Loudspeakers

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Loudspeakers
ProAc Studio 140 Mk2 - £1,690
Ed Selley  |  Jul 27, 2011  |  0 comments
ProAc Studio 140 Mk2 Substantial floorstander’s twin 165mm bass/mid drivers ensure a very muscular performance with superb headroom array A long-established British speaker brand with roots back in the 1970s, ProAc has only made the occasional appearance on the Hi-Fi Choice review roster. That’s mainly because the company has long been primarily export-oriented, with representation in more than 50 countries worldwide. The three Studio models – two standmounts and this floorstander – are among ProAc’s less costly models and although this Studio 140 Mk2 pricetag of £1,690 per pair is at the top end of our test group, the speakers themselves are as large as any of the others, as well as the heaviest in the group. The dimensions are partly dictated by the twin 165mm drive units that operate in tandem right through the bass and midrange here.
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Loudspeakers
PSB Alpha P5
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jul 09, 2020  |  0 comments
PSB might not be the first name you think of if you want a classy budget standmount, but this could change all that
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Loudspeakers
Q Acoustics 2050 - £450
Ed Selley  |  Aug 27, 2011  |  0 comments
Boxing clever Dominic Todd looks at the latest offering from Q Acoustics, the relative newcomer that's defining the high-value loudspeaker concept Acoustics loudspeakers have a great reputation for their accuracy of timing, imaging and, given their size, dynamic prowess. An attribute we recognised here in the pages of Hi-Fi Choice with a Best Buy badge (HFC 318) and an Awards Finalist citation (HFC 326) for its previous model, the 1020i. Cue the 2050. With its twin woofers and cabinets that stand over one metre high, the 2050s appear to have what it takes to add even more muscle to the Q Acoustic family.
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Loudspeakers
Q Acoustics 3030i
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Oct 19, 2023  |  0 comments
A larger standmount, but does size really matter?
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Loudspeakers
Q Acoustics 3050i
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Oct 03, 2018  |  0 comments
It’s all very well reading about loudspeakers that employ exotic materials and techniques in their construction, with special driver designs and radical ribbon tweeters, but most of us own models that are basically two or three moving-coil drive units in a fibreboard box with some acoustical damping and a shiny external finish. I’m quite fascinated by affordable loudspeakers.
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Loudspeakers
Q Acoustics Concept 300
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Aug 12, 2019  |  0 comments
The latest high-end design to join the Concept series is a super-stylish standmount
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Loudspeakers
Q Acoustics Concept 40 - £1,000
 |  Jan 21, 2015  |  0 comments
The concept is clear – to make a good speaker great. There are several ways of doing this, the obvious one being to spend large amounts of money on the drive units. A fancy ribbon tweeter here or some expensive carbon fibre mid/bass drivers there, perchance? The other way is to work on the cabinet, and if you think about it, this is even more critical than the drivers, which can’t do their best if they’re spoiled by boomy boxes. In a way, cabinets can do no right, as all they can do is lower the performance potential of drive units by accentuating standing waves – smudging and blurring the sound from inside.
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Loudspeakers
Q Acoustics Concept 500 floorstanding speakers
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Nov 15, 2017  |  0 comments
It is hard to believe that it is now over a decade since Q Acoustics first began selling speakers. As a brand developed under the banner of Armour Home Electronics in 2006, it has successfully managed to swiftly migrate from newcomer to become the new benchmark for entry-level speakers (see our Group Test starting on p24). Even when it pushed its designs slightly upmarket with the arrival of its first Concept models in 2014, it delivered speakers that remain some of the best at their price points today. With barely any speaker markets left to conquer under £1,000, it was inevitable that eventually the brand would move more upmarket.
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Loudspeakers
Q Acoustics introduces new flagship floorstander
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Apr 22, 2024  |  0 comments
New flagship floorstander
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Loudspeakers
Quadral Aurum Megan VIII - £995
Ed Selley  |  Dec 23, 2011  |  0 comments
Quadral Aurum Megan VIII This very solid compact features a ribbon-type planar tweeter and a complex alloy main driver diaphragm Little known here in Britain (though we did review a couple of models about five years ago), Quadral is apparently the third most successful hi-fi speaker specialist in Germany, which must mean that it’s a good size operation by any standards. The Aurum range is actually a higher performance sub-brand of the main Quadral operation, with its own website and an extensive range of ten loudspeakers, plus some electronics. We reviewed the Altan VIII standmount quite recently (HFC 350), so now it’s time to cast an ear over the somewhat smaller Megan VIII model. The family resemblance is unmistakeable and build again seems very solid indeed.
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Loudspeakers
Rega RS7 - £1,685
Ed Selley  |  Jul 27, 2011  |  0 comments
Rega RS7 Rega’s RS7 combines several new developments, in both its tweeter design and its bass loading The RS7 sits at the top end of Rega’s loudspeaker range. First reviewed in these pages during 2009 (HFC 322), the price per pair has increased since then from £1,469 to £1,685 (partly thanks to VAT changes) for the regular cherry or black wood-veneered versions; high-gloss black or white are also available at extra cost. The front view of the sharp-edged enclosure is exceptionally slim, but the RS7 is also unusually deep and quite tall. Fore’n’aft stability is inherently excellent, while moulded outriggers improve the lateral stability and provide reasonably secure spike fixing, though the thumbwheel lock-nuts unfortunately loosen rather readily.
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Loudspeakers
REL Acoustics S/510
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jan 26, 2021  |  0 comments
Unlock new sonic rewards by adding an active sub-bass speaker to your hi-fi setup
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Loudspeakers
REL Acoustics Serie S2 - £1,000
 |  Jan 26, 2015  |  0 comments
Anyone who thinks of themselves as an audiophile may be more than a little dismayed to see a subwoofer review in these pages, but there’s alot to be gained from integrating a subwoofer into a two-channel hi-fi system that stretches beyond the reach of the majority of traditional loudspeakers. Subwoofers have come a long way in recent times, and with careful integration including a sub in your setup can have benefits on other elements of the sound aside from just extending its low-range performance. REL has been at the top of the subwoofer game since the Welsh company first appeared on the scene with models back in the nineties. It perfectly positioned itself for the home theatre boom, and the growth of the surround sound speaker market, with a range of dedicated subwoofer models that enabled movie fans to unleash multichannel soundtracks in their home.
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Loudspeakers
Rogers LS5/9 Classic SE
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Mar 18, 2024  |  0 comments
With a foot in both the professional and consumer world, a legend of old reveals a timely refresh
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Loudspeakers
Roksan Kandy K2 TR-5 - £895
Ed Selley  |  Jul 20, 2010  |  0 comments
Roksan Kandy K2 TR-5 - £895 This petite Kandy pitches above its station, thanks to the credentials of its much larger Caspian FR-5 brother Roksan’s fine reputation has been built largely off the back of its fine turntables and electronics, though several interesting loudspeaker designs have also put in an occasional appearance. The fine floorstanding Caspian FR-5 was very well received when it arrived in 2006 and the obvious question for this review is whether this Kandy K2 TR-5 can repeat the same trick. The K2 Kandys are Roksan’s recently introduced and least costly range of components, and while the official price of this TR-5 varies from £895 (high-gloss black) to £945 (the beautifully finished satin rosewood of our samples), substantial discounts are available if other Kandy K2 electronics are purchased at the same time. Besides those two options, the speaker is available in silver, maple and metallic black.
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