Introduction Home theater is a wonderful experience that has the better part of the civilized world clambering to their local A/V retailers to get outfitted, most with a strict budget in mind. Once we get there, we soon realize that we are now dividing our available funds across five speakers and electronics, as well as a subwoofer. Can something that truly satisfies be found without spending an arm and a leg? Enter Internet-only manufacturers such as Aperion Audio to the rescue, providing a high value by dropping a couple of layers of distribution costs. Here I evaluate a complete 5.1 Channel INTIMUS Theater/Audio loudspeaker system from Aperion, formerly known as Edge Audio. The review system retails for $1,399, configured with the INTIMUS S10 powered subwoofer. The Aperion includes a 30-day full money back guarantee for a no-risk audition if you are not able to hear the system before you purchase. Also, Aperion offers free shipping. ...

Introduction Snell Acoustics produces their entire line of loudspeakers at their factory in Massachusetts, the way nearly all manufacturers once did – by hand. It wasn’t long ago that most specialty speaker companies did just this, yet with the growing trend of manufacturing offshore, handcrafting has become less and less common. Snell still builds their own cabinets and assembles their speakers the old-fashioned way, which is the second biggest reason for their loyal consumer following. The Snell Acoustic 7.1 speaker package being reviewed consisted of the E.5mk2 floor-standing speakers, the CR.5mk2 center channel speaker, K.5mk2 rear effects speakers, SR.5 full-range surround speakers, and the PS.10mk2 subwoofer. All totaled, this speaker package retails for a moderate $5,800. According to Snell, all of these speakers are carefully voiced to sound the same in order to work together as a complete music or movie surround system. Snell E.5mk2 The E.5mk2 is a full-range floor-standing speaker, designed to be used either independently for ...

Introduction As audio enthusiasts, we have made it one of our life’s missions to search out the best in musical reproduction that our ever-growing budgets will allow into our listening rooms. As we voraciously research each strategic move to improve our systems at home, we are more often than not listening to more and more music on our computers at work. The reality is that we spend far more time enjoying music at the office, spinning (and sometimes ripping) CDs and listening to songs from our growing collection of MP3s, as well as other media including Windows Media 9 files, DVD-Video discs, QuickTime files, PC games, and many others. While our high-end AV systems are in standby mode, waiting for us to get home, too many of us spend the majority of our hours listening to music listening on the crappy $20 per pair, injection-molded speakers that come with your Dell or Gateway, when ...

Introduction Many people make their first step into the world of budget home theater via pre-packaged “theater in a box” systems, which usually consist of a low-end receiver, a CD/DVD player, woefully inadequate speakers and a weak subwoofer. Electronics aside, if you are the owner of one of these lower-end systems and are looking to move up to a higher-performance audio/home theater speaker system that isn’t going to require you to take out a second mortgage, Paradigm has created the Monitor series of speakers. Priced under Paradigm’s top-end Reference series, the Monitor Series (not to be confused with Monitor Audio speakers from the U.K.) features a full line of floor-standing towers and bookshelf speakers available in several wood finishes, as well as a center channel and two-way surrounds, both available in only black. Paradigm manufactures a number of subwoofers, but there is no subwoofer in the Monitor line. Consisting of the Monitor 9 floor-standing speakers, ...

Introduction At $999, the Nova 5.1 speaker system is the entry-level micro system from Morel, Israel’s leading loudspeaker company. The satellites in this system are tiny metallic half-spheres that can be mounted anywhere a softball would fit. For less than a thousand bucks (USD), you get five satellites that can fit into the smallest of spaces, and a powered 10-inch subwoofer. While this is becoming more and more common, it is still rare to find speakers in this size and price class that don’t sound like an AM radio broadcast coming out of a drugstore clock-radio. In the U.S., the Morel name is not as widely known as it is in Europe, where it has a considerable and heralded reputation. Morel was founded over 25 years ago in Israel’s southern region and has been a leading provider of OEM speaker components in Europe since that time. In the U.S., Morel offers a variety of different ...