Tower Speaker Reviews

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Tower Speaker ReviewsSubwoofer Reviews
B&W XT Series Speaker System and PV1 Subwoofer
Steve Guttenberg  |  Aug 17, 2006  | 
The audiophile and the ecstasy.

Bowers & Wilkins offers an impressive range of speakers in nearly every size and price category, but they're best known for models that demonstrate the company's continuing pursuit of the state of the art. Just last year, the diamond-tweeter-equipped Nautilus 800 Series speakers made a big splash in audiophile magazines all over the world. Those one-plus ultra models all come with breathtaking MSRPs, but you'll find traces of the 800 Series' inspired engineering throughout B&W's new, considerably more affordable XT Series designs. The XT4 tower's gleaming extruded-aluminum cabinetry is fresh, but the déjà-vu curves, yellow Kevlar midrange driver, and bulging topside tweeter pod leave no doubt—it's a B&W.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
The Sonus faber DOMUS Surround Sound System
Michael Fremer  |  Aug 13, 2006  | 

A decade ago Sonus faber introduced the Concert line, a series of loudspeakers designed to deliver Sonus faber performance and industrial design at a more affordable price point. That's what high-end companies do after establishing a strong reputation at the upper echelon of the marketplace. Once your products become the object of lust, you feed the hungry beast. And make no mistake: early Sonus faber products made waves both for their spectacular looks and their intoxicating sound.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
JBL Cinema Sound Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 24, 2006  | 
The well-tempered speakers.

Some speakers start communicating immediately. Ten seconds after I got these JBLs started, I was engrossed. Before I set them up, I'd just gotten halfway through the first disc of Vladimir Feltsman's hard-to-find four-disc set of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier. Having just rearranged my reference system to better visual and sonic advantage, I was loath to pull it apart again, but duty called. The Cinema Sound speakers simply picked up where my reference speakers left off. They sounded neutral, substantial, and well able to keep up with both the recording's shifting dynamics and its liquid beauty.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Focal Profile 918 Speaker System
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.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Revel Performa F52 Speaker System
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>.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Vandersteen Model 5A Speaker System: Short Take
 |  May 26, 2006  | 

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

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Focal Profile Speaker System: Short Take
Ultimate AV Staff  |  May 26, 2006  | 

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Definitive Technology Mythos Speaker System: First Look
Ultimate AV Staff  |  May 24, 2006  |  First Published: May 25, 2006  | 

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Tower Speaker Reviews
PSB Alpha Series Speaker System: First Look
Ultimate AV Staff  |  May 24, 2006  |  First Published: May 25, 2006  | 

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Paradigm Cinema 220 and Cinema 330 Speaker Systems: First Look
Ultimate AV Staff  |  May 25, 2006  | 

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Thiel CS3.7 Speaker System: First Look
Ultimate AV Staff  |  May 25, 2006  | 

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Vandersteen Model 3A Signature System: Short Take
 |  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.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Revel Performa F52 Speaker System
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.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Mirage Omnisat v2 Speaker 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.

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Projector ReviewsTower Speaker ReviewsSubwoofer Reviews
Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grand Speaker System, REL R-305 Subwoofer, and Optoma HD72 DLP Projector
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.

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