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Ruark Epilogue R
by victorias_books
I purchased the Ruark Epilogue R speakers as a secondary set for my bedroom. As I had already invested in a pair for the lounge, my main music listening area, I didn't want to fork out an enormous amount for an inessential buy.
I was charmed by the retro look of the speakers, and they complimented the furniture I had at the ... time. The main 'box' of the speakers is comprised of wood of a very solid feel. These are fairly weighty speakers for their petite size. There is silver casing around the black front of the speakers. Aesthetically they are very stylish, and are small enough to be discreet in a small room. For such a small set however, they are capable of packing quite a punch.
Equipped with a wide frequency range, the speakers are especially good for listening to films. They deliver superb clarity and a crisp sound that picks up nuances you might not detect if watching a film through the TV system. One reason I started using the speakers primarily for films instead of music was due to a couple of flaws I found. The first is that the speakers tend to deliver bass that can be insubstantial. If you particularly enjoy a good bass, as I do, then this matters. I like to be able to feel the thump of the bass line, and in this respect the speakers disappointed me. Similarly the treble has a tendency to be somewhat harsh. This is less noticeable than the bass, but may still influence your purchasing decision, depending on your taste.
For a product within this price range I would say the Ruark Epilogue R series falls about average. They do deliver a nice sound, but the imperfections mentioned above, coupled with the low quality cable connectors, would give me some hesitation in recommending the product to certain music fans.
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KEF Cresta2 Speakers
by Deus_Ex_Machina
These speakers cost me £150, but they have since come down in price, and are scarcely available in this country anymore. However, they often come up for sale second hand. They really are excellent speakers, with a great warmth of sound and an excellent range for the price that I paid. I compared them in the shop to a more ... expensive set by Mission (M71?s) and an even more expensive set of Denon speakers, however, the bass was much more powerful in the KEF models, and the treble seemed sharper than the Denon speakers did, hence my choice. I was rather limited in terms of choice due to my budget at the time (I was 15 with no job) so I did a great deal of research online and found that they came highly recommended.
The speakers look awesome, with the 6 heavy bolts on the main 130mm speaker. They make it look like they are holding it back, like a caged animal. The tweeter is woven silk, and gets an amazing star cross pattern on it when the light hits it. The maple colour case looks great, better than the black option and the little gold logos add a look of quality and class to the speakers. The bass relief hole is at the back of the speakers, so as the unwanted sound waves do not interfere with the ones that you want to listen too, which gives a flatter look to the front, as well as an acoustic bonus.
The speakers weigh a meager 6kg each. This is due to their chipboard construction, but the laminate coating covers the whole speakers, not just the front so they look great from all angles, not like a lot of cheaper speakers. Even so, the speakers? quality and pride show through, with bi wiring, gold blocking plates and a small Union Jack sticker. The volume that the speakers can reach without distortion is excellent, at least 40w, and even then it is slight.
The speakers are suitable for most music applications, such as watching films, listening to music on CD?s and playing games on the computer. I use mine for all three of these, but the ba
ss is sometimes not enough for films, which is why they are best used with an amp with a loudness button or similar controls.
Overall, great value speakers that play better than some 2x the price. Isn?t it always true for the homemade stuff? ;)
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Quad ESL 63
by taylorsr
Well, happy 2003! I've been off the net since early last year. Ok, so what have we got here... oh yes, my all time favourite hifi speaker. Last year I reviewed Quads latest and greatest electrostatic speaker, the ESL-989, which will set you back a cool £4600 for the plain black finish, or £5000 for one of their latest ... finishes... However, in terms of shear beauty, nothing quite comes close to the rosewood and black finished ESL-63. Well, that's my opinion anyway! Besides, the ESL 63 was made less than half a mile from where I live, and was born in the year I was conceived...
The sound that it gives when hooked up to quality electronics, (and I'm talking REAL hifi, not mini systems) is amazing. Unlike the original ESL (aka 57) there is some slight colouration to the sound, but this actually complements solid state amplifiers and CD players. A bynote on the colouration - there is a little excess bass, meaning that the sound is slightly "warm." This, in my opinion, allows the system to be listened to for extended periods without ever feeling tiring.
Despite the colouring, there is bags of detail to hand, instruments and voices sound real, and correctly formed, transient response is amazing. As I said, earlier, when hooked up to good quality source and amplification components, the music shines through. So what DOES it sound like? Well, short of you actually getting a pair, I'll do my best to give you some idea.
With the latest "hip hop" and other popular formats, like "wot the yoof of today listen to" these speakers acurately reproduce the sound as best they can. Seeing as they have a lower frequency limit of 35hz, bass lines can sound a little reduced. Might be better off getting a pair of cone speakers and a subwoofer if this is your prefered music choice.
I however, don't listen to garage / street / garden / pond or attic music, so my sister can have her co
llection of CD's back. So on to real music...
These speakers LOVE jazz music. Whether it be a bass, sax, drums and solo vocal quartet or a big band swing style set, they dish out everything that was recorded, including, if you shut your eyes, the ambiance of a jazz club... the smokey atmosphere, dimmed lights, quiet small talk from neighbouring tables, truely gorgeous. The sound is warm and relaxing with smooth jazz, and and with something more upbeat, they really sing, and hit hard too.
With orchestral peices, the speakers again perform a disappearing act. Every instrument can be clearly heard, and each comes from 1 particular area. Quad's Concentric electrode arrangement is behind this. Audiophiles beleive that the most acurate sound comes from a "point source" This is somewhat hard to acheive with a large speaker, especially one where the front is a little under a metre square. So, Quad set up a series of delayed electrodes to make the speaker act as a point source. I can't go into the exact details because I don't know them, but I do know that it's patented, and no other electrostatic speaker manufacturer can copy it. I digress... back to the sound. If you play the music at a reasonably realistic level, it is possible to get the impression that the speakers are actually not there at all, and there is a large orchestra right in your living room.
Choral works have the same effect, and if they're well recorded it can feel like you are actually in a cathedral. I may sound like I'm talking rubbish here, but you must listen to a pair of these if you don't beleive it.
So why have I just talked up a pair of now obsolete speakers, that are about the same size as a gravestone? Well, when a pair come up for sale on the internet, and go for less than one and a half grand, someone just got themselves a bargain for life.
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