Top 8 Audiophile Speakers to Watch in 2024

The outgoing year turned out to be one of the record-breaking in terms of the number of new products on the high-quality audio market - which makes the expert rating of the best loudspeakers of the 2024 season even more interesting. Our guide may well help in choosing speakers of any price category, from relatively affordable Hi-Fi to very expensive High End class.

8. Leak Sandwich 250

Pros - incredibly rhythmic sound for its price group

Leak Sandwich 250 inherited the main trump card of the original cult loudspeakers - sandwich diffusers of low-frequency and mid-range speakers. The outer layers of the updated Leak Sandwich diffuser are a thin layer of aluminum, and the core is made of structural foam based on polymethacrylimide (PMI), this combination of materials provides the highest rigidity and guarantees an excellent piston stroke.

And it is - in practice, the Leak Sandwich 250 provides an incredible rhythm for its segment, your legs just start dancing. What is most pleasant is that the bass is at its best - the low-frequency range up to 470 Hz, which is served by a driver with a diameter of 280 mm, is perfectly detailed and rich.

7. Focal ARIA EVO X N°4

Pros - enchanting and detailed sound

Each Focal ARIA EVO X N°4 speaker system has four dynamic drivers. The high-frequency range is voiced by the proprietary TAM tweeter with an inverted dome made of aluminum-magnesium alloy, which has an M-shaped cross-section. The midrange driver is equipped with a three-layer Flax diffuser with a diameter of 165 mm, in which a layer of porous flax-based material is enclosed between two layers of fiberglass and suspended on a patented TMD (Tuned Mass Damping) system. Two low-frequency 210 mm woofer are responsible for the bass in the system, which also use Flax diffusers.

The loudspeakers "pump" from 35 Hz and offer the company's traditional elegant performance, which is absolutely tolerant of genres.

6. T + A Pulsar S 130

Pros - pedantry and luxurious detailing

The ultra-modern T + A Pulsar S 130 significantly lowers the price to introduce audiophiles to the proprietary technologies of the famous German company. The loudspeakers are designed according to the "symmetrical directivity" scheme, which allows focusing the sound in such a way as to minimize reflections. The bass section of the T + A Pulsar S 130 is equipped with a forward-facing bass reflex port, which simplifies the installation of the speakers in the listening room.

The sound is brilliant - a flat frequency response (from 32 Hz to 45 kHz) and a scattering of details attract attention to each recording. However, with a nominal resistance of 4 Ohms, the sensitivity is 86 dB, which will force you to pay attention to the selection of a mighty amplifier.

5. Living Voice R80

Pros - crystal clarity of performance, absolutely natural timbres

Living Voice R80 provide company’s traditional incredibly transparent and harmonious sound, for which the Living Voice's previous models received a whole clip of prizes and awards. The ascetic design is based on an elliptical Scan-Speak tweeter and a pair of 8-inch speakers with an elliptical coil and is designed to work with tube single-ended triode amplifiers (sensitivity is 92 dB).

As in all Living Voice loudspeakers, the precision crossover components are placed in a separate external unit - everything literally screams about quality.

4. DALI RUBIKORE 8

Pros - powerful, panoramic sound with excellent localization

Reimagined speakers from DALI, floor-standing RUBIKORE 8 speakers offer a frequence ranfge from 38 to 34,000 Hz with a sensitivity of 90.5 dB and an impedance of 4 Ohms.

The model is distinguished by a grand scale of execution and easily draws images in full growth - the sound pressure reaches 112 dB, and the input power is 250 watts. The 17 x 45 mm planar tweeters, complemented by a 29 mm soft dome and 3 x 6.5” woofers with composite (paper with wood) Clarity Cone diffusers, are a true example of modern engineering excellence.

3. Wilson Audio Sasha V

Pros - brilliance and scope from a relatively small floor-standing speaker

Wilson Audio Sasha V marks the arrival of technologies from the company's ultra-expensive top speakers to the budget of the "medium" High End. The new product is made in a two-section modular design and uses patented X-Material, S-Material and V-Material in the housings, as well as elements made of carbon, aerospace aluminum and stainless steel. Wilson Audio Sasha V is equipped with a Convergent Synergy Carbon (CSC) tweeter, first used in the Wilson Alexx V model, the midrange is entrusted to a 7” Wilson AlNiCo QuadraMag driver, and new Wilson Audio Acoustic Diodes vibration isolation mounts guarantee perfect resonance suppression.

There is more than enough brilliance in the sound, the bass is fast and elastic, there is a sea of ​​​​details - in general, a full-fledged audiophile joy before you.

2. Avantgarde Acoustic DUO GT

Pros – exceptionally high micro- and macrodynamics, excellent bass stitching with the horn frequency response

Avantgarde Acoustic DUO GT horn speakers are available in a passive version with active bass (1 kW at LF) and a fully active version - with a digital crossover and full amplification on all bands (iTRON). In the first case, you will get 107 dB of sensitivity, which will "start up" even from pentode amp.

The attack is exceptional, the microdynamic characteristics are reference - the sound simply breathes realism.

1. Lowther Hegeman

Pros – the sound of the “golden age” of audio together with a modern scattering of details and brilliance

The first version of Lowther Hegeman was released 70 years ago, now we are waiting for the second version – with a radical rethinking of materials (plaster horns have been replaced by a new one made of a special composite polymer) and technologically advanced full-range Lowther Field Coil 8" drivers.

The result is incredible – the familiar velvety relaxed sound of the original is complemented by a lot of details, and excellent rendering of the stage and supported by solid support from below.