“Canadian loudspeaker manufacturer Axiom is the latest company to wade into the desktop audio fray, joining a few other established, high end audio players in the burgeoning computer audio market (see my recent review of the Dynaudio MC-15 desktop speakers). Like the recently reviewed Audioengine A2’s, the Audiobytes are very, very small (6.5 x 5.5 x 4 inches), appealing to those with limited desk space to cede to speakers…”

“This speaker system from Klipsch puts together several models from their Reference Series with similar or identical drivers, and makes for a floorstanding front pair, with compact surrounds and a matching centre channel, along with a quite compact subwoofer. They’re designed to match the new generation of flat screen video displays, including, plasma, DLP and LCD rear projection, and other variants of compact, less deep monitors…”

“Omnidirectional loudspeakers have been a mainstay of Mirage over the years, and have evolved under their design team from large panel designs to compact towers like the Omni 250. With a tweeter mounted under a dispersive lens and over a slant- mounted woofer/midrange, this design is intended to disperse sound much like a musical instrument. An additional front-mounted woofer is used, with a port below…”

“When the folks at Audioengine offered to send me their new A2 powered speaker system for review I have to admit that I hesitated for a couple of days in saying yes. In photos the A2’s looked very similar to the company’s larger, more expensive speaker system, the A5, which I had already reviewed (and ended up buying). How different were they going to be?”

“The new Seismic Series of subwoofers from Paradigm is the result of years of research into high excursion driver technology and a host of other related concerns. It used to be that a sub had to be big to go deep, but that’s been less and less the case in recent years, as Sunfire has shown in leading the way in compact models. The Seismic 12 has “tremendous peak-to-peak cone excursion (over 2 inches in our SeismicTM 12)”, producing “incredibly deep bass response with equally incredible speed and power.”

“Once known best for its cabinetry, Monitor Audio has come quite a distance in recent years to become notable for the audio quality and manufacturing consistency of its loudspeakers of all sorts, without losing that leading edge in furniture fashioning. The beefing up of their engineering in recent years has resulted in some speakers that both look and measure very well…”

“You may recall the recent review of the quite expensive Adam Compact loudspeaker which uses an ART tweeter, designed by Oskar Heil, and here we see another variant from ELAC in this beautifully clad speaker design. This time it’s called the JET tweeter, “developed to perfection on the basis of the famous ‘Air Motion Transformer’ by loudspeaker pioneer Dr. Oskar Heil. Its principle: a concertinaed foil membrane is driven by a strong magnet system of neodymium rods.”

“Gosh, I can remember when the Reference Series was new and hot, but I guess that was back when we were recording the Chuck Israels Quartet out in Bellingham with a pair of Studio 20s as monitors. They were awfully good then, and the v.4 successors aim to be better. Here’s how: “1[inch] (25mm) G-PALTM Gold-Anodized Pure Aluminum Domes (also developed for our award-winning Signature Series) chosen for their exceptional rigidity and improved internal damping. The reduced radius of curvature on the tweeter diaphragm has also brought about significant improvements in sound dispersion. Ferro-fluid cooled and damped…”

“Round, organic, egg-styled, baby-like, modern…there are so many things you can call KEF’s current series of home theatre loudspeakers, the main adjective being, of course, small. Available in glossy black and sleek silver, they definitely make a modernist statement. But, unlike other B-system brands affecting style out there which I shall not name for fear of incurring the wrath of the Dreaded “Mark” (that’s a Tronna joke), these actually make nice, high fidelity music and have some very credible and genuine engineering behind them…”

“Dynaudio bravely saddles their new MC-15 powered speakers with the moniker “multimedia”, a term that, to many, conjures up images of the cheaply priced, and even more cheaply made, plastic boxes adjacent to most of the world’s computer monitors. To describe most multimedia speakers as awful is an understatement akin to suggesting that Germans like beer. The crafty Danes at Dynaudio, of course, know that speakers meant to be used with computers (and iPods, cell phones, gaming consoles etc.) need not suck…”

“We have before us two wall-mountable speakers slightly different in size (with a larger Tribe III also newly available), and a subwoofer that combines a front active 8″ driver that also moves a pair of side-mounted passive units. The Storm is quite compact, especially considering its radiating area from three of four vertical sides. Totem has some quite interesting things to say about this HT system in their literature and on the web site: “All Tribe models are designed to match any application or flat panel display…”

“I’m sure designer Paul Barton of PSB has had many visions, not to imply that he is a seer in any religious sense, or is any other way unbalanced, even in his speaker fantasies for home theatre, but here, his VisionSound is a combination of the VS400 largely line-source slim towers, and VS300 compact wall-mount speakers to match, with one of his several subwoofers, the SubSonic 5i to go along and hold up the bottom…”

This loudspeaker, from a well known European professional manufacturer, certainly ranks as the most expensive 2-way bookshelf model in our experience, but is immaculately finished in light Maple veneer, and of unique construction. The Compact is described by the maker as a “no-compromise small high-end loudspeaker that incorporates the revolutionary A.R.T. tweeter and a 7″ Hexa Cone woofer.” I’ll say more about these drivers and the cabinet materials and construction below.

“In many HT systems there’s a lot to talk about in the satellites and centre, and that’s certainly true with the other systems in this issue. And it’s not that there isn’t that much to say about them here, it’s just that the Klipsch RSW-10D subwoofer has so many talking points in its technology, call it tweak-nology, if you like, but more on this below…”

“I guess most longtime readers know that I’m not easily impressed by new speakers. But when it’s an old name known for excellence and outright fidelity, I sit up (or is it “shut up”?) and listen. Quad loudspeakers have been the mainstay of numerous high end systems owned by contributing editor and longtime friend, Hy Sarick, and I’ve enjoyed hearing their several generations of electrostatics in his various homes over 30 years…”

“Right out of the box the Audioengine 5 powered speaker system has a huge and very simple advantage over almost all the iPod “dock” type systems breeding like a shiny white fungus out there in the audio mainstream. It has two independent speakers. Real speakers. And, like any mini-monitor, they can be placed in such a way as to generate an actual stereo image…”

“These three powered monitors were measured in our standard fashion, and all performed reasonably well, with good dispersion to 30 degrees off axis, and the required slight reticence in the midrange you need for a speaker you listen to at close quarters. I can see why Aaron was less enthusiastic about the Edifier, with its rolled-off treble and upper midrange. Though very flat through the range from 70 to 1000 Hz, it was about 7 dB down by 4 kHz, with little life above, and zilch sheen at the top…”

“The new subwoofers from this company are relatively small, though the S12.3 is larger than the new Paradigm Seismic 12 with a similarly-sized driver (The Paradigm Seismic 12 is also reviewed in the Fall 2004 issue). The S12.3 comes in a black ash finish with a black grille cover, a volume control with a bright blue LED below it at the top of the front panel showing through the grille cover…”

“As maligned as it is by many audiophiles, the compact disc made the idea of having a serious audio system at work truly practical. Audiophiles lucky enough to have a work environment which could accommodate a pair of bookshelf speakers and a little integrated amp or receiver (or, for some CEO/corner office types, much more elaborate setups) could increase quality of life on the job significantly with some well reproduced music to help the day fly by…”

“At only $99.00 the Edifier R1900 is designed to compete at what is perhaps best described at the upper low end of the multimedia speaker world. It’s certainly a large step above the trashy plastic stuff, and styled to look like a semi-serious bookshelf speaker. From afar it may even look like one, but a close look reveals fit and finish befitting a bargain priced product, especially the vinyl “wood” covering the sides…”