Featured Reviews & Articles

From the magnetic grills to the innovative (if quirky) wall mounting bracket system, the Axiom Audio M0s are a speaker unlike any other. Of course, coming from Axiom you'd expect them to deliver sonically - and they do. If you are looking for an unobtrusive on-wall system for a smaller room, the M0s are a very good choice and deserve to be on your short list. At $135 each and with a free 30day in-home trial, you've got little to lose except your preconceptions about what a small speaker can do.

Aperion Audio has just released an upgrade to their existing in-wall, in-ceiling speaker line, the Intimus 6 line. Sporting 6.5" woven fiberglass coned woofers and a 1" silk dome tweeter, the real attractive part of the Aperion Audio Intimus 6-IW and IC is the price. For a bit under $300 shipped, you get a very good set of speakers that should be fantastic (maybe even overkill) for distributed audio and could easily proved sound quality good enough to do rear or surround duties in a home theater setup.

After you've experienced great sound in your home theater, you just can't settle for less anywhere else. Outdoor speakers tend to be the AV purchase your non-enthusiast friends can understand. Aperion Audio has got what you need. Their Intimus line of speakers have long been loved for the sound quality and value. Aperion is now shipping a new addition to their line in an weather resistant outdoor speaker. Available in white or black finishes, the Intimus Outdoor Speaker retails for $149 each and is available from their website. Or, of course, you can try to win a pair in our forums...

At first I was mainly thinking of the RBH Sound MC-6AW as patio speakers but upon setting them up for some listening tests I discovered “indoor” possibilities as well. They shared many of the sonic virtues of my larger floorstander reference speakers and their performance absolutely bellied their asking price. As I listened, over and over I kept forgetting that these were small indoor/outdoor speakers and kept thinking they sounded better than some speakers I’ve reviewed from more prestigious brands costing several thousands of dollars. The MC-6AW’s can be used in multiple environments. They would be great mounted on the wall next to an on-wall television in either a bedroom or a family room. You could also class up your pool parties by using them on your pool deck or any patio. Just be careful not to make your audiophile friends too envious when they hear such great sound outdoors which ordinarily wouldn’t seem possible.

As displays are getting thinner and thinner, consumers are demanding speakers that match. What matches a flat panel hung on a wall better than a few in-wall speakers installed around it? Aperion Audio has heard the call and has introduced a new in-wall speaker dubbed the Intimus 6-LCR. With a 2.5 way MTM design, the 6-LCR is designed for either vertical or horizontal placement making it perfect for either main or center channel duty.

Sonance has long held a prominent position in the architectural, in-wall and in-ceiling speaker marketplace. Now, the company has released their latest innovative variation - the Invisible Speaker Series. The flat-panel driver technology developed by Sonance is featured in three new models, two of which utilize improved planar technology. The Sonance Invisible Series speakers are entirely flat and vanish into the room design, delivering "invisible" ambient music that emanates from the walls and ceilings.

At $300 a pair for the NTIW26s and $230 a pair for the NTIW25s, these speakers are a remarkable value. Quality components, easy to mount, lots of tuning options… the list of benefits goes on. Sonically, they at least met and in many ways exceeded my expectations. Bass was admirable for a bookshelf, much less an in-wall. The highs and mids were well-realized and very lifelike. The NT speakers definitely live up to the tSc motto - Quality Loudspeakers at Half the Price.

Over at the Ethereal booth, we were surprised to find speakers. The grills (pictured bottom) had artsy pictures on them but we're not sure if this was available or just for CES. According to Ethereal (who is simply distributing the VIBE speakers), the VIBE Home Cinema’s Monolith Shuttle 1 and Shuttle 2 are fabricated from resin and finished in high gloss piano black paintwork. They seem to be a very installer-friendly line of speakers. The larger size actually works well with the idea that pictures can be printed on the grills and we hope this is a standard feature.

Pioneer’s Chief Speaker Designer Andrew Jones and his engineering team drew inspiration from the company’s professional TAD speaker offering to design the Pioneer Elite series of architectural speakers. All six new models utilize Pioneer’s CST driver technology that works to expand a room’s “sweet spot” for more uniform sound deliver to home audiences. By improving off-axis performance and a more accurate frequency response, Pioneer’s new Elite speakers surpass the capabilities offered by current pivoting driver designs.