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Welcome to the August issue
“Time was when the words ‘budget’ and ‘floorstander’ would trigger any self-respecting audiophile’s Spidey sense, and for good reason. Budget floorstanders hardly ever sounded as promising as they looked, too often relying on an expedient amalgam of lightweight, unbraced cabinets, cheap drivers and cheesy crossover components. The best that could be hoped for was generous loudness, appreciable bass of questionable quality and an impressive amount of fibreboard for your money…. None of this holds true now.”

This is from our introduction to this month’s Group Test of affordable floorstanding loudspeakers priced under a grand – something that’s been much requested by readers, especially those looking to build a system from scratch or upgrade with an weather eye on expenditure. Technological developments have improved affordable floorstanders beyond compare and when it comes to all-round performance, some standmounts don’t even come close.

Elsewhere in this issue there's a discussion about the impact of TikTok on the music industry, plus insight into the musical tastes of the Stranger Things cast, and news about the Hi-Fi Show Live.

Dive In!