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Critical Mass: Click Here to See What the Press Say About Vienna Acoustic Speakers
It's always a pleasure to read that the industry's finest all agree with us! The Vienna Acoustics Kiss and Music have an entirely unique effect on the critics that review them. They don't read like regular speaker reviews: instead hardened hi-fi critics write about them with an affection and emotional pleading that's almost embarrasing.High praise indeed!
The Music: CLICK HERE
The Kiss: "...odd though you might consider the name, having lived with the speaker, I can't think of anything more appropriate" CLICK HERE
Beethoven Concert Grand “Its good mannered and physical presentation is accompanied by an innate and immensely appealing musical literacy” CLICK HERE
Mozart Grand “They reproduce the recording space in a way that will make the hair rise on the back of your neck” CLICK HERE
Bach Grand “They remain composed and pleasant to listen to no matter how tonsorilly-challenged the singer is” CLICK HERE
Haydn Grand “Haydn Grand is a giant-killer of the old school” CLICK HERE
Pure e-MOTION. Martin Logan's Speakers From An Impossible $595.00!
Martin Logan have become synonymous with high-end h-fi since the 1980s when their Electrostatic loudspeakers set a new standard in how speakers could sound. The Motion series has resulted in speakers that set a new benchmark for high technology in their price-ranges and show a very exciting direction opening up within our industry.
The heart - and namesake - of the Motion(R) series is Martin Logan's ingenious Folded Motion Motion tweeter. The Folded Motion Tweeter works by moving air (which creates sound) perpendicular to the folded ridges of the diaphragm, similar to how an accordion works. This extremely low mass diaphragm "squeezes" air and requires almost 90% less excursion than the typical 1" dome tweeter, which drastically minimizes distortion while providing a lightning fast response time. The increased surface area also provides a wide, yet controlled sound dispersion to create a realistic and carefully etched sound stage.
Paradigm Loudspeakers Rated No.1 For 21 Years!
Our first brush with Paradigm Loudspeakers occurred in 1994 when we received their highly rated Titan and Atom bookshelf speakers. The 2 products quickly earned a crowd of support for surprising bass extension from compact boxes. Sadly, Paradigm has been something of a sleeping giant because of limited distribution in Australia. That is until now, Paradigm's new distributor has set itself to put Paradigm on the map - where it happily sits in North America as THE sensible audiophile's choice.
Paradigm speakers enjoy universal praise from the most respected hi-fi press and their website manages HUNDREDS of favourable reviews. I have prepared a list of some of the models that we keep in stock and liked their reviews pages. Just click on any model no. for a "virtual taste" of what Paradigm has to offer. But make sure you call in to audition them for yourself...
$ 599 ATOM MONITOR
$ 899 MINI MONITOR
$ 999 TITAN MONITOR
$1,499 MONITOR 7
$1,999 MONITOR 9
$2,499 MONITOR 11
$ 999 SE-1
$ 2499 SE-3
$1999 STUDIO 20
$3299 STUDIO 60
$4999 STUDIO 100When a brand like Cambridge Audio comes along...
"...you really do have to take them seriously" Dahl Murphy - very, very serious about great sound.
Steve Bennett Hi-Fi and Cambridge Audio go back to their respective origins in the 1970s. A small scale production out of Cambridge,
England, saw hand-built amplifiers that sported a lush warm quality of sound then more commonly characterized by the great old-school of British Hi-Fi costing many times the Cambridge products' prices.
Almost 30 years later - and whilst the hi-fi world changed and we all attest to the benefit of age and wisdom. Steve Bennett Hi-Fi and Cambridge Audio are still 'at it' together. Steve Bennett staff are still chasing gorgeous quality sound on a shoestring "hi-fi-saleman's" salary and Cambridge Audio are still producing products (now a whole suite of hi-fi) that punch well above their weight.
The first thing that impresses when we listen to music on a Cambridge Audio amplifier and CD Player is that, eyes-closed, the speakers simply disappear - and it's not because you can't see them - sounds seem to come from between and around the space where you know the speakers are supposed to be! It's like listening to the artists performing right in front of you. This "soundstage" can a compelling and addictive phenomenon, adding the excitement of a live performance to any stereo recording you listen to. We expect to hear a clean and precise soundstage on products costing thousands of dollars - but $499? $799? $999? not likely. Cambridge products perform like we'd expect products costing 2,3,4 times as much money.Martin Logan's ESL '101' Workshop
Call it the Christmas rush, but when we read Martin Logan's ESL101 on their website, we thought we'd simply reproduce it here. This article explains electrostatic technology well - and re-writing it felt like re-inventing the wheel - we couldn't put it better ourselves!
ESL 101: Electrostatic Theory
Why bother? Some people (and most speaker manufacturers) wonder why anyone would make electrostatic loudspeakers when conventional ones are so much easier to design and build. It would be a silly question if ordinary dynamic speakers all performed poorly, but that's hardly the case. For applications current electrostatic technology can't handle well (subwoofers, to take an extreme example), even we employ other approaches. Cones and domes still have their place.
Wherever possible, however, we go electrostatic. It is a special breed of speaker, capable of extraordinary, compellingly realistic reproduction. In certain crucial respects, good electrostatic loudspeakers are just better than anything else available. Hear MartinLogan electrostats, properly set up in a good environment, and the difference will be immediately apparent - no explanation required.
But for those who'd like to understand as well as experience, here's the back-story. How do electrostatic loudspeakers work, and what are the benefits? Just as important, what are the problems and what has MartinLogan done to overcome them? Then you'll know why we have had such great success with these wonderful speakers, while almost nobody else even tries.
Outdoor Sound: Take your remote somewhere it's never been before...
Perfect for the sunburnt country, with its droughts and flooding rains.....
Having quality sound outside is a popular pursuit these days, especially in Australia, with our outdoor lifestyle. But what is required of a speaker to allow it to perform in a sometimes hostile environ?
The most obvious enemy of an outdoor speaker is water. Speakers and water just don’t get along. Even if not directly exposed to liquid, the moisture present in the night air, or in the humid atmosphere of our northern states, soon corrodes a conventional speaker. Exposure to sunlight also has a predictably negative effect.
Another, often overlooked, area is the way that the speaker sounds outside. A typical outdoor setting offers a near ‘anechoic’ environment. There are few wall boundaries to reflect and indeed re-enforce the sound coming from the speaker. This is especially true of the bass frequencies. When used indoors, the walls, ceiling and floor of a typical room dramatically affect the sound you hear. Not so outside. Interestingly, when quality speakers are being designed, they are usually tested for evenness of sound output across all frequencies (frequency response) in an ‘anechoic chamber’. This room is devoid of all sound reflecting surfaces and the true measure of the speaker can be observed. Putting a speaker outside is very close to that test.
In most cases, when offering an outdoor speaker, manufacturers concentrate on the weatherproofing of the product. The sound takes a back seat. Plastic cabinets are almost always used, being fairly inert to weather extremes. While plastic is robust, it also resonates at frequencies that detract from a speaker’s performance. That’s why you don’t see speakers of quality for indoor use made from plastic. It’s not a speaker designer’s first choice where sound fidelity is paramount.
REGA... Affordable Hi-Fi Made In Britain.
Since 1973, British made, rega components have distinguished themselves among the best value HI-Fi for the money. Their turntables have become legendary.
We recently connected the Brio3 amplifier ($999) and Apollo CD player ($1499) to our reference Bowers and Wilkins 802 speakers, to asses their performance in absolute terms. This isn't exactly a fair thing to do as the speakers are rutheless at magnifying imperfections in associated equipment. We were amazed at what we heard. The Brio3 had a grip on our speakers unlike anything we’ve encountered at its price. It sounded powerful and confident, with a surprising richness. It did everything right, sounding like an expensive 'high end' amplifier, but without the vast reserves of power that you asociate with high priced units. Still for $999we couldn't complain about that!
The Apollo CD player delivered a lush, detailed and thoroughly involving sound that most CD players at any price struggle to compete with. Everything about the Apollo is cutting edge... Three point disc loading chuck, pre-play disc analysis, 24 bit Delta Sigma DAC, Class A analogue amplifier stage. There’s a lot going on in here for the money. One giant leap... so to speak!
We were asking these components to perform well above their price limitations and they both delivered... big time!Klipsch Horn Loaded Loudspeakers
Horn loading is a simple method of amplifying sound using ‘natural’ means. If you cup your hands around your mouth and yell, your voice carries much further. Finally your children take notice of what you’re saying...
Klipsch utilizes the same principle by contouring the shape of the speaker housing to naturally amplify the output from the speaker driver (much like a megaphone). In doing this the speaker system becomes very efficient compared to conventional designs. A horn loaded speaker only requires a fraction of the amplifier power that a conventional speaker needs. A huge sound can be produced from a modest amplifier. A unique horn shape – the Tractrix Horn - was pioneered by Mr Paul W Klipsch In 1946. Dissatisfied with the calibre of audio equipment on offer, he developed a horn loaded speaker capable of a level of realism that speakers of the time couldn’t match. Since then Klipsch has specialised in the ‘horn loaded’ concept of speaker design.
The hurdle confronting horn loaded designs is the amount of ‘colouration’ that a horn can impart on the sound. To this end there have been many bad sounding, but very loud, sounding horn speakers over the years. Klipsh’s ’Holy Grail’ has been to develop horn technology to sound natural. Their designs are one of the very few that sound clean and articulate over a wide frequency range.