Audiophilepure

With the Triangle Magellan Duettos in the system, I had the distinct sense that I was getting all of this incredible song. I heard all that sloppy detail, I heard all of the movement between the drummer, the bass player and two guitarists, and I could easily detect when they were playing off each other and when they were on their own, exploring unexpected key changes and dynamic swings. “Turn On” sounded absolutely wonderful and complete with the Duettos, in other words.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/kef-r11-meta-loudspeaker

The R11 Meta speakers carry off their bluff styling with some flair, being neither as large nor as unmanageable as they may at first appear. Yes, the balance here is very commercial, flattering relatively modest systems but responding well to an uplift in partnering electronics, but what’s wrong with that? These are impressive speakers, solidly built and designed to please – which they indubitably do.

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/goldenear-t66-tower-speaker-review-performance-evolved

It’s just that every time the equation turns to “spend the budget on more channels versus fewer, better channels” what’s achievable by focusing a budget on the most important channels in the system keeps slapping me in the face and saying “wake up!” The point of diminishing returns for ever-higher channel counts comes on a lot faster than it does when upgrading speakers in a fixed, modest number of channels. And the savings don’t just come from buying fewer speakers, it costs a lot more to buy an AVR or processor that does 11.4.4 channels than a unit with a more modest channel count. But, in my view, that’s more money that can instead go into great-sounding speakers, like the T66 towers.

I find a phantom center preferable to a dedicated center channel for a TV in a living room setup. The reason for that is the center channel always has to go beneath the TV or maybe above the TV. Neither of these locations is ideal and they visually detract from the aesthetic of two stylish tower speakers. Not that I am in any way opposed to center channel speakers, but if the focus is on home theater, by all means, use one. Plus if you go with a two-channel solution like the Technics, there’s no center channel option to begin with.

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/system-one/1852-sonus-fabers-lumina-ii-amator-loudspeaker-luxury-and-beauty-for-small-rooms-and-budgets

The Amator’s bass is surprisingly deep for its size, its midrange is clear and well balanced, and its treble is prominent, making most recordings sound lively. Just remember that an inherently bright recording will sound even brighter. It would therefore be a good idea to first listen to these speakers with your own music before you buy. If you do audition the Lumina II Amator, make sure to bring along a recording you know to allow a spacious soundstage to be generated. You’ll be surprised how well a pair of these small speakers convey an acoustic space and depict sonic images.

Given its fabulous appearance, good build quality, and made-in-Italy allure, the Lumina II Amator’s price seems reasonable, especially being so close to the previous version. Sonus Faber could easily have hiked the price of this new version by hundreds more without risking being accused of price gouging. The Lumina II Amator might be one of Sonus Faber’s entry-level speakers, but from its look and sound, you wouldn’t know it.

Even with the improvements from plugging the ports, the treble was still harsh right out of the box, and I correctly sussed that they’d need some break-in to really sing. Mark had told me in advance that it would probably take a minimum of fifty hours for a baseline break-in, and they’d only get better beyond that mark. Despite the treble harshness, they seem to be responding to the PrimaLuna tube amplification well, and no clipping occurred even during demanding passages. The Scout is fairly inefficient at 84.5 dB/watt, but the EL 34-based PrimaLuna (42-wpc in Ultralinear mode) still seems to be a good match with the Scout attached to the 8 ohm taps. The Scout produces a scale of sound and stereo image that’s quite large considering their diminutive size. After getting them into position, I also connected my Yamaha BD-A1060 universal player to assist with the burn-in process. I then loaded the compact disc of Jim Anderson’s recording of Cyrus Chestnut’s Revelations and set it to repeat play. It’s a great jazz album that’s very naturally recorded, and is one of my references for well-recorded acoustic bass. The Scout loudspeakers had arrived very late in the day; I came back four hours later around midnight to take another listen, and to my surprise, they sounded absolutely horrible! The treble was just grating—I shut the PrimaLuna amp down; it was late, and I crashed out disappointed that the Scout might not live up to my expectations after all.

https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1225-dali-epikore-11-loudspeaker

The Epikore 11 is near-as-dammit the same price as the Estelon, but these are wildly different speakers. Both are wonderful in their own way, and visually it’s no contest—the Estelon is a Jaguar E-type while the Epikore 11 is an AMG G-Class wagon. You want to sit and stare at it? The Estelon melts the soul. But if you need to get stuff done, call on the DALI.

I loved the Epikore 11s and was very sad to see them go.

Here’s my hope: Given that DALI has leveraged the Kore’s technologies into a smaller, more affordable package, and given that the Epikore has a suffix of 11, I’m thinking that there may be more Epikore speakers yet to come down the pike. If there’s gonna be, say, an Epikore 7 that has two 8″ woofers per speaker, and employs the same midrange, tweeter, and ancillary infrastructure, I think it would make an honest man of me.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/bw-805-d4-signature-loudspeaker

Through the 805 D4 Signatures, the well-recorded (and blissfully short) jazz/blues fusion songs of Dominique Fils-Aimé’s new Our Roots Run Deep release [Ensoul Records; 44.1kHz/16-bit download] appeared grandiose but lost none of their authenticity. Layering Fils-Aimé’s smooth voice with background vocals during the title track, the speakers proved adept at handling complex compositions, keeping the trumpet clean and non-sibilant when it appeared. Furthermore, as with the Zelmani and Anna B Savage pieces, ‘Just Let Me Go’ really demonstrated that Bowers & Wilkins has mastered the art of uncovering the finest sonic detail without losing track of the musical picture as a whole.

If this Signature upgrade of the company’s 805 D4 does something well, it’s getting you closer than ever to the artist’s intent.