Audiophilepure

That finish is perfect, a slightly textured satin-wood with real grain, and trim without visible screws or attachment points. Visually, the entire speaker seems to float and does so with all the style of a high-end piece of Italian furniture. This is thoroughly modern Sonus faber and I can’t really argue with anything in the design, as it also feels both appealing and classic in a way very few speakers do. The folks over in Arcugnano really know how to do it right.

For those familiar with Sonus faber, this is where they usually excel. But they’ve taken their pedigree to another level with the long thin bass port hidden into a back side feature of the curved cabinet, an para-aperiodic vented box design known as Stealth Ultraflex. The stringed grille, a long-time standard, is back as well. Once set up with feet and grilles, these speakers have gotten more compliments than any I’ve had before. “Can we keep them?” was a phrase uttered more than once during the review period.

https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1077-alta-audio-alec-loudspeakers

During the two-and-a-half decades that I’ve been reviewing audio gear, I’ve probably assessed more speakers than any other component type. One reason for this is, in my experience, there tends to be greater sonic variety among the different speaker models than there is within any other product genre. So I find loudspeakers more interesting to review than, say, source components. And although the process of setting up a pair of speakers takes longer than, for instance, an amplifier, speakers are usually easier to write about than other products—at least for me—because each pair has such a distinct sound fingerprint. It was therefore a bit perplexing that, even after about a week of casual listening to the Alta Audio Alecs, I didn’t feel I had even a partial measure of their sound.

The question implied at the outset of this article still looms. Is Cabasse’s Pearl Akoya “lifestyle?” Is it a true portable? Is it really high end? It’s actually the sum of all those things. And it’s something more—add a high-resolution streaming service, and it becomes a fully self-contained, high-performance system, and with that, you’re done, fini. And that’s a very attractive proposition whether you’re burning the midnight oil in a home office, kicking back at an outdoor BBQ, or just spending an evening relaxing to your favorite playlist in your den. If these scenarios describe you, Cabasse’s “go anywhere, go anytime” Pearl Akoya may be just the system you’ve been looking for. Heartily recommended.

Sonus faber, as demonstrated by the Olympica Nova II, has been slowly morphing their traditional sound into something that skillfully reconciles the difference between the professed music lover and the true audiophile listener. I can’t overstate that the sound is really very refined and the midrange is just stunningly good for a speaker at the $10,000/pair level.

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/q-acoustics-q-active-200-loudspeaker-review

To sum up, Q Acoustics’ Q Active 200 system is a fascinatingly different design, and I enjoyed my sojourn with it. It’s dead-perfect for the listener who might otherwise buy a brand-S or brand-B (or a Google or Amazon or Apple) all-in-one, but desires, and is willing to pay for, something much better, which this system most decidedly is. Could you, for the same money, get a bit better performance from conventionally wired passive speakers? Certainly, but you will sacrifice the integration, simplicity, and, of course, wireless-ness. And you’ll need to spend significant bucks for sources and for amplifiers as well. For anyone who finds the Q Active 200’s just- add-music concept alluring, I strongly recommend pursuing a serious audition.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/martinlogan-electromotion-esl-x-loudspeaker

This is more observation than criticism, as I’m wary of expecting too much from a loudspeaker at this price that performs so admirably in other areas. For instance, the EM-ESL X steers clear of HF nasties. Hi-hats and cymbals were always distinct and well separated, avoiding splash or brightness. Metallica’s ‘Dyer’s Eve’, which closes an album famed for a treble-heavy ‘scooped’ guitar tone […And Justice For All; Vertigo 836062-2] was perhaps more listenable than I’ve ever heard it, helped by the EM-ESL X’s speedy transducer keeping its frantic rhythms and riffs astonishing clear.

Lastly, for a simple five-minute demonstration of what this loudspeaker can do, give Elton John’s ‘Honky Cat’ [Honky Chateau; Mercury 528 162-2] a whirl. Huge piano accompaniment, dynamic trombone and saxophone hits, a drum track that sounds almost three-dimensional and Reginald Dwight throwing out rhyming couplets right into your listening room. It sounded… electrifying.