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“The best loudspeakers you’ve never heard of…”

Royd AudioAs went the infamous tag line of Royd Audio, whose loudspeakers were an underrated gem of the British Hi-Fi industry. Each pair was hand-built by Joe Akroyd in Telford, UK from the early ’80s until the start of the 21st Century. Over this time, Joe produced many unique and exceptional loudspeakers, all of which captured the hearts of their owners. Regret only came to those who sold them on prior to a misjudged upgrade…

Royd Audio Minstrels
Royd Audio Minstrels

Within this site, you can find a mass of information and resources about these legendary and cult loudspeakers. For new users just stumbling on their first Royds’ and long time audiophile addicts wishing to reminisce over all the models; I hope that you will enjoy them for many years to come.

Please note: although www.roydaudio.com was originally the official UK Royd company website, this is no longer the case. This site has no affiliation with Royd Loudspeaker Co. Ltd and is now simple run and contributed by fans, for fans of Royd Audio loudspeakers.

10 Years Live – Quick Update

This site has been live for just over 10 years, but it’s been a while since I’ve had chance to work on it with so many other projects and work commitments on the go. However, you may  have noticed I’ve begun to make some changes. Firstly, the site is receiving a freshen up with a new theme that is more readable and easier to browse. The aesthetics of which are not final and will be somewhat ongoing.

Secondly, RoydAudio.org will now be hosting a number of popular articles from the closing Hifi Hunter website. I hope you find these of interest. 

They’ll be other general maintenance work happening behind the scenes to keep the site running smoothly and reliable.

Thanks again for all the support over the years, I hope you’re all still enjoying your Royd’s!

Rare Royd Derwent’s Up For Sale

Like hen’s teeth, here are some Royd Derwent’s up for grabs on ebay. I’ve got hardly any info on these 25 ltr 3-way bookshelf speakers, other than this brochure here. If you have any more info, do please send it over, I’d be very interested.

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New Royd Audio Speaker Launch

The newly reborn Royd Audio will be announcing their brand new speaker at the National Audio Show 2014, on 20-21st September. The name of the new speaker has been settled and will be the Royd Troubadour. Exclusive early bird discounts will be offered to those who visit the Royd stand at the show.

You can also find an interesting and short interview with Adam Norbury here at the Urban Cottage Industries website.

ROYD AUDIO RESURRECTED!

Royd Audio RebornIn a shock announcement it seems that Royd Audio has been reborn and is back from the dead. The brand has been purchased by an industrial designer named Adam Norbury, based near Oxford in the UK, with a view to producing new loudspeakers sympathetic to Joe Akroyd’s original vision. In the coming weeks they will release their designs, which should be familiar to all Roydies.

The new company has announced they will consider selling first to existing Royd speakers owners who wish to trade in their old speakers.

Exciting time are ahead.

Visit the official website of the new Royd Audio company: www.RoydAudio.co.uk

Added What Hi-Fi? Magazine Reviews for A7 II, Sapphire II and Merlin

Royd Sapphire IIBeen a busy evening of scanning through old magazines, but I’m pleased to let you know there are fresh reviews for the site from What Hi-Fi? magazines dating back to the early 1990s. There are reviews for the A7 II, Sapphire II and Merlin. What Hi-Fi? always praised the Royd speakers for their speed and timing, but their overall preference often lied elsewhere.

A7 II Review, What Hi-Fi? Nov 1991
Merlin Review, What Hi-Fi? Dec 1994
Sapphire II Review, What Hi-Fi? August 1993

New Squire Info Added

I’ve added a bunch of information on the Squire. These floor standers sat in between the Minstrels and the Doublets. Visually, their styling is like that of slimline Doublets. I’ve not yet ascertained their exact release date, but I suspect its was around 1995. Interestingly, later models didn’t feature the standard Royd bass driver design. These had a flat centre, with no phase plug, and seem to be have introduced around 1998 ish.

Much of this new information was supplied by Jens Bondarenko. If you have any information, I’d love to hear from you.

New article on refoaming Royd Sevens

A few weeks ago, rog on pinkfishmedia.net refoamed his pair of Royd Seven speakers. With his kind permission, I have reproduced the details here in a useful guide for others who wish to undertake this project. It’s by no means an easy task and not for the faint hearted, however given the cost of picking up a pair of old Sevens (or other older 7ltr Royds) in need of repair, there is little to lose.

Read the full article on refoaming the speakers here.