Ken Kessler and Keith Howard

Sonus Faber Guarneri Evolution (£12,490)

Ken Kessler and Keith Howard | Nov 30, 2011 | 0 comments

What follows 'The Sonus faber'? A second revision of the Guarneri, the company's best-selling high-end loudspeaker Homage and Memento owners may argue that it didn’t need it, but Sonus faber’s Guarneri is enjoying its second makeover. The world’s prettiest high-end compact speaker has been ‘pimped’ with shiny metal hardware for the back edges and the top plate, the fi nishes have changed, the innards are new. So what remains of the earlier versions’ grace and panache? The Evolution is slightly larger than the Memento at 410x235x412mm versus 380x210x390mm (hwd). Its dedicated pillar, however, has been reduced in height from the earlier 895mm to 795mm.

Loudspeakers

Nola Viper Reference Ii (£12,000)

Ken Kessler and Keith Howard | Dec 24, 2009 | 0 comments

If you’re torn between the sheer impact of speakers in boxes and openness possible from panels, then your (hi-fi) life has inevitably been a series of compromises. If you own pairs of each, you probably swing between them, never quite satisfied – like owning solid-state and valve amps. You know your Quad 57s lack the bass of, say, big B&Ws or Tannoys. Conversely, you can’t get the openness of the Quads or Maggies out of your head.

Loudspeakers

Sonus Faber Toy (£745)

Ken Kessler and Keith Howard | Dec 24, 2009 | 0 comments

Whether it’s bravery, a weak grasp of colloquial English or a misguided belief that some wag won’t abuse the name, Sonus faber has anointed its smallest-ever two-way with the moniker ‘Toy Speaker’. Undoubtedly, as its literature proclaims, it chose that tag because it suggests joy: ‘Toys have always been synonymous with happiness and surprise. ’ And – cynical rotters aside – the first reaction you’ll have when you see the new baby is not that the name contains an intrinsic insult, but that the product is, well, adorable. Although deeper than an LS3/5a, it is narrower and shorter at 265x185x270mm (hwd).

Loudspeakers

Martinlogan Summit X (£13,000)

Ken Kessler and Keith Howard | Nov 25, 2009 | 0 comments

Blown away by MartinLogan’s Spire earlier this year [see HFN, Apr ’09], I assumed that it would replace the Summit. Before the ink was dry, the Summit X was announced, and at a higher price point to ensure that the gap would prevent customer confusion. But in order to justify the cost difference, for a speaker not that much larger, its performance would have to be instantly, audibly superior. Luckily for ML, the Summit X may be the best hybrid the company has delivered to date.

Loudspeakers

Pmc Db1i (£770)

Ken Kessler and Keith Howard | Sep 25, 2009 | 0 comments

Since 2004, PMC’s entry level DB1+ has been one of my reference speakers. Put another way: since reviewing it for the November 2007 issue of Hi-Fi News that year, I’ve regarded the DB1+ as one of the best speakers available for under £1000 per pair. How far under? Enough to allow that figure to include decent stands and cables. Part of this love goes back to my unshakeable admiration for transmission line speakers, since I first heard IMFs.

Loudspeakers

Rogers Ls3/5a (£1495)

Ken Kessler and Keith Howard | May 25, 2009 | 0 comments

Who could have anticipated this even a year ago? One of the most beloved of all loudspeakers, the legendary BBC LS3/5A, was finished. Period. Stalwart fans of the product – Doug Stirling, for example – issued limited runs, but who could imagine that the speaker might suddenly reappear as a commercial venture? Well, it has. .

Loudspeakers

Martinlogan Spire (£7990)

Ken Kessler and Keith Howard | Apr 24, 2009 | 0 comments

Purists will never yield on the topic of full-range electrostatic vs hybrid. The reality is that ESLs need to be huge if they’re to deliver deep bass and high SPLs. So mazel tov to those who can house and afford, say, big Sound Labs. For the rest of us, hybrids are a sane compromise.

Loudspeakers

Acoustic Energy Ae1 Mkiii Se (£2500)

Ken Kessler and Keith Howard | Mar 25, 2009 | 0 comments

Has it really been more than 20 years since Acoustic Energy bridged the worlds of professional studio monitoring and domestic audio? Back in ’88, the former regarded the latter in the way that, say, Labour regards fiscal responsibility. AE was having none of it, and produced a classy, compact two-way monitor of true studio merit, sort of a UK answer to Wilson’s WATT. Given its diminuitive stature, most noteworthy was the AE1’s prodigious bass. Rear-ported and boasting a still-radical metal mid/bass driver, it begged to be positioned away from walls on solid 24in stands.

Loudspeakers

Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor Elipsa (£2498)

Ken Kessler and Keith Howard | Mar 25, 2009 | 0 comments

Some years ago, Magnepan produced a tiny panel for in-store display as a point-of-sale item. It was a miniature Maggie, maybe 18in tall, with sections cut away to show the technology. I asked Jim Winey, ‘Why not make them functioning speakers?’ But, alas, my first visit to Magnepan took place well before home theatre and Dolby Surround would deem small speakers desirable. But I loved the idea of a pair of ‘mini Maggies’ for the desk, or the bedroom, knowing they would never be realised.

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Ken Kessler and Keith Howard