Loudspeakers

Were it not for the enclosure design, it might be tempting to think of the Kaya S12, the smallest speaker from South Africa’s Vivid Audio, as just another standmount. But as those eye-catching looks suggest, there’s something special going on here, and the price – £6000 a pair in a choice of striking finishes, with more available to order – certainly sets expectations high.

The rebirth of classic UK brand Epos got off to a flying start when eminent loudspeaker designer Karl-Heinz Fink bought the brand from Creek Audio in 2020. As his first move he created a new iteration of the ES-14, one of Epos’s most beloved products, but this wasn’t a nostalgia project despite some Back To The Future-themed marketing. Instead, Fink took the basic principles of the original model and designed a new speaker utilising modern technologies. That was a clever move, for while the resulting ES-14N [HFN Jul ’23] might not be as true to the original as some would like – it’s undoubtedly better.

Calling your speakers ‘Reference’ is quite a bold statement, but then again making grand claims is not exactly unknown in the hi-fi industry! Canton’s Reference speakers – the top-tier of Germany’s largest loudspeaker manufacturer – is the product of a fierce R&D exercise and comes seven years after the previous flagship range, Reference K, was introduced. It’s a comprehensive series to boot, comprising six models of which only one is a standmount (the Reference 9) and all others are floorstanders.

Quad’s Revela 1 is a classic two-way standmount offered at £1799 per pair minus supports, or £2498 if bought as a set. The floorstanding Revela 2 tested here sells for another £1k at £3499, complete with fitted, spiked plinth. The basic technology defines both speakers, but for the Revela 2 it has been doubled up and more. The test, then, is to discover how much extra that £1000 delivers...

Loudspeaker brand B&W launched its first Signature model in 1991, in the shape of the (founder) John Bowers Silver Signature, and has intermittently released further Signature editions in the 30-plus years since. Well, I say intermittently - while only four more Signature speakers came in the next two decades, the 700 S3 Signature range, which also includes the 702 S3 Signature floorstander , comes hot on

Armour Home's Q Acoustics has been busy in recent years, refreshing nearly its entire portfolio of passive and active loudspeakers, and expanding existing lines. The Concept 50 and 30 models were launched in 2022 to fill out its top-flight range, which includes the Karl-Heinz Fink-designed Concept 500 flagship , and a more affordable 5000 series appeared just before High End Munich in 2023. This didn't arrive fully complete either - the largest 5050 floorstander we're looking at here only finally debuted in the Spring of 2024.

Described as ‘contemporary classics’, the six-strong, sixth generation Gold series spans, you guessed it, six models!

After the renewal of the Silver in 2021 and the Platinum range at the tail end of 2022, it was only logical the intermediate Gold line would reappear, now in 6th generation (6G) guise. The Gold 300 6G is the smaller floorstanding model in the new range, and in many households will be the sensible choice. The three-way design and two 150mm woofers promise performance, while its living room friendly footprint makes choosing between the £4000 Gold 300 6G and the Gold 100 6G standmount (£3000 plus £550 for the ST-2 stands) just that bit more difficult. Its design chops, both when it comes to looks and acoustics, made it an obvious candidate for the EISA members to pin an EISA Award on its lapel this summer.