Absolute Sound

ecommended products
Under $500
PARADIGM ATOM
Price: $199
www.paradigm.com
A staggering value, Paradigm’s tiny Atom does
an awful lot right. With a smooth frequency
response, an open treble, and a natural
midrange, this little guy only falls short in the
bottom two octaves or when pushed too hard,
displaying coarseness at unreasonably loud levels.
Best used in small rooms at moderate volumes.
Reviewed by Robert Harley in Issue 133
PSB ALPHA B
Price: $249
www.psbspeakers.com
PSB’s Alpha B may not possess the levels of
detail, tonal neutrality, or overall refinement of
the best mini-monitors, but it still does what a
good mini should. The sound is remarkably
open and spacious; imaging is precise; and
there is an impressive suggestion of threedimensionality.
As one would expect, the PSBs
have no deep bass, and dynamic range and
power handling are limited. The speaker sounds
best on stands and well away from walls.
Reviewed by Neil Gader in TPV Issue 138
EPOS ELS3
Price: $329
www.musichallaudio.com
Like all mini-monitors, the Epos ELS3s strive to
give you big sound from small boxes, and they
do a much better job than most, offering
midrange and treble clarity and refinement on a
par with good $1000/pair speakers, superb
three-dimensionality, and just enough (accurate,
not “juiced up”) upper midbass weight to
loudspeakers under $5000
Loudspeakers dominate the audio world, particularly in
the popular sub-$5000-per-pair price range. And yet
there are so many speaker manufacturers,
so much contradictory (and misleading)
information in ad copy, and such a dizzying
array of speaker sizes, looks, and design philosophies
in the market, that it’s enough to scare off
anyone interested in upgrading his sound
system.
On the following pages you’ll find our
recommendations for the very best models
we’ve heard—from two-way mini-monitors to
full-range towers, from conventional dynamic
systems to some with built-in powered woofers,
from planar magnetics to electrostatic hybrids. Each speaker
gets a capsule review—most were penned by the original writ-
keep you from missing the lower frequencies
that aren’t there. The ELS3s sounds rich, not
thin and shrill like so many mini-monitors do.
Would they sound even better with a sub?
Possibly, but they’re a ton of fun as is. Just use
a decent set of stands to place the ELS3s at
ear level, position them away from walls and
nearby objects, use clear-voiced amplification,
and stand by to grin. Reviewed by Chris Martens
in Issue145
MONITOR AUDIO BRONZE B2
Price: $399
www.monitoraudio.com
Although it comes in an ordinary-looking box,
Monitor Audio’s Bronze B2 offers a notably
clean, open, and detailed sound throughout the
midrange. Unlike most small fry, its bass is
weighty and powerful, its dynamics are nimble,
and its metal-dome tweeter is airy and
detailed, not edgy. It likes a bit of power—50plus
watts should do—and the well-away-fromwall
placement of the other little guys above.
Reviewed by Wayne Garcia in Issue 140
ers—explaining why we are recommending it, noting shortcomings
in its performance (e.g., limitations in frequency
response or power handling), and giving tips on
placement and power requirements.
The majority of our recommendations cover
components that have already been reviewed in
these pages (or in a few cases on our Web site,
AVGuide.com), but we’ve also included products
that are pending review, or ones that
have not been formally reviewed but have
been extensively auditioned.
We also award a “Best Buy” designation
to select models that we feel offer the highest
value within their price range.
Finally, complete reviews of the majority of these components
can be found on AVGuide.com..
$500–$1000
PARADIGM
MONITOR 5
Price: $579
www.paradigm.com
Its prominent top-end mandates
careful placement and
equipment matching, or a
tone control; its midrange
has a slight nasality; and its
port exhibits some “boom”
when pushed too hard.
Nevertheless, the Monitor 5
has a lively, engaging sound
with a very musical tonal balance,
and can play very loud and go surprisingly
deep for a speaker in this
size/price category. A three-driver,
two-way, bass-reflex bookshelf, the
5 is very sensitive, easily driven by
as little as 15 watts. Stand-mount
for best performance. Reviewed by
Paul Seydor in Issue 133
B&W 602.5 S3
Price: $700
www.bwspeakers.com
A rather cool customer that’s unforgiving with
bright recordings, B&W’s 602.5 Series 3 is
fast, dynamic, and detailed. What it lacks—the
deepest bass, a bit of instrumental body and
warmth—can be made up for in part by warmsounding
amps and source components. Feed
it 50–100 watts and give it a bit of space from
walls. This model uses Nautilus tweeter technology
as well as a newly fashioned Kevlar
mid/bass driver and cabinetry. Reviewed by WG
in Issue 137
36 THE ABSOLUTE SOUND ■ JUNE/JULY 2004