We have the first pairs of this new PMC range on display. These are slightly more upmarket than the current "i" Series and have a delightful sloped aspect reminiscent of art deco streamlining.
The slope contributes to the phase alignment of the bass and treble and presumably helps dampen standing waves in the cabinet.

This speaker is not fashion conscious ... it is actually an ungainly size, halfway between bookshelf and floorstanding, pulling it from the box challenges my muscle memory for treating loudspeaker depackaging, the damn thing dosn't conform.

Apparently when it came to wireless speakers (still mains connected) there was only a choice between dreadful plastique Asianic and Meridian Digitals.
Dynaudio have done the sensible thing and taken a highly effective brace of traditional loudspeaker designs being the Excite 12's and the 32's and then added very high quality built in amplification along with an effective 192Kz level Wi-fi type trancseiver to create an excellent and flexible audiophile multi room solution.

Ticked off that your shiny new iPhone5 won't connect to any of the docks or speakers on the market? (not to mention your iPad that's too big to fit the dock, or your Android device that's never got any love.) Well who needs a dock when you've got bluetooth? Play high quality music without your phone ever leaving your pocket.

This is the little billy goat version of this successful series of active loudspeakers. They will carry that heritage of Epos drive units and Creek amplification into realms of lower price and smaller physical footprint. Expect them to out perform the AudioEngine competitor substantially along with the various lifestyle iPod devices that proliferate in the sub $400 area. Realistically no one that's not an audio specialist company can compete with the Aktimates design innovation, their products have an absolutely outstanding track record of musical performance and value for money.

This bookshelf speaker from our favourite UK manufacturer is the newest incarnation of the Bronze 2 that has been top of the British bookshelf tree for five years.

The slender Radius 225 ‘Plasma’ is a versatile loudspeaker, which by virtue of its very shallow depth (105mm) is ideal for use with slim video displays or Plasma TVs, as a centre channel of main speaker. The Radius 225 Plasma can be used as a main speaker system, providing bass performance right down to 55Hz. Combined with an additional sub-woofer, the Radius 225 forms part of a powerful and versatile audio/video based system. The slim wall bracket supplied has a very shallow profile and holds the Radius 225 on the wall to provide a near, unobtrusive appearance. Supplied with full-length oval black or silver grilles, the Radius 225 can be customised to match its environment. The Radius 225’s real wood veneer and lacquer finishes and its driver technologies are specified to the same exacting standards as those employed by Monitor Audio’s reference speaker systems.

Its always a good sign when you haven't even finished unpacking a product and a customer walks in and buys it. Thats what happened to our first pair of Aktimates, a new active speaker with a distinguished pedigree.

This very traditional British brand is one of a number of companies that have been swallowed hook line and sinker by the giant Chinese IAG conglomerate. The last UK ones filtered out of the consumer marketplace in 2008 / 2009 and now these are the first of the SE Asian manufactured products to be released.

The 2020i is the newest incarnation of the very popular 2020 range.

The high frequency reproduction is natural and relaxed and they extend quite low for a speaker of this size.

I would describe them as musical and musically engaging.

The Radius 90HD is a radical departure from most satellite speakers in as much as it doesn't look radical. It's a high-class mini monitor, only smaller. In stark contrast to the hard, cold metal appearance of most A/V speaker packages, it has the same sumptuous real wood veneer and lacquer finishes that grace Monitor Audio's reference speakers. The same engineering standards and attention to detail, too, right down to the radiused corners of the cabinet and high-quality, gold-plated cable terminals.

It's not easy to get a new loudspeaker brand into Carlton Audio Visual. We already have lots of really good kit representing a broad range of timbres and tonalities. It was with some surprise that we found this new model Castle loudspeaker to be fantastic value for money and a genuine quality alternative from our existing inventory in this very critical sub $1000 bookshelf loudspeaker bracket.

This is the current model bookshelf speaker from Monitor Audio's Silver Series. Immediate differences are the new derived from the Gold range midbass driver and the excellent graven solidity of the revised cabinet construction with its tensioning bolt from back of cabinet to back of bass driver.

The first Aktimate Mini iPod speaker system has been singularly successful, with terrific sound and facility from this Michael Creek designed product.

The Maxi version offers a lot more features than its predecessor, this bookshelf speaker has Internet radio (powered by Reciva), FM, wireless audio streaming functions (via Windows and UPnP), as well as Ethernet and Wi-Fi. It even has an LCD screen on the left speaker that helps a user browse through the menu and functions. It has a USB port that plays music from an MP3 or USB stick, with the unit supporting WAV, MP3, RealAudio, and WMA formats.

These little rippers remind me of the good old days of 70's hifi. (I confess I was only 2 in 1979 but just go with me on this).

They're the bigger brother of the RX1 and bigger they are...in sound and stature. (I would call them a Junoesque bookshelf speaker ...Rab)

Peter Comeau's very special budget resolution bookshelf .... they are finished in lacewood a la v expensive guitar ... by the finest speaker factory in Shenzen ... if there is a pretence of Harrogate in their schpeil it's because they are worried about their home PRC market and its perceptions of origin. Seeing them in the factory painstakingly finishing the speakers by hand leaves me in no doubt as to their dedication to product quality.

The Joeys are the babies of Legend Acoustics' Kangaroo range, These are the altest incarnation of Dr Crawfords mini speakers and they are fantastic with appropriate amplification. I love them with a Rega Brio R from the idiosyncratic UK company. It goes to show that the best most musical pieces of kit are firmly based on passionate individuals such as Rod Crawford and Roy Gandy.

The Scottish may have a problem with spelling and pronounciation, but their speakers are brilliant.
This is that most unusual design being a compact bookshelf three way.
The tweeter and midrange assembly is a brilliant piece of engineering.

Not since the original Neat Petite have I sean such a cool well made point source speaker with a ribbon tweeter. These MA's remind me of the original metal coned Studio series with a liquid presentation and the way they disappear into their own soundstage.

What Hi Fi? love them:

Tannoy are very differentiated in their tonality, beetween horn loading and dual concentric and an unabashed retention of their old fashioned virtues they sound completely different from a conventional moving coil loudspaker. Yet they are still a global success story, at one stage Tannoy were by far the largest selling loudspeaker brand ... in Japan ...

We have an exceptional range of bookshelf speakers, but the Kurre 7s, with their studio monitor like accuracy and transparency are truly unique.

The Kurre's are world-class stand-mount speakers. They can be used as superb front L&R speakers in a stereo system; or as rears with the Kantu's and Kurka in the front, supplemented by award-winning Kurlo subwoofers in an awesome home-theatre system.

Ten months of R&D and lengthy listening tests has facilitated the launch of the original DB1 reference mini monitor. The DB1 is the worlds smallest transmission line design, with an effective line length of 1.5m in a tiny, heavily damped cabinet.

The TB2 shares many of the remarkable attributes and awards of its smaller brother, the DB1, in a larger stand mounted form. With its new PMC designed 6 1/2 inch bass unit it allows for higher volume levels, increased bass extension and dynamics, making it suited to both large and small listening rooms. It has the same tonal balance and wide dispersion characteristics, as with all PMC designs, providing a room filling audio picture outstanding for both stereo and surround configurations.

Hi Fi World May 2008 recants of the Monitor Audio PL100's:

"Brilliantly atmospheric, transparent and musical loudspeakers, but dont suffer poor partnering ancillaries or recordings gladly."

Its always great to have the staff agree on something. Its even better when whats in agreement is that we'd all like to have a pair of these. And why wouldn't we want them? They look stunning, they sound stunning, and the build quality is stunning.

Stunning highs? Sweet mids? Sublime bass performance? No generic cliche taken from a British HiFi magazine can do these speakers justice. None. Simply amazing (whoops, there I go again). This fully active loudspeaker has seperate amplification for each driver. The transmission line design and flat piston carbon/nomex woofer means these speakers play deep and with all the authority of a MUCH bigger design. The tweeter is the same as that featured in their top dollar US$125,000 monitor. These speakers are the answer for those forced to sit relatively close to the speakers (near field). One of our staff members ordered a pair of these pint sized brutes upon first listen. Need we say more? (I didn't think so, but see below for a detailed review anyway).

It takes a very special product to get our jaded staff excited, but these speakers are just that. Already prompting many a late night (and into the early morning) listening session, they can make a grown man cry...