The 700 series sits in the middle of Bowers & Wilkins three ranges of ‘serious’ loudspeakers, flanked by the more affordable 600 series below and the more ambitious 800 series above. It has a lot of the tech from the 800s along with shiny finishes and, in the case of the 705 and 702, a […]
Entering a crowded market place, French brand Elipson goes head-on to compete with some stiff competition with its latest two-way stand-mount. Trevor Butler takes a listen to see if there’s any chance of entente cordiale. When the single carton containing a pair of these French speakers arrived I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive. […]
There are several ways to start a loudspeaker company, the classic approach is to toil away in the shed until you develop a loudspeaker that sounds great and hopefully appeals to other music lovers as well, build a few pairs and try to sell them into the trade and slowly build up a customer base. […]
When I reviewed the Eclipse TD510Mk2 and partnering TD520SW sub last year I got a hugely entertaining and engaging result right from the off, the single driver speaker worked a treat and had me glued to the listening seat for hours. That inspired me to try its bigger brother, Eclipse’s ranger topping TD172zMk2, a speaker that looks […]
Getting the best out of loudspeakers is as much about finding an amplifier that works as anything else. It’s a nuisance that you can’t match amps and speakers by looking at the specs, all they really tell you is approximately how much power is needed, but the crux of a really good combination has little […]
It’s all well and good finding high end products that sound great but let’s face it, with the prices charged they should be good almost regardless of circumstances. The real challenge in audio reviewing and buying of course is finding products that work well and don’t cost as much as a car. And if you […]
I had a lot of fun with the last .21 model from PMC, the twenty.21 is small and energetic with a lot of charm, a genuine pocket rocket of a speaker that makes up for its limited bass extension with superb timing and musicality. So when the twenty5.21 turned up I was expecting the same […]
When you make as many loudspeakers as Bowers & Wilkins do it must occasionally get difficult thinking up new range names. Before the 700 series there was the CM or compact monitor series that sat between the 600 and 800 ranges, a range that grew out of one model in a distinctly organic fashion. So […]
A couple of years ago German loudspeaker maker ELAC employed ex KEF and TAD engineer Andrew Jones, it proved a good move especially when the budget Debut B6 garnered itself so many awards. Since then Andrew has introduced his favourite loudspeaker technology to ELAC’s range in the form of concentric mid/treble drivers, where the high […]
Every audiophile begs, buys or borrows equipment over the period of their love affair with home music reproduction. Depending on the influence of ‘external factors’ (room size, domestic acceptance, aspiration vs available budget) the one component which tends to cause the most grief is the last one in the chain – the loudspeaker. Why? Well, […]
The problem with Sven Boenicke is he always plays good (see: my kind of) music at the Munich High End show. When you have heard to same old tunes in a dozen rooms it’s a breath of fresh air to come across a space where they have contemporary music that’s relaxed and untainted by audiophilia. […]
In an age when a 50inch television is considered normal it is increasingly rare to find anyone who has loudspeakers that are much bigger than baked bean cans. And yet who ever reached nirvana watching the telly! I know that Fargo is pretty good but transcendant it is not. We know that this is all […]