Loudspeakers

Kipod main modules ($15,000) shown here atop optional bass modules ($21,000) Jerry Seigel has posted a review of the Review: YG Acoustics Kipod Main Module lloudspeakers ($15,000/pair) at 10 Audio. Here is a sample: The Kipods offer an absolutely consistent tonal or harmonic quality from mid bass, about 60 Hz, to the uppermost limits...
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Doug Schneider has posted a review of the Focus Audio Prestige FP50 loudspeakers ($4300/pair), including measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada’s National Research Council, at Soundstage!Hi-Fi. His conclusions: Focus Audio’s Prestige FP50 may lack low bass, but it makes up for it with exceptional detail and articulation in the bass region that...
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Kevin Gallucci has posted a review of the PMC Fact.8 loudspeakers ($9999) at Soundstage!Hi-Fi. His conclusions: The Fact.8 is one of the best speakers I have heard. PMC reveals its pro-audio heritage in this model, but where pro monitors can be ruthlessly revealing, the Fact.8 possessed finesse and delicacy that most studio monitors I’ve...
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John Marks has posted a review of the Vivid 1.5 stand-mounted loudspeakers ($7650) in his Fifth Element column at Stereophile. He also shares his impressions of the new Cardas Clear interconnects and loudspeaker cables. His conclusions: Now that I've heard the V1.5, I can readily believe that Vivid's G1Giya is the best loudspeaker Wes...
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Paul Messenger of Hi-Fi+ posted a review of the Epos Encore 50 loudspeakers (£4,995/pair) at AVGuide. His conclusions: The Encore 50 deals with all kinds of music without fear or favour. Radio 3’s Choral Evensong sounded excellent, with impressive rendition of the gothic cathedral’s marvellous acoustic, but the Grateful Dead’s Anthem of the Sun...
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Jason Kennedy of Hi-Fi+ has posted a review of the Hart EVO-1 loudspeaker ($£14,975/pair) at AVGuide. His conclusions: Around this point in the proceedings I spent an evening listening to JBL’s new K2 horns at a friend’s house, he was raving about the detail coming out of these megabucks speakers and it wasn’t hard...
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Jason Victor Serinus has posted a review of the Dynaudio Focus 110A active loudspeakers ($2450/pair) at Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity. Here’s a preview: Nonetheless, I am blessed with enough Nordost cables to be able to use a pair of Odin interconnects between the Focus 110As, and Odin power cables on the...
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Alan Sircom has posted a review of the KEF Reference 201/2 loudspeakers (£3,50) at AVGuide. His conclusions: Playing around with large loudspeakers that cost as much as a shiny new BMW, it’s no great leap to become myopic and forget that people who love hi-fi aren’t all able to drop £50,000 on a loudspeaker...
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Michael Fremer’s review of the Magico Q5 is out in the latest issue of Stereophile. His conclusions: Overall, the Magico Q5 was the smoothest, most detailed, last mechanical sounding speaker I've heard. It sounded that way at what I used to think were impossibly low levels, and it sounded that way at uncomfortably loud...
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Jim Minton has posted a review of the Legacy Studio HD Monitors ($1,450) at Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity. His conclusions: I am a big fan of monitors. If the crossovers are well thought out and the drivers are well designed, they often can produce very full and accurate sound. The Studios...
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Alan Sircom has posted a review of the Magico Q5 loudspeakers at Hi-Fi+, TAS’s sister publication in the U.K. His conclusions: I’ve already said much about the Q5 on the AVGuide website, including, “this is the best speaker in the world” and “there’s no magic in Magico”. I still stand by both these statements,...
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Andre Marc has posted a review of the Audience ClairAudient 2 + 2 loudspeakers at Audio Video Revolution. His conclusions: I believe after spending well over 500 hours listening to the Audience ClairAudient 2 + 2 monitors that its a breakthrough product. Using them with at least three amplifiers, tube and solid state, various...
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Jeff Stockton has posted a review of the entry-level Bowers & Wilkins CM5 loudspeakers ($1,500) at Soundstage! Hi-Fi. Here is an excerpt: When I first hooked up the CM5s to my NAD C 325BEE, I was startled by the immediate difference in sound quality. The B&Ws were in the positions occupied by every other...
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John Atkinson has posted his controversial review and test measurements of the Acapella High Violoncello II loudspeakers ($80,000) at Stereophile. His conclusions: The Acapella High Violoncello II is the most expensive loudspeaker I have had the pleasure of using in my listening room. With its ionic tweeter and the use of horn loading for...
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Mark Fleischmann has posted a review of the B&W 805 Diamond Series loudspeakers system (together, $14,500), including a full suite of measurements, at Home Theater. His conclusions: The Bowers & Wilkins 805 Diamond provides the high-end sophistication of the Diamond Series in a monitor package that’s especially well suited to home theater (and that...
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Edward Barker has posted his review of the very unusual, and expensive, Living Voice Vox Olympian ($194,000) loudspeaker at 6moons.com. His conclusions: I’ve tried to keep this piece as close as possible to the original notes as I made them during the listening sessions. Even if my reactions may appear to be over the...
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Alan Sircom has posted a review of the Sonus Faber Liuto Wood loudspeakers at Hi-Fi+. Here is what Alan concluded: Closer analysis (when the monkey lord is put back in his place) reveals the reason why they do both so well is because the balance is rich and dynamic enough to make delicate sounds...
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Jonathan Valin has posted a review of the Magnepan 1.7 loudspeakers at The Absolute Sound. His conclusions: Bottom line? I think you already know. Like the 1.6s, the 1.7s are the most lifelike speakers I’ve heard in their price range—or anywhere near it. I could live with them (and did) in a system that...
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Robert Harley has posted a review of the Vandersteen Audio Model 7 loudspeakers at The Absolute Sound. His conclusions: The Vandersteen 7 is a stunning achievement that must be regarded as one of the world’s great loudspeakers, regardless of price. The lack of color and artifacts through the midband and treble are simply breathtaking—the...
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Victor Chavira has posted his review of the Nordost Norse Series bi-wire jumpers at Positive Feedback Online. Here are just a few of his observations: I discovered that indeed, transparency and extension improved appreciably… A quick change back to my jumpers confirmed that they were attenuating ambience, cohesion, and depth of perception resulting in...
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Kirk Midtskog has posted a review of the Dynaudio Excite X32 loudspeakers ($2,800/pair) at The Absolute Sound. His conclusion: My minor reservations about the X32 are mostly centered around soundstaging, with a caveat about harmonious pairing with associated equipment. I would take the compelling musical detail-resolving abilities of the X32 over a lackluster speaker...
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Greg Weaver has posted a review of the von Schweikert Audio Vortex VR-33 loudspeakers ($3,750/pair) at Positive Feedback Online. His conclusion: In my experience, there is no way you are going to find a speaker that can keep up with, let alone outperform, them at anywhere near this price, period. They will easily equal...
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Jacob Heilbrunn has posted a review of the Verity Lohengrin II loudspeaker at The Absolute Sound. His conclusion: Apart from a single-driver loudspeaker, no moving-coiling design is going to achieve complete coherence. But I didn’t hear any gaping holes in the Lohengrin II. Instead, I was most impressed by the ribbon tweeter, which endowed...
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Jim Milton has posted a review of the PSB Synchrony One speakers at Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity. His conclusion: Well, perhaps I was more than just impressed. The PSB Synchrony Ones are one the best sounding speakers I have had the pleasure to audition in my home. The overall sonic performance...
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