Note: Measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada’s National Research Council can be found through this link.
GoldenEar Technology, founded in 2010 by Sandy Gross and Don Givogue, is known for offering superb-sounding, high-value loudspeakers based on, er, sound engineering principles. Recently, GoldenEar was sold to the Quest Group, run by Bill Low, which also owns AudioQuest, a company that sells mostly speaker cables, interconnects, and power-related products.
Note: Measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada’s National Research Council can be found through this link.
Italy’s Sonus Faber has a well-earned, decades-old reputation for producing speakers that not only sound great, but are some of the most beautiful and luxurious-looking in the world. Unfortunately, not every audiophile has pockets deep enough to experience the upper echelons of Sonus Faber’s model range.
In November 2019, I wrote a feature for SoundStage! Access in which I discussed a few recordings I use to evaluate loudspeakers and subwoofers. This month I write about the reference tracks with which I evaluate how well a pair of speakers can reproduce aural images of singers, instruments, and other sound-producing objects, and to create a three-dimensional soundstage on which to accurately position those images.
Recently wowed by French manufacturer Triangle Manufacture Electroacoustique’s Borea BR03 minimonitor, I wasn’t shy in expressing my admiration in a May 2020 review. Now in my listening room is the BR03’s floorstanding big brother, the three-way, four-driver Borea BR08 ($1399/pair, all prices USD). I looked forward to this review — it had been a while since I’d heard a budget floorstander that impressed me, and I wondered if the Borea BR08 would deliver the BR03’s exciting sound and exceptional value.
Monitor Audio, founded in 1972, is part of the UK’s rich history of high-quality hi-fi design. Recently, Monitor launched the latest iteration of their affordable line of Bronze loudspeaker models, now in its sixth generation. The Bronzes have been completely redesigned for, per Monitor, superior sound and build quality.
Although I’ve been critically listening to speakers for almost 30 years, I’ve listened and measured for only the last two. I take my own measurements in my home listening room, and help out with measuring the speakers we review in the anechoic chamber of Canada’s National Research Council (NRC), here in Ottawa.
I try not to take being an audio reviewer for granted. I examine, live with, and, most important, hear many audio products — things most people don’t get to do. And I am never more aware of my privileged position than when I get my hands on a special edition — models that manufacturers produce, often in limited numbers, to commemorate an anniversary or other occasion, and that typically are made to look and sound quite distinct. In this case, my privilege was to be one of the first reviewers to get their hands on the new Menuet SE (for Special Edition) minimonitor ($1799/pair, all prices USD), which its maker, DALI, expects to keep in production for a limited time.
Although Fyne Audio was founded in Scotland only three years ago, in 2017, they boast that their team has, collectively, “over 200 years’ experience” in all aspects of loudspeaker design and manufacture. Their website offers few details, but it’s my understanding that the design team mostly comprises people who used to work for Tannoy, plus a few from other UK speaker makers. A quick glance at their various models makes it obvious that not only do Fyne speakers pack a lot of leading-edge tech, they look the parts of high-end speakers.
How much bass do you want your system’s sound to have? A lot? A little? Whatever’s “normal”? But do you actually know how much bass your system reproduces in your room, or how smooth it is — that is, how devoid of peaks and valleys caused by room modes? What’s the ideal amount of bass? Is there an ideal amount of bass for most listeners? Is the amount of bass affected by the type of music played?
Note: Measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada’s National Research Council can be found through this link.
As their logo reveals, French manufacturer Triangle Manufacture Electroacoustique named itself for the simplest musical instrument — but did they also consider that triangle has the same meaning in at least two languages? This occurred to me a few weeks ago while sitting at the anechoic chamber of Canada’s National Research Council, helping SoundStage! founder-publisher Doug Schneider measure some speakers, including the Triangle BR03. Doug and Randy, the NRC technician taking the measurements, stared at the BR03 and said, almost simultaneously, “I wonder why a French company named themselves Triangle?” I, the only French Canadian in the group, responded with a coy smile: “You do know, guys, that in French, triangle means . . . triangle?” My fellow Canadians looked somewhat embarrassed.