Lab: Paul Miller

Apocryphal it may be, but one of the lingering mysteries about Quad was why MD and chief designer Peter Walker never went ‘high-end’ with bigger amps or speakers. His answer was always that his amplifiers and speakers were ‘adequate for most needs’. While that’s true, one cannot deny the efforts of others to make Quad’s inaugural ESL go louder and deeper. So while the ESL 2912X may not be the cost-no-object/size-no-object electrostatic that some devotees of the brand might dream of, I wonder what Peter Walker would have made of the not inconsiderable £12,999 asking price?

Over the past few years, DALI has established a firm presence in the premium loudspeaker market with impressive feats of engineering realised in its KORE flagship [HFN Dec ’23] and Epikore [HFN Feb ’25] ranges. However, the company that 40 years ago started as a budget brand for Scandinavia’s HiFi Klubben chain is making something of a return to its affordable roots with the Kupid. At £299 a pair, these pint-sized ‘bookshelf’ speakers are a universe away from the £85,000 KORE, but both are said to be built according to DALI’s ‘core’ design principles.

If you thought bespoke cabinet details and custom colourways were the preserve of the very high-end loudspeaker market, maybe it’s time to think again. AudioSolutions, hailing from Vilnius in Lithuania, offers an extensive customisation programme for its mid-level Figaro series – so extensive, in fact, that there are apparently over 500,000 possible configurations for the M2 floorstander auditioned here. Despite that, pricing begins at £9750. Not pocket change, of course, but hardly outrageous either..

There’s a back story to the Virtus A3, Canor’s curious integrated dual-mono hybrid amplifier. I first encountered the design at the brand’s impressive factory in Prešov, eastern Slovakia, but this was in the summer of 2023, long before production versions rolled off the line. At the time the amplifier looked close to completion and was demonstrated playing into FinkTeam’s Borg loudspeakers. However, changes to the specifications along the way, including a decision to increase its power output to 2x100W/8ohm, ensured its development took rather longer than anticipated.