_Loudspeaker Reviews

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.

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.

“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.

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?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

One of the things about big(ger) speakers is they tend to sound, big(ger).

And then there were three.

Reviewing a piece of hifi gear, especially a loudspeaker, is more complicated than deciding whether or not we like it. But at the end of the day, it sure makes the reviewing more enjoyable when we do—like it. Such was the case with the Sonner […]

Who doesn’t want full-range performance from a loudspeaker?

If you’re looking for a sleek, slender amp-friendly tower speaker that serves whatever music suits your fancy, read on.

Two speakers + two power cords = endless music on tap that sounds as good, or better, than separates. That’s what the Dynaudio Focus 50 have to offer. Interested?

If you have your ear to the ground, you’ll already have heard that the Q Acoustics Concept 50 Floorstanding Speakers are a Barn-storming bargain, offering fit & finish plus performance that’ll leave you wondering—how can they do this for that?

If you like the way the Rethm Aarka look, you should hear how they sound.

You might think that all well designed and well made speakers are easy to like. In my experience, this isn’t always the case. Some speakers can sound downright foreign, as if their musical language isn’t the same as yours.