Home Cinema Speaker Reviews

Ascendo Immersive Audio has quite a bit of buzz about it at present, both for its stratospherically priced offerings and the ‘entry-level’ passive system, tested here. Should we believe the hype?  

Klipsch’s Reference Premiere range promises a high-efficiency, Atmos-capable home cinema package that blends living room friendly elegance with reference level performance. But does it live up to its promise?  

Perlisten’s Reference series offers much of the same tech as featured on its far more costly Signature series, and sports similar THX Dominus certification. At around half the price, is the Reference series the better buy?  

A multichannel system from Bowers & Wilkins’ new 700 Series S3 brings a considerable helping of 800 Series technology and performance to a vaguely more affordable price point, in the service of cinema sound. But can the 700s justify the still relatively costly price of entry?  

Jamo’s latest home cinema package provides a well-built, room friendly surround system. But does it sound as good as it looks?  

Sony’s HT-A9 offers the promise of wireless immersive audio, from only four speakers and no subwoofer. But does it live up to this promise?  

Perlisten is famed for being the only brand to have produced THX Dominus certified speakers, which has led to a good deal of hype around their products. Should we believe the hype?  

Elac has packed the drivers that define them into a trio of elegant cabinets and is looking for a bigger share of the multichannel audio market. Can the Carinas deliver?  

The Paradigm Founder Series of speakers are the first new speakers released since the company was reacquired by its original founder (hence the name). While the entire range is impressive, the new 70LCR is of particular interest to home cinema fans.  

The Bowers & Wilkins 600 S2 series of entry-level speakers is an Anniversary Edition of the previous version, celebrating 25 years of the range and incorporating upgraded components and crossovers.  

Focal's new Chora range of more affordable speakers will literally elevate the audio in your home cinema with the addition of the 826-D floorstander and its built-in Dolby Atmos driver.  

The MK Sound LCR750 speaker package offers the studio monitor performance of the S150, but without the associated price premium.  

The Polk Audio Signature E Series of mid-range speakers look surprisingly subdued for the manufacturer, but include a host of new features and are competitively priced.  

Acoustic Energy keeps things simple with the new AE300 Series, but the result is an excellent midrange package that not only sounds impressive but is also great fun.  

The Paradigm Persona Series of speakers offer uncompromising build quality, components and performance. But do they do enough to justify their wallet-busting price tag?  

The Klipsch Reference Premiere 5.1.2-channel speaker system uses the company's iconic horn tweeters to deliver an immersive system that delivers scale and sensitivity.  

Definitive Technology's BP9000 Series includes a range of floorstanders with built-in subwoofers, dedicated centre speakers, and upward-firing modules for Atmos/DTS:X.  

The Monitor Audio Monitor is the company's latest entry-level speaker range that boasts a confusing moniker and unusually-coloured drivers. This Monitor 5.1 system is competitively priced but is orange the new black?