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More Home Theater Speaker Systems

Elac Uni-Fi Reference UBR62 Surround Speaker System: $3,100 (as tested)

Germany’s Elac made a brilliant return to the U.S. market in 2016 with a series of excellent speakers designed by the Andrew Jones, who had previously worked for Pioneer and its one-time high-end speaker division TAD (Technical Audio Devices Laboratories). As it turns out, the Uni-Fi Reference UBR62 surround speaker system is the last system Jones designed before leaving the company last summer, following a highly successful run. Once again, Jones has left his mark.

The five-piece system we reviewed comprises four UBR62 bookshelf speakers and a matching UCR-52 center-channel speaker — all built around a coincident midrange-tweeter that positions a 1-inch soft-dome tweeter at the apex of a 5.25-inch midrange driver where the dust cap usually sits. Two UBR62 speakers would make for a nice stereo setup but in a multichannel theater setting you’ll want to add a subwoofer to this ensemble, which is why we tested the quintet with a pair of SVS PB-3000 subwoofers. In both cases, the results were impressive.

With stereo music, the ease and sweetness of the Elac speakers “invited extended listening,” observed reviewer Tom Norton, while the subwoofer-supported sound from a pair of UBR62’s was “consistently open, natural, and detailed.” Sonics were even more impressive with multichannel music on Blu-ray. When playing movies in a 5.1 configuration with the two subwoofers in play, the system did a stellar job handling the detailed soundtrack and brilliant Hans Zimmer score in Blade Runner 2049. As Norton put it, “The Elac speakers blended in perfectly with the SVS subs to produce a unified, organic whole.”

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Clean-sounding dialogue
Silky detail
Big, open presentation
Minus
Limited deep bass (without sub)

Full Review Here (posted 3/23/22)

Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 Surround Speaker System: $3,460 (as tested)

Elac’s plainly styled Uni-Fi 2.0 speakers may not be much to look at but the experience they deliver with movies and music is anything but pedestrian. In reprising the excellent Uni-Fi Series of speakers we reviewed in 2016, designer Andrew Jones has revisited the original line and made several improvements. All models in the revamped line have been updated with a new concentric driver featuring a 1-inch soft dome, a beefed-up 5.25-inch woofer, and a receiver-friendly 6-ohm impedance (the original was 4 ohms).

The Uni-Fi Series doesn’t offer a subwoofer so the tower-based 5.1 home theater suite we put together included Elac’s highly capable SUB3030 subwoofer, which may well be unique for its total lack of physical controls. There’s not even a power button! Setup is handled entirely through Elac’s companion app, which provides the usual complement of controls plus four EQ presets and a parametric EQ with eight memory slots for storing custom settings.

It didn’t take reviewer Al Griffin long to conclude that Elac’s updates translated into impressive sound quality, conveying the chaotic soundtrack of District 9 with precision, clarity, and a heightened sense of drama. The sonic thrills continued with Requiem for a Dream’s dynamic soundtrack but didn’t stop there. The adventurous 5.1 remix of Roxy Music’s Avalon (1982) created a sense of full immersion with “well-balanced sound that was detailed but not overly bright” and powerful at the low end. Listening to a variety of music on Elac’s UF52 towers alone, Griffin marveled at the speakers’ ability to convey a “clean, lively presentation that never once sounded aggressive” with instruments spread across a wide soundstage. (Editor’s note: Since the original review, Elac has increased the individual prices of the speaker models reviewed, raising the system price from $3,000 to $3,460.)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Clean, well-balanced sound
Consistent off-axis performance
Subwoofer control app with auto-EQ
Excellent value
Minus
Basic looks
Available only in black

Full Review Here (posted 2/3/21)

Polk Audio Reserve Surround Speaker System: $3,195

The Reserve speaker series is a more affordable follow-up to Polk’s flagship Legend series, the apex of which is represented by the L800 towers that earned a well-deserved Top Pick designation in 2019. Though the outward design of the new series is comparatively understated, the four models chosen for the Atmos-capable 5.2.0 home theater setup we reviewed use the same Pinnacle Ring Radiator tweeters and Turbine cone drivers developed for the Legend series. The R600 towers that anchored the system also feature an upgraded version of Polk’s Power Port, which uses a proprietary filter to eliminate unwanted noise.

The upshot of these technical features, which represent nearly five decades of refinement, is crisp near-full-range performance from a streamlined speaker system that relies on the towers for bass duties instead of bringing a separate subwoofer into the fold. Even without a dedicated subwoofer, reviewer Al Griffin characterized the bass impact with movies such as Tenet as thoroughly satisfying.” Griffin was also impressed with the system’s ability to convey dialogue clearly while creating an immersive sound bubble with a believable sense of height when he cued up the Atmos soundtrack of 2014's Godzilla on Ultra HD Blu-ray.

The R600 towers were equally capable with music, exhibiting a revealing quality with impressive dynamics and imaging that extended well beyond the physical boundaries of the speakers. Would the addition of a subwoofer produce deeper bass and a more dynamic presentation with action movies? Sure, but in medium-sized rooms most people will be more than satisfied with the system as is.

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Crisp, near full-range performance
R900 height module delivers immersive sound
Impressive build quality for the price
Excellent value
Minus
Revealing sound can be slightly bright with some sources

Full Review Here (posted 5/5/21)

Monitor Audio Bronze 200 Surround Speaker System: $5,140 (as tested)

England’s Monitor Audio has spent more than four decades building and refining high-quality speakers, while becoming a leader in metal-dome driver technology. The entry-level Bronze Series, now in its sixth generation, stands as a great example of the value and quality the brand is known for. Fifteen years later, the line is still going strong as evidenced by the remarkably full and detailed sound delivered by the 5.4.2 surround system we put together — a setup comprising a pair of Bronze 200 towers outfitted with Dolby Atmos-enabled Bronze AMS height modules plus two additional AMS speakers for the rear of the room, a Bronze 150 center speaker, a pair of wedge-shaped Bronze FX surround speakers, featuring selectable bipole or dipole operation, and two Bronze W10 subwoofers.

Monitor’s longstanding focus and dedication paid off with music and movies. Jean Guillou's organ transcription of Pictures at an Exhibition (Dorian Recordings) was a standout for reviewer Tom Norton with the 200 tower/W10 subwoofer duo handling the recording’s deep organ notes with ease — and helping the W10 earn Top Pick status on its own. Likewise, he described the lively soundtrack of Blade Runner 2049 as “consistently involving with no sense of strain” and characterized the opening musical crescendo in Oblivion as stunning: “As Jack fired up his bubble-copter, and later as he circled the ruined stadium just before landing, the performance of the two small Bronze subwoofers was gripping.” (Editor’s note: Since the original review, Monitor Audio has increased the individual prices of the speaker models reviewed, raising the system price from $4,560 to $5,190; the original review quoted the “as tested” price as $4,010, which is for one pair of Bronze AMS height modules instead of two.)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Affordable price
Detailed overall sound
Good envelopment with Atmos soundtracks
Minus
Towers have limited deep bass
Ordinary cosmetics

Full Review Here (posted 1/20/21)