Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

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Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Chario Academy One loudspeaker
Larry Greenhill  |  Sep 28, 2008  |  First Published: Mar 28, 1998  |  0 comments
I first auditioned a pair of Chario Academy One minimonitors five years ago, but the review was aborted when the Italian Chario company lost its US distribution. When I reheard the Chario Academy Ones at the 1997 WCES, I found their elegant cabinetwork appealing and their sound listenable and involving. I therefore requested a pair for review from the new US importers.
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Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
ProAc Response One SC loudspeaker
Wes Phillips  |  Mar 05, 1998  |  1 comments
The ProAc Response One S was one of the very first products I reviewed for Stereophile back in 1994 (Vol.17 No.9). That review was such an over-the-top rave that John Atkinson felt obliged to audition the speakers himself before running my report. I assume he liked 'em too—after all, my review did see the light of day.
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Stand Loudspeaker ReviewsBudget Component Reviews
Paradigm Reference Studio/20 loudspeaker
Robert J. Reina  |  Feb 26, 1998  |  0 comments
The least expensive model in Paradigm's Reference series, the Studio/20 loudspeaker is a rear-ported two-way dynamic bookshelf/satellite design, superficially identical to the powered Active/20 that JA reviewed last November. It features Paradigm's 25mm PAL pure-aluminum dome tweeter in a die-cast heatsink chassis, and a 170mm MLP mica-polymer cone in an AVS die-cast heatsink chassis with a 38mm voice coil. The crossover is third-order, quasi-Butterworth, said to be "phase-coherent." It features high-power ceramic resistors, film capacitors in all signal paths, and both air-core and steel-core inductors.
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Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Paradigm Reference Active/20 loudspeaker
John Atkinson  |  Nov 09, 1997  |  0 comments
There are many benefits accruing to a loudspeaker when its designer goes the active or powered route. The usual losses and distortions associated with passive crossovers can be circumvented, while the fact that the amplifiers and drive-units can be designed as a package enables the designer to squeeze more performance from each than would otherwise be the case. And the savings gained from the absence of a separate amplifier chassis can be passed on to the consumer.
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Stand Loudspeaker ReviewsBudget Component Reviews
B&W DM302 loudspeaker
Wes Phillips  |  Oct 24, 1997  |  0 comments
What kind of speaker can you get for $250/pair? The most tightly contested sector of the speaker market in the UK is right around that price. If you want to be competitive in Old Blighty, you have to offer something pretty special in that range—and because the stakes are so high, the competition is fierce.
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Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Thiel SCS2 loudspeaker
Wes Phillips  |  Sep 06, 2018  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1997  |  0 comments
"Its a dessert topping!"
"No, its a floor wax!"
"Dessert topping!"
"Floor wax!"
"Kids, don't argue—it's a dessert topping and a floor wax!"

Twenty years later, this Saturday Night Live routine still rings true. Experience has taught me that very few products can do two things equally well. Remember those jaunty amphibicars that sported propellers on their rear decks, letting you drive them straight into the lake after a bracing spin along the back roads? Unfortunately, they could neither corner well nor handle even the slightest chop. As for Swiss Army Knives, well, I guess it's better to have a mediocre screwdriver/awl/magnifying glass/tweezers with you than none at all. And I've never seen a Veg-O-Matic in a professional kitchen, just mandolines, food processors, and knives.

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Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Aerial Acoustics Model 5 loudspeaker
Robert Harley  |  Apr 25, 1997  |  0 comments
One of the fundamental tenets of high-end audio is that a loudspeaker's bass output should be appropriate for the listening room's size. The smaller the room, the less bass the loudspeakers should produce. Any manufacturer of large loudspeakers who has set up such a system in a CES hotel room can attest to how difficult it is to avoid boominess in a tiny space.
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Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Linn Tukan loudspeaker
Robert Harley  |  Apr 05, 1997  |  First Published: Apr 06, 1997  |  0 comments
One of the fundamental tenets of high-end audio is that a loudspeaker's bass output should be appropriate for the listening room's size. The smaller the room, the less bass the loudspeakers should produce. Any manufacturer of large loudspeakers who has set up such a system in a CES hotel room can attest to how difficult it is to avoid boominess in a tiny space.
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Stand Loudspeaker ReviewsBudget Component Reviews
Epos ES12 loudspeaker
John Atkinson  |  Aug 06, 2006  |  First Published: Apr 06, 1997  |  0 comments
Blind loudspeaker listening tests are hard work, not least because usually, most of the models being auditioned fail to light any musical sparks. But back in the spring of 1991, when a small group of Stereophile writers were doing blind tests for a group speaker review, one speaker did light up smiles on the listeners' faces, including my own. (We don't talk during our blind tests, but it's more difficult to keep body language in check.) Once the results were in, we learned that the speaker that got the music right in that test was the diminutive ES11 from Epos in England (footnote 1).
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Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
M&K S-150 THX Surround Loudspeaker System (SGHT Review)
Wes Phillips  |  Mar 22, 1997  |  0 comments
In the summer of 1996, SGHT editor Lawrence Ullman made me an offer I couldn't refuse: "Wes," he asked, "how would you like to review M&K's new THX speaker package?"
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Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Totem Acoustic Tabù loudspeaker
Larry Greenhill  |  Sep 10, 2005  |  First Published: Feb 10, 1997  |  0 comments
I first heard the Totem Acoustic Tabù loudspeakers at HI-FI '96, Stereophile's Home Theater & Specialty Audio Show at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City last June. A startlingly realistic vocal recording drew me to Totem's sixth-floor demo room. Vincent Bruzzese, the speaker's designer, was playing Michael Jonasz singing "Si si si le ciel" from la fabuleuse histoire de Mister Swing (WEA 2292-42338-2, imported by May Audio Marketing). The small, two-way Tabù cast a holographic, palpable musical image with clear highs and sizzling dynamic pace. I was bitten, and set things in motion for this review. And two other things drew me to the Tabù: its capacitor-less crossover and its similarity to Totem's Model 1.
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Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Ruark Equinox loudspeaker
Kalman Rubinson  |  Jul 09, 2006  |  First Published: Feb 09, 1997  |  0 comments
Ever since the 1960s, when I built a pair of Altec A7 clones, I've had a preference for relatively big speakers. Yes, I was seduced by the Stax F-81 electrostatics because of their incredibly low coloration, but inevitably I felt the need to return to something that would move more air. Regardless of the type of music (I do like the big stuff) or the sound levels, unless the sound has solidity and size, I can't easily suspend disbelief.
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Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Aerial Acoustics CC3 center loudspeaker
Wes Phillips  |  May 24, 2012  |  First Published: Nov 01, 1996  |  0 comments
As the music swelled in the background, Humphrey Bogart leaned toward Ingrid Bergman and tenderly said, "Mnn mmmm mnn nnrm murrrmr."

Damn! I hate when that happens. I ran the laserdisc back and played it again, this time louder.

"MNN MMMM MNN NNRM MURRRMR," said Bogart.

When you think about it, the center channel is probably the most important channel—if you don't believe this, watch a movie sometime with the dialog speaker turned off and see how compelling the experience is. I mean, I like explosions, rocket launches, and train wrecks as much as the next guy, but what I really want from a video sound system is the words.

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Stand Loudspeaker ReviewsBudget Component Reviews
Energy Connoisseur C-2 loudspeaker
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 28, 2008  |  First Published: Sep 28, 1996  |  0 comments
Reality check number one. Tired of reading about the latest and greatest $65,000 loudspeakers? Or even the current hot ticket at $2500? Such loudspeakers promise to bring you the audio truth, or the golly-gee-whiz, honest-to-gosh, absolutely positively real sound. And some of them do seem to come awfully close, though truth be told, we're still a long way from replicating reality—and will never do it with just two channels.
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Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Boston Acoustics Lynnfield 300L Series II loudspeaker
John Atkinson  |  Oct 09, 2005  |  First Published: Sep 09, 1996  |  0 comments
Loudspeaker manufacturer Boston Acoustics made its name—and its fortune—building high-performance but low-cost speakers. Indeed, I recently set up a modest system for my mother-in-law that was based on Boston's classic A-40—a two-way design that sold for just $160/pair back in 1986—and was very pleasantly surprised at the quality these little speakers offered. Back in the early '90s, however, the Massachusetts-based company announced that they were taking a step into the High End with a new loudspeaker line, the Lynnfields (see Thomas J. Norton's interview with Boston's Andy Kotsatos elsewhere in this issue). These were designed by expatriate British engineer Phil Jones, previously responsible for the impressive Acoustic Energy speakers.
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