Loudspeakers

The Videotone Minimax is a fantastic tiny loudspeaker that has been overlooked by history. The fact that Videotone was not British, unlike over ninety percent of speakers at the time, adds to the intrigue of the story. The UK importer, managed by former Mullard and Philips engineer Cliff Hardcastle, was known as “Videotone,” whereas the […]

Wharfedale is a well-known British loudspeaker brand that peaked in the 1970s, during the height of the British hi-fi boom, when it was controlled by the Rank Organization. The company, founded in 1932 by Gilbert Arthur Briggs in his Ilkley house in the Wharfe Valley, invented and constructed all of its own drive units, or

Few could have predicted how popular the JBL L100 would become when it was initially introduced at CES 1970 in Chicago. It was a consumer version of the professional 4310/4311 monitors, with the same driver lineup and powerful Alnico V magnets. For the midrange and treble drivers, a basic crossover was used, with the bass

Lee Taylor received BAFTA and Palme d’Or honors for his work in recording and mixing for television, music, and film prior to founding Leema, while Mallory Nichols had previously worked in the manufacturing of MAGTRAX monitors for recording studios and mastering firms since the early 1990s. It’s no surprise that the two men started their

Monitor Audio’s Radius 90, which retails for £350, is one of my favorite super-small speakers. It’s only 198x125x140mm in size, weighs 2.1kg, and has only 1.5 liters of usable space within. It was available in real wood veneer, piano lacquer white or black at the time of its launch — silver was no longer an

Peter Walker of Quad was entirely correct in looking for a better way to construct a loudspeaker. The failures of his flagship loudspeaker, the Quad CR Corner Ribbon, which was a radical hybrid design with a ribbon tweeter and a conventional bass driver in a wood cabinet, inspired him. Even though it was one of

Bowers & Wilkins has established itself as one of the most innovative loudspeaker manufacturers in the United Kingdom since its founding in 1966. It quickly became known for technologically fascinating products that pushed the boundaries of design. With the introduction of the DM70 in 1970, this became clear. It contained two cabinets per speaker, one

This is one of the most cheap tiny speakers in recent memory. It’s a two-way reflex ported bookshelf design, as expected, but that’s where the routine ends. It has an Usher UA25-10 25mm silk dome tweeter and a KSW2-5029B 125mm mid/bass unit with a polypropylene cone; the latter is an interesting choice; this material was

The original Wharfedale Diamond was rumored to be the result of research for the company’s high-end TSR102 project, but it was actually just its treble and midrange unit housed in a tiny, handmade bass reflex box. The end result was a small loudspeaker with only 5.2 liters of internal volume to work with. A 19mm

Small-scale specialty producers have a lot to offer. Their products are frequently more innovative, concentrated, and tailored to the demands of a fast changing market. However, big businesses can perform just as well, if not better, in other areas. Consider the enormous engineering resources available to the large international Yamaha brand, which is responsible for