I have railed against ugly, boxy, plain speakers on more than one occasion. But I’ve also stated, again, on more than one occasion, that sound quality should come first, should be our first principle. I even recall saying something to the effect of “if a speaker sounds good, we shouldn’t care if it’s made out of concrete, with pieces of rebar sticking out at odd angles.”
And on the second day of Audio Video Show 2025, I sat in the Gemstone room in the Radisson Blu Sobieski listening to a pair of speakers that are actually, really, made out of poured concrete. And I just loved them. The finish of the Gemini, which is Gemstone’s largest speaker, is totally raw, with small casting holes all over the place, but that’s part of what endeared it to me. It’s industrial fabrication transformed into art.
Gemstone is based in Szczecin, Poland, approximately 300 miles north of Warsaw, and the company has been in business for four years.
The Gemini is a slim tower speaker that’s configured as a three-way design. Grzegorz Porzuczek, the owner of Gemstone, filled me in on some of the details, but language was a barrier, especially considering that my Polish is limited to thank you. The tweeter is sourced from BlieSMa, a company I’m not familiar with, while the midrange is from SB Acoustics, and the woofer from Scan-Speak. The Gemini’s cabinet is sealed, and the speaker retails for €22,000 per pair.
The Gemini’s cabinet is cast in two pieces—the rear cabinet and the front baffle—which are then bonded together. While the Gemini Gemstone displayed was finished in all-natural concrete, different tints are available for the front baffle.
Supporting infrastructure consisted of an Audia Flight FLS4 amplifier, fed by a Meitner MA‑1 DAC, running into a Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0, which served as a preamplifier.
As I looked at the Gemini, I figured it must weigh an absolute ton. Checking the specifications, I was surprised to find out that it tips the scales at only 77 pounds—it looks heavier than it is. Porzuczek was playing music at fairly high volume levels, and he was amenable to me looking over and giving him the universal, thumbs-up crank-it gesture.
The Gemini is a neutral-sounding speaker, and it is quite easy to listen to at the elevated levels I experienced. As you’d likely expect, the speakers seemed utterly free of box resonances. I put my hand on the side of one Gemini while it was hammering away playing AC/DC’s “Back in Black” and felt no vibrations. While playing what I’d best describe as “easy-listening techno,” the Geminis pressurized the room with admirable levels of low, low bass.
The Gemstone Gemini is an excellent speaker, one that made me smile for all the right reasons. This young company deserves to succeed.
Jason Thorpe
Senior Editor, SoundStage!
