Bookshelves
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Sonus Faber Guarneri G5
The new range of the Homage series is nearly here and it promises to be everything and more than the extraordinary series it is replacing.
An even tighter bass allowing for extra detail has been promised as well as a very smart looking Graphite colour-way!
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McIntosh ML1 Loudspeaker Mk II ... retro art and design fidelity
In the engineering of audio visual reproduction devices there are very few brands that have successfully broken the fundamental barriers of conservativism and fashion to be truly individual and accepted for what they are. McIntosh have broken the glass ceiling of consumerism by just being very good at what they do and building their product to their own rules.
These loudspeakers have been released at the Munich Hi Fi show and are a compelling statement of design. This ML1 loudspeaker Mk II is a reengineer of their original McIntosh Labs number one speaker and looks fantastic. To me this is like a Vincent motorcycle made with 2020s componentry and performance. These speakers are works of art as well as pure McIntosh music quality.
Official McIntosh ML1 Loudspeaker Mk II website
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Graham Audio LS5/5 Speakers
The LS5/5 is a large three way monitor designed in 1967.
A 12 inch drive unit handles the low frequencies up to 400Hz. At this point, an 8 inch midrange takes over before handing over to the 1 inch soft dome tweeter at 3.5kHz. Overall, the frequency response is flat to within ±2dB from 40Hz to 20kHz.
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Spendor Classic 100, stand mount speakers
The Classic series from Spendor is a unique design harking back to the good old days where vinyl records were carried around to house parties, speakers were big and their bass drivers were just as big!
If you miss the sound of smoky rooms, rock n roll and brown and gold interior decoration these are the speakers for you.
With large 30cm bass drivers and retro styling you will be forgiven for thinking these are speakers from the 60s. And that's because they've been made to look, sound and feel like they were.
Thin walled and heavily dampened is something unusual these days as most modrn designs strive for super high rigidity in their cabinet to control the resonances as best they can. Spendor argues, however, that that's an impossibility - you'll always have a cabinet that resonates to some degree. The trick, they say, is to mke sure those resonances occur where you want them to and that's in the low frequencies where they are less audible to our ears.
Highly rigid cabinetry tends to push these resonances into the upper bandwidths creating a harshness or brightness to the tone.
These Spendors don't have that built-in brittleness and are the classic easy-listening speaker.
Read the What Hi-Fi review here
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Yamaha NS5000 speakers ... most technically advanced speaker in classical form
Available to audition in their own Lygon st Showroom. These are a speaker of remarkable presence and beauty. They are highly capable of presenting the music in a natural and completely unfettered manner. Properly powered it doesn't matter what the volume is, they retain their particular quality at low volume and can very nearly do PA type sound pressure levels while remaining tonally consistent throughout. A remarkable performance envelope.
I fell in love with the spiritual and physical precursor to this speaker being the NS1000 of the 1980's, indeed I still have clients from that era who bought those speakers back then from me and feed them a diet of new amplification and sources every 15 years or so. These NS5000 speakers are better, like a new Lexus is better than my old Corolla.The official Yamaha NS5000 web page
StereoNet on the Yamaha NS5000 Soundstage Australia on the Yamaha NS5000 The Absolute Sound on the Yamaha 5000 system Learn More$19,990.00 -
Graham LS5/8S (Slotted)
Slotted version of the BBC 2 way flagship ls5/8 The LS5/8 is the BBC's flagship 2 way design, and was developed because of the need for higher sound pressure levels and greater transparency and consistency than the ageing LS5/5 offered.
This was the first BBC loudspeaker to use a polypropylene diaphragm which, being lighter than Bextrene, offered greater efficiency and lower colouration. A carefully researched cone profile enables the unit to work successfully well into the midrange. After many months of intensive development, the Graham Audio LS5/8 refines the concept further.
Designed in conjunction with Derek Hughes and Volt Loudspeakers and manufactured under license in the UK, it features a unique 12 inch bass/mid unit that is married to the same 34mm Audax tweeter that is used in the LS5/9.
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Graham Audio LS8/1
The LS5/8 is the BBC's flagship 2 way design, and was developed because of the need for higher sound pressure levels and greater transparency and consistency than the ageing LS5/5 offered. This was the first BBC loudspeaker to use a polypropylene diaphragm which, being lighter than Bextrene, offered greater efficiency and lower colouration. A carefully researched cone profile enables the unit to work successfully well into the midrange.
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Sonus Faber Electa Amator III loudspeakers ... Classic Italiana
The original Electa Amator was one of the foundation models for Sonus faber that set the seductive timbre and musicaity allied to unique cabinetry artisanship that is very much the signature of this brand.
The Electa Amator III is immensly tactile with its combination of wood marble and leather, In my mind it feels like one of those precious pieces of preserved Roman art that is found in the corridoors of The Louvre rather than a mere loudspeaker.
These speakers do not come with the stands. Their matching stands which have a base of Carrara Marble can be purchased separately for $2995.
Sonus faber Electa Amator III official site
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Spendor Classic 1/2 Standmount Speakers
The Spendor Classic 1/2 Standmount speakers have the ultimate classic look and a classic sound as well that harkens back to that luscious era of 60s swinging London.
But with a warmth and a ripened depth to the sound these aren't spekers that'll just look the part, they sound it as well. A full 3 way bookshelf loudspeaker with a serious pedigree.
These are the speakers my Grammar School Geography teacher would have purchased as a retirement reward .... they are tweedy and comfortable and make you want to listen to music qll day and drink warm beer that you have brewed yourself ... bliss ...
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The Yamaha NS3000 loudspeaker
We have the first pair of these on display in Australia. We only had to pledge one of our children to indentured servitude for life in Japan to acquire them, They are beautiful and much easier to live with than an annoying child.
"SoundStageAustralia.com" on the Yamaha NS3000
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Sonus Faber Olympica Nova I
Olympica Nova I is the bookshelf model of the line wonderfully finished in its clean design, intended to be used on a bookshelf or on its stand.
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Krix October Package Specials, Esoterix Altum
For the month of October, Krix are celebrating their 50th anniversary and are offering some package deals. 50% off subwoofers when you purchase one of their 5-speaker packages.
The Krix Esoterix Altums are a result of passion and dedication poured into the design of a bookshelf speaker. Krix possess some of the worlds best speaker engineers and designers. They've really showed off their prowess with these bookshelves. Utilising some quirky and some tried and true elements to create an exceptional musical instrument.
This is the perfect opportunity to celebrate Krix's 5 decades in business by getting a pair of Esoterix Altums into your living room. Along with their matching stands of course!
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Graham Audio LS5/9, Classic English Loudspeaker
With a BBC heritage and exceptional build quality, these speakers are a warm hug of British HiFi nostalgia.
A bit like Harbeth in their soudn quality but giving tightness and articulation in the bass. These are a very easy to listen to speaker.
We think they pair well with a glass of Port or Sherry and a Tweed Jacket!
For the Cherry and Oak finishes $9749
For Walnut, Rosewood $10,499
For Ebony $10,999
"The Absolute Sound" on the Graham LS5/9
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Revival Audio ATALANTE 5, Retro 3-way Bookshelf Speaker
These are another classic design that channels concepts from the 70s. JBL, Klipsch and Spendor have been making speakers like this too. Unlike the Klipsch and JBLs, these have a really rounded, mellow mid and treble quality that make them easy and relaxed to listen to.
They have a big beefy bass like sinking into a plush lounge chair.
Revival Audio is a new speaker brand from Alsace, France. You could be forgiven for thinking the above accolades as prematurely bestowed upon a speaker maker just entering the market. Yet, Revival Audio are no simple start up. The company’s sole two speakers (at this stage) are the fruit of decades of combined expertise from ex-Dynaudio’s Daniel Emonts and Jacky Lee, Revival Audio’s founding members.
While Emonts was Senior R&D Engineer and Lee was Chief Commercial Officer at Dynaudio, they became great friends and together took the plunge in establishing Revival Audio by the end of 2021, with the ambition of crafting some of the best speakers in the world. Together they make a formidable team and are well paired to take on the industry heavy weights.
Come and try them out now at Carlton Audio Visual.
Matching stands are an optional extra at $775 a pair.
"The Ear.Net" on the Revival Audio Atalante 5 loudspeakers
"Soundstage Australia" on the Revival Audio Atalante 5 loudspeakers
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Spendor Classic 2/3 Stand Mount Speaker.
A true classic English speaker taking its aesthetics and ethos from the 60s. The cabinets are made from a relatively thin wooden casing which like a hand made violin will flex ever so slightly at lower frequencies where we don't hear as much and are rigid where it matters for the upper bass, mids and treble.
A gorgeous warmth to these just oozes out of them. Whereas the new tech D series Spendors are for seekers of truth and accuracy these Classic series are all about the emotional engagement.
This is how they've made speakers for the BBC for decades and those that love the 'Classic' sound will fall in love with these.
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Monitor Audio Platinum PL100 3G
The brand new Monitor Audio Platinum PL100 3G have just been unboxed last week. These are a seriously nice speaker. Solidly made with a classic Monitor Audio liveness transparency and fun!
Darren is our resident Monitor Audio fanatic having owned a pair himself. His verdict? - 'hmmm, very good!'
Don't trust Darren though, come in and listen for yourself! We're putting some good mileage on them running them in so they're ready for a good demo listening session.
These will be a very popular speaker, no doubt.
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Sonus Faber Minima Amator II
The natural evolution of today’s Sonus faber, is enclosed in this new creation. Minima Amator II is the restatement of a fundamental product first introduced in 1992 when the company was establishing key principles that would go on to guide future productions: accurate design and high-quality materials, combined to obtain a sound reproduction as natural as possible.
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Krix Esoterix Altum
We first saw this unique design as a tentative and secret prototype while drinking wine from the Krix Vineyard two years ago.
There is no doubt that Krix possess world class R&D facilities with state of the art instrumentation and analysis. It was with interest that I looked under a table in one of their laboratories and found the disassembled carcasses of B&W and Monitor Audio bookshelf speakers during that visit ...
It turns out that Scott has always nurtured an ambition to shake the audiophile tree for the high end bookshelf speaker. The Esoterix Altum is the result of that.
Now not everybody has grooved to their appearance it seems.
Think of them as that bespectacled fair haired girl who always sits quietly at the front of class while the cool kids hang shite on her. Then one day she’s on the front cover of Vogue while taking a break from studying medicine at Cambridge ... these speakers will one day be recognized as classics of sound and aesthetics ...
Matching stands for the Esoterix Altums are available at $1655.
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Epos ES14N Bookshelf Speaker ... a magic reincarnation
Epos has risen, like a Phoenix from the flames and has come out with a new version of their classic ES14, the ES14N!
They state that they have deliberately gone for a 'non lifestyle, classic' aesthetic with their design but I can't help thinking they have time morphed from the 90s. Of they fit in perfectly in the downstairs of Carlton's main demonstration area, that also hasn't seen a redesign since the 90s!
But the 90s are cool again, aren't they!?
There are of course more technical reasons behind their choices in box and driver design and you can read all about that here at the official Epos website.
After initially feeling that these were a slightly bass shy design it transpired that after running in, the ES14 became one of the deepest note capable designs we’ve heard from a box this size. They do that trick of allowing a new listener to hear bass notes clearly in a familiar piece of music that have been previously undiscerned. Also they offer you spatial awareness, detailed treble and engaging mids that are the hallmark of a classic design. Totally worth a listen.
Epos ES14N speakers and stands package $8795
On display now at Carlton Audio Visual
A review by "LowBeats" publication on the ES14N
A review by AV forums on the ES14N
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Fyne Audio F700 Bookshelf dual concentric loudspeaker
From the origins of the loudspeaker industry in Glasgow comes this piece of musical intensity that is the Fyne Audio F700.
A very nice piece of engineering that proffers an explicit presentation with pin point imaging.
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Fyne Audio F700 official site.