Loudspeakers

Does this 5.1 system have the muscle to back up its good looks? asks David Vivian

Focal's speaker lineup goes all the way from bijou to blimey, affordable to 'if you have to ask'. Which is useful when it comes to putting together a 5.1 package that's a few steps above entry-level but, at the same time, isn't going to break the bank, looks fabulous and has the size and wherewithal to fill a big room with movie mayhem – and possess the lightness of touch to play music with grace and finesse, too.

I was extremely impressed with Focal's 300 Series ICW 8 in-ceiling speakers back in HCC #286. They were an obvious audition for Atmos and DTS:X overhead duties, so what could Focal offer if you wanted the same performance and seamless installation all round the room? Enter the 300IWLCR6 full-range in-wall speaker.

Klipsch's Reference series offers Atmos sonics and the company's traditional horn-loaded tweeter approach...

Minimalist styling and improved driver technology makes this revamped loudspeaker system hard to resist

As if guided by some mystic force, Q Acoustics, founded a mere decade ago, seems incapable of putting a foot wrong. Be it in its M series soundbars and soundbases or traditional speakers, when it comes to close but no cigar – heroically missing the mark by just a hair – the company is utterly useless. Does this new 5.1 system continue that trend?

Having arrived in the affordable speaker market and issued a swift kicking to the established order, things have calmed down a little at Q Acoustics. Its ranges of speakers are now seeing upgrades rather than wholesale changes – a reflection that they ain’t broke and don’t really need fixing. The latest member of the family to receive some attention is the curvaceous 7000i Series, here released in a new bundle referred to as the ‘Slim.’