MartinLogan enjoys a place at the mantle occupied by a relatively small group of state of the art speaker companies enduring the test of time. Nearing its third decade, the Lawrence, Kansas company first impressed critics, audiophiles, and industry professionals at the 1983 Consumer Electronics Show, and now have a devoted following.Gayle Martin Sanders and Ron Logan Sutherland started MartinLogan (the company name a combination of middle names) with a very specific goal in mind: perfect the electrostatic design loudspeaker (ESL). I admit having a particularly soft spot in my heart for electrostatics as I grew up listening to my father’s Quad 57s. The immediacy, and total lack of enclosure colorations have seduced many audiophiles for decades. MartinLogan has released many groundbreaking products since its inception, and has an impressive legacy of previous models. ShoreView Industries, who also owns Paradigm ...

The Thiel CS3.7, when introduced in 2007, was the crowning achievement by the late, great, Jim Thiel. The flagship floor stander was the culmination of many years of research, and a series of upgrades and refinements of previous models. It has been universally praised by those who have heard it a hifi trade shows, and by professional reviewers alike. Some of the best ears in the business have claimed the CS3.7 offered remarkable performance that only fell short when compared to the very, very best, and stratospherically priced loudspeakers. The Thiel CS3.7 is currently priced at just about $13,000, depending on finish. which dear readers, is less than a pair of Nordost, MIT, Synergistic Research, or Transparent flagship interconnects.   The CS3.7 were designed and built at their facility in Lexington, KY. As every review of a Thiel speaker is obligated ...

Cerwin-Vega was founded in 1954 by Gene Czerwinski, then a young aerospace engineer. Why start a loudspeaker company? First and foremost a music fan, Gene’s goal was to reproduce the live musical experience. His design philosophy was based on high-efficiency drivers, durability, and “value for money products.”  For over 50 years, the name Cerwin-Vega has been synonymous with excellence in every area of the audio experience, and has built a reputation in the pro audio, car audio and home theater world of building high-performance, high- value speakers.   Cerwin-Vega offers several different speaker lines across a broad price spectrum and the XLS Series is one of their best, replacing the older CLS Series with improved performance and specifications.  With a moniker of “The LOUD Speaker Company,” Cerwin-Vega’s design goal is providing everything you need for a live concert or cinema experience ...

Paradigm has been making highly regarded loudspeakers in their state of the art factory in Ontario, Canada for the past 25 years. Their longevity is likely due to making quality products across multiple markets at reasonable prices. They make excellent speakers for budget audiophiles, home theater fiends, and for uncompromising two channel high end aficionados like myself.I have heard various Paradigm set-ups in friend’s houses and have always been impressed. Personally, I’ve used the amazing little Paradigm Atom mini monitor in various small spaces in my own house. After buying a 55 inch High Definition Vizio television, I knew it was time to upgrade the sound system as well. In my household, we typically watch about one or two movies a week, either on digital cable or DVD.  We also watch tons of musical performances, which are often mixed in ...

I reviewed the stand mounted MCS-1 a while back (link) and it was my first experience with a Thiel loudspeaker. I found out why Thiel had built a reputation of building superb sounding, neutral, and coherent speakers for 30 years. Their products are designed and built in Lexington Kentucky and all are all based on the cutting edge designs of the late, great Jim Thiel, who sadly passed away last year at the age of 62.I was so impressed with the MCS-1, which was a large monitor, that I was very interested in hearing one of their floor standers. I was offered the CS2.4, second from the top of the line CS3.7, which sells for roughly $12,000. The CS2.4 retails for $4900, but varies depending on finish. My review sample arrived in a beautiful Black Ash. The CS2.4 was first ...