Audiophilepure

The thought 25 years ago of a speaker as sophisticated in both design and performance was merely a daydream. In 1995 dollars the Aura would have cost a whopping $36,000. And even at that price the Aura’s abilities today were barely touched upon at any price then. While Estelon offers value at each tier they offer, I proffer the Aura is THE value among them.

It’s a wonderful time to be an audiophile. For under 30K one can put together a system that was bank account draining ultra -reference level a couple of decades ago. Estelon is uniquely positioned as a groundbreaking cutting edge manufacturer to continue leading the way while redefining what great sound reproduction is. Rarely does a manufacturer, especially a speaker manufacturer, hit home runs from the get-go. With the Aura, we have a bases loaded, game 7, two outs in the ninth inning, down by 3, 3-2 pitch crushing grand slam.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/q-acoustics-5040-loudspeaker

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Q Acoustics 5040. Other than the GoldenEar BRX, which costs $1900/pair, and the KEF LS50 Meta, which costs $1599.99/pair, the 5040 is the least expensive speaker I have reviewed in more than four years. The Q Acoustics is a tower speaker while those other two are standmounts, which means the cost of a pair of good-quality stands needs to be added to their prices. But even without taking its affordable price into consideration, Q Acoustics’s 5040 offers superb sound quality. It combines sufficient low-frequency extension and articulation with excellent clarity and imaging and low coloration. As the 5040 won’t play deafeningly loudly, it will work best in smallish to medium-sized rooms, and amplifier choice will be critical in getting the best from this speaker. Highly recommended.

Is the M3 a perfect loudspeaker? Of course not, no speaker, or any audio product for that matter, is. Yet at its price, while clearly not within the means of most, these elegant and beautiful transducers boldly represent the realization of the striking potential possible when known boundaries are pushed. 

What Børresen Acoustics and Audio Group Denmark have accomplished with the implementation of the wide-ranging scope of inventive and original technologies that they have created and champion results in the achievement of a new milestone. To dismiss the Børresen M3 loudspeakers because you are unable, or unwilling, to afford them would be to ignore their singular gift to music lovers, and those who do “get it,” will enjoy a specific level of playback that is, in my experience, simply unavailable from any other loudspeaker available as of this writing.

One thing you certainly can’t call the Linkwitz LX521 is “conventional.” Veneer and finish choices notwithstanding, it is very much a “form-follows-function” type of design that eschews any attempts at overt “beautification” in favor of what is needed for ultimate performance. I don’t know that I have had a more aesthetically polarizing speaker in my home before. Opinions ranged from “Wow, that’s different and cool looking!” to “A speaker that only an audio nerd and his mother could love!” I guess that means I technically fall into both categories! Seriously though, I think the design is unique and some of the finish options that Linkwitz offers (such as the full American Walnut and the Aluminum/Panzerholtz options) can look quite striking.

https://www.hifichoice.com/content/scansonic-m20

Nonetheless, I think that the speaker still sounds a bit soft in the treble, with a lack of sparkle on cymbals and space in atmospheric recordings, and only after a bit of experimentation do I work out what I assume to be the problem.

Despite the dispersion characteristics of that vertically mounted tweeter, I form a strong impression that, in my listening position, my ears are just too high for this short speaker – an opinion reinforced when I get off the sofa, which isn’t exactly high, and sit on the floor. This is much better, leading me to wonder whether this speaker is designed for bean-bag listeners, and then to try some ways of solving the problem. Some small wooden blocks under the front spikes gives the M20 an upward tilt, which seems to help, but things really improve when I trawl out of the shed a pair of old – and hefty – 12in stands I have for some long-forgotten speakers, and park the M20 on these. Suddenly there’s better treble detail and focus, and an altogether more involving sound.

The Usher Audio UA-50 Anniversary loudspeakers are very impressive, delivering detailed, and wide-staged imagery, cohesive top-down from their diamond tweeters through a rich and lush midrange, into the mid-bass, and a little below.  On their own, they render a variety of material from classical to jazz, blues, and rock. Combined with quality sources and electronics, they’re quite compelling. And if you need extra lower end, you can always deploy a quality subwoofer (or, better yet, a pair of subs) to your heart’s content. However, for the vast majority of time spent listening to them, the thought rarely crossed my mind. They really drew me into the music. 

Summed up, if you’re into an immersive audio experience, high-performance three-way monitors with a slick retro 80s vibe, a lush and detailed midrange, and modern accouterments like an updated curved chassis and modern diamond tweeters, the Usher Audio UA-50s just may be your end game. But, don’t wait long; there are only a few left!

The most significant – and presumably most expensive – upgrade for this generation is to be found in the tweeter. Diamond or carbon domes, as used higher up B&W’s range, are not tenable in this price category, so instead the manufacturer has developed a new titanium dome tweeter. A two-part design, this features a 25µm-thick main dome framed by a marginally chunkier (30µm) titanium ring, and fires through a new mesh grille derived from the 800 D4 series’ tweeter assembly. For this generation, the positioning of the tweeter is also closer to the midrange below (their trim rings ‘overlap’) to improve driver integration.

The titanium dome is mounted into an elongated tube that’s hidden inside the cabinet. The principle behind this design is nothing new for B&W – albeit more apparent with its ‘Tweeter-on-Top’ models – and is intended to progressively attenuate the rear output of the tweeter, minimising rear reflections while also isolating the driver from pressure variations within the main cabinet.