coils winds these with heavy-gauge copper — lower DCR, lower signal loss. More copper, zero distortion, at any power level.
Heavy-gauge copper · no ferrous materials · zero saturation
Resistors
GR Research Custom
Off-the-shelf resistors come with 5–10% tolerance. Close enough for most circuits, but a crossover is a tuned system — every value interacts with every other. A resistor 8% off its target changes the crossover slope, shifts driver levels, and alters the measured and voiced frequency response.
These are custom wound to precision values for this specific network. The crossover behaves exactly as designed, not approximately.
Custom wound · precision tolerance · designed for this network
Pure Copper Wire
The entire signal path is pure copper — not tinned copper, not copper-clad aluminum. PE jacket insulation. Nothing between amplifier and driver that doesn't need to be there.
Copper Tube Connectors
Consistent mechanical contact. Copper-to-copper throughout — the connector itself is part of the signal path, not a compromise in it.
What Most Speakers Use
And why we don't
Industry Standard
StoneSonic
Industry Standard
Electrolytic Capacitor
Absorbs and blurs fine detail
StoneSonic
Sonicap Film & Foil
Zero dielectric absorption
Industry Standard
Iron Core Inductor
Saturates under power
StoneSonic
US Coils Air Core
Cannot saturate at any power
Industry Standard
Generic Resistor
5–10% tolerance, off the shelf
StoneSonic
GR Research Custom
Precision wound for this network
Industry Standard
Tinned Wire
Tin in the signal path
StoneSonic
Pure Copper · Cu Tube
100% copper signal path
Industry Standard
These parts are found in speakers at every price point — including models costing thousands. The crossover is where manufacturers save money because most buyers never look inside.
StoneSonic
No compromises. Every component is specified for what it does to the signal — not what it costs. The crossover alone uses parts that exceed what some manufacturers spend on an entire speaker.
Hear the Difference.
These aren’t specs on paper — they’re engineering decisions you hear in every note.
Explore the Arcus →