Italian heritage, crafted in the Czech Republic, finds Trevor Butler sampling a compact two-way which really gets the feet tapping. Xavian is a company which has interested me for a while, and whose Classic Series visually resemble the BBC-style monitor loudspeakers I so adore, especially now that it has launched this compact infinite baffle, or sealed […]
An offshoot of a better known speaker brand, the newest floorstander from 5degrees finds Trevor Butler enraptured by the finesse of a ribbon tweeter that he just can’t stop enjoying. This is my fifth, or possibly sixth attempt to commit this review to print. Why? Because before each one I thought I would just reacquaint […]
The reincarnation tale of a genuinely classic loudspeaker reads almost like a thriller. Two retired men started a project to bring back the BBC developed LS3/5a loudspeaker, originally designed for nearfield monitoring in mobile studios to judge voice recording during interviews. That little monitor somehow survived all others and in the Far East it has […]
Denmark is famous for many things, apart from Vikings, and not least some discerning high-end hi-fi, including Jern loudspeakers. Their latest model is the 12XF and, as Trevor Butler discovers [in this worldwide scoop review], good things do indeed come in small packages. To save you dashing to the conclusion first, which is what I […]
It doesn’t seem all that long ago that PMC launched the twenty5 range of loudspeakers that form the entry level in its extensive catalogue, yet at the Bristol Show in February (possibly the only hi-fi show that we’ll see this year) they revealed the twenty5i range that is due to replace it. The changes aren’t […]
I have been aware of the Swiss loudspeakers brand Piega for a few years now but had never previously had the opportunity to hear a pair, so jumped at the chance to review the Coax 311, a handsome stand (or shelf) mount model, which sits in the second tier of Piega’s hierrachy, below the Master […]
As a long term fact.8 user I was excited to hear that an upgraded version of the fact range was launching at the High End show in Munich last year but it wasn’t until a month or so back that I managed to get my hands on a pair of the new Signature facts. One […]
At first glance the Node Hylixa is a variation on loudspeakers we’ve seen from Bowers & Wilkins, Eclipse and a few others, an aerodynamic ‘head’ style cabinet with a pair of drivers at the front. The difference here is that not only is there a third driver in the Hylixa but it also has a […]
I have happy memories of Acoustic Energy from its inception back in 1987 and the AE1 mini monitors which founder Steve Tayler brought to me as a young, enthusiastic reviewer. It was a product that quickly became iconic. He was an Ealing neighbour of Virgin’s Richard Branson and I soon found myself helping the airline […]
As John Simm of Audio Pinnacle explains it he went to the Munich High End audio show in May 2019 with the intention of finding products to complement his existing portfolio. He saw Audel sharing a stand with another company and was struck by the pleasing aesthetics of their loudspeakers. Only when he approached did […]
I first heard the then recently-launched Fyne brand at a breakaway show in Munich, staged in the upmarket Marriott hotel a few miles away from the main event at the MoC complex. It is a firm I was interested in since, in reality, it has its routes in Guy Fountain’s legendary Tannoy company which dates back […]
Elipson has a significant legacy as France’s oldest surviving loudspeaker brand, it was founded in 1938 and remained in private ownership right up until 2008 but never pursued international markets. Whether this was because the distinctly Gallic styling of its products made them hard to sell or that the domestic market was sufficient for the […]