We’ve got to admit, we weren’t expecting such a shake-up in the Standmount Speaker category at the What Hi-Fi? Awards this year.
But the arrival of terrific new models from the likes of Acoustic Energy, Dali and PMC has pushed out some long-running favourites and made this one of the most exciting and vibrant parts of the hi-fi market.
We would have to go back years to find the last time a Wharfedale Diamond didn’t reign supreme in the budget sector, and the current Diamond 12.1 remains a great product.
However, the arrival of the dinky Dali Kupid (above, £299/$600/AU$599) gives us a fresh alternative that delivers sound in such an energetic and musical way that we can’t resist.
It is a compact design that fits comfortably in various places and is available in a range of unusual and striking colours. This is one speaker that budding interior designers will love as much as music fans.
Acoustic Energy springs a welcome surprise
Next up the price scale come the Acoustic Energy AE300 Mk2 (£649/$1099/AU$1580). In many ways, these are the polar opposite of the exuberant Dalis. They look understated and have a sound that takes a little while to appreciate.
Give them time, and you will find an unusually mature performer that delivers plenty of insight in a natural and unforced way.
This is the kind of speaker that encourages long listening sessions and never restricts the types of music you can enjoy. It’s a great all-rounder with superb build and an unfussy nature.
PMC powers to victory
It is all change for our premium standmount Award too, with the hugely successful, retro-styled Mission 770 making way for the smaller, but even more capable PMC Prophecy 1 (above).
PMC has put an awful lot of engineering into these small two-way speakers, and the result is spectacular. When it comes to balance, insight and dynamic expression, we haven’t heard anything that betters these small boxes.
The company’s trademark transmission line bass loading design gives them a surprising degree of low-end weight and power, too. Add excellent build and finish into the equation, and in our minds, there is no doubt that the Prohecy 1 is a worthy winner.
Ruark makes its mark (again)
Our final new entry is the updated, but reassuringly familiar-looking Ruark Audio MR1 Mk3 (above). Ruark has made the desktop category its own in recent years, and the excellence of the MkIII version (£399/$579/AU$899) shows that it intends to hold on to that crown firmly.
Everything we liked from the previous versions is still there, but the new model takes a notable step forward in terms of sound quality. It usefully adds a phono stage, which proves surprisingly capable.
The return winners this year are the PMC Prodigy 1 (£1250/$1699/AU$2299), which remain the most talented standmounts at their price and the Epos impressively unfussy and superb-sounding ES-7N ( £1890/$2850).
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