Audiophilepure

The Summit X is the Charles Barkley of loudspeakers. It plays better than it will probably ever get credit for and it would have been a superstar if Michael Jordan (the CLX) hadn’t come along at about the same time. But it’s still able to mop up everyone else on the court. Well, I can’t compare speakers to cars all the time, can I?

The good news is that the Summit X is about $10,000 less than the CLX, it has a lot more flexibility and it doesn’t require a pair of subwoofers to really give its all. It is a better value for all but the most demanding listener. The Summit was one of my favorite speakers of all time, and the new Summit X is even better. Properly setup with electronics to match, these speakers will paint a huge musical canvas for you to enjoy.

If you currently have the Summit, I’m guessing you will probably pass on the upgrade unless you can easily absorb the price difference. For those new to MartinLogan or trading up from further down the range, it is truly a fantastic speaker and a very worthy competitor in its price range.

https://pla

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/reference-components/1940-recommended-reference-component-bowers-wilkins-801-d4-signature-loudspeaker

From the first notes, the 801 D4 Signature speakers captivated and enthralled Jason, and he is as passionate about them today as he was while he had them. His admiration for this speaker earned it a Reviewers’ Choice award, when the review was published, and a 2024 Product of the Year award in the Hall of Fame category (the Hall of Fame award is presented to products with outstanding sonic performance that have either been on the market for an exceptionally long time or are the latest incarnation of a historically significant model). This month, based on Jason’s review and undiminished enthusiasm for the 801 D4 Signature, we award it our Recommended Reference Component designation.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/technics-sc-cx700-active-loudspeaker-system

The rear panels are not the same at all. The secondary speaker has only an AC input receptacle, an RJ45 jack for making a wired connection with the primary speaker, and a button for pairing it wirelessly with the primary. This pairing is done at the factory, but this button can be used should that pairing fail or should one of the speakers need to be replaced.

The primary, on the other hand, is busy with connections. In addition to the AC input and the RJ45 for that inter-speaker cable, there’s a wired output for a subwoofer (RCA), a switch to change L/R channel assignment, and the actual inputs corresponding to six of the seven signal inputs mentioned above. (You don’t need a wired input for Wi-Fi or Bluetooth!)

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1944-svs-ultra-evolution-pinnacle-loudspeaker

Switching over to the Gold 300 5Gs, there were a couple of notable differences. The most obvious was the inability of the Monitor Audios to match the scale of the SVS towers. When the bass kicks in on “Your Rocky Spine,” it hit me in the chest through the Pinnacles. They produced far more weight in the low frequencies, which in turn made them sound bigger and more visceral. For their part, the Monitor Audios were more incisive. The assorted strings on “Your Rocky Spine” were crisper and more tightly focused through the British towers. This, combined with their reduced bass output relative to the Pinnacles, gave them a cooler character.