Displaying items by tag: speaker - StereoLife Magazine

Whenever I hear about the possibility of reviewing Xavian speakers, I'm already enthusiastic. These speakers are designed to stand out from the mass-produced crowd, but this is not the end of the story. As almost every review begins with the company's history, this time I'll skip the story about a charismatic audiophile who moved to Czech Republic from Italy for his wife, hired talented carpenters and so on... One can just visit Xavian's official website or take a closer look at its products to realize that we have some seriously specialized activity here. In Xavian's speakers there is no cheap plastic, gimcrack, drivers for half a dollar or wood-like veneer that comes out of the printer. Roberto Barletta doesn't design the speakers that will work with any cheap receiver, and the tuning of each new model takes several years on average. Perhaps that is why every new product and every major change in Xavian's catalogue is a big deal. The introduction of Perla and Orfeo monitor speakers was just such a step change. Now new boxes joined the family.

In a complex world of audio equipment it's now all about not just products and brands, but most importantly - the people who stand behind them. This applies to manufacturers as well as distributors or retailers. It seems that in the era of ubiquitous fakes, the authenticity driven by a true personality begins to matter more and more, becoming something unique and very desirable. Many new companies on the audio market have been established as a result of the agreement of several people who, in most extreme cases, know nothing about the hardware and music. It is easy to note, however, that the most respected and iconic brands have always been associated with real people whose philosophy works for years.

Audiovector is a company which doesn't need an extra philosophy - what it already has is enough to tell the story. And the story was mainly created by one man - Ole Kliffoth. He is responsible for most of the solutions Audiovector uses in its speakers, including five foundations of corporate technology - ADC (Active Direct Concept), IUC (Individual Upgrade Concept), LCC (Low Compression Concept), SEC (Soundstage Enhancement Concept) and NES (No Energy Storage). In conjunction with other features, they have one job - to make the sound faster, more direct and more dynamic. Audiovector's products are easy to recognize because of the curved side walls, metal panels with drivers and various, sometimes very bold, finishing versions.

I guess that each of us likes making oneself a gift. Some people do it at the first opportunity, others wait for specific achievement - a promotion at work, running a marathon, passing an exam or losing weight. A new watch, family trip or just a day for small pleasures may be the prize. But can you imagine what gift would you make if your very successful company celebrated its 30th anniversary? For sure, it would be something special. Such an extraordinary occasion has been celebrated recently by Audio Physic. Did the crew open a bottle of good champagne or at least go for a beer and a schnitzel at the local tavern? I guess so, but first of all, they have done one more gift for both themselves and the loyal fans of the brand - a limited edition of their best speakers.

Audio Physic is one of those companies driven by consequence, consistency and obstinacy. It's not the world's biggest loudspeaker manufacturer, but every audiophile must have heard of it at some point. German speakers are often treated as a reference in terms of resolution, dynamics and soundstage, and not without reason. No loss of fine detail - the company's slogan - can be found not only on the front of every Audio Physic speaker, but also in its sound. Not long ago almost every model in the catalog was upgraded to "25" version to celebrate company's 25th anniversary. Another five years flew by and to honor these three decades of chasing perfection, the designers gave us something really special - Cardeas 30 Limited Jubilee Edition - which might actually be as perfect as it looks. Majestic floorstanders are limited to just 30 sets, and the first one just arrived at our listening studio. But first, we got a chance to meet its makers - Manfred Diestertich and Dieter Kratochwil.

Audiophile cable market may seem very complicated at first glance - hundreds of brands and products, and the only thing that seems to be connecting them all is the general purpose. However, among new companies and those whose products are now fashionable for some reason, there is a number of manufacturers who have their permanent place at the table. Audioquest, Nordost, Monster Cable, Cardas Audio, Van den Hul or Kimber Kable have largely created this market and continue to shape it to the greatest extent. In most cases, the whole philosophy of the company is linked with their founder, and therefore we were extremely happy to meet one of the legends of the cable world - Ray Kimber.

Subwoofers are very specific products. It might seem that the market was dominated by speakers manufactures, but this is not entirely true. Specialized companies often offer much more interesting, more powerful subwoofers than those which can be found in catalogues with common speakers. What do we want when choosing a subwoofer? Obviously - it has to be big, powerful and able to bring out frequencies which will significantly extend the capabilities of our stereo or home cinema system. And that's what XTZ SUB 12.17 is.

For most people, an amplifier or speaker is an object like everything else, but for music lovers they mean a whole lot more. What's important is not only how audio equipment looks or sounds, but also who designed it, how and where it's made, what is the philosophy behind it. The name Audiothlon may not say much to most audiophiles, but some will surely know Equilibrium and Enerr. These are the two brands owned by Audiothlon, much like Audiolab and Luxman are owned by IAG. Equilibrium makes hi-end speakers and a variety of cables, and Enerr's specialty is everything related to power - distributors, conditioners and of course power cables. They are all made in the same factory located in Zielona Góra in Poland. Since we were the first journalists licensed to get inside with our cameras, we took quite a lot of pictures and tried to get the best understanding of how all these products are made.

Bryston is a Canadian company based in Peterborough, Ontario. It dedicated the last 35 years to the design and production of modern electronic equipment intended for both individual customers and professional studios. The common denominator of all the projects is high quality and legendary reliability. Bryston ensures that its engineers are not constrained in their work by costs of particular components. The company enables them to create devices which are almost perfect and to maximize their reliability. That is why every component is tested and installed separately, each wire is cut and bent manually, each connection is soldered by hand. Every product is tested before delivery, it must work at least 100 hours in the factory. If any errors are captured, the device returns to the assembly station and is checked and tested again. No wonder Bryston gives a 20-year warranty for analogue equipment and 5-year for digital devices.

Cabasse is recognized as one of the best known loudspeaker manufacturers, and one which gives us very interesting products, especially in the high end segment. Founded in 1950 by Georges Cabasse, the firm inherited not only its creator's name, but also his genius as his special gift, a memory for sounds led him to design one of the most original and striking loudspeakers on the market. On the company's website we also found that Cabasse's roots go back to 1740 and a luthier who crafted the first violin signed Cabasse. Interesting, isn't it? And what about the present day? To learn more about that we conducted an interview with Delphine Dall.