Large Audiophile Speaker Reviews

When talking very high-end, reference-level audiophile speakers, there are many brands that always come into the discussion such as Wilson Audio, Magico, Bowers & Wilkins, Stenheim, Estelon,and so many others. One that belongs in the conversation, but sometimes can get forgotten about, is Paradigm. These… Read More »

In the 10 years since I designed our basement audio room, the space has seen numerous components come and go, including stereo preamps, audiophile power amps, music streamers, DACs, equalizers, and subwoofers. What came and didn’t go is a pair… Read More »

MC Audiotech is a relatively new company but, like many, its founders have a long history in the high-end audio business. Their creatively-designed floorstanding speakers are hand-built in Oregon but hail from Pennsylvania (like our publisher). For those in need of a… Read More »

I remember my first trip to purchase my own stereo speakers like it was yesterday. It was 1989, and I had just passed my driver’s test. My Dad had won some points in a sales contest and allowed me to… Read More »

Piecing together an amazing audio system is often a lifelong pursuit for audiophiles. Start with a nice set of audiophile speakers and an entry-level power amp, and build up from there. Sell or trade pieces of gear to incrementally improve your setup until you… Read More »

Paradigm has spent more than 40 years building quality speakers. The Founder 80F typically retails for around $3,600 per pair, which sits them at a price where you typically start to find good speakers from many of the top manufacturers… Read More »

One of the best things about the audiophile hobby is the diversity of designers and equipment manufacturers. Having owned a major home theater publication in my somewhat recent past, I can tell you that only a few companies make a… Read More »

The Alec loudspeaker, by boutique audiophile speaker company Alta Audio, is a two-way floorstanding model with rather unique technology incorporated. If you haven’t heard of Alta Audio before, you are like me. Our publisher, Jerry Del Colliano, sent me some information about the… Read More »

Rockport Technologies is a company with origins that date back to 1990, when they released their first audiophile component, a reference phonograph named the Sirius. Phonographs live and die by how well the designer can isolate and control vibration to… Read More »

It wasn’t that many years ago that SVS was a forum-promoted, somewhat small subwoofer company with a solid cult following in the DIY-enthusiast home theater market. Today, SVS is an entirely different entity that dominates the subwoofer market and has been able… Read More »

Swiss-made audiophile gear is all the rage these days, especially in the world of electronics. However, speakers from Switzerland are equally as sought after as amps, preamps and digital components. These days, Stenheim is at the top of the list… Read More »

Back in January, I finally solved an ongoing audio conundrum I had: Finding an affordable, true reference-level set of loudspeakers. I solved this problem when I received in PSB Speakers’ flagship Synchrony T800 loudspeaker (read the review). The Synchrony T800… Read More »

Founded in Minnesota in 1969, Magnepan is an iconic speaker manufacturer in the audiophile world, its speakers instantly recognizable both visually and sonically. Today, Magnepan’s speakers (which the firm calls Magneplanars) are still designed and built in White Bear Lake,… Read More »

Last year, I reviewed RBH Sound’s SVTR fully active speaker system. They are a monster in terms of performance, size and is pretty expensive at approximately $40,000 per pair, depending on configuration. While I was working on that review, I… Read More »

Thirty years ago was the first time that I saw a Sonus faber bookshelf speaker. I was working in very high-end audio sales at Mark Levinson’s Cello Music and Film boutique, nestled in the Hollywood Hills right above Geffen Records,… Read More »

The market for floorstanding audiophile speakers in the $2,000 dollar range is incredibly diverse, and quite competitive. You can find a pair of speakers in nearly any color, as well as many different shapes and sizes, at this price range.… Read More »

$2,000 for a pair of floorstanding speakers might be the most competitive price point in all of the audiophile market. $400 wireless Bluetooth headphones can give this two-grand speaker category a run for the money for a brutally competitive audiophile… Read More »

Back in the early 1990s, the PSB Speakers Stratus Gold earned its place as one of my favorite loudspeakers of all time. Even today, these legacy loudspeakers represent some strong, music-first engineering that sets a meaningful bar for what a… Read More »

Tekton Design is no longer merely known as the other speaker company from Utah. Today, the company is its own unique phenomenon from the world of audiophile loudspeakers, as head speaker designer and company owner Eric Alexander  has found a… Read More »

When most people think of MartinLogan, the first thing that likely comes to mind is the company’s famous electrostatic speakers like the CLS or the more modern MartinLogan ElectroMotion ESL floorstanding speakers or any number of hybrid electrostatic speakers with… Read More »

Quantum physicist and well-known audio engineer Mark Porzilli, someone who has been designing award-winning audio products for decades, has, since 2019, been updating and perfecting his third and latest line array loudspeaker system: The Note. Manufactured by Laufer Teknik, The… Read More »

RBH Sound knows a thing or two about speaker design. The Utah-based company has been doing it since the mid-1970s, producing OEM speakers for major players such as McIntosh and JBL before pivoting to focus on their own in-house speaker… Read More »

Magnepan’s LRS+ ($995 per pair) is a somewhat modestly sized planar speaker that operates as a dipolar design, meaning the room contributes to the sound of the speakers more than you’d expect with a typical pair of dynamic speakers. They’re… Read More »

Many audiophiles know what a Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series loudspeaker typically sounds like, or at least we think we do. I’ve reviewed my fair share and even been blessed enough to own a couple of pretty cool Bowers &… Read More »

RBH Sound from Layton, Utah, has been making audiophile speakers for close to 50 years but doesn’t always get the attention they deserve in the audiophile press.  Perhaps this is because they started off as an original equipment manufacturer (known in the industry… Read More »

SVS, with its 20-plus year history of producing critically acclaimed subwoofers and audiophile-grade speakers at real-world prices, continues this legacy with its latest floorstanding speaker offering: The SVS Prime Pinnacle Floorstanding Speakers (buy at Crutchfield). Designed to fill a niche… Read More »

The Bowers & Wilkins 702 S3 floorstanding speakers ($7,000 per pair – buy at Crutchfield) represents the company’s latest take on the largest model in their 700 series line, which resides just below their reference 800 series. In between its… Read More »

At $849 per pair, the PSB Alpha T20 floorstanding speaker (buy from Crutchfield) from the legendary Paul Barton at PSB is the company’s entry-level tower. It features a 0.75-inch black anodized aluminum dome tweeter, two 5.25-inch textured polypropylene woofers with… Read More »

About 13 years ago, I became acquainted with Eric Alexander and his outside-the-box loudspeaker company, Tekton Design. Eric was kind enough to ship along a pair of Tekton Mini-Lore loudspeakers, and shortly thereafter an original pair of Tekton Pendragon floorstanding… Read More »

The Monitor Audio Silver 300 7G (buy at Crutchfield) is a three-way audiophile floorstanding speaker with an asking price of around $2,850 per pair, about $1,000 more than the Paradigm Premier 700F (read the review) floorstanding loudspeakers I recently reviewed.… Read More »

The F328Be is the top dog in Revel’s Performa Be audiophile floorstanding speaker line, and a number of well-respected people within Revel would say it is the best speaker the company currently makes. Revel took advantage of parent company Harman’s… Read More »

The Paradigm Premier 700F (buy at Crutchfield) is a mid-level floorstanding speaker from Paradigm priced at $1,800 per pair, which puts it right in the fray with many of the best players in the high-value speaker market. These moderately tall… Read More »

Sonus faber has a longstanding heritage of making audiophile loudspeakers for music lovers. It all started in 1983 when fine Italian craftsmanship met fine music appreciation in Monteviale, Italy. Not much has changed since, except that we’ve had advances in… Read More »

Scansonic is relatively unknown speaker brand at this point in the United States, but is uniquely related to some more familiar speaker brands such as Raidho Acoustics and ScanSpeak. In fact, it was developed to showcase ScanSpeak driver technology. Scansonic… Read More »

There was a time when you could walk through Circuit City or other major electronics retailers and see speakers similar to MartinLogan’s ElectroMotion CLS on display alongside all of the traditional cones-in-cabinets speakers. These days, though, there’s a good chance… Read More »

The Focal Sopra 2s I had in my last home were so sexy that the buyer made me include them in the sale of the home. Don’t write them off as a mere conversation piece, though. I would compare their… Read More »

Bowers & Wilkins 803 D4 speakers are close but not at the top of the food chain for this lauded, audiophile loudspeaker brand. While the 802s (slightly bigger) and 801s (much larger and nearly $37,000 per pair) are above the 803s, these slim, sexy  speakers are the first to come to market since B&W was purchased by Sound United. Read More »

Looking into the meat and potatoes of the Bowers & Wilkins loudspeaker product offerings, you might land on the 603 S2 speakers first. This $2,300 per pair floorstanding speaker represents some of Bowers & Wilkins most attractive price points while… Read More »

The Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature floorstanding loudspeaker (buy at Crutchfield) sits at the top of the 700 Series, with only the 800 Series Diamond and the $70,000- per-pair Nautilus above it. With an asking price of $7,499 per pair,… Read More »