_Loudspeaker Reviews Archives - Twittering Machines

Review: Magnepan 20.7x Loudspeakers

October 2, 2025 Michael Lavorgna

The Magnepan 20.7x are the first pair of Maggies in Barn and perhaps more than most, their unique qualities and standout strengths challenged my abilities to describe their sound in words. While I love a good challenge, I enjoyed experiencing music Maggie-style even more.

Review: DeVore Fidelity O/Bronze Loudspeakers

September 25, 2025 Michael Lavorgna

When it comes to hifi and music, distance matters.

Review: Harbeth NLE-1 Professional Monitor Loudspeakers

September 4, 2025 Michael Lavorgna

TMI. Too much information is an oft-stated knock against “Pro” audio gear. On the other hand, hifi companies with Pro Audio history are often valued for that experience. Odd, no?

Review: Ø Audio Verdande Loudspeakers

August 21, 2025 Michael Lavorgna

Soon after I asked the Ø Audio Verdande to play music I realized they are, at heart, delicate and powerful creatures capable of single-driver intimacy coupled with full range reach while exhibiting the speed and lightning fast dynamics you’d expect from a horn-loaded loudspeaker.

Review: Grimm Audio LS1c Active Loudspeaker System

June 26, 2025 Michael Lavorgna

I don’t know what they put in the water in Veldhoven, Netherlands, home to Grimm Audio, but my guess is there’s more than a dollop of musical mojo in the mix.

Review: YG Acoustics Sonja 3.3 Loudspeakers

April 3, 2025 Michael Lavorgna

You expect a lot from a big speaker.

Review: MC Audiotech TL-12 Loudspeakers

March 20, 2025 Michael Lavorgna

Describing sound is tricky business.

Review: Gauder Akustik Capello 100 Loudspeakers

January 23, 2025 Michael Lavorgna

I’ll let you in on a little secret—while I have Favorites, within those favorites I have favorites.

Review: Canton Reference 2 Floorstanding Speakers

January 16, 2025 Michael Lavorgna

Do you remember that famous photo of Picasso drawing with light in air? From the Light Drawings? Here, I’ll remind you:

Review: Dynaudio Contour Legacy Limited Edition Loudspeakers

October 29, 2024 Michael Lavorgna

The review pair of the Contour Legacy Limited Edition speakers arrived with plenty of play time already on ‘em and they were out their flight cases and playing music on the Barn’s A-Side moments later.

Review: Vienna Acoustics Limited Edition Bach Ultimate Loudspeakers

October 24, 2024 Michael Lavorgna

There’s something nice, something intimate, about a good two way.

Review: Living Voice R80 OB-X Floorstanding Loudspeakers

October 3, 2024 Michael Lavorgna

On the face of it, a tower speaker that reaches down into the mid-20Hz region and needs only a few Watts to come alive sounds like a dream come true.

Review: Qln Reference 9 Loudspeakers

September 12, 2024 Michael Lavorgna

One word kept coming to mind each time I thought about writing about the Qln Reference 9 Loudspeakers—Yes.

Review: Piega Coax Gen2 411 Standmount Speakers

July 25, 2024 Michael Lavorgna

Some speaker’s appearance telegraphs their sound more than others, or so I say in a kind of surface way.

Review: Audiovector QR 7 SE Loudspeakers

July 18, 2024 Michael Lavorgna

When it comes to loudspeakers, I like all kinds.

Review: Fyne Audio Vintage Classic XII Floorstanding Loudspeakers

July 11, 2024 Michael Lavorgna

To say I was impressed by the Fyne Vintage Classic XII is kinda like saying I’m impressed by air conditioning—it’s all a matter of degree.

Review: Treehaus Audiolab ‘Phantom of Luxury’ Field Coil Loudspeakers

April 9, 2024 Michael Lavorgna

Trees, ‘hauses, audio, and labs are some of my favorite words as they, when combined, bring to mind all manner of lovely hifi things past and present.

Review: GoldenEar T66 Tower Speakers

March 13, 2024 Michael Lavorgna

“Better” can be a tricky thing to ascribe to a piece of hifi gear. After all, what each of us like or prefer is a matter of taste not fact. With that being said, the GoldenEar T66 are my very favorite GoldenEar speakers.

Review: Vivid Audio GIYA G3 Series 2 Loudspeakers

March 5, 2024 Michael Lavorgna

Would you be surprised to learn that the Vivid GIYA G3 Series 2 loudspeakers sound like a larger version of the Vivid K 45 loudspeakers I reviewed back in July of 2023? Yet somehow even more than simply bigger?

Review: Volti Audio Rival Special Edition Loudspeakers

January 24, 2024 Michael Lavorgna

There are few things in hifi less obvious than a large horn-loaded speaker when it comes to setting expectations.

Review: Wharfedale Dovedale Standmount Speakers

January 3, 2024 Michael Lavorgna

The original Wharfedale Dovedales date back to 1959. This all-new version celebrates the company’s 90th anniversary and fits nicely into their Heritage line with lovely stout retro hand veneered appeal.

Review: Rockport Atria II Loudspeakers

October 31, 2023 Michael Lavorgna

What is your ultimate goal when listening to music on the hifi? It’s OK, there isn’t just one. Mine is twofold—to be completely captivated by the music being made, and to be hungry for more.

Review: YG Acoustics Summit Loudspeakers

September 21, 2023 Michael Lavorgna

There seems to be as many ways to approach speaker design as there are speaker designers, but some go to greater lengths to achieve their particular goals. YG Acoustics is one such intrepid explorer.

Review: Zu Audio Definition 6 Loudspeakers

August 31, 2023 Michael Lavorgna

Did you ever wish for a speaker with the immediacy of a single driver, the physicality of a multi-way, and the low end wallop of a powered sub? The Zu Definition 6 comes strikingly close to delivering just that.

Review: Living Voice Auditorium R25A Loudspeakers 

August 10, 2023 Michael Lavorgna

Some of my favorite hifis are the kind of hifis that are as easy to slip into as a well worn pair of 501s.

Review: A Desktop System – DeVore Fidelity micr/O | Enleum AMP-23R | Weiss DAC204

July 27, 2023 Michael Lavorgna

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.”

Review: Vivid Audio Kaya K45 Loudspeakers

July 13, 2023 Michael Lavorgna

Engineering first. When some people look at a speaker from Vivid Audio, they don’t see engineering first, they see design. Which makes sense seeing as Vivid speakers don’t look like other speakers.

Review: DeVore Fidelity O/96 Loudspeakers

June 14, 2023 Michael Lavorgna

There’s a funny trend in the world of hifi reviews that seems to think being dispassionate is a sign of objectivity and that the less experience we have actually listening to a piece of gear the more value our opinions hold.