Epicurus, the ancient Greek philosopher, believed that the senses are the only reliable sources of information. He famously rejected Plato's ramblings of "Reason" as a reliable source of knowledge about the world and was bitterly opposed to the Skeptics, who not only questioned the ability of the senses to provide accurate knowledge about the world, but also whether it is even possible to know anything about the world at all. Here at Audio T Bristol we believe that the senses are very much the only source when it comes to comparing speakers…

The Grand Selection before you are the finest stand mount speakers for around £1,000. Each one of these speakers is worthy of a write up of their own, indeed, consider reading our previous reviews of the ATC SCM7 and the Acoustic Energy AE500 series.

NEW to Audio-T Bristol are the much lauded creation by Italian craftsmen, Sonus Faber Lumina II, the larger sibling to the entry level Lumina I.

To Placate the Platonic readers - here's how they "measure up" -

So, the Platonic winner here is the Acoustic Energy AE500. The largest speaker by a sip under a pint, the broadest frequency response, the most sensitive and they weigh the most - all important £/KG factor. Done - next review... The Skeptics have decided that this is pointless and have returned to their caves to make fire.

"Not so fast!", cries the Epicurious. It's all about savouring the sound, What do they taste like? Well, all are made from HDF - woody? But, then the Sonus Fabers are leather clad - so beefy?

THE SETUP

To put these speakers to the test we matched a fairly typical system -

Integrated amps: Naim Supernait 3, Rega Elex-R,

Source: The NEW Bluesound Node with Chord Qutest,

Cables: Chord OdysseyX, Chord Shawline 2RCA - 2RCA 1m, Chord Epic X coax Digital Interconnect.

Streaming service: Qobuz

Turntable: Rega P3 with Elys cart

HOW DO THEY SOUND?

There is no getting away from the fact that these are astounding stand mount speakers in their own right. All have first class build quality, remarkable bass performance for their size, low distortion at high volumes, crisp treble and superb voicing. The ATC SCM7’s have a musically revealing, monitor-like quality performance - the benchmark for the price and size. The AE500 from Acoustic Energy have the widest dispersion, thanks to the waveguide and deeply sunken drivers. Surprisingly the Italian Lumina II’s are the best of both worlds. The revealing mid/upper mid clarity akin to that of the ATC combined with the low depth of the AE500’s thanks to the Sonus Faber front firing bass port. The final decision is a matter of personal choice…

The ancient Greeks were also pioneers of astronomy, and with today's opinions, views and review ratings, stars are as plentiful as in the night sky (or a What-HiFi review). It is extremely difficult to make a truly informed decision. Which is why the Epicurean feasting of your ears on this Grand selection and listening for yourselves is really the only way to decide - So why wait? Book an audition with us - All philosophers welcome.

Thanks for reading.

Max, James & Justin - Audio T Bristol

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Sonus faber can be found at the following Audio-T stores

ATC can be found at the following Audio-T stores

Acoustic Energy can be found at the following Audio-T stores