Audio Video News

KEF Q Series Q350 Speaker System: $3,150 (as reviewed)

The new Q350 Series upholds KEF’s longstanding tradition of making fine speakers built around the company’s trademark Uni-Q driver array and, in this case, a great value nestled between the step-up Reference line and compact-satellite-based home theater packages. “You can have a 5.1.4-channel Atmos treatment with refinement and a whole lot of woofing and subwoofing for just north of three thousand bucks,” wrote reviewer Mark Fleischmann. “And I’m impressed by how much performance KEF got out of the $700 Kube12b sub. A legend has to be earned. KEF continues to earn it.”

AT A GLANCE
Plus  
Atmos add-ons
Coincident Uni-Q drivers
Sub has three placement EQ modes
Minus
Grilles not included
Not as dressy as other KEF products

Full Review Here

Definitive Technology Demand Series D11 Speaker System: $3,196

The Demand Series lives up to Definitive Technology’s pedigree with satisfying, well-balanced sound — just what you’d expect from the brand audio luminary Sandy Gross created 28 (!) years ago. It further distinguishes itself as one of only two Dolby Atmos-enabled speaker systems on our 2017 Top Picks of the Year list. Challenging the system with an eclectic mix of music and movies — ranging from Debussy and King Crimson to Alien: Covenant and Logan — Mark Fleischmann commended Def Tech for a “brilliantly unorthodox design that makes good on its rhetoric and aspirations with deeply satisfying sound.”

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Appealing neutral voicing
Laterally offset tweeter
Active 8-inch sub integrated in center speaker
Minus
D11 top radiators complicate placement of Atmos add-ons

Full Review Here

GoldenEar Technology Invisa Signature Point Source In-Wall Speaker System: $7,250 (as reviewed)

GoldenEar’s Invisa Signature Point Source speakers are proof that you can build an attractive, non-intrusive in-wall speaker that delivers performance worthy of an equivalently priced freestanding speaker. Throw in a SuperSub X subwoofer and there’s no turning back. “I’m not sure you can find another speaker at the $1K price point that sounds anywhere near as fantastic as the Invisa SPS in-wall does — whether it’s for a two-channel or multichannel system,” concluded reviewer Darryl Wilkinson. “Once again, GoldenEar has set a new high for the performance-to-cost ratio. More important, they’ve created an in-wall loudspeaker that just might convince a die-hard in-room speaker fan.”

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Rotatable pleated tweeter for horizontal orientation
2½-way design
High performance-to-cost ratio
Minus
Horizontal installation requires modification of wall stud

Full Review Here