Alex and Bretts description of their speaker lines:
Section 1:
A.series:
These were designed to provide an amazing value for those making the first step either into HT or as they stepped away from an HTIB system. They feature a full sound with a neutral silk dome tweeter that may seem a bit "Relaxed" compared to some of the lower cost options out there that use a metal tweeter. Offering a full sound that reaches down with the towers pretty easily to 60 Hz they can fill most rooms without being over bearing unless asked to be with the proper amount of power. Form factor wise from the smallest options in the A4 speakers all the way to the A6 speakers they are tonal matches and can be mixed and matched to find the best size for the room.
DL Series:
The step up to the DL series offers quite a bit in terms of output, accuracy, and low end extension from the A.series lineup. These were designed to offer a pretty hefty bottom end presence from not only the towers but also the bookshelf speakers and center as well. Across the line they are generally surprising in terms of low end output for the cost and form factor. The silk radiating ring tweeter was chosen as it provided a great balance point with the mid and woofers used to create an accurate sound stage with added depth over the A6 lineup. This allows more accurate reproduction of the listening material, and is the first step of the lineup to really start to show the listener the difference between a good recording, and a sub par recording when they are reproducing it. In that regards you'll find quite a few listeners moving away from lower bitrate digital content as it becomes easier to pick up the nuances of loss.
EL Series:
Pretty much the flagship of the traditional speaker designs. These feature a three way design with a dedicated dome midrange driver. These were the first to feature a full hand built crossover right here in Newton, Iowa. Everything was done for these to be featured as the flagship design, the choice of drivers was intricately done to provide a smooth linear response that stays extremely distortion free even at higher output levels. The cabinet design was built to be extremely solid and well braced, thus cutting down on cabinet resonance. They are large in size and make a presence in room without even playing, but they will disappear in a well recorded soundtrack. Transparent is their nature, if it was well mastered they present the sound stage as was the sound engineer designed. A poorly recorded/mastered track will become all the more apparent that care was not taken with that track. Well adapt at both music and movies they are often seen in 2 channel stereo setups as well as full 7 channel surround systems.
This is the speaker that I've seen comments from customers about how their wife thought they broke a glass in the room when it happened in a movie they were watching.
Section 2:
eD[c]inema Series:
This lineup fits into a little different of design setting, as it is meant to be a high efficiency design featuring the directive nature of a horn/waveguide on the top end. Smooth, efficient, neutral, and up-gradable to match more demanding listening. Honestly it is hard for me to put into words a lot of what this series means/represents for me as I'm the main designer with this lineup. They offer a movie/concert experience right in your home, the efficient nature of them does require a subwoofer for the lower octaves (generally 70-80 Hz on down but with enough power on hand a pair of the eD[c]12s can shake walls in a 15'x15' room). Music, movies, video games, and every other content was thrown at these during the development process to ensure that the design stayed as far away from the negative connotations of horn loaded compression drivers as possible. They are very well balanced with the crossover design done exclusively here in Newton, each model has its own unique design to give them the best performance and ability to blend together as possible. These will actually be replacing my A6.towers over the next month or so as well. The Cinema lineup is transparent, they offer no coloration to the material and stage extremely well but they aren't as forgiving as the A6 and DL speakers with poorly recorded material. Good sounds good, great sounds great, poor sounds poor. Just as a speaker should, the goal like the EL is to be transparent in the room and sound as the material reproduces and I feel that in those terms these two share quite a bit.
Overall:
A.Series: Great intro speaker that offers one hell of a bang for the buck.
DL.Series: Beautiful step up from the A.series in what it offers in both output and performance.
EL.Series: The Flagship. Clear, Concise, and Transparent. Content as the sound engineer designed.
Cinema Series: Transparent and efficient. Looking for Movie Theater or Concert performance and levels at home, this would be the place to look.
All of the lineups have their benefits depending on the end goals, if you have any questions please let us know.
