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When Monitor Audio first unveiled its Studio standmount loudspeaker at the Bristol Show in February, I was genuinely intrigued. Unlike pretty much everything else in the company’s extensive loudspeaker lineup, it doesn’t belong to a wider range of products but is instead a design that, for now at least, exists entirely on its own. It has no claims to multi-channel use or smart home integration and it surprised visitors to the show by debuting early, having been planned to launch at the Munich High End Show in May,but instead beingready in time to be on display at Bristol.

Many audio enthusiasts have several sets of headphones for different situations. A lightweight pair is ideal when you’re working out, while a larger on-ear model can provide better sound quality while still being portable enough to carry around when you’re on the move. And, when you get home, you can wallow in the more immersive sound of a big set of over-ear cans.

A new kind of music system for a new generation”, it says here. Well, in truth the AiOS isn’t that different to other all-in-ones I have reviewed over the years, but it’s still an interesting proposition at its price. Billy Wright, the President of Cary Audio, says that he hopes both audiophiles and young people will look at the AiOS with interest.

Our story starts with Joseph Léon, a man decorated for bravery for his work in the French Resistance during World War II. Later, as managing director of Multimoteur, he began manufacturing loudspeakers called Conques (French for shells, due to their elliptical shape), and then changed the name to Elipson (‘ellipse’ and ‘son’, the latter being the French word for sound).