ARE Audio consists of two East Coast Canadian childhood friends who have created interesting speakers with a twist. They currently produce two models, the bookshelf Light Roasts and a floor stander called the Grinder. These guys do more than just build speakers; they also customize the speakers to your taste.

To say I was excited about the prospect of reviewing AV123’s new entry-level surround sound system is an understatement. For those that don’t know, AV123 is one of many companies that sell loudspeakers from their website only. The drawback is that one cannot audition the speakers before you purchase them. However, these companies usually offer an “audition period” where you can listen to them in the comfort of your own home without any pressure to buy as the company will refund 100% of your payment (these particular speakers carry a 3 year warranty with a 30 day trial period

For years, the letters “M” and “K” have been synonymous with high-quality professional and home audio. Miller and Kreisel, or M&K as the company was known pioneered the satellite + subwoofer speaker system concept. M&K speakers were well known in the entertainment industry as the choice among many big-name professional sound mixing studios, including Dolby Labs, DTS, Lucasfilm, THX, and Sony. Those are some serious bragging rights. But about two years ago, the company was struggling, and ended up going under, as they say. Today, the brand has re-emerged under the name MK Sound. MK Sound has brought back some of the stalwart technologies from M&K, as well as some new products too.

When I first heard about the Sunfire Cinema Ribbons, I was very intrigued with the product, as I own the 6’ tall Carver Amazing Platinum IVs that are the acoustic benchmark the diminutive 8” tall Sunfire Cinema Ribbons are supposed to mimic. I have kept the Amazing Platinum IVs these last 19 years because I have not found a pair of stereo speakers under $10K that will outperform them in the areas of resolution, sound staging, bandwidth, and the ability to play at elevated levels with an extremely low level of distortion. The Cinema Ribbons use the same ribbon length as found in the Carver Amazings, and fold it so that it fits into a bookshelf size. How do they compare? Read Greg Mahoney's review and be enlightened.

Tags: 7.1 | Ribbon | Speakers

The question I am asked most often regarding stereo systems is “what speaker should I buy”? My answer is usually “the one that sounds best in your room”. If you have a good relationship with your local HiFi dealer, you just may be able to audition in your own home. Not all of the good speakers are sold in stores and sometimes to get the best value you need to purchase online. The problem is, you will have to at least pay shipping one way to get the speakers into your home. This can get pricey. What if you could audition in home, risk free? How about a ten year warranty? While we are at it, toss in a 100% credit trade up program.

Tags: 5.1 | Speakers