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Exceptional new audio products at realistic prices

My vote goes to B.K subwoofers based in Southend-on-Sea. Solid engineering and incredible value for money. I’m sure a lot of their competitors think they’re underpricing their stuff. My favourite, the xxls400 powered 12” sealed enclosure.

http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/XXLS400FF.htm

it’s a marriage made in heaven with Falcon ls3/5as

I have a pair of the XXLS400 subs - front firing - but a passive version.

I've been waiting for a call back for the last 2 years about them... I can't speak well of their customer service.
 
I did try... Although having someone on the phones who didn't have the wit to lift the phone to their mouth before they started talking didn't exactly inspire confidence...

I’ve only ever read positives about their customer service, that’s not to say they’re perfect, I suppose in this instance it depends whether you want the issue fixing or not.

They strike me as a good honest British company, simply wanting to produce good quality products at keen prices.
 
I’ve only ever read positives about their customer service, that’s not to say they’re perfect, I suppose in this instance it depends whether you want the issue fixing or not.

They strike me as a good honest British company, simply wanting to produce good quality products at keen prices.

Great products, for sure. Hopefully my experience was a one-off, I may have been unlucky getting the same person a couple of days running. Who knows?
 
Interesting thread but the combination of exceptional and realistic is not a particularly natural one as can be seen in some of the responses. They both tend to lean towards a perceived feeling and away from a dry well informed one.

Personally I look for good value for money at the quality level I have settled on (can be difficult given the disappearance of pretty much all reliable sources of information about home audio hardware) from a company that appears relatively healthy and so likely to be around in the future for both support and to maintain the value of what has been purchased. Examples today might be Neumann, Genelec, KEF and one or two others that don't have their price raised too much by a strong brand appeal and where the companies are large enough to have their own genuine engineers (many don't even some of those that use "engineering" in their marketing) and a leaning towards technical performance rather than developing a strong specialised audiophile appeal.

As an engineer I can't recall seeing anything that was exceptional for the money which is probably to be expected in a low tech manufacturing sector that became well developed many many decades ago. There is a slow and steady improvement though in terms of the level of performance achievable at a given price point due to evolution in materials, design and manufacturing methods. This may not stimulate much passion among audiophiles but can be readily appreciated in the technical performance for the price of the better consumer, prosumer and professional audio products. Less so home audio products where the price asked tends to be higher and the interest in technical performance lower.

As an example, a few of the better mass produced in Asia active 2 way prosumer monitors costing a few hundred pounds offer good technical performance for a low price. This is possibly around the peak in terms of the ratio of performance for the money. Nonetheless for those with a job or hobby interest in technical sound quality one would tend to move higher in price to gain a bit more technical performance, support, build quality and accept a lower value for money.
 
I'm a bit surprised that no one has mentioned EWA products yet.
I've owned a few of their cables and a couple of their amps from the lower end of the range and up a bit - still have those I've not upgraded, and to me they seem like amazingly good value for money and even when compared with much higher priced items.
 
My vote goes to B.K subwoofers based in Southend-on-Sea. Solid engineering and incredible value for money. I’m sure a lot of their competitors think they’re underpricing their stuff. My favourite, the xxls400 powered 12” sealed enclosure.

http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/XXLS400FF.htm

it’s a marriage made in heaven with Falcon ls3/5as

I'll second BK Electronics also for their pro amplifiers, I bought one many years ago and it remained in my system for ages. Their plate amps were also installed as standard in REL subwoofers.
 
I recently purchased a pair of Proac Tablette 10 Signature and they are definitely exceptional loudspeakers but not too sure if £1500 is realistic for a pair of mini monitors. A Raspberry Pi and Auralic Aries Mini are fabulous little things as well.
 
I recently purchased a pair of Proac Tablette 10 Signature and they are definitely exceptional loudspeakers but not too sure if £1500 is realistic for a pair of mini monitors.
I have exactly this VFM nag in my head when I contemplate a Tab 10 purchase. But damn, they look good in cherry! A perpetual win for indecision.
 


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