Loudspeakers

The audio ability of a loudspeaker is inversely proportional to its aesthetic beauty, according to one of the universal principles of hi-fi. True, the Holy hi-fi provider has allowed an unique exception to this rule for a few high-end panel speakers, but other from that, it appears to apply to practically everything. So when I […]

Rewind to 1987 in Glasgow. Linn Products, which had earned its name with the Sondek LP12 turntable, was well aware that the new Compact Disc format was beginning to eat into its sales. The company’s response was to expand its loudspeaker lineup while also moving away from the first generation of boxes (Kan, Sara, and

Farad Azima founded Mission Electronics in 1977, and the 770 loudspeaker, the first to use a polypropylene mid/bass driver, appeared in 1978. It received a lot of positive feedback and projected a picture of a bold, forward-thinking, modern corporation in a historically conservative industry area steeped in history. Henry Farad, Farad’s brother, was a skilled

The AE1 is one of the most legendary hi-fi loudspeakers of the 1980s, with the Celestion SL6 and the Wharfedale Diamond, in the pantheon of boxes that changed the game. Aside from the BBC LS3/5a and the Spendor SA1, tiny speakers in the 1970s were few. Indeed, the breed had not been treated seriously at

ATC is the loudspeaker firm with the most passion and soul in the professional audio market. Billy Woodman founded the company in 1974 to make drive units for broadcast and recording studios. Its first design was a strong twelve-inch woofer, which clearly indicated where his focus lay. By the mid-1980s, the firm was selling to

The £3,295 ATC SCM40 is unusual in that it doesn’t look or feel like practically any other loudspeaker in its price range. It’s almost as if someone forgot to style it, as if three (albeit unusual-looking) drivers were thrown into a box supposed to do the job and then left. This stands in stark contrast

The BBC’s ‘monitoring loudspeaker type LS3/5a’ has gone down in history. Some say it possesses unique features not found in any succeeding speaker, while others believe it is exaggerated and unfairly revered. Whatever your opinion is on this small box, there’s no doubting that it’s a major product in its own right… The performance of

Armar G Bose concluded that current loudspeakers simply didn’t offer when he created this really unusual gadget. He was fascinated by sound propagation and an outspoken supporter of spatiality in sound, but he considered most of the designs on the market were excessively directional. He thought a ‘pulsating sphere’ was the ideal shape for producing

“To be the first commercial endeavor to design and construct a loudspeaker that reflects the greatest standards attainable without respect to any of the so-called ‘practical factors’ that ultimately compromise traditional designs,” the brief stated. The design team was given “no constraints,” according to B&W, other from the need to recreate full range sound with

This is without a doubt the best new product of 2014 for real-world audiophiles, and one of the most intriguing loudspeakers I’ve heard in a long time. It’s unique in that it’s inexpensive (£900) but produces a sound quality that far exceeds the price. Indeed, the Aeromax 6 appears to me to be a low-cost