The New Order

I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but I'm a hold out. I never listen to music over my computer, even as I've become increasingly aware that the traditional CD and/or turntable-amplifier-speaker based hi-fi system is on its way out, and that some of the most revered audiophile manufacturers like McIntosh, Linn, and Kaleidescape are designing component-grade music servers.

So sure, my interest is piqued, but I have a fantastic high-end audio system, why would I ever want to listen to tunes over my computer?

Sounding Spectacular

Mel Tormé. Mel Friggin’ Tormé! Are you kidding me? Sitting in my den, I’m not only listening to a guy that’s too square for even my septuagenarian parents, I’m mesmerized by him. “The Velvet Fog” is crooning, and I’m swooning. I have no idea what he’s singing, but the tune is tolerable enough. The thing is, it’s not the song that ensnares me, it’s the presence, vibrancy, and vitality of the music. Mel Friggin’ Tormé is actually in my den, putting on a command performance.

The Audacity of Hope

In the beginning there was Klipsch. Well, if not quite the beginning it was in 1946 when Paul W. Klipsch founded the company that bears his name in Hope, Arkansas.

His very first speaker, the Klipschorn, was so good it's remained in continuous production to this day, and sales over the last few years are on the upswing!

With the Palladium Series the company ventured into a new higher-end strata.

Why do MBL speakers look like something out of a classic sci-fi movie?

Speakers have the toughest job in audio; reproduce the deepest bass to highest treble and unleash the widest possible dynamic range. In stereo, the best speakers should provide a full-blown holographic recreation of the original sound event. For home theater you should feel like you're there.

That's the goal, but all speakers fall short of perfection. They never truly disappear as sound sources, and to a greater or lesser degree they all wind up sounding like an assortment of tweeters, midranges and woofers mounted in a box.

Not this time. For this review we're looking at a very different type of speaker.

Our 10 Best Gear Awards

The best gear of the year.

The BE-10's beryllium tweeter and midrange make it an audiophile's dream come true.

For me, nothing beats lying in bed watching movies on a big screen. I pay for this luxury by not having surround speakers because my wife doesn’t want the bedroom cluttered with extra gear. I’ve tried using those soundbars that claim to create multichannel sound from a single unit, but they don’t fool my ear. Yamaha’s YSP-3000 shares the single-unit approach of a soundbar, but the surround sound it produces is real.