Loudspeakers

The giant professional KM1 apart, KEF has been pretty quiet in the large loudspeaker market during the past year or two. The Reference series has run on without much fanfare, and most of the action has been with the budget ‘C’ range, particularly the highly competitive Coda, now in Mark 3 guise.

Everywhere, from the alphabet to Roman numerals, V comes before X, so you might expect Wilson Audio’s Sabrina V to be a lesser version of the SabrinaX model [HFN Dec ’20], which was an upgrade of the original Sabrina [HFN Aug ’15]. Not so: the Sabrina V is a redesigned and rethought version of the X, with changed and improved components, sharpened up styling, and a significant price increase.

Dynaudio’s collection of passive loudspeakers is substantial. You begin with the Emit series and move through its Evoke line, various Contour models [HFN May ’25], and the Heritage and Special Forty one-offs, before you get to the flagship Confidence range [HFN Jan ’25]. On the other hand, active options are more limited, with – until recently – just the three-strong Focus series appealing to cable-cutters. Now, though, the Danish brand has added the Confidence 20A, priced £17,000.

'Where meticulous engineering meets creative artistry', says Audio Group Denmark of its Børresen loudspeakers. This is a not unfamiliar claim, but there’s no denying that the tall-yet-slender C1 looks suitably distinctive. Available in black or white piano lacquer finishes at £15,000 a pair, they stand just under 43cm tall, or a little over 112cm with the supplied stands, while the enclosure itself is a mere 20.4cm wide.

Standmount? Or floorstander? It’s a question faced by many hi-fi enthusiasts. On one hand there’s the potential for a tight, clean sound from a smaller enclosure, albeit with the need for a stand to bring the speaker up to listening height and stabilise it. Meanwhile, the argument for floorstanding speaker designs involves the possibility of a bigger, more forceful presentation, often taking up no more floorspace than that smaller speaker on its stand. Then again, which design is more aesthetically pleasing is very much a matter of taste...

The BBC’s outside broadcast engineers often have to work in cramped conditions, for example in OB vans, where the steady proliferation of equipment puts cunning stowage, tidy habits, and a strict diet for the occupants at a distinct premium. Studio monitor loudspeakers are particularly difficult to locate sensibly in these circumstances, and the design aim behind the LS3/5a was the provision of a small but high quality monitor.

Employing a deal of trickle-down technology from its costlier models, the 3050c is the only floorstander in Q Acoustics’ new 3000c range. Following on from its popular 3000i series, the basics remain the same – slim speakers that look and sound good, with price tags that won’t break the bank. The 3050c tower tested here differs from the 3010c, 3020c and 3030c standmount models not only in size, but also with its dual 142mm woofer/mid units, promising bigger bass and more thrills at what seems an extremely generous £849 price tag.