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Boston Acoustics M25 Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 03, 2013  |  Published: Apr 02, 2013
M25 Speaker System
Performance
Build Quality
Value

MSubwoofer
Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value
Price: $3,345 At A Glance: Leather-like enclosure finish • Beefy subwoofer • Easy-listening, aggression-free treble

The question “what speakers should I buy?” is increasingly giving way to the more provocative “why should I buy stand-alone speakers at all?” Loudspeakers have to argue for their very existence in a world where consumers are logging fewer listening hours with component systems. Instead, stylish music sources such as tablets and smartphones are driving listeners toward equally stylish all-in-one wireless/docking systems and headphones. Today, the poor old loudspeaker has to work harder to attract attention. It has to convince you to buy it—oh, and one of those pesky audio/video receivers to power it.

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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Boston Acoustics Reflection RS 260 Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 11, 2010
Price: $2,900 At A Glance: Gloss finish and rounded edges enrich rectangular appearance • Custom-designed woofers and tweeter • A polite top end with fully fleshed-out midrange

Between VS and CS

In this brutal economy, it takes more than a good resume to keep you afloat. Boston Acoustics has a legendary audiophile pedigree that dates from its birth in 1979 as an independent brand. In this environment, it probably matters more that Boston is part of the D&M Holdings family, along with Snell Acoustics, McIntosh, Denon, Marantz, and Escient. This positioning has already borne fruit with pairings of Denon A/V receivers and Boston speaker packages, including the distinctive bell-shaped VS Series speakers, which I showered with well-deserved superlatives when I reviewed them last year. You really can’t go wrong with a set of VS speakers and one of Denon’s upper-end A/V receivers.

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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS 5.1 Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 21, 2009
Price: $500 At A Glance: Cabinet geometry allows front or upward firing • 2.5-inch woofer and 0.5-inch tweeter in plastic enclosure • Sub has 8-inch down-firing woofer and 100 watts

Shape’s Mightier Than Size

Gaze back into the mists of time, and you’ll find that the earliest loudspeakers were boxes with nothing but right angles. This shape lends itself to efficient manufacturing techniques and is still used for most speakers. However, speaker designers have rebelled against the box for some time. Now that they have injection-molded plastic at their disposal, they can make speakers in just about any shape. Of course, plastic speaker enclosures also lend themselves to efficient manufacturing techniques, so some of the most interestingly shaped speakers are also among the most affordable.

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Ears On
Boston Acoustics TVee Model Two Soundbar
Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 19, 2007
Soundbar: What a word. I like it. It implies that audio-for-video can be simplified into an unprepossessing horizontal object. The Boston Acoustics TVee Model Two assumes that you'd rather have one speaker (and sub) than five (and sub). It also assumes you have a certain impatience with cables, and therefore sweetens the deal with a wireless link between soundbar and sub--though it still requires two power cords and two analog channels worth of cable between the soundbar and your signal sources. And it assumes you'll accept not 5.1 but 2.1 honest channels in its 1.1 sleek objects. No virtual-surround pretensions here.
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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Boston Acoustics VS 240 Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 21, 2009
Price: $3,695 At A Glance: Distinctive bell-shaped footprint offers unique look • Gleaming enclosures with top-drawer fit and finish • Great midrange and deep, confident bass

Ringin’ the Bell Curve

The Vision and Sound speakers from Boston Acoustics were in my listening room when a friend visited. He works for a competing manufacturer and has spent time on the retail floor. He said, candidly and emphatically, “Boston Acoustics has never made a bad speaker.”

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CES 2016
Boulder Mono-Block Wins Home Theater Fans
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 06, 2016
When is a mono-block amp a home theater product?
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CEDIA 2012
Bowers & Wilkins Bows CI Speakers
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 07, 2012
The Bowers & Wilkins CI800 Series replaces the Signature in-walls with pricing at $5000-8000/pair. These speakers feature parts from B&W's high-end 800 Series including Rohacell woofers, new Kevlar midranges, carbon-reinforced metal tweeters, and premium capacitors among other things. Three models include two in-walls and one in-ceiling speaker. The larger of the in-walls is the CWM8.3 with dual eight-inch woofers, a five-inch midrange, and one-inch tweeter.
CEDIA 2014
Bowers & Wilkins Overhauls CM Series
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 12, 2014
The rethought CM Series from Bowers & Wilkins includes three towers, three monitors, two centers, and one sub. They use a double dome aluminum tweeter array which combines a dome with a ring radiator, stiffening the driver and shifting its breakup mode from 30 to 38 kHz. Nautilus-style tweeter tube loading is employed in all of these new speakers though it's most visible in the tweeter-on-top models (the CM10 S2 tower and, pictured here, the CM6 S2 monitor). Woofers continue to be Kevlar. The models, all priced per speaker, are the CM10 S2 tower ($2000), CM9 S2 tower ($1600), CM8 S2 tower ($1200), CM6 S2 monitor ($1000), CM5 S2 monitor ($800), CM1 S2 monitor ($550), CM Centre2 S2 ($1250), CM Centre S2 ($700), and ASW 10CM S2 subwoofer ($1500).
CEDIA 2010
Bowers & Wilkins Ships Slim Tower
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 24, 2010
The CM8 tower is now shipping at $2200/pair. This slim three-way tower includes two five-inch paper drivers, Kevlar midrange, and aluminum tweeter with the famous Nautilus waveguide in the rear.
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CEDIA 2009
Bowers & Wilkins Shows Sub and In-Walls
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 11, 2009
The B&W DB1 sub will be a big deal when it ships in December for $4500. Its two 12-inch drivers can be equalized with an app downloaded to a PC, then input into the sub. B&W (as we persist in thinking of the company, being old-fashioned that way) also showed two new in-wall series, the 600 and 700, both with innovative back boxes that make for an easy install. The 700 Series back box is especially interesting -- it's a two-piece structure that fits into a slot in the wall, with the pieces joined by a hinge. You can see the bottom half of the back box trailing below two of the speakers in the picture.
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