Range, particularly their bass; clarity and detail; tone; imaging.

Size; a very little lack of absolute smoothness in the midrange; maybe very slightly soft at highest frequencies..

(Purchase price given is a rough estimate in dollars - actual price was £1055)
Although a 3-way design, the cabinets have 5 drivers, 2 separately ported bass units below and two mid-range drivers top and bottom of a single soft dome tweeter. The four bass and mid cones are made from treated paper. Biwirable speaker terminals They are tall, deep and very heavy but well-finished.

After getting a little favourable exposure in UK HiFi press and continuing mentions month after month, I was curious about these. With a significant birthday imminent and the importer's offer to let me try these on approval, I jumped.

Even out of the box (and these boxes arrived on their own pallet!) and once the separate plinth had been fitted, they sounded as impressive as their size. Once they had played for a couple of days though, they did settle into themselves more. Overall, they convey a sense of scale and depth but with great detail. They are equally at home played soft or loud.

I am nothing but impressed with these speakers. I will mention a couple of slight criticisms of their sound below but you should read those knowing that I don't imagine selling these short of winning the lottery (or facing bankruptcy). Their ease at all frequencies, their articulation of detail even in complex and loud passages and their positioning of performers and instruments across the room: for me, these virtues far outweigh their very minor flaws.

I cannot criticise their bass at all. They go very low indeed without losing their definition of those low notes. The midrange is ever so slightly less than perfectly smooth but tonally excellent. Female vocals are one of my tastes - 'You Do' by Aimee Man from Magnolia sounded superb. The highs are never metallic or harsh but perhaps a little short of the absolute best at the very top as a result. All the same I haven't yet felt the need to connect my LCY100K supertweeters, so they can't be missing much. These shortfalls I find I can easily live with.

Of the speakers I have owned, only a pair of Tannoy dual concentrics did a better job of positioning the music in space, and dual concentrics are famously very good at that.

A 4 Ohm impedence may mean they won't match some amplifiers. The Musical Fidelity I use doesn't seem to have any problem.

I've given 5 stars without hesitation on a value for money basis. In absolute quality terms maybe they deserve slightly less than 5 but they aren't a 4. At their price, I think these are exceptional speakers if you have the room for them. As well as being physically large, their deep bass might not suit a small listening area.They are made in Latvia. Latvia! Who knew?

Sources
Marantz CD6000KI
Rega Planar 2, RB300, Goldring G1012
Amplifier
Musical Fidelity A300

Customer Service

UK importer very helpful - speakers supplied on approval.

Similar Products Used:

Mission 700; Heybrook HB4; Tannoy 638; Spendor BC1; Spendor SP1