Sjofn HiFi made a big splash at our Home Entertainment 2007 show with the Guru loudspeaker, and the company hopes to attract greater attention with their new monitor, “the clue.” I walked into the room just as a thunderous bass note was struck. “Whoa,” I thought to myself as I took the last remaining seat in the packed demo. The little Sjofn speakers ($999/pair) were partnered with electronics from Norway’s impressive Hegel: CDP4A CD player ($4500) and the 200Wpc H200 integrated amplifier ($5000). The system was small, but it produced nothing but big, room-filling sound. There was that well-controlled, thunderous bass and startlingly quick transients.

Like the Guru, The Clue is designed to be placed close to room boundaries—within 2” of the back wall and around 20” from the floor—and they will work optimally within rooms of 2200 cubic feet or less. I spoke a bit with the designer, James Croft, who explained that his main concern was controlling directivity, “trying to hear the first venue without bringing in the second venue, working with the listening room instead of against it.”