Recent Floorstanding Speaker Reviews

We're always excited to see a new line of speakers. When Cambridge Audio announced their new Aero line, we couldn't wait to take a look. We got that chance at CEDIA 2013. Cambridge Audio was thrilled to tell us all about their new Aero line. The big advancement was the 2" BMR (Balanced Mode Radiator) "tweeter". This driver is designed to play from 20kHz down to 250Hz - far farther than a traditional tweeter. We were skeptical of their claims that they were "revolutionizing audio" but their excitement was infectious. We're curious to see how linear the driver is.

With its quad 5-inch woofers and 1-inch silk dome tweeter covering the top half of the loudspeaker, the 51-inch tall Fluance ES1 tower speaker system is anything but vertically challenged. The ES1’s produce an excellent soundstage, and ability to play cleanly at high SPL, though with a bit too lively treble at times. Paired with a subwoofer, the ES1 tower speakers shine as an attractive and affordable home theater main loudspeaker with superb build quality and aesthetics for a reasonable asking price.

The CM10 is the new flagship of Bowers & Wilkins CM line of speakers. So what does an extra $1000 over the $3k price tag of the CM9 get you? How about upgraded tweeter and midrange drivers? Is that enough? No? Ok, they also offloaded the tweeter to the top of the cabinet, decoupled the midrange, and added a woofer. Is that worth a grand? What if we told you that you'll get more than a 10Hz increase in extension on the bass end and that the new tweeter design promises even less distortion and more dispersion than the CM9? No, don't get your checkbooks out (seriously, you still write checks?), the B&W CM10 floorstanding speakers don't start shipping until August.

Inexpensive. That's the first word that comes to mind when I think of Fluance. For those unfamiliar with the name, Fluance was established up in the Great White North (aka Canada) in 1999, and since their debut they have been known for building extremely inexpensive but good quality loudspeakers. The speaker we'll be looking at today is the Fluance ES1, a slim floorstanding model priced at $450/pair and boasting a quartet of woofers per side. While not exactly dirt cheap, the ES1 appears to pack a lot of punch for the dollar. How does it stand up to a cursory examination from the Audioholics? Read on to find out.

The Boston Acoustics A360 floorstanding loudspeakers are well built and look good at $800/pair. High quality parts are used in the cabinet construction and the drivers are decent quality. Although the measured sensitivity is on the low side and the midrange a bit recessed, the A360’s exhibit nice bass extension. I envision that Boston Acoustics designed this speaker to please the masses and I think it is excellent in that regard. This is our first review employing our new loudspeaker measurement standard so check out how we put the Boston A360’s through the wringer.

When the Legacy Focus SE loudspeakers came in, the debate raged once more in my mind: How influenced should I be by build quality? How much should I allow myself to get excited by the sound of a truly full-range speaker that can play low enough to make a pipe organ sound authentic? Or should I be more impressed and excited about speakers with enough dynamic headroom to handle the delicacy of a five piece jazz ensemble as well as a full orchestra? Legacy Audio's Focus SE speakers aren't exactly new, but Bill Dudleston's 25th anniversary edition adds the dual Air Motion tweeter (AMT) and super tweeter to make this something special indeed. At just under $10k/pair there is a lot of speaker in the Focus SE. So, read the review and find out if these are the right speakers for you.

SVS has re-entered the speaker market with their top-of-the line SVS Ultra Series Tower Speakers. Consisting of 4 models, each of the speakers shares traits such as aluminum tweeters, glass composite mid-low frequency drivers, dual 5-way gold-plated binding posts, and a pin and cup grill retention system. Each is available in either Piano Black gloss or real Black Oak veneer. You can get an entire 5.0 system in the Ultra Series (no subwoofer) for around $2,699 (with bookshelf speakers) or $3,699 (with towers).

Bryston and Axiom Audio have partnered to bring you a brand new speaker with a familiar look. But don't let that familiarity lull you into thinking that this is a simple rebranding. Bryston has worked with Axiom to bring you a speaker line that is completely their own. From upgraded drivers to external crossovers, there are touches of Bryston everywhere on the Model Ts. But those upgrades come at a pretty hefty price increase. Starting at nearly $6500/pr in vinyl wrapped cabinets and topping out at just under $9500/pr, the Bryston Model Ts aren't for the faint of heart or light of wallet. Only time, 3rd party measurements, and listening tests will show if the upgrades to the crossover networks, drivers, design, and more will translate into a sonic improvement commensurate with the significant price increase.

What would you say if we told you that a company historically known for their A/V electronics has redefined the loudspeaker market with their budget speaker line designed by industry veteran Andrew Jones? For under $550, the Pioneer SP-PK52FS 5.1 loudspeaker system includes a pair of four driver 2 ½-way tower speakers (SP-FS52), a matching three driver MTM center channel (SP-C22) and pair of two-way bookshelf speakers (SP-BS22-LR) with an 8" 100-watt powered subwoofer (SW-8MK2). The SP-FS52 tower speakers alone are worth the $549/pr system price. I can comfortably say that I’ve never heard a better balanced, better sounding tower speaker for under $700/pr than these. How is it possible that Pioneer can offer such a low cost speaker line packed with so much solid engineering and performance? Well, you’re gonna have to read the review to find out.

Pi Speakers has been around for a long time, but has only gained popularity in niche audiophile communities. Wayne Parham, the founder of Pi, built their first speaker in 1978, a corner horn influenced by the Klipschorn but designed to provide constant directivity, i.e. uniform dispersion over the entire frequency range. They currently boast a catalog consisting of various high sensitivity designs ranging from the one Pi, a (relatively speaking) modest sized bookshelf sporting a conventional soft dome tweeter and an Eminence Alpha 8 woofer, to the massive seven Pi, which features a 15” woofer, 10” horn loaded midrange and a waveguide tweeter. When compared to their natural competition such as the Klipsch Heritage line, Pi speakers appear to offer an interesting value proposition. In short, Pi Speakers is one of those little guys with a lot of potential, and worth a serious look (and a seriously retro look at that).

THIEL showed up to CES 2013 with two new products, the CS2.7 (well, it’s kind of new) and CS1.7 (this one is brand new) loudspeakers. Although they were only showing off two new products, they proudly displayed a whole host of products, including the DewPoint in-ceiling speakers, CS3.7 floorstanding speakers, and SS2.2 subwoofer. The CS2.7 is a three-way coherent source loudspeaker and sits in the middle of their floorstanding speaker lineup. It features a 1" aluminum dome tweeter, 4.5" aluminum star-diaphragm midrange driver, 8" bass driver, and front-firing pass radiator. The CS2.7 is shipping now with an MSRP of $9900 per pair. THIEL also debuted the CS1.7, a brand new entry-level (for them anyway) floorstanding speaker. Details are still sparse but we can tell you one thing for certain, it looks great! Read on for more info.

Sony is solidly back in the US high-end speaker market with the release of their new ES speaker line and the continuation of their AR speakers. The new ES line lends from the AR series on some design traits, but branches out into completely new territory with others. Sony’s goal with the ES line of speakers was to create a speaker system that faithfully reproduced sound without adding anything to it. Essentially, they tried to remove the speaker from the equation, allowing listeners so hear what was recorded, nothing more and nothing less. The cabinets are built from Scandinavian birch, and the bass drivers and high/mid drivers are built in separate enclosures. The most unique feature of these speakers is the I-Array tweeter system, which uses one 25mm soft-dome tweeter and two 19mm soft-dome tweeters. The flagship SS-NA2ES tower system retails for $10k/pair and they go down from there. We listened to a demo and thought the sound was natural and bass was punchy. We look forward to seeing more of this new ES line.

At CES 2013 Harman’s JBL announced it is broadening its top-of-the-line Project Everest loudspeaker range with the introduction of its DD65000 ultrahigh-end floorstanding speaker. The DD65000 combines newly developed driver technologies and refinements to deliver extraordinary musical realism, and has a distinctively elegant visual appeal that blends classic and contemporary design elements. The DD65000 incorporates a number of newly developed drivers and technologies. It employs two newly developed 1501AL-1 cast-aluminum-frame woofers with a new paper pulp-matrix woofer material augmented by a rear-applied AquaPlas coating, a combination that preserves sonic neutrality while damping unwanted cone resonances for controlled, articulate bass response.

The new Triton Seven ($699.99 ea.) debuted at CES 2013 today. It's said to brings it legendary Triton Series performance into a more compact size and even more affordable price range. The new Triton Seven follows in this auspicious tradition. Although it is the first Triton Tower without a built-in powered subwoofer, GoldenEar claims it still achieves superbly deep, subwoofer-like impactful bass performance by combining advanced technology drivers with their highly evolved and sophisticated bass-loading technologies. GoldenEar is so confident about the Triton Seven’s high-resolution sonic performance that they believe it makes them perfect for the highest quality two channel systems as well as the best multi-channel music and home theater systems. Perhaps you can share your experiences with these speakers on our forums and let us know if you agree with their sentiments.