Who would really want a speaker from the 1970s? Well, apart from for purely nostalgic reasons and because of their looks, of course. Back then, the speakers were nowhere near what you’d find in the shops today. Rather simple, not to say rudimentary crossovers, drivers with oversized diaphragms compared to voice coils and magnets, and …
The retro wave is rolling with increasing force in the hi-fi world. Speakers are once again allowed to make a statement. And after many years of white lacquered blandness, walnut veneer is back in fashion. Thus, the Elipson Heritage XLS7 scores the first style points. The speaker is the newest and smallest member of Elipson’s …
Bang & Olufsen are faithful to their own recipe. Which should be seen as a good thing. Models don’t change with random fashion fads, but are continuously updated for years – or even decades. Beolab 8, however, is brand new. So new that we are one of the first media outlets globally to have had …
British company Q Acoustics is particularly known for delivering living room-friendly speakers with a razor-sharp price/quality ratio. And the Q Acoustics 5020 seems to be cut from exactly the same cloth. It’s a compact two-way speaker in an attractively designed cabinet with rounded edges. Exactly as we’ve seen before from Q Acoustics – for example …
French-based Revival Audio was off to a flying start when we recently tested the Atalante 3 compact speakers. The elegant small speakers impressed with both craftsmanship and sound quality. And so, it was only natural that we also put the larger model to the test. Technically speaking, the Revival Audio Atalante 5 is a compact …
Sonos is not a manufacturer that releases dozens of new products every year, but when something new does come out, it’s usually quite well thought-out and well executed. They’re rarely first with the latest, but some of their products end up setting the standard in their class. In that sense, Sonos is perhaps a bit …
I was walking around the house doing things other than listening and didn’t realise the music in the background. Rohey’s five-year-old album, A Million Things, works just as well as atmospheric background music as it does for concentrated listening. But there was something about the midrange that made Rohey Taalah’s soulful vocals follow me wherever …
Danish company Raidho is known for producing uncompromising high-end products, and when they use exotic materials in their speakers, it’s because of their special acoustic properties – not just because they are exotic. One example is the voice coils in the drivers. These are often made of copper, which is an efficient conductor of electricity. …
Swedish Audio Pro has more than 40 years of experience in building active speakers for home use. We have tested many, and very often with good results. The Audio Pro A28 is an ultra-compact two-way speaker with built-in streaming and multi-room functionality. In fact, they’re even smaller than the legendary compact Rogers LS3/5A. The speakers …
The bass response of the small speakers has its limitations, but the midrange and everything it manages to reproduce down to about 70 Hz is enough to get the depth of the bass out into the room in a believable way. Arild Andersen’s double bass sounds convincingly clear and distinct, but it’s the sound of …
Lack of space usually means small speakers with limited bass and sound pressure. The most ardent enthusiasts will buy a good subwoofer to minimise the problem, but it doesn’t always solve the whole equation. At least not if the speakers lack dynamic capabilities and start to fizzle like an overheated light bulb when you turn …
Everyone who loves music and good sound has a relationship with JBL, whether they realise it or not: the American manufacturer has been around since 1946 and is a legend in speakers for PA systems, cinemas, music production and home hi-fi. The most exquisite hi-fi products come from JBL Synthesis, the company’s high-end division behind …
We recently tested the Argon Audio Fenris A4, and now it’s the turn of the next model in the series, the Argon Audio Fenris A5. The family resemblance between the two models is obvious. You almost have to have the two speakers set up next to each other to spot the difference. Which is that …
When we tested the Argon Audio Forte A4, it set a new standard for how cheap a successful active speaker could be. Now the Argon folks have come up with a brand new and even cheaper speaker series, called Fenris. And this time we’re testing the series’ smallest model, the Argon Audio Fenris A4. The …
Bowers & Wilkins is one of the world’s biggest speaker manufacturers, and for good reason. Many manufacturers buy components from around the world and assemble them in-house, almost entirely by intuition, but B&W has a different approach. Instead, the British manufacturer relies on highly sophisticated measuring equipment in the search for the best frequency curve …