Emmae Reginae — the bespoke speaker
Emmae Reginae is a bespoke Wilmslow Audio commission: a sealed three-way, built into the listening room's void. It competes in the engine as one catalogue speaker among many.
Its standing in the engine
Its entry is a provisional spec estimate, pending the builder's measurement report — and it competes under the same rules as every catalogue speaker, including the uniform version-match discount applied to extrapolated evidence. Nothing about being the owner's own speaker earns it any favour.
The challenge
The opposite, in fact, is the site's centrepiece: the engine deliberately withholds favour from the owner's own speaker. Every chain the Emmae Reginae wins is shown beside the best off-the-shelf alternative — the pick the engine makes with the bespoke speaker set aside. Those are the 23 bespoke-challenge panels across the slot pages, and they are listed in full below. Each alternative is a strong off-the-shelf option, not a precise runner-up.
The 23 chains it wins
| Tier | Slot | Direction | Off-the-shelf alternative | Cost delta | Node quality delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H | H·Romantic | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | +0.9 pp | -1.6 |
| H | H·PRaT | forward | PMC Prodigy 1 | −19.5 pp | -3.5 |
| H | H·PRaT | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | +2.4 pp | -0.3 |
| H | H·Intimate | aft | Falcon LS3/5a Gold Badge | +13.5 pp | -3.1 |
| H | H·Reference | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | +1.5 pp | +0.9 |
| H | H·Anchored | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | +1.3 pp | -2.3 |
| H | H·Characterful | aft | Falcon LS3/5a Gold Badge | +13.5 pp | +1.4 |
| H | H·Pre + Power | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | +1.1 pp | -2.0 |
| H | H·Pre + Monoblocks | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | +0.5 pp | -2.6 |
| H | H·Integrated · Michell | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | +7.2 pp | +1.2 |
| H | H·Voice-Max Integrated | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | −1.0 pp | -0.4 |
| H | H·Balanced Monoblocks | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | +0.5 pp | -2.6 |
| Hi | Hi·Romantic | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | +0.1 pp | -0.9 |
| Hi | Hi·PRaT | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | +9.8 pp | -1.0 |
| Hi | Hi·Intimate | aft | Falcon LS3/5a Gold Badge | 0.0 pp | -1.3 |
| Hi | Hi·Reference | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | +2.1 pp | -0.7 |
| Hi | Hi·Anchored | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | +3.0 pp | +1.5 |
| Hi | Hi·Characterful | aft | Falcon LS3/5a Gold Badge | +14.7 pp | -0.3 |
| Hi | Hi·Pre + Power | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | −0.3 pp | -3.5 |
| Hi | Hi·Pre + Monoblocks | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | −0.9 pp | -3.5 |
| Hi | Hi·Integrated · Michell | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | +21.6 pp | -0.3 |
| Hi | Hi·Voice-Max Integrated | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | −0.8 pp | -0.3 |
| Hi | Hi·Balanced Monoblocks | aft | Rogers LS3/5a Classic SE | −0.9 pp | -3.5 |
Cost deltas are percentage points against each tier's (unpublished) baseline; absolute prices are not shown.
Predicted character
Neutral · calm · holographic — a prediction, to be confirmed at Stage-2 listening.
The robustness review found only 11 of the 120 slots fully stable, so treat the alternative as directional rather than exact.