Best Hi-Fi of 2022
The best of the best that we have reviewed on the Ear over the last 12 months
Passive
Revival Audio Atalante 5
Revival Audio Atalante 5 loudspeakers French company Revival Audio may be a freshly launched brand, but the two main protagonists have decades of experience in the audio industry behind them. Principle designer Daniel Emonts has an impressive portfolio, being part of design teams responsible for many acclaimed models, in particular from Focal and Dynaudio. Strategic […]
Sonus faber Olympica Nova I
We are in the high end territory that is Sonus faber, a brand whose products I have drooled over at countless hi-fi shows and, yet, have never had the pleasure of trying in my own system. Excitingly, that was about to change with the Olympica Nova 1 standmount two-way. History and ethos Sonus faber is […]
PMC twenty5.24i
Transmission line loudspeakers have a lot to answer for, at the tender age of 20 my audio expectations were reset when I heard a pair of IMF TLS 80. I genuinely thought I’d reached audio nirvana with this chunky floorstander. A subsequent downsizing of rooms forced me to explore other options, but I often wondered […]
Neat Petite Classic
A landmark speaker to mark British brand Neat’s 30th birthday is something to celebrate as they launch a new version of the popular Petite compact. I like celebratory products and was excited when Neat announced a special-edition of its shoebox-sized Petite two-way to mark the company’s anniversary. The product has special memories for me because […]
Monitor Audio Silver 100 7G
Seeing that Monitor Audio is celebrating its 50th birthday, it seems an ideal opportunity to look at one of the brand’s most popular models which has just has just been updated and relaunched. First launched back in 1999, the 7th generation Silver 100 remains a compact, two-way bass reflex design for stand-mount use, or bookshelf […]
Lowther Almira
Loudspeakers can sometimes be the make or break of a system. After all, having got the system nicely set up, the right front end, amplification and cables a house move brings a new room and the delights which came before evaporate, then the realisation dawns that, no matter what, despite the rest of the system […]
JBL HDI-3800
With JBL launching so many retro style models in recent years there is a tendency to forget that this is an up to the moment, technologically driven company that also makes modern loudspeakers. The brand has enviable heritage for sure but that doesn’t mean it can afford to keep on making speakers the way it […]
Acoustic Energy AE320
To my knowledge there are not too many hi-fi companies based in the Cotswolds, but it was the market town of Cirencester that Acoustic Energy moved to in 1995 after being founded in London back in 1987. The brand launched with the standmount AE1 which garnered much praise at the time and sold exceptionally well. […]
Care Orchestra Deep Breath Evo
The Italians have always had a certain flair when it comes to things cultural and artistic; from da Vinci to Michelangelo, Monteverdi to Vivaldi, Versace to Enzo Ferrari. And that extends to contemporary loudspeaker design as well, as we shall see. At various hi-fi shows around the world, I have been wooed by the sounds […]
Triangle Comète Anniversary
Celebrations are always exciting and we have a double one in the shape of Triangle’s 40th anniversary two-way standmount speaker, the £1,500 Comète. It has been created to mark the founding, by Renaud de Vergnette, of the brand and is a very special edition of a model which has survived 25 years of constant production. Rather […]
Audel Sonika Mk2
It hardly seems like two years since my review of the Audel Magika Mk2 loudspeakers was published and they were awarded a well-deserved 5 stars. So when John Simm, the UK distributor of Audel, asked me if I would like to hear the Magika’s smaller sibling, the Sonika Mk2, I was more than pleased to […]