Many thanks go to Mr. Charles Back for his help and for providing the review sample. Indeed, each tweeter has the appearance of a bass port filled with damping material that protrudes from the rear of the cabinet. The principle behind the transmission line loading is to absorb the rear radiation of the dome and thus keep it from blending with the front radiation, all but eliminating the time delay that would otherwise occur. Ample acoustic damping is applied around the tweeters as well as inside the tweeter grill to control dispersion.
Build quality is solid, exceptionally so, and the matte charcoal glass bead finish is well applied.
Real wood finishes are an option and my review samples included magnetic shielding, another option. Controlled vertical dispersion is a key aspect of the S-1C design. High frequency radiation from above and below the speaker is limited, reducing reflected high frequencies and thereby improving the stereo imaging. Also on the rear panel are two sets of gold plated binding posts and a switch which is used in place of a jumper strap to select normal or bi-wire operation. The answer is rock-solid holographic imaging, a wealth of inner detail and spatial depth plus impressive power handling capabilities.