Loudspeakers

KEF's Uni-Q driver has been a staple of its loudspeakers since 1988, undergoing various refinements over the years to the point that we're now at its 12th generation. However, not every overhaul has led the audio marque to shout about it in its speaker names, which is what it's doing with the R Series Meta.

Mark Craven enjoys the highs and lows of a premium compact 5.1 system from American audio marque GoldenEar

US brand GoldenEar was the third loudspeaker company founded by famed designer Sandy Gross, following in the footsteps of Polk Audio and Definitive Technology. Gross has now left, but his parting gift is the £1,499-per-pair Bookshelf Reference X.

Can French marque Triangle bring affordable hi-fi to immersive cinema? Steve Withers investigates

The stated philosophy of Triangle is to add a dash of romanticism to the world of hi-fi by emphasising emotion and sensitivity rather than reason and rationalism… so no prizes for guessing this manufacturer hails from France. The question is: do its loudspeakers have that certain je ne sais quoi?

The performance of some high-end speakers from a new US brand makes Mark Craven sit up and listen

With so many speaker brands competing in the home cinema/hi-fi markets, it can sometimes be hard to muster real enthusiasm when another one comes along. Yet Perlisten Audio, a new company from Wisconsin in the US, has arrived with a potent offering that immediately stands out. It helps, of course, that Perlisten debuts with a fully-formed range of models that will suit system builders, including subwoofers and height/surround cabinets.

Mark Craven believes Q Acoustics' mid-level Concept speaker package was worth waiting for

It was almost a decade ago that Q Acoustics launched its Concept range. At the time, the relatively new UK brand was known for affordable loudspeakers, and the 2013 arrival of the Concept 20 bookshelf was billed as a step toward the high-end. Okay, it was still on the right side of pricey, but later on in 2017 came floorstanders (the Concept 500s) at £4,000 a pair.

Piega's slender, sweet-sounding loudspeakers want to sneak into Mark Craven's movie room

The AV industry once happily threw around the term Wife Acceptance Factor (or WAF for short). This was applied to any bit of gear that looked as if it had been styled for the home, not a pro-grade studio – in other words, it looked nice, and wasn't huge. I was reminded of this by Piega's Ace 50 floorstander.

You know the famous George Lucas quote: when it comes to movie-watching, ‘sound is half the experience.’ And in your home cinema setup, it’s quite likely you’ve spent more than half your budget on everything that goes towards creating that experience – speakers, subwoofer(s), an AV receiver or processor/amplifier combo.

Of course, buying the equipment is only one part of the journey. To get the best from your multichannel setup, consideration of speaker placement is key, before you get into system EQ and the effects of your room environment. Spend time getting it right (or as right as you can), and you'll be on the path toward a sound performance that perhaps Mr Lucas would be proud of...