Audiophilepure

https://www.stereophile.com/content/dynaudio-confidence-30-loudspeaker

I continue to be impressed by how immediate and gripping the Dynaudio Confidence 30s make music sound. Their presentation with smaller-scale works is clear and lively. With larger ensembles in larger spaces, the C30 soundstage is wide and detailed. Across a broad range of styles and recording perspectives, they seemed balanced, neither bright nor muted, with, often, a comfortable warmth. As for dynamic range, I never approached their output limitations in my room.

DYNAUDIO HERITAGE SPECIAL STAND-MOUNT LOUDSPEAKER

Sometimes, good audio gets so wrapped up in the medium that it overlooks the message. The Heritage Special is one of those rare beasts that does both equally well. There will, of course, be those who can’t see the (nicely-finished) wood for the trees and never be able to get past the small box with a £5,500 price tag. Then there are those who heard them. Yes, you get a lot of the way there with the Special 40, but the difference between the two is marked. A rare pleasure to hear; you’ll regret it if you don’t. 

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/reference-components/1577-recommended-reference-component-magico-a5-loudspeakers

In the “Conclusion” section of his review, Jeff summed up his listening impressions as follows: “The A5 produces deep, linear, weighty, detailed bass; clear, neutral, present mids; and highs that always reveal and never detract from the music. The A5s produced soundstages that could be vast, and images on those stages that were precisely placed and sized just as you would imagine they should be. I loved listening to all types of music through these speakers for hours on end, and at wildly varying volume levels. In all those hours, I heard no weaknesses in their sound.” It was the sound quality Jeff described that earned the A5 its Reviewers’ Choice award when his review was published, and has merited the Recommended Reference Component award this month.

http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/pmc-twenty526i-floorstanding-loudspeaker/

Switching to the Moor Amps Angel 6, an amplifier that has since become a mainstay of my system, and pairing it with the Allegri Reference preamp took the experience onto another plane, revealing qualities in recordings that had hitherto been very well hidden. The twenty5.26i laps up upgrades in source and amplification, making it clear that its transparency and neutrality are there to be exploited. This amplifier’s dynamic range makes most alternatives sound compressed; it’s not unduly powerful (150W/8 Ohms) yet it finds dynamic contrasts that can be positively shocking, such as the bass that comes out of Bugge Wesseltoft and Henrik Schwarz’s ‘See You Tomorrow’ (Duo, Jazzland), is a track I’ve played many times yet never really heard it seems. It’s remarkable what modern loudspeakers can find hiding on your favourite albums, the state of the art is clearly progressing at a healthy pace.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/kef-ls50-meta-loudspeaker

Beat Of The Brass [A&M AMC146 open-reel tape]. Ordinarily, I listen to Alpert’s superb recordings because the punch of his trumpet is a killer test for transient attack, treble smoothness and other qualities. So explain this one to me… how is the LS50 Meta faster, with crisper transients, smoother in its decay, yet even less likely to show signs of sibilance than the already sweet-sounding LS50?

On to something less cluttered, the luscious-sounding Julie London on Julie Is Her Name [Analogue Productions APP-3006-45], every track sounding ‘in the room’. Gears into reverse for the pounding ‘Glad All Over’ from The Dave Clark Five – All the Hits [BMG BMGCAT408DLP]. No shortage of attack, scale or sheer power. The bottleneck guitar in Keb’ Mo’s Peace… Back By Popular Demand [Pure Pleasure/Epic/Okeh PPAN92687] as fluid and serpentine as it should be. As you might have gathered, I love this speaker.

The Polk Legend L800s are a stone-cold bargain in the world of high-end loudspeakers. They deliver a true full-range sound from below 20Hz to above 20,000Hz. The soundstage brought forth by SDA Pro technology creates a unique listening experience. They can handle micro-dynamics with the finesse of a small monitor while delivering crescendos from a full-scale orchestra with ease. The L800s do not require an expensive amplifier to deliver a terrific performance, but if you want to power them with a five-figure amplifier, they are more than capable. For $5,998 per pair, I don’t know of any speakers that can deliver everything this Polk L800 system delivers. Highly recommended.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/monitor-audio-bronze-200-loudspeaker

Mental housekeeping over, I settled back to admire what this loudspeaker could do, and that’s to deliver a wide, detailed, full-range sound from small cabinets, with little strain on partnering amplification. The rockabilly riff on Bryan Adams’ cover of Eddie Cochran’s ‘C’mon Everybody’ [Tracks Of My Tears; 96kHz/24-bit FLAC] enjoyed a solidity and warmth, the vocal had a lovely texture and raspy edge, and the guitar solo sliced through the midrange with ease.

The cabinet height means the Bronze 200 doesn’t lean its soundstage over you, but a wide-flung treble and good pair matching created a well-spaced image that easily expanded beyond the cabinets themselves. With The Police’s raw-sounding 1979 live performance of ‘Can’t Stand Losing You’ [Live!; 88.2kHz/24-bit FLAC], these floorstanders did a decent job of conveying the scale of the recording and the players on the stage.

Better yet was the swirling, fluid and expansive picture they painted with the title track from Carbon Based Lifeforms’ Interloper [Blood Music BLO154]. As this electronic composition ebbed and flowed, the speakers seemed right on song, offering plump bass, crisp percussion and rich synth chords.

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/psb-synchrony-t600-loudspeaker-review

The performance of the PSBs higher up the frequency range—untouched by Audyssey EQ— left little to be desired, clearly fleshing out delicate and dynamic percussive elements, from the lightly struck ride cymbal on the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s “Take Five” (still a reference-quality recording decades after it was first produced) to the overtones of the opening bass riff on Toto’s “I Will Remember.” While my measurements showed the high frequency response tapering off above 3kHz, the sound was never dull. I did occasionally hit +1 on the Denon’s Treble control depending on the source, but both the objective and subjective effects of that tweak were at best subtle.

WILSON AUDIO SABRINAX FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKER

Of course, the SabrinaX has its limitations, but they are not a concern in reality. Hear me out… no, the SabrinaX doesn’t have the bass depth or gut-wrenching dynamic range of far larger loudspeakers. Wilson Audio is not trying to break the laws of physics as they apply to acoustics and loudspeaker design. But, where the SabrinaX has its lower bass limits, and its dynamic headroom ceiling are neatly just within the limits of the dynamic constraints of smaller rooms. If you try to put a loudspeaker that delivers a sub-30Hz bass at full level in a smaller room, you’ll spend much of your time trying to control that bass. By way of contrast, the Wilson SabrinaX puts just enough energy into such rooms as to make the sound appear deep and powerful and more dynamic than you would want to stand… without the bass booming away from the corners. No, Wilson isn’t the first company to do this, and the SabrinaX isn’t even the first Wilson speaker to do this kind of presentation, but it just does it so well, it’s as if the speaker had been designed specifically for your room.

ELAC Vela FS 408 floorstanding speakers

The most immediately impressive aspect of the way the ELACs go about their business is their beautifully even, unified tonality. That most unlikely of early examples of sampling, The Jungle Line from Joni Mitchell’s The Hissing of Summer Lawns [Asylum], sounds as if it’s derived from a single piece of material, despite being a fairly coarse collision between The Royal Drummers of Burundi, Joni’s inimitable vocal and some grainy Moog keyboard.