Loudspeaker Reviews

Clarisys Audio Minuet Plus premium
Remember how smitten I was with the Clarisys Audio Minuet when I heard it one year ago (2023) at PUUR hifidelity? Now, go figure that the speaker company issued an improved "Neodymium" model called Minuet Plus that does everything the previous Ferrite model did but with higher efficiency and improvements across the board.
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Diptyque DP 140 MkII premium
With sleek and stylish new looks, improvements in structure and rigidity, optimized PPBM technology and higher tolerances across the board, the DP 140 MkII defines the sweet spot for Diptyque.
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1 August 2023
Marten Parker Trio premium
Marten may be known primarily for its luxurious cost-no-object Mingus and Coltrane series, but fortunately for those with more modestly-sized wallets, the range also extends to the other side. The Oscar series is the starting point into the world of Marten. Positioned above is the Parker series which offers a considerably more lavish build with non-parallel walls, a so-called multi-diverse crossover technique, and more exotic drivers.
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Goldmund Tethys premium
The beautifully understated and elegant Tethys is the latest addition to Goldmund's portfolio and it marks the brand's very first passive loudspeaker. Given that all other Goldmund loudspeakers are active designs, that is a pretty big deal.
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Bowers & Wilkins – Company Profile and Signature 801 D4 Review premium
Originally, I had intended to limit this review just to a listening impression of the new 801 D4 Signature. However, during my visit to Bowers & Wilkins in Eindhoven, I was provided with such a wealth of information that I felt I could not just keep it all to myself and only focus on the review. As a result, what you can read below is a bit of Company History, a Factory Tour, and of course, a Listening Impression of the 801 D4 Signature.
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Seawave Acoustic AM23 and Aletheia III premium
Since its inception in 1983 by CEO Bo San, a practicing Korean Buddhist monk, Seawave Acoustic has sought the ultimate expression of horn loudspeaker technology. They aspire to reintroduce true horn loudspeakers based on original principles yet dramatically re-engineered for the modern era.
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PUUR hifidelity Company Visit and Clarisys Audio Minuet Review premium
Recently, PUUR hifidelity moved from Oostzaan into a cozier and much more accessible shop on a main street in Zeist. In this article, you will find a showcase of the new showroom as well as a report of the Clarisys Audio show with a full listening impression of the entry-level Minuet model. 
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20 December 2022
Børresen Acoustics Z1 and 01 premium
With the Z1 Cryo and 01 Silver Supreme Edition, Børresen has produced on the one hand a speaker that offers a truly great price/performance ratio and on the other hand, an extravagantly-priced speaker that nevertheless offers state-of-the-art performance along with an absolutely stunning aesthetic.
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10 September 2022
MJ Acoustics REF 200-SR and Master-Class Ascot-SR premium
Established in 2002, MJ was originally started by ex-REL employees that sought new ways of doing things. This led to the brand being the first to offer presets and remote control for adjustment from the listening position, all the way back in 2004. Now, I will be reviewing two relatively compact but high quality subs, one from the Reference Series and one from the Master-Class Series.
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Driade Premium Model 2S premium
It was a bit of a shame that I have reviewed various Driade cables but never any of their speakers. The recent Premium 2S provided the perfect occasion to rectify this!
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22 February 2022
Care Orchestra Spiritual Blue Evo and Celestial Deep Breath Evo premium
Reviewed here are two very different models, one monitor/stand-mount model, and one floor-standing model. The speakers have some similarities and some differences but both models impress with a sound that is full-bodied and tonally saturated yet also well-paced and engaging.
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24 January 2022
Diptyque DP 107 premium
The Diptyque company is born from the meeting between two men passionate about acoustics: Gilles Douziech and Eric Poix. Among others what makes these speakers unique is their proprietary PPBM Push-Pull Bipolar Magnet technique that uses large section bipolar magnets located both at the front and the rear of the Mylar membrane. This makes it possible for the membrane's coil to remain in a constant magnetic field while it moves, allowing a much higher level of control than with a single-ended construction.
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16 January 2022
Qln Prestige Three premium
The Qln Prestige Three is a 2-way floor standing speaker, based on the classic Qln Signature 3 design. Several parts have been sourced from the earlier design, such as the time alignment leaning baffle, and the minimized baffle area around the dive units. The crossover has been redesigned and major parts have been improved.
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Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 premium
After the D4 range was released, the new model was said to be not only the best incarnation of the series but actually the best that Bowers & Wilkins has issued. Of course, this is more often said with the introduction of a new reference series. In order to find out, I went to hear the speakers in the SoundUnited demo room.
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Reference Sounds – Wilson Alexx V with Audio Research premium
Last month, I published my first experiences with the Wilson Audio Alexx V loudspeakers paired with Dan D'Agostino Momentum pre-and power amplifiers at Ducth Distributor Reference Sounds. At the end of that initial experience, I was informed that a second event was planned, showcasing the Audio Research Ref 6 SE preamplifier and Ref 160 mono power amplifiers. This is my report of this second event.
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Reference Sounds – Wilson Alexx V with Dan D’Agostino premium
When I received an email from Michael Huigen of Dutch Distributor Reference Sounds with the subject "Invitation for the Wilson Audio Alexx V Listening Session", it only took one look at the first image to decide right away to come and listen to these magnificent beasts. In this review, I will explain all the design changes and will of course share my listening impressions.
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Pylon Audio Jasper 25 premium
With their curved enclosures and available in any RAL color, the Jasper 25 looks refreshingly different. Sonically, as well, it is far from anonymous.
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Aequo Audio Stilla Active premium
After having reviewed the Hybrid (partially-active) Aequo Stilla, the model under review here concerns the fully active version. Whereas the hybrid Stilla still requires the use of an external amplifier, the fully-active Stilla contains internal amplifiers for all of its drivers, thus eliminating the cost and worry of using an external amplifier while freeing up extra space in the listening environment.  
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18 December 2020
Wolf von Langa SON premium
Hearing the Wolf von Lange Sons for the first time at Callas Audio immediately primed me for something special. But it wasn't until I had heard them in my own system that I truly and deeply understood the extent of their superlative performance.
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11 December 2020
Qln Prestige One premium
Being great communicators and musical omnivores, the Prestige Ones always put the music first with an energetic, vibrant and involving rendition of anything that you play.
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Aequo Audio Stilla premium
While sleek and elegant in appearance, these are not lifestyle products but seriously high-end speakers that tick all the audiophile parameter boxes. All it takes is a single demo to understand their brilliance.
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11 September 2020
Xavian Premio Esclusivo premium
The Premio Esclusivo is a superbly natural-sounding speaker that always brings the maximum in engagement.
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Graham Audio LS3/5 and LS3/5A with SUB3 premium
The LS3/5A a world-famous mini-monitor that is loved by many. But what not many may know is that this was not actually the first incarnation of the model. In this article, I will describe the audible differences between the LS3/5's and LS3/5A's. In addition, I will listen to the SUB3 stereo subwoofer system that is designed by Derek Hughes specifically to work with these speakers.
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Qln Sonora premium
The Qln Sonora loudspeaker is equipped with a highly efficient, crossover-less, full-range driver (with a Whizzer/tweeter-cone) and a tweeter that mainly adds resolution at higher frequencies above 10kHz.
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Analysis Audio Epsilon premium
The Analysis Audio Epsilons produce a sound so clean, clear, open, transparent and so utterly uncolored that many traditional cabinet speakers can only aspire to.
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Goldmund Telos 7 with Kharma Elegance S7 Signature demo at PUUR audio, video & domotica premium
To celebrate their 7,5-year anniversary of the PUUR showroom they have paired the Kharma Elegance S7 Signature with the Goldmund Telos 7.
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Goldmund Telos 7 with Kharma Elegance DB7 demo at PUUR audio, video & domotica premium
As part of the "Private Sessions", PUUR audio, video & domotica is currently demoeing the new Goldmund Telos 7 integrated amplifier together with the Kharma Elegance DB7 loudspeakers.
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Wilson Benesch Precision P1.0 and P2.0 premium
The Wilson Benesch Precision Series uses trickle-down technology from the reference line to capture a large part of the essence of the Wilson Benesch sound at a more accessible price point.
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MBL show at PUUR audio, video & domotica premium
On Saturday, January 25th, PUUR audio, video & domotica demonstrated the MBL 116F Radialstrahler loudspeakers along with the N31 CD player/DAC and N51 amplifier combo from MBL's Noble Line.
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Anthem Room Correction and Martin Logan Renaissance ESL 15A premium
As my experiments show, Room correction is not only beneficial for heavily compromised setups and terrible rooms. Even when the speakers have already been positioned ideally, the results are still far from subtle.
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23 November 2019
Graham Audio LS5/9, LS5/9f, and LS5/8 premium
The Graham Audio loudspeakers have an absolutely fabulous midrange. Vocals sound incredibly natural and highly convincing and there is a superbly lyrical and immediately emotionally involving quality to the delivery. It's not only that the midband is superbly liquid, it is also highly faithful to the source, much more so than most other cabinet speakers.
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8 November 2019
Paradigm Persona B premium
with the Persona B's, Paradigm has got a superbly performing pair of stand-mounters that deserve very serious attention!
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Goldmund Satya Active Loudspeakers premium
The attention-grabbing Satya's always get the musical message across with any music that they are fed. They do hard-rock just as well as classical and are the ultimate solution for people who value aesthetics as much as the absence of cables and a plethora of audio components.
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28 October 2018
Kroma Audio Carmen premium
Careful: after hearing these speakers, there is no way back!
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8 October 2018
Xavian Perla Esclusiva premium
Pure and natural sounding beauties that also know how to rock!
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30 September 2018
Martin Logan Renaissance ESL 15A premium
Simply the absolute best Martin Logans that I have heard.
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HFA Audio Setup History 30 – Speakers and Amps – April 2018/Aug 2018 premium
Finding my next reference speakers and amplifiers - part 3
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HFA Audio Setup History 29 – Speakers and Amps – Dec 2017/April 2018 premium
Finding my next reference speakers and amplifiers - part 2
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HFA Audio Setup History 28 – Speakers and Amps – Oct 2017/Dec 2017 premium
I had started a quest to find the perfect amplifier, for my Diva situation at least. By now I knew that there were amplifiers that are more expressive and lively than my precious Rowlands, but so far none of them was a match in terms of treble refinement and low-level resolution.
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31 March 2018
Gustavson Audio LS-One premium
When hearing the Gustavson LS-One at the X-fi show in Veldhoven 2017, I noticed how easy it was to relax into the music and not worry about traditional audiophile technicalities.
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12 February 2018
Franco Serblin Accordo premium
By always allowing the listener to focus on the emotional message, not the technical details, the Accordo's encourage to stop the upgrade process and just enjoy the music.
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10 December 2017
Wilson Sabrina premium
Shapely and compact, the latest Wilsons are a visual treat and sound way bigger than their small dimensions would suggest.
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4 December 2017
Aurum Cantus V30 M premium
Lots of quality in a small and very attractive package that is priced very reasonably.
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Martin Logan Impression ESL 11A premium
Martin Logan loudspeakers have always had unbelievable transparency and spatial rendering. However, with the Impression ESL 11A, the company has taken a significant step forward.
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HFA Audio Setup History 27 – Speakers So Far – Aug 2017 premium
If all my experiments over the years have taught me one thing then it is that amplifier and speaker performance is highly relative.
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Apogee Duetta Signature – Graz KLM5 MRTW ribbons with new interfaces and wired returns premium
Installing Graz’ latest KLM5 MRTW ribbons with new interfaces and wired returns This is a follow-up review of the initial Duetta Signature review. In speaking with Graz about my experiences with the original and refurbished Duettas, he suggested I install new MRTW ribbons, not only because the KLM5’s are hugely improved over the older KLM2’s, […]
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Marten Mingus Quintet and Jorma Design cables premium
Diamonds are a man's best friends, too
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23 December 2016
Martin Logan Ethos premium
These speakers play music with such a high level of coherence and such utter transparency that they might make it hard for you to return to normal dynamic speakers.
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AvantGarde Uno G2 with Ayon, Viva and VAIC amplifiers premium
Highly revealing speakers that are capable of pure magic when matched with the right cables and electronics
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Meridian 818v3 – MC200 – DSP 5200 SE premium
For the first time, there are a pair of active Meridian DSP speakers in my listening room, along with an 818v3 Reference Audio Core and a Media Core 200. This makes for some very interesting comparisons.
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Apogee Scintilla – rebuild premium
Dismantling and rebuilding the Apogee Scintilla
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Apogee Scintilla premium
Apogee Listening Sessions: Scintilla at Stanley's place.
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Computer Audio part 6 – Perspective premium
Genelec 8050 and Wadia 121 with a Computer Source in the secondary setup.
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Apogee Diva premium
Apogee Listening Sessions: Diva in my reference setup, and comparisons with Duetta Signature.
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Apogee Duetta Signature premium
Apogee Listening Sessions: Duetta Signature in Toine's listening room and in my reference setup, and comparisons between refurbished and original models.
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Avalon Eclipse premium
The original Eclipse is a long time Avalon favourite and one of the first Avalon designs by Charles Hansen, who started the company with a partner
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Synthese 2 – Mini Review premium
Disclaimer Any loudspeaker is highly interactive with its environment, the room that it is placed in. In all but the most perfect rooms, you are listening to a mixture of direct speaker sound and your room, reacting to the speakers. My room is far from perfect and even though I have heard a large number of […]
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B&W 800D premium
The iconic 800D is compared to its smaller brother Nautilus 804, the Magnepan MG3.6R, and the Synthese Floating 2
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REL Quake II and Strata III premium
The Strata III is an older type than the Quake II but it was more than twice as expensive, and is considered by many to be better.
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Harman/Kardon GLA-55 active speakers premium
These remarkable powered speakers certainly are eyecatchers. I liked them immediately but the steep price kept me from buying them.
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Audio Physic Caldera premium
The Caldera's belong to my friend Jeroen who has them set up in quite a small room and he long wondered what they would sound like in a bigger room
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20 September 2009
Magnepan MG 3.6R premium
MG3.6R Planar Magnetostatic Speakers, compared to Martin Logan SL3 Electrostatic Speakers
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