When is a pair of $2000 loudspeakers a bargain? When they sound better than designs
costing 2 or 3 times as much! That's what reviewers have been saying about the ALSIII and we certainly agree. Carver® uses a 48
inch long metallic ribbon held suspended in a magnetic field to create the full range of
music except for the very deepest bass. The bass of  the 6 ft. tall design contains a conventional subwoofer to add
seamless impact to the bottom two octaves. The ribbon driver is powerful and accurate and
replaces the heavier drivers and complex crossover networks of conventional speakers.
Since the ALSIII radiates sound in di-pole
fashion from front and rear you are immediately struck by the transparency and subtlety of
the sound as well as an enormous and accurate soundstage. As big as they are, the ALSIII's seem to disappear as you listen!
Now, aside from the price, these speakers are not for everyone. They need to be able to
be placed several feet out from a wall and slightly toed in to the listeners position to
sound good. They also need high quality amplification (like a Carver Amp perhaps?) and can
actually sound bad with a modest amp. In our own listening tests, we found ourselves
continuing to increase the volume controls... and we finally realized that it was because
these speakers are so clean that we could tolerate higher DB levels without wincing at the
distortion! They don't need awesome amounts of power to sound good... just a quality
signal... but be prepared to end up wanting more watts than you have now!!
This is a speaker that will appeal to audiophiles but the subwoofer really kicks on
rock and roll too, so no matter what your musical tastes, this speaker will deliver.
This new series of speakers from Infinity® looks like a very slim and elegant
conventional  speaker series, but
lurking inside are several new technologies. The baby of the bunch is the Overture 1 which measures just 12.5hx13.25dx6'w
(seen to the right) But if you look closely, you'll see a side firing 8" woofer built
into each cabinet and what you won't see is the built in 150 watt amplifier to drive that
woofer! The powered woofer is complimented by a new silk dome tweeter that is getting
raves from audiophiles and a pair of the same 4" composite mid-range drivers used in
the bigger Overtures. At about $1000 a pair, the OVTR1's
were said by a leading audio publication to "provide a great combination of system
integration, unobtrusiveness and excellent sound quality at a reasonable price." And
did we mention that all Overture series speakers are shielded for use in video systems?
Moving up the line into a floor standing design with the Overture
2, we find the same midranges and tweeter, but now add dual 6.5"
composite long-throw woofers in a larger ducted cabinet for solid bass right down to 30 Hz
accurately! And with the built in 150 watt bass amp, you can still use your modestly
powered receiver or amp and get a hefty increase in output. (93 db efficiency makes them
easy to drive to concert levels!) About $2000 a pair...but if you have room, about $500
more will get you the flagship of the line:
The Overture 3 includes FOUR of those 6.5
inch long throw woofers and a 300 WATT bass amp! They can achieve concert level 115 db
output with their 94 db sensitivity and they go right down to a gut wrenching 25hz in the
deep, deep bass! Try these as your main home theater speakers and you'll be thrilled...
but they're equally capable of producing all the subtlety of a fine audio recording. Would
you expect any less from Infinity®?
Many people ask about speakers they can use outdoors or on their patios or decks and
traditionally they've had to put up with speakers that had about as much fidelity as the
ones the ball park uses to play the Star-Spangled Banner! A lot of people with boats also
have searched for a speaker that sounds good and will stand up to the rigors of the marine
 environment.
- The Bose®
model 151's shown to the right retail for less than $250 a pair and feature their full
range "star" driver. They've been tested in all kinds of rugged environments and
will stand up to lots of abuse.
- JBL®
also makes a similar pair in the $200 price range (model CM42)
- Infinity®
Outrigger's (shown below ), which retail for about $300 a pair feature a
 2-way design and an excellent foam
dome tweeter for superior highs in an outdoor environment. Infinity® also makes an
Outrigger Jr. speaker set for about $200 which features a smaller foam dome tweeter.
While none of these speakers develops a lot of deep bass, they do an excellent job of
musical reproduction on the rest of the music and are easy to drive with almost any
amplifier... or marine stereo deck.
Sometimes you need your speakers to just "disappear" but you still want good  sound. JBL® has come up with several speakers (the AS6 is shown here without it's grill), that fit
into your wall between the studs and can be used in new construction or easily mounted in
existing walls. The grills are paintable to match your decor and the sound is very
comparable to standard JBL® bookshelf speakers - in other words - really good!
- The AS6 features a 6 inch poly-laminate
woofer and the famous JBL® titanium tweeter,
- The AS5 uses a 5.25" woofer. This is
an ideal choice for extension speakers, or surround sound rear speakers.
 
When the stereo system is in one room and you'd like music in another room as well, it
has usually meant stringing long runs of speaker wire under carpets and through walls or
going out and buying a whole new stereo. Now their is new
wireless technology available that eliminates this problem. It works with
a small "broadcast" antenna that plugs into your existing stereo and sends
musical signals throughout the house (usually in the 900mhz band for you techies!). A
small receiving antenna, (about the size of a paperback book), is placed in the room where
you want music and delivers the signal to a pair of speakers with amplifiers contained
inside the speaker box. The speakers plug into the antenna to get the signal and into a
wall socket to get power for their built in amplifiers. These systems can be moved easily
from room to room and you can add music to as many rooms as you like without any problems!
Whether you need a pair of monoliths bigger than most people or a
small pair of waterproof speakers for your boat, Circuit City has the top brands, great
selection and guaranteed low prices. Stop by and take a listen!
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