Tower Speaker Reviews

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Boston Acoustics VS Series Speaker System
uavSteve Guttenberg  |  Mar 02, 2009  |  0 comments
I'd like to admit something up front—I'm the sort of reviewer who's easily swayed by the sight of attractive gear. There, I said it, and I feel a little guilty about it. Sadly, I may have missed out on some great-sounding but drab-looking products over the years, including a number of Boston Acoustics speakers. So I was pleasantly surprised by the company's gorgeous new VS Series speakers when they were unveiled in New York City a few months ago.
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Tower Speaker Reviews
Monitor Audio Platinum Surround Speaker System
Thomas J. Norton  |  Feb 09, 2009  |  0 comments
Founded in 1972, UK-based Monitor Audio has long produced speakers that offered good value, from its low-end Bronze line, starting at around $325 for a pair of two-way bookshelf models and extending up to $4500/pair for the company's priciest Gold Signature model. Even that is not an outrageous price for an upscale design in today's speaker market. The number of current speaker lines topping out at over $20k/pair, however, would be alarming if it weren't counterbalanced by excellent speakers selling for a fraction of that price.
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Tower Speaker Reviews
Dynaudio Excite Speaker System
uavSteve Guttenberg  |  Jan 05, 2009  |  0 comments
Dynaudio is, first and foremost, an audiophile speaker company, but one that also makes superb home-theater speakers. Wait, that implies it makes separate audiophile and home-theater lines, which is not really true. Dynaudio speakers excel with music and home theater.
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Tower Speaker Reviews
Paradigm Reference Signature S8 Speaker System
 |  Dec 29, 2008  |  0 comments
Price: $15,195 At A Glance: Gorgeous custom finishes • Pure beryllium tweeters deliver incredible detail • Outstanding dynamics

Paradigm Elevates the Art

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a demonstration of Paradigm’s Signature Reference Series at its quasi-premiere at Definitive Audio in Bellevue, Washington. I’d been a long-time fan of Paradigm’s Reference line of loudspeakers, and I was excited to see its new flagship paired with Anthem’s Statement products.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Canton GLE Speaker System
uavGary Altunian  |  Dec 08, 2008  |  2 comments
German products are usually associated with precision performance and high quality. When you think of brands such as Porsche and Mercedes-Benz cars or Rolleiflex cameras, meticulous attention to detail and quality construction are probably the first impressions that come to mind. A budget price not so much.
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Tower Speaker Reviews
Klipsch XF-48 Speaker System
uavSteve Guttenberg  |  Nov 24, 2008  |  0 comments
Nowadays, it seems like I can't write a review without acknowledging the impact of flat-screen TVs on speaker design. Today's speakers have a tough assignment—they better be super-model thin and still have what it takes to belt out heavyweight home-theater sound.
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Tower Speaker Reviews
Aperion Intimus 5T-DB Hybrid HD Speaker System
uavSteve Guttenberg  |  Oct 08, 2008  |  0 comments
I've reviewed hundreds of speakers, and back when I was selling high-end audio, I auditioned many hundreds more. Summing up those experiences, here's what I've learned: They all sound different, but some sound more "right" than others.
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Tower Speaker Reviews
Mordaunt-Short Mezzo 6 Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 29, 2008  |  0 comments
Following a train of thought.

The world is full of loudspeakers and their manufacturers. Try as I might, I can’t review them all, and normally I have no problem with my limitations. But where Mordaunt-Short is concerned, a feeling of having missed the boat haunts me. Given the quality of the Alumni sat/sub set I reviewed in March (my first review of a Mordaunt-Short product), how could I have missed out on such a stellar company, especially one with a 40-year pedigree?

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Polk RTi A9 Speaker System
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 08, 2008  |  0 comments
“i” is for intense.

Every audio reviewer thinks back on specific products and sometimes wishes that he or she bought them following the review. For me, one such product was the Polk RT3000p. The two-piece speaker featured a powered subwoofer, with the mid-tweeter section perched on top in a separate cabinet. The system had a gutsy, meaty quality to it that beautifully suited movie soundtracks.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Sunfire HRS Speaker System
uavGary Altunian  |  Aug 12, 2008  |  First Published: Aug 13, 2008  |  0 comments
Not long ago, large floorstanding speakers were preferred—practically required—to get the sonic performance demanded by audiophiles and home-theater fans. Smaller speakers simply couldn't adequately reproduce the wide dynamic range and clarity of today's high-resolution digital sources.
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Tower Speaker Reviews
EMP HTP-551T Speaker System
uavSteve Guttenberg  |  Aug 07, 2008  |  0 comments
The home-theater market's love affair with big displays and skinny speakers hasn't peaked just yet—screen girths are still expanding and speakers are on the verge of anorexia. The folks at EMP (Engineered Music Products) were hip to that fact when they cooked up the seriously svelte HTP-551T speaker package.
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Tower Speaker Reviews
era D5 Series Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 02, 2008  |  0 comments
A grand canopy of surround sound.

Speakers come and go in my listening room—as I persist in calling it, although it also includes a front-projection system, an LCD HDTV, and my home office. But there’s one review I relive every day. And that’s my rave review of era’s Design 4 speaker system, which appeared in our April 2006 issue. Why? Because I have only to look at my desk, where of course I’m typing this now, and there they are, the Eras, on either side of my recently and joyously installed 24-inch NEC monitor. When I do YouTube, this trusty pair of the Design 4 does the honors, along with an Onix OA21S integrated amp and a Pinnacle Baby Boomer sub.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Magnepan MMG Speaker System
Wes Phillips  |  Apr 27, 2008  |  0 comments
Judging by my inbox before and after CES last January, the hot new trends in A/V speakers are slim and wall-mounted. Somehow, speaker manufacturers have learned of the trend in TVs—that is, slim and wall-mounted. Imagine that!
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Tower Speaker Reviews
Paradigm Reference Signature Speaker System
Robert Deutsch  |  Apr 21, 2008  |  0 comments
Audiophiles first came to know Paradigm as a manufacturer of speakers in the affordable/cheap 'n' cheerful/bang-for-the-buck category—speakers you might buy when you're in college, until you can afford the speakers you really want. However, Paradigm's products now cover a wide range (five distinct series, plus in-walls and outdoor/marine), topped by the Reference Signature line. This year marks Paradigm's 26th in business, so it must be doing something right.
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Tower Speaker Reviews
PSB Synchrony One Speaker System
Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 04, 2008  |  0 comments
Apart from the occasional foray into cutting-edge technology that doesn't always pan out (ionic tweeters, anyone?), speaker technology is relatively stable—glacial, even, compared to other consumer-electronics products like flat-panel displays. The manageable pace of speaker development has allowed small- and medium-sized speaker companies to thrive. Most of them make nothing but speakers that remain in production for years, which is a plus for buyers. Unlike that flat-panel display you just got, when you buy a new set of speakers today, you can be reasonably sure they won't be yesterday's news tomorrow.
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