This 5.1 speaker system by Canton hails from Germany, a country famous for the design and manufacturing of all manner of precision products: cars, medical devices, tools, and so forth. So I was really looking forward to seeing if the German engineering, manufacturing and QA/QC tradition would benefit this speaker system.

I've always been intrigued by Mirage speakers. Their brand and styling are unmistakable. Having never owned a pair and only partaking in a few brief demos, I was eager to spend some time with the MX 5.1 speaker system. I knew the MX speaker system was compact but when the shipping company arrived with a box that was smaller in diameter than my reference subwoofer I started to feel a little disenchanted.

Talk about mixed feelings! I need to unload all of my biases first since they are sufficient to taint this review. First, I'm a longstanding fan of Paradigm speakers and over the years, I have either owned or listened to a wide range of their products, right from the diminutive Atoms to their flagship Signature models. In this review, I tested the Millenia series.

Addendum to Atlantic Technology 4400 system review - 642eSB THX select subwoofer

I was having trouble getting good performance from the 444SB so Atlantic Technology was kind enough to send me one of their THX Select certified 642eSB subwoofers. Upon arrival, I immediately noticed the size difference. The 642 is quite a bit larger! It also weighs quite a bit more. It was a decent workout getting it unpacked and moved. To me, this is a good sign when it comes to subwoofers. I set the crossover to bypass and cranked up the gain to about 40% then turned on some music. (Read more at the end of review)

Do you fault a Mini Cooper for being a Mini and not a Honda Odyssey or a Porsche 911? In evaluating product, a question that is often unasked is "What is the reference?" Often times, particularly in audio or video, the question is unasked because the answer invariably is reality.

The speaker business has got to be a challenging one.On the one hand, unlike most other CE devices, speakers don't have any inherent rapid obsolescence to them. In fact, good speakers by definition should be viable, literally, for a lifetime. Paradigm's Reference Studio Speakers fit such a definition.

Ahh summer time. Time for pools, get togethers with friends and tearing apart walls in search of audio and aesthetic excellence for your flat screen TV. While this may not be the average summer activity for most I'll wager more than a few Secrets readers are in the midst of their own audio-video inspired renovations. Here's my story of an in wall audio adventure courtesy of the new Paradigm Millenia 20 Hybrids.

Revel is the upscale speaker division of Harman International, which includes Infinity, Harmon Kardon, JBL and Lexicon. Revel has been making speakers since 1996 and makes the Ultima2 (~ $26K/pair) and Performa series from which the Concerta gets its lineage. The chief designer of these speakers is Kevin Voecks who also has had a hand in developing speakers for Snell and Mirage. With an audio testing facility built by Harman International in California, all Revel speakers go through a rigorous testing process for voicing and timbral accuracy.