By Kevin Gallucci
We all want the pinnacle of performance when it comes to purchasing our next speakers for our home cinema or traditional stereo system. It’s in our nature to look at the “best” a speaker manufacturer has to offer. It’s similar to going into a car dealership and looking at the top-of-the-line model. It has all the technology and engineering features packed into this one model, so why wouldn’t you want it? We want all the bells and whistles, but of course this comes at a price.
The automotive world is similar to the speaker world, because a lot of the features and technology found in the top-of-the-line model trickles down to the low-level and more affordable models. Speaker manufacturers pull out all the stops for their flagship speakers. They will use cutting-edge scientific methods, exotic materials and additional expensive components to eke out the very last miniscule of performance. The time and effort they go through to develop new speaker technologies usually helps to advance the acoustic abilities of speaker design. However, while initially these new technologies are found in the flagship model (and are charged at a premium to recoup the engineering costs), eventually these technologies trickle down to the more affordable speaker ranges within a manufacturer’s line.
I have listened to a countless number of speakers over the years, and while I have usually enjoyed flagship models, I can think of numerous step-down models that I’ve enjoyed just as much. There are often sacrifices made in materials used, but these speakers often retain similar technology implemented in a more cost-effective manner. I am not going to pretend that they can deliver 100% of the audio performance of the flagship models, but they can deliver 80-90% of the performance at a substantially more affordable cost. The next time you’re in the market for new speakers, take the time to look at the mid-range speakers from your favorite speaker manufacturer. You might just be pleasantly surprised with what you hear, and it could end up saving you a considerable amount of money.
Here are a couple of recommendations to get you started:
Paradigm Prestige 95F -$4,998
Martin Logan EM-ESL X – $3,999.95
Bowers & Wilkins 702 S2 – $4,500
Kevin Emden Gallucci is a freelance A/V writer and self-admitting electronics junkie. He has written for various publications such as Electronic House, Hi-Fi Choice, ToneAudio, SoundStage, HiFi News, and Home Cinema Choice. Kevin’s goal is to make hi-fi/home cinema interesting for all ages and debunk the myth that you need to spend a fortune to get a great sounding system.
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