For a detailed article and all the speaker reviews come and visit my new website www.pursuitperfectsystem.com/completing-a-bookshelf-speaker-group-mega-test/ I followed up this video with a Live Q&A Video going into more details about more things here ua-cam.com/video/4Zm4HSb8u1c/v-deo.html Al-so dont forget there is a specific review video for every speaker in this group test - make sure you check them out, details in the video description box
Thanks so much for doing this, yes love warfdale high end looking speaker. Though I went with 4 klipsch RP-600M for home theater, along with a pair of dual svs-sb2000. For my center should i go with RP-600C or the bigger version? Room size 19 x 11 x 7. Thanks once again, cheers from Canada 🇨🇦.
@@best_sound Lack of looking is not an excuse - its all here the first playlist on my channels home page ua-cam.com/play/PLBxJjnKekAe27rHLKGtMJ2JdwnJL4_hcm.html
@@dagr8kerek The 600M hasn't a 'big' brother, it is the flagship 'standmount'. The RP6000F is the bigger brother to the RP5000F in the FLOOR stand class and in the middle of the line bested by the RP8000F.. Just a heads up on the Klipsch models in those classes.
If you have come to this Conclusion as a first video please watch the review videos too as I go into serious detail and do comprehensive comparisons :) Thanks
Thanks so much. Quite clear. At the end I purchased the Cabasse even though it was a blind purchase as it was not possible to listen them before purchasing. I spent 359 € which is a bit more than 400 USD, and they make me smiling quite often. I trusted your advice and I have no regrets. Thanks!!!! Luca
You've managed to simultaneously appeal to two generations. Both the Millennial Generation and Gen X. Everyone gets a trophy yet there is really only one winner :) Thanks for this great Muti-Test.
Thanks Terry, well done review. Very good cross section and variety of product, for the category. I picked up a pair of the 4.2's several months ago, and have been watching this series with an open mind - albeit, a slight gut level bias. I LOVE my 4.2's! Being 60 years old, I know MY hearing ain't what it used to be. However, the 4.2's have brought me back to a level of musical enjoyment that I didn't expect. The warmth, richness, texture, and soundstage, they provide, just keep me engaged. They are a pleasure to listen to! Based on my listening room, I had to "play" with the positioning (no more "niggles"), but once I dialed-it-in... Paired with a sub... Ahh! My source is typically streaming - Bluetooth 5.0/LDAC/96 kHz into a Topping D90 DAC, through an FXAUDIO Tube-03, then into an older Onkyo AVR, driving an older 12" Velodyne sub. Pre out into an older Carver M-500t, driving the 4.2's. I sight this information for perspective on source, and using some existing equipment, "tweaked" for the 21st century. Next step - cables and DIRAC??? Thanks again, Cheers! 👍
Same here. EVO 4.2 owner and I kept thinking all the way through this series "How could the 4.2's not win this?". One of the best speaker values I've seen in awhile. Smooth, detailed, transparent. Beautiful speakers that could sell for 2-3 times their price.
I really appreciate this effort. Other reviewers have been constrained by *not* having the large variety of models in house at the same time. I put much stock in what you have heard and said. For those who listen almost exclusively to acoustic music recorded digitally and streamed, CD mastered, or pressed on vinyl, I of course wish these could be reviewed by comparison with reality rather than just compared to each other. I recognize that it's impossible and impractical, so no complaint.
As an example of the above, I have come to live with the RP600M speakers in a quite large room with high ceilings -- driven with 150 watts per channel. These drive the room quite well, achieving 100+ dB SPL's @ 3 meters when asked. They are not true to reality on older recordings, especially classical on vinyl. SO, I have introduced a Schiit Loki between the preamp and amp, and minor adjustments tame the tweeters on old recordings (digital as well). Lows, down to about 20 Hz, are handled by two subs.
@@jimshaw899 sounds like you're doing it right mate the Loki is a good device everybody should have or something equivalent. Curious what settings you have on the Loki when using the klipsch are we talking upper mid-range lower? On a clock face where are your positions of course different material makes a difference but where's your general settings
@@johnsweda2999 My approx. settings for old recordings are: 20Hz noon, 400Hz 10am, 2kHz 10am, 8kHz 9am. The Loki works much better than a tone control. For the powered subs, it is out of the circuit, because the preamp has a separate feed for them that doesn't pass through the Loki. Works for me. I sometimes switch it out on recent digital recordings and vinyl, especially when listening off axis at a distance. I theorize, but don't *know,* that one of my issues is the woofer trying to play at 1500 Hz and mating up with the tweeter playing at 1500 Hz. And with old recordings, mastered to add "presence," playing upwards in the "forward" regime of the tweeter, making strings gritty. This goes a long way toward making a jazz quartet, symphony orchestra, or acoustic guitar sound like they are playing in their room -- thence in my room. I really don't know how Led Zeppelin sounded except via JBL stacks in Madison Square Garden, so it's not my target.
Congrats again on this completing this massive undertaking. I know many are asking about other speakers in this highly competitive category, but you really nailed it with this excellent line up. I'm looking forward to participating in the live Q&A, which is a great idea, and hopefully you'll learn more too, as you connect with the community. Great work!
Great comparison. Wharfedale a worthy winner (I assume as I haven't heard them...yet). That mid range driver is a killer feature at this price point. Need a demo soon.
This was an excellent series. Detailed information, in depth sound quality reviews, and honest about up and downs of each speaker. A lot of good choices in this group. I agree on your choice of the Wharfedale in the group as, in my opinion (and many other reviews), they do perform well above their price range.
One of the best group speakers test (and generally review) ever, and anywhere! I understand, it must was... an Athlon! 😀 I hope, someday in the future when you ll have the patience, the means, and the time, you could try again something similar.., with any kind of hi fi gear.. (streamer, amplifiers, speakers, whatever).. Thank you very much for the information and the joy you gave us!
I went down the rabbit hole and ended up on some Klipsch 600 sound demos and ended here and soooo glad i did. Listened to you months ago and subscribed tonight. I have my room pretty dialed in for amazing sound and was looking for a smaller speaker set up for another room possibly. I can really hear the differences with these speakers you are testing. Thus far i have listened to the Klipsch, the Focal and the Wharfedale. If something beats the Wharfedales i will be all ears because these sound amazing on my end(and ears). Sweet
Thank you so much for taking the time to review all of these speakers. In this day and age, it is difficult to just run to your local shop to have a listen. I depend on great detailed reviews like yours to help me narrow down what I might enjoy in my system. I really like the sound characteristics of the Wharfedales and am anxious to see reviews of the new Diamond 12 series. Hope you have a chance to review them. Thanks again and best wishes...
Thank you for the very well done megatest series. The AE300 was my overall "best in show" pick. The AE was the only speaker set that I was able to not only completely listen to the demo video but did so twice and was inspired enough to send an email to AE in order to locate a dealer/retailer in Texas. AE was kind enough to reply with links to shops in WI and FLA. Thank you Terry and thank you AE.
Thank you for a great review! I like the way you do your review's of all bookshelf speakers. You touch on every important point of how each speaker sounds. The high's, the low's, and the mid's. Have a great day !
Thank you Terry for an awesome job. I have been following the series always eagerly waiting for the next one. Now that you've reached the end, I am still left struggling to decide, but that is not your fault as I understand how it is difficult for a single person to come to so many split decisions - I feel your pain :-) Anyway, I will surely keep your videos in mind when it comes to deciding on where to spend my money on a pair of bookshelf speakers .Thank you!
Fantastic megatest Terry! I only found your channel recently and am definitely subscribed. The way you broke things down and describe them was ‘perfect’. Can’t wait for the next one! :) Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the your hard work making this Speaker Mega Test man. It was fun and interesting to hear how all these speakers compared to each other. The frequency response graphs were interesting to see. I have owned the Bowers & Wilkins 606 speakers for about a year now. I love them and that "hot" treble does settle down a bit over time. They sound much more neutral now.
@@PursuitPerfectSystem HaHa 😄 OK fair enough. I love them anyhow. Great speakers and thanks for your great video review. Its the best review on UA-cam I have come across.
What a fantastic series of tests and with very sensible sorting methods: small and large and then into cool/crisp to warm. Your methods go some way to explain the apparent contradictions you get in more conventional magazine reviews where I always seem to end up thinking “yes you obviously like it but is it better than xyz?” The only comment I have, and it’s not a criticism, is that now Kef Ls50 has come down so much in price to almost this level how do these fit in? From practically all the reviews I’ve read in print and UA-cam these Kefs seem to be a de facto reference standard. Thank you for these tremendous reviews.
Great review series, really appreciated the intro to Acoustic Energy and Cabasse, never knew they existed. The fact you BOUGHT the 4.2s says everything.
I actually demo the AE300 and Q Acoustics having watched your videos which helped me narrow the choices because of there size and I have a small room so funny how you actually put them in the same form factor, I settled for the 3030i because overall sound is, how can I put it .....a speaker for all day listening and for me love the image and that extra bit of base and that base is not in your face but more warm if that makes sense,but these speakers had two benefits for me, first was outstanding price per performance is unequalled and the second reason for now I don't see the need for a subwoofer So this alone saves me money from a cheap prices speaker and no extra cost for a sub, I'm not saying I'll not one day add a sub but for now it's ticking all the boxes,if I could change one thing on 3030i it would be the finish, I would have loved the concept 20s gloss look but this is minor personal taste,my system arcam solo and most people will have better great systems mine is only basic as my original system was stolen,so had to drag my very old system from the attic and that is 15years old, the problem I have I haven't got a clue what I'd replace it with IE CD and Amp, however they do work well together..... question for the author what cables would you advise for 3030i for more clarity and maybe a bit more sonic ability
Very well made and mentioning the sound signature of the speakers aside of their inherent pros and cons is very helpful for the newbies having to get familiar with all those brands and models. Thank you a lot for this extensive work that will help many of us narrow it down according to our taste.
Very informative and helpful, giving me a good, clear descriptive sense of how the various qualities and benchmarks compare from one speaker to another. You make very clear what some reviewers sometimes muddle and convolute, even with only two or three contenders to compare and discuss. Nicely done! I look forward to checking in here, again.
Thanks man, you will find detailed reviews and demos for all the speakers in the channel if you want to find out more about any of them specifically - when you review things in-depth its possible to make good comparisons - if you only listen and find out about them for 30 seconds each you cant :)
Acoustic Energy's wee speakers definitely deserved best small speaker award. Any of the larger speakers deserved top awards but the Evo's would be my choice with the Cabasse a close second. Thanks Terry for this brilliant review. Can you do a sound demo of the Evo's please.
As I mentioned in a comment to another video, I am brand new to this channel -- and this next bit is a silly thing to say, I mean who cares what I think, really -- but the final conclusion of this video represents a big and important test passed for our host, IMHO. If a reviewer has a speaker shootout narrowed down to two finalists, and one of them is a "listen all day" speaker, and the other is a more "exciting" speaker, and literally everything else is a dead heat, it is nothing short of malpractice to represent the exciting speaker as the better choice. I am a huge fan of Linn speakers, especially paired with either Naim or Arcam electronics, and these are not the assertions of a listen-all-day advocate. But the thing is, it's really hard to be Linn and Naim and Arcam. The design effort that goes into a sound that is at once exciting without being overly sibilant and fatiguing is really just this side of impossible. I sold stereo equipment for a summer in Indianapolis, at a place whose lines included both KEF and Klipsch (interestingly-?). Whenever people narrowed it down to the C80 or the Forte, and really couldn't decide, I always knew whether the speakers would stay sold, or get returned, based on which of them were chosen. Indeed I never, ever, ever had a pair of C80s come back on me -- and we sold a *lot* of them. The Fortes were an E-ticket ride, but there was a moment on the second or third day where you'd just huff out a long exhale and say to the person next to you, "Let's do something else for a while; let's get outside and go the park or somethin'." And that, friends, was always the beginning of the end. Again, this rule only works on an all-other-things-equal basis: We had lots of Fortes stay sold too, and lots of KG4's, which (sacrilege incoming) I actually consider the much superior speaker of that vintage of the Klipsch line. But we never had a sale stick if the person was genuinely torn between the KEF house sound and the Klipsch house sound of that era, and chose the Klipsch. Indeed I only ever sold one pair of K-horns, and they came back a week later: Swapped for a pair of 104/2's that I never saw again. :D
Sweet! I was hoping AE300 scored well. I bought my first AE100 back in 1996 and just loved the sound, but felt that they lacked some in the bass areas for when I wanted to play loud. Now I have had to decide between EVO 4.4 and AE309 and I went with AE309, just because I have heard how sweet AE speakers sound, I really fell in love with the sound, and since they are for both music and film, I got a SVS PB1000 to have on the side when watching movies. ;) Thank you for a "perfect" speaker review, I have subbed and look forward to you upcoming reviews. Best wishes from Norway =)
@@markuspajonk7762 I agree, and I am now preparing to repaint and change the furniture positions in my living-room just to be ready for them when they arrive =P I also have a small stack of CD`s and LP`s ready for testing as soon as the speakers are runned/played in. Do you think 50 hours is enough for them to be ready? Grieg, Clams Casino, Yes, Frank Zappa, Prokofiev and Fink is on my playlist ;)
Thanks Terry and the rest of the Crew for putting a lot of effort comparing all those speakers, they’re all amazing now I know which speakers to buy, really appreciate it thanks 👍🏽😁
Well done Terry for the great mega test, I'm not surprised about the Evo 4.2, they were my favourite, I wanted to get them, but the centre channel wouldn't fit in my cabinet by a cm, I love the look of them, I would have got them in white, Instead I bought just last week Arendal 1961 monitors, you should review them Well done again,
Tip top job done. Thanks a lot. The 606 Anniversary are on my list to audition. Shame they came in too late for your test. I came to my current B&W 685 S2 after extended listening to QA Concept 20, Elac Debut 2 5s, Epos K1i, Dali Oberon 1. Very difficult to choose a best from that bunch. Vocal clarity did it in the end, plus separation.
Well done very informative, but one thing to please consider, use nice soft gloves when fiddling about with speakers under all the lighting before you film (especially black & gloss) the Focals were very distracting due to all the finger prints and skin oil smears.. Soft matte finishes like the Q 3030is were just as noticeable.. Thanks for another very informative well articulated review,..
Thank you for doing this review. It helps when deciding what to narrow down to. Due to COVID tough to go and listen. Would love companies to allow you to test them in your home against others. I have bought a few of these and returned as they didn't sound great in my home or with my electronics.
Great video mate. I would love to see you try out some Quad S-2's and see how you think they compare. I bought mine at £600 and I now drive them with a Naim Uniti Atom and they sound phenomenal.
that is a "hill" of a review, excellent, very well done! very informative about spkrs that i will probably never listen to but teaches me a lot about the state of the art in those price brackets. i subscribed and keep'em coming!.
What I've found is it's best to buy about 3 different pairs of speakers. Once a week I swap them out for a different sound. It's like guitars. You can't have just one. I bought the Klipsch 600's, the Elac reference speakers...and believe it or not. The Sony SS-CS5's. It's hard to believe but I like the Sony's a lot and I may be because I bought a pair for 73 dollars on Amazon. For 73 bucks, I had to buy them and I have not been disappointed. I can't believe Sony gets the sound that these speakers produce and can sell them for 73 dollars.
What a fantastic video. This series is probably the most informative I have seen. Based on this, I ended up audition the Klipsch, Evo and BW. I went with the Klipsch, dynamics, bass and sound stage were better than the other two. But this video definitely helped me to make my choice. Thanks so much for this.
Eov4.2! They have been gettin some good reviews, I shouldn't be so surprised. I am sure they have a great sound is the front of the cabinet the drive units what I'm not to fond off. I like the curvature of the back of a cabinet very nice. Definitely passing on the Wharfedale though. I'm going to search out and audition, the Cabasse & the Fyne audio. Fun review's looking forward to ever you come up with next! Cheers, Terry.
Awesome megatest! I did have a laugh the other week when I saw B&W released the 606 s2 and wondered if/how you would tackle that. Thoroughly enjoyed this series, keep it up man.
Fantastic job done Terry! Don't agree with you, but that's what an in depth review is about, to let us make our minds up. When is the sound demo for the Cabasse going up?
Great that speakers emphasize different aspects of performance. Personally looking to get Magnepan 0.7 and RP600M which both are extremely good at different types of music. Magnepan very transparent and natural sounding and RP600M rocks. Great time to be in for an audiophile.... Really good videos too. Cheers.
Great review, now my battle is running between Q Acoustics 3030i and B&W 607 s2, but I guess the winner depends strongly on the system used, as well as the kind of music played
Thanks!, keep up the good job!! i would like to see yoour take on best speakers under US5K and also under US$10K . . .? not an easy task, but i believe you can cut through the clutter at that price point, clearly 2 very critical price points in this industry
Nice job ! Going to reccomend your Audiolab6000a review when i drop my review 😆 but they like a bright lively speaker ! Layed back speakers not so much !
In the Waffidale 4.2, the bass, middle, and treble are played separately from each other. You can tell if you listen closely. That's why there are so many people who buy new and then sell used because of that sound.
I have a pair of Celestion 3's. I'm satisfied with the sound I get. If I want more speakers, I'll get more Celestions on Ebay. Low low price, great sound.
I suppose if you know what you like, and if it aint broke dont fix it - but at the same token man its fun and interesting to get out (when you can) and listen to new and different HiFi because its a short life to not experience as much as HiFi has to offer you. That is my advice
I am quite surprised by the result (large spkr) just by the looking at the nominees. But i guess well done Wharfedale! and also the effort made into compiling this series. Now i am really curious about the AE500.
Revel above the price category. I did contact Elac but they didnt get back to me - as I got actually 11, but 9 in the end Yes from companies very quickly I didn't chase them up about it as that was more than enough
@@PursuitPerfectSystem sir, they get my total money, whereas if only made in China then may be 25 to 50 percent! Although I search for alternative like made in Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan or any other country Including my own India !
Great stuff here, really good comprehensive guide, hat definitely taken off to you sir, one thing though, little dynaudios, are little gems, just my 2pence.
Guy who designed Wharfedales sadly can't any more hear the upper frequencies. That's why he's not missing them it seems. Can we please have up to £200 speaker test.
What do you think, truly, about the Bass of the new Eltax pwr vintage 1959, because I have to watch a French (I know very well French, but the audio and the musics are the worst I've ever listen, jazz and other kind of musics I don't hear). I usually use 4 speakers (biggest tower speakers) all in Stereo. The French man used only 2 speakers of Eltax pwr vintage 1959 and the Magnat 1500 and sometimes the JBL 240 TI. And I have lots of doubts, because I use my JBL S-312 (35Hz minimum, 12 inches woofer, 4 inches mids, and 1 inch tweeter), and I can hear exactly what I want from my Pioneer SX-1980 and my Yamaha R-S700, with all bass, treble and Loudness. Rock with heavy bass, modern electric blues, Eisbrecher (the best recording sound ever for the last 32 years), Rammstein, Classic Music, Catholic Church Organ Music, Organ Music, Piano. And I've more than 5,000 cds on that all. The JBL S-312 delivers too very well for any kind of music, even Folk, John Lee Hooker, Germany Ambient Dark, Industrial Germany etc. But I don't know if I buy or not the Eltax pwr vintage 1959 yet. What I know is that the sound of Eltax is little differente than my JBL's (I've 10 of it). What to do, if you know, if you have the opportunity to hear Eltax pwr vintage 1959 with the kind of sound I love. Congratulations for your demonstrations, and for your speach (very well done to hear, differente the French guy -- very low speach). Thanks a lot, and sorry for writing so much. I'm looking for more Bass response, more deep bass, more bass than my JBL's tower speakers.
I didn't miss them, they was supposed to be included with the Q350 but they didn't have any available due to supply demand and some issues with current times
Thanks Stephen - this is the reviews round up video there is a specific review video and demo video for each individual speaker in this test in my channel
I was very skeptical about the 4.2 back when i was shopping for a pair. Auditioned one and was not impressed. It just sounded nasty. The highs were very piercing and you could tell its a 3 way as it did not integrate well. Waited for reviews and it seems im on the minority of not liking them. Then zero fidelity made a review and i was thanking the gods that my ears were normal. He said that these speakers needed a bit of break in like an hour or two. Out of the box they sounded god awful but when given the time to break in is very nice. When he said that, i took the plunge and got one. Knowing what ive heard, i can return them for other speakers. Took them home and the same awful sound out of the box experience. Took some time to burn them in... and wow! That made a big difference. Very very good speakers, sounded big, sweet and that midrange is just something else. I have to give it wharfedale, these are just fantastic speakers... and the build is just outstanding.
hi, Great Review. I was going through a lot of online reviews and I fell in love with the Evo 4.2 especially the white one . Trying to get one, but funny - in India , only walnut colour is available and we have to pay around 30 % to 45 % extra as compared to rates in the UK / US to get these speakers except for Dali for which the difference is much lesser. Looking for a speaker to match Cambridge axr 100.
Congrats Terry! You delivered in this mega test of affordable stand mount / bookshelf quality speakers. I enjoyed the ride. I'm sure most of the viewers benefited greatly. Now, bring on the big boys, floor stand speakers in $5-10k range.
Shame you didn't put the Dentons 85 in there as they fit into this price category and are more like traditional Bookshelf Speakers rather than the larger evo's
For a detailed article and all the speaker reviews come and visit my new website www.pursuitperfectsystem.com/completing-a-bookshelf-speaker-group-mega-test/
I followed up this video with a Live Q&A Video going into more details about more things here ua-cam.com/video/4Zm4HSb8u1c/v-deo.html
Al-so dont forget there is a specific review video for every speaker in this group test - make sure you check them out, details in the video description box
Thanks so much for doing this, yes love warfdale high end looking speaker. Though I went with 4 klipsch RP-600M for home theater, along with a pair of dual svs-sb2000. For my center should i go with RP-600C or the bigger version? Room size 19 x 11 x 7. Thanks once again, cheers from Canada 🇨🇦.
Whats's the song at 6:34
Site visited. There are also some fairy tales. Loudspeakers did not find any sound tests.
@@best_sound Lack of looking is not an excuse - its all here the first playlist on my channels home page ua-cam.com/play/PLBxJjnKekAe27rHLKGtMJ2JdwnJL4_hcm.html
I wish more people would review like you do. You're honest, get to the point and describe things in an easy to convey manner.
Thanks I really appreciate it :)
Superb series - now floorstanders!
haha :)
@@PursuitPerfectSystem FLUANCE.
@@cliffordcostley9798 is thay because of Andrew Robinson review or another reason?
Would love to see a review of the RP6000F's (the big brother to the 600M's). It seams like no one ever talks about them
@@dagr8kerek The 600M hasn't a 'big' brother, it is the flagship 'standmount'. The RP6000F is the bigger brother to the RP5000F in the FLOOR stand class and in the middle of the line bested by the RP8000F.. Just a heads up on the Klipsch models in those classes.
If you have come to this Conclusion as a first video please watch the review videos too as I go into serious detail and do comprehensive comparisons :) Thanks
Great job & what would be the best for movies?
@@HPMIKE55 thanks man you could use them all and depends the type of sound you want same as for hifi.
@@PursuitPerfectSystem thanks & did you get any discounts code for any of those speakers for use? ;-)
@@HPMIKE55 I didnt sorry man its not that kind of arrangement for these
Pursuit Perfect System it’s cool & keep up the great job! 😎👍🏻
Thanks so much. Quite clear. At the end I purchased the Cabasse even though it was a blind purchase as it was not possible to listen them before purchasing. I spent 359 € which is a bit more than 400 USD, and they make me smiling quite often. I trusted your advice and I have no regrets. Thanks!!!! Luca
You've managed to simultaneously appeal to two generations. Both the Millennial Generation and Gen X. Everyone gets a trophy yet there is really only one winner :) Thanks for this great Muti-Test.
Thanks man there is genuinely 2 winners though because not everyone will want a big speaker when shopping for stand mounts :) thanks though man
@@PursuitPerfectSystem Oh yes, I should have said two winners. Have a great day.
Thanks Terry, well done review. Very good cross section and variety of product, for the category. I picked up a pair of the 4.2's several months ago, and have been watching this series with an open mind - albeit, a slight gut level bias. I LOVE my 4.2's! Being 60 years old, I know MY hearing ain't what it used to be. However, the 4.2's have brought me back to a level of musical enjoyment that I didn't expect. The warmth, richness, texture, and soundstage, they provide, just keep me engaged. They are a pleasure to listen to! Based on my listening room, I had to "play" with the positioning (no more "niggles"), but once I dialed-it-in... Paired with a sub... Ahh!
My source is typically streaming - Bluetooth 5.0/LDAC/96 kHz into a Topping D90 DAC, through an FXAUDIO Tube-03, then into an older Onkyo AVR, driving an older 12" Velodyne sub. Pre out into an older Carver M-500t, driving the 4.2's. I sight this information for perspective on source, and using some existing equipment, "tweaked" for the 21st century. Next step - cables and DIRAC???
Thanks again, Cheers! 👍
Same here. EVO 4.2 owner and I kept thinking all the way through this series "How could the 4.2's not win this?". One of the best speaker values I've seen in awhile. Smooth, detailed, transparent. Beautiful speakers that could sell for 2-3 times their price.
Gregory Tessensohn Agreed! I bought my Evo 4.2s a couple of months ago and sold my KEF LS50 speakers...absolutely no regrets. Fantastic speakers 😀
Thanks Terry for the Mega Review series. Very well done.
Thanks very much man, really appreciate it :)
I really appreciate this effort. Other reviewers have been constrained by *not* having the large variety of models in house at the same time. I put much stock in what you have heard and said.
For those who listen almost exclusively to acoustic music recorded digitally and streamed, CD mastered, or pressed on vinyl, I of course wish these could be reviewed by comparison with reality rather than just compared to each other. I recognize that it's impossible and impractical, so no complaint.
As an example of the above, I have come to live with the RP600M speakers in a quite large room with high ceilings -- driven with 150 watts per channel. These drive the room quite well, achieving 100+ dB SPL's @ 3 meters when asked. They are not true to reality on older recordings, especially classical on vinyl. SO, I have introduced a Schiit Loki between the preamp and amp, and minor adjustments tame the tweeters on old recordings (digital as well). Lows, down to about 20 Hz, are handled by two subs.
@@jimshaw899 sounds like you're doing it right mate the Loki is a good device everybody should have or something equivalent. Curious what settings you have on the Loki when using the klipsch are we talking upper mid-range lower? On a clock face where are your positions of course different material makes a difference but where's your general settings
@@johnsweda2999 My approx. settings for old recordings are: 20Hz noon, 400Hz 10am, 2kHz 10am, 8kHz 9am. The Loki works much better than a tone control. For the powered subs, it is out of the circuit, because the preamp has a separate feed for them that doesn't pass through the Loki. Works for me. I sometimes switch it out on recent digital recordings and vinyl, especially when listening off axis at a distance.
I theorize, but don't *know,* that one of my issues is the woofer trying to play at 1500 Hz and mating up with the tweeter playing at 1500 Hz. And with old recordings, mastered to add "presence," playing upwards in the "forward" regime of the tweeter, making strings gritty.
This goes a long way toward making a jazz quartet, symphony orchestra, or acoustic guitar sound like they are playing in their room -- thence in my room. I really don't know how Led Zeppelin sounded except via JBL stacks in Madison Square Garden, so it's not my target.
Congrats again on this completing this massive undertaking. I know many are asking about other speakers in this highly competitive category, but you really nailed it with this excellent line up. I'm looking forward to participating in the live Q&A, which is a great idea, and hopefully you'll learn more too, as you connect with the community. Great work!
Thank you so much Terry for these mega tests and comparisons! All reviews are so helpful and enjoyable!!
I own EVO’s 4.2 and I do Love them
Great comparison. Wharfedale a worthy winner (I assume as I haven't heard them...yet). That mid range driver is a killer feature at this price point. Need a demo soon.
Great series. But for under 600 pounds I would definitely look the Triangle BRO3, and the Warfdale Denton 85th.
This has been awesome, enjoyed every single review of this series. I really appreciate the time and effort you've put into this. Thanks!
This was an excellent series. Detailed information, in depth sound quality reviews, and honest about up and downs of each speaker. A lot of good choices in this group. I agree on your choice of the Wharfedale in the group as, in my opinion (and many other reviews), they do perform well above their price range.
Thanks Brother, I think I see the Warfdale's in my future...
One of the best group speakers test (and generally review) ever, and anywhere!
I understand, it must was... an Athlon! 😀
I hope, someday in the future when you ll have the patience, the means, and the time, you could try again something similar.., with any kind of hi fi gear.. (streamer, amplifiers, speakers, whatever).. Thank you very much for the information and the joy you gave us!
Thanks Terry, respect the effort and care you've put into the test. Best regards and wishes
I went down the rabbit hole and ended up on some Klipsch 600 sound demos and ended here and soooo glad i did. Listened to you months ago and subscribed tonight. I have my room pretty dialed in for amazing sound and was looking for a smaller speaker set up for another room possibly. I can really hear the differences with these speakers you are testing. Thus far i have listened to the Klipsch, the Focal and the Wharfedale. If something beats the Wharfedales i will be all ears because these sound amazing on my end(and ears). Sweet
what did you choose in the end?
@@dedpxl Nothing as of yet.
Thoroughly enjoyed this speaker mega-test Terry. Well done for all your hard work in this series.
Great test, it was worth the wait, thanks.
Next up i would test low cost streamers that is the CCA, Bluesound Node 2i, yamaha, etc, cheers
Thank you so much for taking the time to review all of these speakers. In this day and age, it is difficult to just run to your local shop to have a listen. I depend on great detailed reviews like yours to help me narrow down what I might enjoy in my system. I really like the sound characteristics of the Wharfedales and am anxious to see reviews of the new Diamond 12 series. Hope you have a chance to review them. Thanks again and best wishes...
Thank you for the very well done megatest series. The AE300 was my overall "best in show" pick. The AE was the only speaker set that I was able to not only completely listen to the demo video but did so twice and was inspired enough to send an email to AE in order to locate a dealer/retailer in Texas. AE was kind enough to reply with links to shops in WI and FLA.
Thank you Terry and thank you AE.
Enjoy your AE! Its a great value for money, isn't it?
If Klipsch would get rid of the copper look like they did on their active speakers I would be in.
Those actives are beautiful
Great rundown. Surprised the KEF Q350 didn’t come to the lineup. Some awesome speakers I hadn’t heard before I really enjoyed your demos with.
The Q350 was supposed to be in the group they didn't have any available
Thank you for a great review! I like the way you do your review's of all bookshelf speakers. You touch on every important point of how each speaker sounds. The high's, the low's, and the mid's. Have a great day !
Bought the Wharfedale Evo 4.2. Lovely.
Nice mate nice
Thank you Terry for an awesome job. I have been following the series always eagerly waiting for the next one. Now that you've reached the end, I am still left struggling to decide, but that is not your fault as I understand how it is difficult for a single person to come to so many split decisions - I feel your pain :-) Anyway, I will surely keep your videos in mind when it comes to deciding on where to spend my money on a pair of bookshelf speakers .Thank you!
Fantastic megatest Terry! I only found your channel recently and am definitely subscribed. The way you broke things down and describe them was ‘perfect’. Can’t wait for the next one! :) Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the breakdown Terry, I never knew there was so much choice. Back in the day it was JBL for me.
People have complained I didn't cover enough options
Thanks for the your hard work making this Speaker Mega Test man. It was fun and interesting to hear how all these speakers compared to each other. The frequency response graphs were interesting to see. I have owned the Bowers & Wilkins 606 speakers for about a year now. I love them and that "hot" treble does settle down a bit over time. They sound much more neutral now.
The treble rise is a designed in thing common on a lot of Bowers speakers, that doesn't settle down your ears do haha :)
@@PursuitPerfectSystem HaHa 😄 OK fair enough. I love them anyhow. Great speakers and thanks for your great video review. Its the best review on UA-cam I have come across.
Congratulations Terry nice job mate. Lots of work by you. Well done.
What a fantastic series of tests and with very sensible sorting methods: small and large and then into cool/crisp to warm. Your methods go some way to explain the apparent contradictions you get in more conventional magazine reviews where I always seem to end up thinking “yes you obviously like it but is it better than xyz?”
The only comment I have, and it’s not a criticism, is that now Kef Ls50 has come down so much in price to almost this level how do these fit in? From practically all the reviews I’ve read in print and UA-cam these Kefs seem to be a de facto reference standard. Thank you for these tremendous reviews.
Great review series, really appreciated the intro to Acoustic Energy and Cabasse, never knew they existed. The fact you BOUGHT the 4.2s says everything.
I actually demo the AE300 and Q Acoustics having watched your videos which helped me narrow the choices because of there size and I have a small room so funny how you actually put them in the same form factor, I settled for the 3030i because overall sound is, how can I put it .....a speaker for all day listening and for me love the image and that extra bit of base and that base is not in your face but more warm if that makes sense,but these speakers had two benefits for me, first was outstanding price per performance is unequalled and the second reason for now I don't see the need for a subwoofer So this alone saves me money from a cheap prices speaker and no extra cost for a sub, I'm not saying I'll not one day add a sub but for now it's ticking all the boxes,if I could change one thing on 3030i it would be the finish, I would have loved the concept 20s gloss look but this is minor personal taste,my system arcam solo and most people will have better great systems mine is only basic as my original system was stolen,so had to drag my very old system from the attic and that is 15years old, the problem I have I haven't got a clue what I'd replace it with IE CD and Amp, however they do work well together..... question for the author what cables would you advise for 3030i for more clarity and maybe a bit more sonic ability
Sorry if my spelling above as I'm dyslexic and use Google speech to text,just hope you understand what I put above,sorry
comments were great John man dont worry
Love this and tuning in to your presentation style. If I could subscribe twice I would.
Thanks very much man
Very well made and mentioning the sound signature of the speakers aside of their inherent pros and cons is very helpful for the newbies having to get familiar with all those brands and models. Thank you a lot for this extensive work that will help many of us narrow it down according to our taste.
Very informative and helpful, giving me a good, clear descriptive sense of how the various qualities and benchmarks compare from one speaker to another. You make very clear what some reviewers sometimes muddle and convolute, even with only two or three contenders to compare and discuss. Nicely done! I look forward to checking in here, again.
Thanks man, you will find detailed reviews and demos for all the speakers in the channel if you want to find out more about any of them specifically - when you review things in-depth its possible to make good comparisons - if you only listen and find out about them for 30 seconds each you cant :)
This is the fourth time I have watched this video, Great !!
Haha thanks Andrew this is only one video from a massive series I put together with video and demos for all the speakers innthe group test :)
Acoustic Energy's wee speakers definitely deserved best small speaker award. Any of the larger speakers deserved top awards but the Evo's would be my choice with the Cabasse a close second. Thanks Terry for this brilliant review. Can you do a sound demo of the Evo's please.
As I mentioned in a comment to another video, I am brand new to this channel -- and this next bit is a silly thing to say, I mean who cares what I think, really -- but the final conclusion of this video represents a big and important test passed for our host, IMHO.
If a reviewer has a speaker shootout narrowed down to two finalists, and one of them is a "listen all day" speaker, and the other is a more "exciting" speaker, and literally everything else is a dead heat, it is nothing short of malpractice to represent the exciting speaker as the better choice. I am a huge fan of Linn speakers, especially paired with either Naim or Arcam electronics, and these are not the assertions of a listen-all-day advocate. But the thing is, it's really hard to be Linn and Naim and Arcam. The design effort that goes into a sound that is at once exciting without being overly sibilant and fatiguing is really just this side of impossible.
I sold stereo equipment for a summer in Indianapolis, at a place whose lines included both KEF and Klipsch (interestingly-?). Whenever people narrowed it down to the C80 or the Forte, and really couldn't decide, I always knew whether the speakers would stay sold, or get returned, based on which of them were chosen. Indeed I never, ever, ever had a pair of C80s come back on me -- and we sold a *lot* of them. The Fortes were an E-ticket ride, but there was a moment on the second or third day where you'd just huff out a long exhale and say to the person next to you, "Let's do something else for a while; let's get outside and go the park or somethin'." And that, friends, was always the beginning of the end.
Again, this rule only works on an all-other-things-equal basis: We had lots of Fortes stay sold too, and lots of KG4's, which (sacrilege incoming) I actually consider the much superior speaker of that vintage of the Klipsch line. But we never had a sale stick if the person was genuinely torn between the KEF house sound and the Klipsch house sound of that era, and chose the Klipsch. Indeed I only ever sold one pair of K-horns, and they came back a week later: Swapped for a pair of 104/2's that I never saw again. :D
Sweet! I was hoping AE300 scored well. I bought my first AE100 back in 1996 and just loved the sound, but felt that they lacked some in the bass areas for when I wanted to play loud.
Now I have had to decide between EVO 4.4 and AE309 and I went with AE309, just because I have heard how sweet AE speakers sound, I really fell in love with the sound, and since they are for both music and film,
I got a SVS PB1000 to have on the side when watching movies. ;)
Thank you for a "perfect" speaker review, I have subbed and look forward to you upcoming reviews.
Best wishes from Norway =)
Enjoy your AE 309s. ! AE is a decision "for life".
@@markuspajonk7762 I agree, and I am now preparing to repaint and change the furniture positions in my living-room just to be ready for them when they arrive =P
I also have a small stack of CD`s and LP`s ready for testing as soon as the speakers are runned/played in. Do you think 50 hours is enough for them to be ready?
Grieg, Clams Casino, Yes, Frank Zappa, Prokofiev and Fink is on my playlist ;)
@@TooLF8th Have fun & enjoy!
Thanks Terry and the rest of the Crew for putting a lot of effort comparing all those speakers, they’re all amazing now I know which speakers to buy, really appreciate it thanks 👍🏽😁
Thanks Jose, there is no crew its just me doing everything. Hopefully have a crew and some help one day :)
Wow Terry you’re amazing for what you do, thanks for inspiring us and sharing your knowledge how to become better listeners, Cheers to that! ✌🏽
Well done Terry for the great mega test, I'm not surprised about the Evo 4.2, they were my favourite, I wanted to get them, but the centre channel wouldn't fit in my cabinet by a cm, I love the look of them, I would have got them in white, Instead I bought just last week Arendal 1961 monitors, you should review them
Well done again,
Arendal 1961 is a wonderful choice.. Hope you are happy with them..
@@rajakumarparuchuri327 very happy so far
Nice. At present I posess the Bowers & Wilkins plus the Q acoustics which are now relegated to the spare room.
Tip top job done. Thanks a lot. The 606 Anniversary are on my list to audition. Shame they came in too late for your test. I came to my current B&W 685 S2 after extended listening to QA Concept 20, Elac Debut 2 5s, Epos K1i, Dali Oberon 1. Very difficult to choose a best from that bunch. Vocal clarity did it in the end, plus separation.
The bowers have fantastic crispness to their sound, its a fast and clean sound but on the leaner side
Very good reviews and movies! I like to watch and a lot of useful information! THX a lot.
Well done very informative, but one thing to please consider, use nice soft gloves when fiddling about with speakers under all the lighting before you film (especially black & gloss) the Focals were very distracting due to all the finger prints and skin oil smears.. Soft matte finishes like the Q 3030is were just as noticeable..
Thanks for another very informative well articulated review,..
The focal came to me like that sadly nothing I could do about them but yes I agree it does matter
Awesome! Great content! And now everybody wants to know how the Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 compare!
Any chance of that happening anytime soon :) ?
Thank you for doing this review. It helps when deciding what to narrow down to. Due to COVID tough to go and listen. Would love companies to allow you to test them in your home against others. I have bought a few of these and returned as they didn't sound great in my home or with my electronics.
Great video mate. I would love to see you try out some Quad S-2's and see how you think they compare.
I bought mine at £600 and I now drive them with a Naim Uniti Atom and they sound phenomenal.
GREAT overall review. Thank you for your time. Very nice channel 👍🏾👍🏾
that is a "hill" of a review, excellent, very well done! very informative about spkrs that i will probably never listen to but teaches me a lot about the state of the art in those price brackets. i subscribed and keep'em coming!.
What I've found is it's best to buy about 3 different pairs of speakers. Once a week I swap them out for a different sound. It's like guitars. You can't have just one. I bought the Klipsch 600's, the Elac reference speakers...and believe it or not. The Sony SS-CS5's. It's hard to believe but I like the Sony's a lot and I may be because I bought a pair for 73 dollars on Amazon. For 73 bucks, I had to buy them and I have not been disappointed. I can't believe Sony gets the sound that these speakers produce and can sell them for 73 dollars.
What a fantastic video. This series is probably the most informative I have seen. Based on this, I ended up audition the Klipsch, Evo and BW. I went with the Klipsch, dynamics, bass and sound stage were better than the other two. But this video definitely helped me to make my choice. Thanks so much for this.
Welcome glad it helped :)
Eov4.2! They have been gettin some good reviews, I shouldn't be so surprised. I am sure they have a great sound is the front of the cabinet the drive units what I'm not to fond off. I like the curvature of the back of a cabinet very nice. Definitely passing on the Wharfedale though. I'm going to search out and audition, the Cabasse & the Fyne audio. Fun review's looking forward to ever you come up with next! Cheers, Terry.
RichardvBrown Just leave the magnetic grills on...they have no effect on sound and look smart. 👍
Best reviews in a while! Maybe the acoustic energy is my next speaker🤔 will replace unifi ub5.
... I wonder how it would sound hooking up all those speakers at the same time... That's got to be a fun experience.
Very good job! Thanks a lot for your passion the way you do it 🙂
It helped me a lot to choose a speaker.
Thanks for the information.
Awesome megatest! I did have a laugh the other week when I saw B&W released the 606 s2 and wondered if/how you would tackle that. Thoroughly enjoyed this series, keep it up man.
I had no idea they didn't tell me fair play to bowers for still sending me 606 very cool of them
Fantastic job done Terry! Don't agree with you, but that's what an in depth review is about, to let us make our minds up.
When is the sound demo for the Cabasse going up?
Great that speakers emphasize different aspects of performance. Personally looking to get Magnepan 0.7 and RP600M which both are extremely good at different types of music. Magnepan very transparent and natural sounding and RP600M rocks. Great time to be in for an audiophile.... Really good videos too. Cheers.
Great video! I purchased the klipsch 600m's and I love them! They didn't win your contest, but they are winning for me!
Great review, now my battle is running between Q Acoustics 3030i and B&W 607 s2, but I guess the winner depends strongly on the system used, as well as the kind of music played
Great vid and thanks for all of your effort putting this together. Really interesting.
This has been a brilliant comparison sequence. Great work and thanks.
Thanks!, keep up the good job!! i would like to see yoour take on best speakers under US5K and also under US$10K . . .? not an easy task, but i believe you can cut through the clutter at that price point, clearly 2 very critical price points in this industry
What a series! Really enjoyed every single video. Maybe the next step is to do a mega test on amplifiers and dacs?
Nice job ! Going to reccomend your Audiolab6000a review when i drop my review 😆 but they like a bright lively speaker ! Layed back speakers not so much !
In the Waffidale 4.2, the bass, middle, and treble are played separately from each other. You can tell if you listen closely. That's why there are so many people who buy new and then sell used because of that sound.
I havent experienced that ua-cam.com/video/Pj4rvwpY2Yw/v-deo.html or ua-cam.com/video/MTHVPh3VcoA/v-deo.html
I have a pair of Celestion 3's. I'm satisfied with the sound I get. If I want more speakers, I'll get more Celestions on Ebay. Low low price, great sound.
I suppose if you know what you like, and if it aint broke dont fix it - but at the same token man its fun and interesting to get out (when you can) and listen to new and different HiFi because its a short life to not experience as much as HiFi has to offer you. That is my advice
You can only know what you know and if you don't explore what is new...you'll never know. I am sure loudspeaker technology has improved since 1989!
I am quite surprised by the result (large spkr) just by the looking at the nominees. But i guess well done Wharfedale! and also the effort made into compiling this series. Now i am really curious about the AE500.
To bad you couldn't have included Elac and Revel. A lot of food for thought here.
Thank you.
Revel above the price category. I did contact Elac but they didnt get back to me - as I got actually 11, but 9 in the end Yes from companies very quickly I didn't chase them up about it as that was more than enough
Thanks, Terry! This series was very helpful.
I won't consider Chinese companies, they are out of my list. However your review is very informative and detailed.
That means you wont buy about 2/3 of things for sale for everything, its not just HiFi made in China
@@PursuitPerfectSystem sir, I am talking about Chinese owned companies !
@@RP-ms7lu what is the difference? Your money still goes to them?
@@PursuitPerfectSystem sir, they get my total money, whereas if only made in China then may be 25 to 50 percent! Although I search for alternative like made in Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan or any other country Including my own India !
@@RP-ms7lu ok fair play
i got the the evos, awesome speaker,sound ,build quality etc etc
Great video Terry! We love your content here at Art&Sound in London!
Where in London..
@@jasminasecerovic6912 West London
Excellent review but i think that Dali Opticon 2 would make a great stand in this selection. It would be nice to see it compared to others.
There is no better or best. Just different and personal preference!
Great stuff here, really good comprehensive guide, hat definitely taken off to you sir, one thing though, little dynaudios, are little gems, just my 2pence.
Great job! Thanks. I will wait for a AE 509 or AE 520 review of Acoustic Energy....
Great thorough and honest review!
Audiovector QR1's? Made in Denmark unlike all others made in China and they sound phenomenal especially considering the price.
They cost £1150 so twice what all these do
Guy who designed Wharfedales sadly can't any more hear the upper frequencies. That's why he's not missing them it seems. Can we please have up to £200 speaker test.
No ELAC? This is a first for UA-cam.
What do you think, truly, about the Bass of the new Eltax pwr vintage 1959, because I have to watch a French (I know very well French, but the audio and the musics are the worst I've ever listen, jazz and other kind of musics I don't hear). I usually use 4 speakers (biggest tower speakers) all in Stereo. The French man used only 2 speakers of Eltax pwr vintage 1959 and the Magnat 1500 and sometimes the JBL 240 TI. And I have lots of doubts, because I use my JBL S-312 (35Hz minimum, 12 inches woofer, 4 inches mids, and 1 inch tweeter), and I can hear exactly what I want from my Pioneer SX-1980 and my Yamaha R-S700, with all bass, treble and Loudness. Rock with heavy bass, modern electric blues, Eisbrecher (the best recording sound ever for the last 32 years), Rammstein, Classic Music, Catholic Church Organ Music, Organ Music, Piano. And I've more than 5,000 cds on that all. The JBL S-312 delivers too very well for any kind of music, even Folk, John Lee Hooker, Germany Ambient Dark, Industrial Germany etc. But I don't know if I buy or not the Eltax pwr vintage 1959 yet. What I know is that the sound of Eltax is little differente than my JBL's (I've 10 of it). What to do, if you know, if you have the opportunity to hear Eltax pwr vintage 1959 with the kind of sound I love. Congratulations for your demonstrations, and for your speach (very well done to hear, differente the French guy -- very low speach). Thanks a lot, and sorry for writing so much. I'm looking for more Bass response, more deep bass, more bass than my JBL's tower speakers.
if you want more bass get subwoofers then you can control your bass level much more easily
I will get my AE300 tomorrow. Got them for half price used. Now lets see if they can outperform unifi ub5..
Excelente video, muy buenas recomendaciones, saludos desde México.
I think you missed one brand kef. This brand also very good for listeners.
I didn't miss them, they was supposed to be included with the Q350 but they didn't have any available due to supply demand and some issues with current times
Excellent, clear and useful review! Thank you.
Thanks Stephen - this is the reviews round up video there is a specific review video and demo video for each individual speaker in this test in my channel
I was very skeptical about the 4.2 back when i was shopping for a pair. Auditioned one and was not impressed. It just sounded nasty. The highs were very piercing and you could tell its a 3 way as it did not integrate well.
Waited for reviews and it seems im on the minority of not liking them. Then zero fidelity made a review and i was thanking the gods that my ears were normal. He said that these speakers needed a bit of break in like an hour or two. Out of the box they sounded god awful but when given the time to break in is very nice.
When he said that, i took the plunge and got one. Knowing what ive heard, i can return them for other speakers. Took them home and the same awful sound out of the box experience. Took some time to burn them in... and wow! That made a big difference. Very very good speakers, sounded big, sweet and that midrange is just something else. I have to give it wharfedale, these are just fantastic speakers... and the build is just outstanding.
hi, Great Review. I was going through a lot of online reviews and I fell in love with the Evo 4.2 especially the white one . Trying to get one, but funny - in India , only walnut colour is available and we have to pay around 30 % to 45 % extra as compared to rates in the UK / US to get these speakers except for Dali for which the difference is much lesser. Looking for a speaker to match Cambridge axr 100.
2 pairs of leak sandwich 600's work for me. Drive them with a sansui AU 717
Excellent work sir ! Thank you very much.
They certainly look the nicest.
Congrats Terry! You delivered in this mega test of affordable stand mount / bookshelf quality speakers. I enjoyed the ride. I'm sure most of the viewers benefited greatly. Now, bring on the big boys, floor stand speakers in $5-10k range.
You will see whats coming next tomorrow but some higher end gear in October for sure
Shame you didn't put the Dentons 85 in there as they fit into this price category and are more like traditional Bookshelf Speakers rather than the larger evo's
B&W 702 S2 vs B&W 805 D3, will be used with a 12-inch KEF Kube Sub. My main usage is going to be music. What would you go for?