Displaying items by tag: speaker - StereoLife Magazine

Wharfedale is one of those manufacturers that knows how to spread its ideas across several price levels without turning the more affordable ranges into stripped-down, characterless versions of its flagship designs. The Aura series is a particularly good example. It borrows heavily from technologies developed for the top-of-the-line Elysian range, but packages them in speakers aimed at a much broader audience. In terms of overall size, the Aura models remain relatively close to the popular Evo family, yet their drivers, cabinets, crossovers and bass-reflex systems have all been developed with Wharfedale's more ambitious designs in mind. This is not just a single pair of speakers, either, but a complete lineup capable of forming the basis of anything from a traditional stereo system to a full multichannel home theater. The range consists of two stand-mount models, the Aura 1 and Aura 2, two floorstanders, the Aura 3 and Aura 4, and two center-channel speakers, the Aura CS and Aura C. In other words, buyers can start with a relatively compact setup for a living room or office, move all the way up to a substantial three-way floorstander, or build a tonally consistent system for both music and movies.

Victrola is preparing to bring one of its more unusual recent products to Europe. First shown at CES 2026, Soundstage is neither a conventional pair of speakers nor an all-in-one record player. Instead, it is a low-profile soundbase designed to sit directly underneath a turntable and provide room-filling sound without introducing the vibration problems that normally make such an arrangement a bad idea. The concept is aimed squarely at listeners who want a compact vinyl system without separate speakers, an amplifier and the extra furniture that usually comes with them. Following its US launch, Soundstage is now heading to Europe, where sales are scheduled to begin in October.

Davis Acoustics is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026. The company was founded by Michel Visan, an engineer who had previously worked with brands including Audax and Siare Acoustique. From the beginning, his ambitions extended beyond building complete loudspeakers, with the development of proprietary drivers forming an equally important part of the business. One of the brand's earliest products was the 13KVL5A, a mid/bass driver with a woven Kevlar cone. The material soon became one of Davis Acoustics' signatures, alongside carbon and glass fiber, while the company continued developing its own drivers at its facility in Troyes over the following decades. In its anniversary year, the manufacturer is beginning a generational change within one of its most important product families with the launch of the Courbet S2 series.

Q Acoustics has spent the last two years filling out the latest generation of its most affordable loudspeaker family, but one obvious model was missing. When 3000c debuted at High End Munich 2024, the range included three standmounts, the large 3050c floorstander and a center-channel speaker, leaving a substantial gap between 3030c and 3050c. That space is now occupied by 3040c - a slim floorstanding speaker created for listeners who want the scale and bass extension of a tower without giving up as much floor space as a conventional design demands. Q Acoustics says the idea came partly from feedback from its own community, and 3040c now completes the 3000c family as a smaller alternative to 3050c rather than a replacement for it.

Quad has spent much of the last few years rebuilding its range from both ends. Revela brought a new generation of conventional dynamic loudspeakers, ESL X refreshed the electrostatic side of the catalog, while electronics such as Quad 3, the reimagined 33 and 303 and the flagship Platina series have given the company an unusually broad portfolio for its 90th anniversary year. One piece, however, was still missing - a genuinely accessible pair of conventional loudspeakers designed to introduce new listeners to the brand. Elegan fills that gap with just two models, Elegan 1 and Elegan 2, and deliberately avoids anything too exotic. Instead, Quad has returned to ingredients it knows extremely well - woven Kevlar cones, fabric-dome tweeters, carefully engineered passive crossovers and heavily braced bass-reflex cabinets.

One of the traditional arguments against active loudspeakers is that their electronics age faster than their cabinets and drivers. An amplifier module can become outdated, streaming standards change and DSP platforms improve, while the acoustic part of a well-designed speaker may remain perfectly capable for decades. Buchardt Audio has been thinking about this problem since developing its first active models, and its latest product tackles it unusually directly. Rather than asking owners of A500, A500SE, A700, A700 Limited Edition or Anniversary 10 speakers to replace them with an entirely new generation, the Danish manufacturer has created the Mk2 Upgrade Kit - a user-installable package that replaces the complete amplifier, DSP and power-supply platform inside the existing cabinets. Selected models receive a new tweeter as well.

Monitor Audio has introduced Silver Series 8G, the latest generation of one of the most important and best-selling loudspeaker families in its catalog. The company is not presenting this as a cosmetic refresh, but as a comprehensive reinvention of the platform, with changes extending to the drivers, bass-reflex systems, crossovers, cabinets, feet, and finishes. The project is still rooted in Monitor Audio's Transparent Design Philosophy, but the goal this time was to achieve greater clarity, better control, and more coherent performance across the entire loudspeaker system. Just as importantly, Silver Series 8G is not a small launch built around two or three models. Seven new designs arrive at once, covering both traditional two-channel setups and far more elaborate home theater systems.

Focal has unveiled the Scala Utopia Evo M, a new version of one of the most recognisable loudspeakers in its flagship range. The French manufacturer has retained the three-way configuration, distinctive curved silhouette and general proportions of the previous Scala, but replaced all of its principal drivers and developed a new crossover network to integrate them. The most significant change is the introduction of the PRISM tweeter, which takes the place of the pure-beryllium inverted dome used in the earlier model. It is joined by a 13 cm midrange driver with a W-cone and M-shaped profile, as well as a completely redesigned 27 cm woofer equipped with a dual-ferrite magnet system.

Sonus Faber has introduced the Olympica G3 collection, the third generation of one of the most recognisable loudspeaker families in its catalogue. The Italian brand is returning here to an idea that, from the beginning, was always more than just another line of speakers. Since its debut in 2013, Olympica has combined traditional craftsmanship, a characteristic asymmetrical cabinet and clear references to the culture of Vicenza, the city Sonus Faber calls home. The new generation is intended to preserve that spirit while introducing acoustic solutions inspired by the company's flagship designs, including Suprema. The result is a collection that still looks unmistakably like Sonus Faber, but also shows that the Italians are not interested in living only on memories of beautiful loudspeakers from a decade ago.

Triangle has introduced Solstice, a new loudspeaker range that takes the spirit of the long-running Esprit series and moves it into a more contemporary, more visually ambitious and more technically developed form. The name is not accidental. A solstice is a moment of transition, the end of one cycle and the beginning of another, and the French manufacturer clearly wants to suggest that this is not just another variation on a familiar design. It is the start of a new chapter in this part of the catalogue. That may sound a little grand, but here it is not difficult to see the point. Esprit was for years associated with a strong balance between sound quality and price, while Solstice aims to preserve that accessibility and add fresher styling, new drivers and several mechanical solutions that are not always expected at this level.