Displaying items by tag: speaker - StereoLife Magazine

Sonus Faber is one of the most recognizable brands in high-end speaker market. The company was founded by charismatic Franco Serblin and it has built its reputation mostly on audiophile monitors. Massive boxes finished in real wood and leather have earned favor with music lovers around the world in a relatively short period of time, turning a small factory into the rank of a place where real works of art are born. One doesn't even need to know about technical matters to see the artistry of Italian designers and craftsmen. A few years ago the catalog has been fairly stable and divided into three main lines. Top models rarely changed, while slightly larger movement prevailed in the lower series.

The French are very progressive. Not only do they want to be first in everything, but they often are. It seems that the concept of usual economy is sometimes limited in this country. If it wasn't true, they probably wouldn't build the famous TGV train or the Millau Viaduct. Travel with ordinary train or a bus would be much cheaper after all, and instead of a giant overpass you could easily build a road leading down and then up the valley. The French definitely can go crazy. From time to time they put aside the standard thinking and do something that others see later in admiration. No wonder that many companies producing hi-fi equipment have built their power in France. Especially speakers manufacturers. Triangle is one of three largest producers of speakers in France. Founded in the early 80's, it first came up with some unusually shaped speakers, but many people criticized the company for a lack of technical innovation in the drivers.

People behind Audel Art Loudspeakers say that their main goal is to involve more people in high quality audio and in a way show them that listening to the music can bring even more fun than they thought. However, Italians don’t do this by organizing social campaigns, but through the creation of original looking speaker and electronics that can be used almost anywhere. Each model is a little piece of art and thus has to be different than the electronics standing next to the TV set or a home cinema receiver. Speakers are hand-made by highly skilled craftsmen. This should draw the attention of customers who appreciate high-quality materials and objects with a heart. All of the speaker cabinets are made of glued laminated birch wood elements, shaped by computer-controlled machines. Boxes put together this way are much stiffer than similar structures made of MDF panels. Cabinets are finished with natural wax polish. And I have to say, it looks wonderful.

Swedes don't make cheap computer speakers, but now they gave us a true killer. Coltrane Supreme 2 is a massive floorstanding speaker with two diamond tweeters, ceramic midrange, one sandwich reproducing the upper bass, six woofers on the front panel and six passive radiators in the back. Couple that with a case made of carbon fiber and wood, polished stainless steel accesories, Jorma Design Statement wiring and you end up with a price of €360000. Photo by Marten.

Distributors and retailers of audio equipment are usually interested in devices from England, Germany, France, Italy, USA, Scandinavia and so on. We have western, northern and south Europe all covered, plus there are some companies from China, Japan or even New Zealand. Countries like Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Russia practically don't exist in the consciousness of a typical audiophile. It's a shame, especially when you see such products as these made by a small Lithuanian company named AudioSolutions. I had an opportunity to listen to the Euphony 50 speakers and I have to say I liked them very much. During the Audio Show 2013 exhibition in Warsaw I also met their creator - Gediminas Gaidelis.

The next edition of one of the biggest events in the electronics industry has been launched. IFA is the largest exhibition of consumer electronics in Europe and probably one of the two or three events of this scale in the world. The huge complex of Messe Berlin has been occupied by hundreds of companies producing almost everything, starting from accessories for mobile phones, and ending on giant TV's, refrigerators and complete home theater systems. Berlin turns into one big electronics store, but there are no sales because everything is fresh and new.