CES 2014: Loudspeakers under $15,000 – Part 4

For this year’s CES event I focused my reporting efforts on two product categories, one of the most popular of which is Loudspeakers under $15,000 per pair. What drives this popularity, of course, is the fact that the overwhelming majority of audiophiles (and audio journalists) own and enjoy loudspeakers that fall within this price window.

No matter how much we may appreciate or covet more expensive fare, we all tend to focus our attention—for obvious reasons—on those transducers we can afford to make part of our day-to-day lives. What follows is a broad but not completely comprehensive summary of new models seen and heard at CES 2014 in the sub-$15,000 per pair price bracket, where we discovered some breathtakingly good products indeed.

Of necessity, this will be more of a brief photo essay than an in-depth report. As always, let me extend apologies in advance to manufacturers whose worthy offerings I was not able to cover here.

This is Part 4 of a four-part report. Enjoy.

__________

Rosso Fiorentino

From Florence, Italy, comes the impressive Rosso Fiorentino line of loudspeakers in which we found the Volterra floorstander ($12,995/pair) to be a most impressive performer. In terms of physical dimension the Volterra is a mid-sized speaker, but that is about the only sense in which there is anything about this speaker that could be considered “mid-sized.” The Volterra is a four-driver design sporting a closed box woofer system, a “hybrid vented mid-woofer,” a 28mm silk dome tweeter, plus a ribbon diaphragm “ultrasonic generator”. The upshot is a speaker that sounds open, airy, and well extended, and that throws large and expansive soundstages.

 Sonus faber

The Olympica range of speakers occupies the upper middle position in the broader Sonus faber line up, slotting in well above the entry level Venere ranges, but below the top-tier Aida/Amati/Guarneri range.

Even so, a Sonus faber spokesperson emphatically stressed that the Olympica models were built up to an intended performance standard—not down to an arbitrary price point. The flagship of this middle range is the Olympica III floorstander ($13,500/pair).

The Olympica III is a three-way, four-driver tower offering exquisite woodwork, leather-clad top surfaces, a distinctive asymmetrical enclosure design (as viewed from above), and very high quality drivers.

SVS

Best know for its high performance subwoofers, SVS now offers a large, relatively high-output, and very well-priced full-range floorstander called the Ultra Tower ($2,000/pair). Listen to the Ultra Tower for a while and we think you might agree that is represents a lot of speaker for the money—especially so for those who enjoy rock or other forms of “power” music, but who must live within sensible, real-world budgets.

T+A

For the German firm T+A the newest speaker on display was a self-powered desktop monitor called the CS Mini Active ($2,000/pair). The CS Mini Active can be used in a number of contexts, but is particularly effective when paired with the firm’s Cala and/or Caruso Blu electronics components, making for a compelling mini-system.

Thiel

Under new management, the venerable firm Thiel has launched an all-new range of loudspeakers, starting with the TM3 standmount monitors ($2,999/pair plus $599/pair for matching stands). In a move that some will find shocking, the TM3 makes no effort to be a time-aligned loudspeaker, nor does it feature Thiel’s signature first-order crossover networks. On the contrary, the TM3 has other priorities in mind—among them vigourous dynamics, wide dispersion, and even, neutrally balanced frequency response. Will the new Thiels win hearts and minds as the originals once did? Only time will tell, but do please listen with an open mind…

Totem

Seeking to leverage the success of its Element-series loudspeakers whilst bringing their technology to a (much) lower price point, Totem introduced new 2.1-channel system comprised of the Kin monitors ($500/pair) and matching Tribe sub ($699). Together, the components make for a suave and sophisticated $1199 system capable of producing genuinely rich, room-filling sound.

Usher Audio

The veteran Taiwanese loudspeaker manufacturer brought several new loudspeakers to CES, including the new two-piece X Tower (which is not very “mini” at all, priced at $14,700/pair) and an astonishing value-priced, stand-mount, columnar speaker called the Tube 515 ($550/pair, including stands).

It is hard to say which is more impressive: the beefy and decidedly full-range X Tower, which seems a viable alternative to the firm’s BE10 floorstander), or the Tube 515, which is one of the best values we’ve encountered in a long, long time.

Velodyne

Velodyne introduced a pair of new wireless subwoofers, the WiQ10 ($799) and Wi-Q20 ($999) that not only promise the expected low-end extension and clout, but also offer convenient, from-the-listening-chair adjustability plus room EQ functions.

Vienna Acoustics

For CES Vienna Acoustics rolled out a product that many of us have wised the firm might produce: namely, a cost and size-reduced version of the firm’s flagship Die Musik loudspeaker, but a fraction of the price. The resulting speaker is the flagship model in the firm’s new Imperial line and is a floorstander called the Imperial Liszt ($14,999/pair). Like Die Musik, the Imperial Liszt uses a coaxial/co-planar tweeter/midrange arrange that is mounted in a swiveling head unit that is mounted atop the Liszt’s tower-type bass enclosure. The head unit can be adjusted fro optimal imaging and then firmly locked in place for the best overall sound. We found a first listen to the Liszt very promising, though we can’t wait to give the speaker a more thorough evaluation.

Westlake Audio

The famous monitor maker Westlake Audio is perhaps best known for its very expensive mastering monitors (models fall in the mid-$30k range), but that doesn’t mean Westlake has forgotten those of more modest means. A perfect case in point would be the Westlake Lc8.1F stand-mount monitor, priced at $6,999.

Find Parts 1, 2, and 3 of this four-part report at www.hifiplus.com.