High End 2012

Boston Acoustics hired the skills of German speaker wunderkind Karl Heinz Fink and the golden ears of Ken Ishiwata to create its latest range. The M series consists of three floorstanders with prices starting at €1500 per pair for the M250, rising to €2000 for the M340 and peaking at €2600 for the M350 (above), and the stand-mount M25 at €800. They are all slim-line designs with cabinets that are distinguished by two-layer sandwich panels that work as constrained layers to damp resonance. The midrange and bass drivers are Boston’s own 4" polypropylene units with an unusual feature on the midrange: four tabs around the periphery of the suspension. These mass-load the driver at specific points with the aim of preventing high-frequency resonance. The result is that the floorstanders, which employ a separate midrange, have a very flat response. The tweeter is a variation on the ring-radiator theme that’s anchored in the center, where there is a slight dimple. Finish is a leatherette filling in a sandwich that can include either wood veneer or gloss black.

If the comments we heard regarding the sound in the room are anything to go by, Boston Acoustics is on to something very good.