The Maestro GSE is delivered in three seemingly easy to handle boxes which prove to be extremely heavy for their size. They include the massive base with well manageable spikes (one of the innovations which differentiates the GSE from its predecessor Maestro S), and the subwoofer as well as the monitor. All parts are made from thick aluminium solid blocks and the elements for the subwoofer and monitor are made up from two shells machined and screwed together. With this manufacturing process Dr. Karl Schuemann is free to choose the thickness of the material thanks to the respective programming of the CNC machines. According to his explanations on the homepage under the menu item "pearls," the highest load on the casing occurs in the corners, which is why the thickest material can be found there. The result is an aluminium construction which with the compulsory knock test only a very short and quiet "knock" can be heard. Thus the housing as a parasitical sound source should now be completely absent. It is characterised by gently chamfered edges and an acoustic baffle, which especially with the subwoofer is only minimally wider than the integrated driver units and is extremely close to theoretical ideal.

The two 26 centimetre bass in the subwoofer module are supplied by Peerless and were first choice for Dr. Karl Schuemann because of their perfect damping characteristics (Q-factor). Despite the disappearingly small housing volume, the subwoofers are driven by an amplifier module with 1000 Watts power. The upper frequency limit and the volume level of the subwoofer can be chosen by two control knobs which have nine steps respectively. The subwoofer obtains the signal via two thin copper rods, which connect the sockets in the woofer and monitor module with each other. The two housings are decoupled from each other by two rubber balls with a diameter of approximately one centimetre each. Four elastic sticky pads ensure that both elements cannot topple over. Naturally it's more elegant because no connection can be seen between the woofer and monitor. Putting together the monitor without bending the copper bars requires two people who, in addition to muscle power, should also have finesse as well. I would at least wish for slightly more stable rods. Admittedly I did dismantle and set up the AudioMachina one or two times to swap places with the Lumen White. This really tiny criticism naturally doesn't apply if you decide to buy a Maestro GSE which your dealer or salesperson then assembles for you and you leave it in that place. I really can't imagine that you would like to move the AudioMachina out of your listening room for acoustic reasons.

From 100 Hertz both woofers with a 15cm diameter take over, and are just like the other drivers in the monitor module from Scan Speak. They are the reference level for the rest of the driver units, as they are the only ones where the volume cannot be adjusted. From 800 to 3000 Hertz a mid-range driver takes over. Above this the known ring radiator begins to work. The bi-wiring terminals which were first introduced with the GSE allow separate control of the low mid-range driver units and the high frequencies. The crossover is only of first order (6dB/Oct), as Dr. Karl Schuemann dislikes higher order filters because of the bad phase response within the crossover range. He justifies this in detail, but not without side blows to competitors, under the topic "Pearls" on his website. The fixation to a first grade crossover also influenced the choice of the driver units. They must still work in a linear manner high above the crossover frequency as they are faded out very slowly and any nonlinear behaviour high above the crossover frequency will cause audible interference. This is why the Scan Speak Illuminators with their paper membranes were the first choice for Dr. Karl Schuemann. "Modern" membrane materials such as ceramics for example require a crossover of higher order, the developer explained during a telephone call.