Tower Speaker Reviews

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Fred Manteghian  |  Jul 23, 2006  | 

Focal, the French speaker and speaker component manufacturer formerly doing business as Focal-JMLabs, has always made a point of getting great sound at shows. While I didn't run into Focal at Primedia's Home Entertainment 2006 show in Los Angeles this June, I did hear some music in the MBL room that morphed into another sale for Amazon. As I work on the final edit of this review I'm listening to the just-delivered Jeff Buckley rendition of "Hallelujah" from his 1994 album <i>Grace</i> (CD, Columbia, CK 57528). The memory of what this song sounded like on the <a href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/he2006/060206mbl/" target=new> $47,000/pair MBL 101E speakers</a> is still fresh. At just 1/10th the MBL's price, Focal's Profile 918 speakers get me very, very close to the fire-branded goose bumps I felt in LA last month.

Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 12, 2006  | 

We haven't reviewed any of Revel's flagship Ultima models since the Gem/Voice/Embrace combination was evaluated in <I>Stereophile Guide to Home Theater</I> way back in 1998. But we've reviewed several Revel Performa systems since then. Three years ago I reviewed the then-new flagship system of Revel's Performa line, headlined by the floor standing <A HREF="http://ultimateavmag.com/speakersystems/123/">Performa F50 </A>.

Daniel Kumin  |  Jun 05, 2006  | 
Crystal Acoustics is a new brand to me, and to most American home theater fans. The British outfit exploits the far from revolutionary concept of combining European design with made-in-China cost efficiency to reach for a new level of affordability.
Ultimate AV Staff  |  May 26, 2006  | 

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 |  May 26, 2006  | 

<B>Price</B>: $22,434 as configured in SCB's reference system.

 |  May 25, 2006  | 

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/506vander3a.1.jpg" ALT="506vander3a.1.jpg" WIDTH=220 HEIGHT=281 HSPACE=4 VSPACE=4 ALIGN=RIGHT><B>Price</B>: $11,673 as configured in SCB's former reference system.

Ultimate AV Staff  |  May 25, 2006  | 

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Ultimate AV Staff  |  May 25, 2006  | 

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Ultimate AV Staff  |  May 24, 2006  |  First Published: May 25, 2006  | 

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Ultimate AV Staff  |  May 24, 2006  |  First Published: May 25, 2006  | 

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Darryl Wilkinson  |  May 15, 2006  | 
Where there's a will, there's a way.

Say your Great-Aunt Edna died and left you $10,000 or so in her will with the stipulation that you had to spend it on a home theater system (that's why she always was your favorite great-aunt). You and I could while away the better part of an evening arguing the particulars of what gear to buy—and especially how the money should be divided between the audio and video parts of the system.

Mark Fleischmann  |  May 15, 2006  | 
Sometimes it's better to be indirect.

Mirage has been, ahem, reflecting on the influence of room acoustics for nearly two decades. In the process, this distinguished Canadian speaker maker has birthed some unorthodox designs. The common thread running through all of them is a determination to make room reflections work for loudspeakers rather than against them. That determination bears fruit in the second-generation Omnisat series.

Roger Maycock  |  May 15, 2006  | 
Sonic revelation.

When the assignment came in to review Revel's Performa system, I was more than just a little bit excited. After all, spending time with a Performa F52, C52, S30, M22, and B15A setup is akin to driving a Mercedes-Benz CL600 coupe with every conceivable option when you're accustomed to commuting in a Honda Accord. There's nice, and then there's, "Give me the keys, and get out of the way!" Yes, this would be fun.

Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 18, 2006  |  First Published: Apr 19, 2006  | 
All the THX in China.

First-generation THX blossomed in the high-end sphere. The first companies to make THX-certified speakers were already making great ones, with or without certification. Even now, the list of THX speaker makers reads like an industry honor roll. That list is now one name longer.

Roger Maycock  |  Apr 09, 2006  | 
Home theater audio with a pro-studio heritage.

When I received the call to review PMC's OB1, CB6, GB1, and TLE1 home theater loudspeaker system, I was excited. The British company enjoys a stellar reputation throughout the professional audio community, and prominent clients, including Dolby Labs, BBC Radio, Capital Records, and Village Recorders use their equipment. The opportunity to discover how PMC's consumer equipment performs was more than a bit intriguing.

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