Loudspeakers

Pioneer’s efforts as a speaker manufacturer can often be overlooked in favour of its more widely recognised efforts in electronics and the great – if doomed – Kuro plasma project. Despite this, the Japanese giant has produced a number of interesting designs over the years and, in both construction and performance, its high-end TAD models are on par with most rival high-end speakers. Some of this thinking has been making its way down to less rarefied price points and more than a bit of it can be found inside the S-71 series tested here.

Squeal of approval Adam Rayner worships at the church of THX and the surround sound spec that’s become the gold standard for serious speakers

To be fully THX approved, every single aspect of the system that plays a movie has to meet the THX criteria – and pay a fee to wear the coveted badge. The certification on the Jamo D500/D500 SUR speakers is proudly reproduced in their printed manuals. It’s THX Select2, signalling they are a bit less intense than Ultra2 and designed to better suit European living spaces.

KEF’s new sub/sat array is done to a T Kevin Gallucci usually prefers his speakers to be made from hollowed-out tree trunks, but he's ready to make an exception for KEF's T-Series

KEF’s new T-Series range of home cinema speakers are definitely a sign of the times. They’ve been designed with a clear purpose in mind – to be an aesthetic match to newer, thinner, flatscreen TVs, enabling buyers to couple their hi-def movies with authentic 5.1 sound without their living room looking like a branch of Sevenoaks. The question is: has KEF sold out? Can these skinny speakers deliver the audio quality that everyone knows the brand is capable of?

Fit kit to die for Danny Phillips is blown away by this well-built system’s way with music and dynamic film soundtracks

Neo V2 is a pimped-up version of Acoustic Energy’s original Neo system, which is named after Neodymium, the material from which its driver magnets are made.

Timing is of the essence Alvin Gold praises a uniquely different type of speaker system

This is not the first time we’ve auditioned Eclipse’s speakers, but there have been changes made to the system, in particular the TD712 main/satellite speaker, which demand a new look. Plus, this the first time that a complete 5.1 channel system based on the latest and greatest models in the range have all been available in one place at one time. And let’s not forget that the Eclipse proposition is unique – a much misused word, but completely justified in this case.