I view running Audio Emporium like being the GM of a baseball team. We have categories to fill and I try very hard to “beat” other teams with our sage selection, or MIX.
When evaluating speakers for about $8k per pair, we need an assortment of speakers that can appeal to virtually any buyer. It’s a fun challenge! And in fact, it doesn’t take a hundred brands to do it. It takes four.
I’m not interested in what’s built in China. Screw ‘em. During Covid, N American and Euro companies reduced production to a trickle as they honored CDC guidelines. The Chinese just passed out masks and kept PUMPING out products. A few job houses were making HUNDREDS of brands under contract. The quality was mundane as they slapped different badges on speakers.
Think of making golf shirts, perhaps with a different collar or sleeve style, with a myriad of different logos on them. That… is what Chinese job houses were doing with speakers (& electronics). As their production roared, they dominated the US and world markets. They’re smart. They realized what was happening and became opportunistic, cranking up prices as much as a third within 18 months of March 2020, when Covid hit hard.
I didn’t like the generic basis of the product.
I didn’t like the price gouging.
I didn’t like sending our dollars to these people, while our N American and Euro vendors were playing fairly- and SUFFERING in the process.
When the N American and Euro audio companies got back up to speed in the spring of 2022, I swore off the Chinese exploiters. When it comes to our audio gear, save a few necessary entry level products where we have no option, I’m not selling Chinese products.
All of the speakers below are made in N America or Europe. They are in fact BETTER than what the mass production from Asia can provide.
Bryston Middle T, $8600 Per Pair
{39.5h, 10.5w, 16.5d, 82 lbs, 88dB SPL, 4 ohms}
Bryston’s Middle T is the best choice at this price point for most music lovers. It has a smooth top end for those of us who enjoy piano, vocal and acoustic instruments. Further, Middle T hits like a center linebacker. It delivers tuneful bass that will move your floor like a cement mixer- which separates it from everyone else in this range.
Middle T uses two 8” cast frame woofers, each of which weighs 15 pounds and dwarf what competitors offer. Bryston makes these drivers themselves. Most companies just buy drivers out of a bin from a vendor.
Bryston provides a 20 year warranty. Nobody else is close. It’s a tremendous advantage!
Let’s say you find a handful of speakers you really like. Each has some “taste advantage” over the others. At the end of the day when you make a decision, you’d enjoy any in this select group. That being the case, Bryston is the best choice because you’ll be under warranty for two decades. With the others, you’ll likely be out of warranty in five years and a day. Then… you’re on the meter for expensive repairs. It is very likely the drivers in your brand X speaker won’t be available a decade down the road. The reality of this situation is the tipping point for Bryston being the smartest choice.
Bryston Trim T-10, $8000 Per Pair
{60h, 10w, 16d, 83 lbs, 91dB, 4 ohms}
Bryston’s Trim T-10 is a taller, leaner design than Middle T. It makes sense in a space where you don’t need the earthquake category bass and volume that Middle T is capable of. The Trim provides a massive image which can be taken advantage of in ANY room. Its bass is tight, tuneful and deep- but not commensurate with Middle T.
Magnepan MG-2.7i, $6000 Per Pair
{72h, 22w, 2d, 50 lbs, 86dB, 4 ohms}
Maggie’s new 2.7i has state of the art detail and imaging. Its bass may be enough for you. But at $6k, you still have a couple K left to add an impressive JL Audio subwoofer if you want more growl. You’ll want an amp with ample muscle. Atoll is the best choice at a modest price range. Bryston and Mac are good options as you go north.
Klipsch Cornwall 4, $6600 Per Pair
{38h, 25.3w, 15.5d, 98 lbs, 102dB, 8 ohms}
Klipsch Cornwall is made to kick fanny and take names while doing it. Due to its high efficiency, you can drive Cornwalls with ANY amp. Yet Cornwall will reward you for driving it with an amp with big bass punch and a silent noise floor. Atoll, Bryston & Mac are ideal.
Atohm GT-2, $7500 Per Pair
{42.7h, 7.87w, 10.43d, 58 lbs, 90dB, 6 ohms}
Atohm GT-2 is a French built, uber refined tower with exquisite resolution and controlled bottom end. The surprise with GT-2 is its ability to deliver strong (though not Bryston Middle T level)
bass and play loudly, despite it’s lean shadow. GT-2 has the refinement of a Euro speaker but is different from the rest because it can punch hard.