Well in this room anyway, welcome to Pursuit of Perfect System and I'm sure that's the question that's been on your mind for the last maybe nine or ten weeks, the same as me since I started this big under 650 pound speaker or really bookshelf stand mount speaker group mega test and it's been a real slog but it's been a really really interesting couple of months testing out all these different excellent speakers.

If you have watched this review series from the start right up until now firstly let me say thank you but I'm sure you just want to know which is the winner, which is the best speaker out of this nine.

The winner is you or me or pretty much everybody and that sounds really cheesy and really corny I appreciate that but I genuinely think it's the truth and the reason I say that is because we are blessed we have a lot of different very very good speaker systems to choose from at the price point of under 650 pounds and it's the choice, it's the variety which has really impressed me the most and has really stood out to me and I think it's absolutely fantastic but that is also where the biggest quandary comes in for me to try and decide which is the best speaker from this nine because how do you even decide what the best categories or characteristics need to be?

Obviously sound quality needs to be in there but also build quality, looks, finish, price, size is that all important?

Of course it is.

To make things a little bit easier for me I've decided to break the speakers down into two distinct categories we have smaller and we have bigger to keep it nice and simple and to make things a little easier for you if you've come to this video looking for a recommendation of which speaker system to buy it really isn't that simple because a lot of these speakers systems offer excellent sound quality but something slightly different so I decided to make a visual scale to try and help everybody out so starting with the small speakers for the scale on the right hand side you'll see the Q Acoustics 3030i and they represent a warmer sounding speaker going far left you'll see the Fine Audio F500 and they represent a faster and leaner type of sounding speaker so hopefully with how I'm showing you the organization or the layout of the smaller speakers from this group test on the screen now it will help you get some idea of how these speakers sound but I do need to make a slight change to this scale and if you look at how the speakers are organized now that will give you I think a bit of a better indication because the Q Acoustics 3030i are excellent speakers but there is quite a big performance difference between what they can deliver and between the other three speakers from the smaller group of speakers in this group test it's important to remember with the Q Acoustics 3030i their price £299 so they are by far the most affordable speakers in this group test and yet for that price we get a really lovely looking really well built speaker that has really nice punchy and and good bass and they're easy to set up and within minutes you can be kicking along to your favorite music and they are not my favorite speakers from this group test but I feel that they are more than worthy of a Pursuit of Perfect Systems Serious Bang for Buck award so well done to Q Acoustics for the 3030i.

Moving on to talk about the Fine Audio F500 these are a very technologies that's used in them and I think these are a speaker system that will make certain audio files really very happy audio files that have the right systems and have the right rooms to maximize what the Fine Audio F500 can do and they also have a really interesting look I actually really like the looks of the F500 and the build quality is exceptional I'd like to award Fine Audio and the F500 with a Pursuit of Perfect Systems Essential Audition award and that really is to cover two things firstly is I think you should definitely audition them if you're looking for speakers in this price category and really the caveat with that because it is a speaker system with caveats is that I think you should listen to these speakers just to make sure they are the right speakers for you for your acoustics system components and obviously taste but put the right system together I think they can deliver really fantastic results.

Moving on to talk about the SVS Prime Bookshelf speakers and these speakers did really impress me for a lot of reasons I was really impressed by their even-handed sound delivery and their even-handed room measurements as well they've got a fantastic build quality a really nice and high quality finish the sound quality and general performance from the SVS Prime Bookshelf speakers was not that far away from being best in class for the smaller speakers of this group test but they are not my best in class winners but because the fact that they are so close and the fact that if you are in the US you can pick these up I think at times for you know under $400 that makes them an insane high value speaker so I'm very happy to award SVS Pursuit of Perfect Systems Serious Bang for Buck award for their prime bookshelf speakers and that just leaves the Acoustic Energy AE300 which are the smallest speaker of this group test and probably the nicest looking of the bunch as well for a small speaker they pack a real punch but what really stood out to me was their combination of outright clarity mixed with smoothness and some fullness of sound you know exceeding my expectations for a speaker of that size and just really exceeding my expectations in pretty much every area I was so impressed by how dimensional or three-dimensional the sound from them was so I'm very happy to award Acoustic Energy our best in class for the smaller speakers in this group test for their AE300 so well done Acoustic Energy I think that is very well deserved so moving straight on to the larger speakers in this group test and again to help you if you are here looking for buying advice I've created a scale of speakers for you so on the far right again representing the warmest sounding speaker is the Warfedale EVO 4.2 on the other end of the scale representing a lively maybe fast and leaner type of sound is the Klipsch RP600M and you can see all the other speakers there to try and give you some idea of how they compare to each other and their general sound profiles I will say at this point trying to pick a best speaker from these five gets really very hard because there are so many factors at play and the differences between the sound quality between these speakers is really quite dramatic I'm going to start in the middle with the Bowers and Wilkins 606 and I was able to achieve a sound quality from them that I classed or called impeccable and it's a sound quality that's very close to being classified as the best in class for this larger speakers but as of about a week ago Bowers and Wilkins announced that the 606 that I've had here for this group test is being replaced with the 606 anniversary so this particular model is discontinued while I really liked the Bowers and Wilkins 606 and really appreciated that sound quality I don't think they're quite there to be classed as the best in class for the larger speakers but they are more than good enough to receive our highest accolade a Pursuit of Perfect System award for serious performance or a serious performer so well done Bowers and Wilkins.

The Focal Cora 806 not my favorite looking speaker from the group test but a very very strong performing all-round good speaker system that an overall more warm type of characteristic which came as a bit of a surprise but a welcome one and you know what the Cora 806 were only a few points away from being you know really seriously good speakers I'd like to award Focal with Pursuit of Perfect System essential audition award for their Cora 806 for a couple of reasons one is that I think these are speakers that you should hear just to make sure they're that right tonal and other characteristic balance for you and two is you should hear them so that you know that not all Focal speakers sound bright unlike what you might read on a lot of audiophile or hi-fi forums.

The Klipsch RP600M wow what an interesting speaker system and wow what a surprise I like them much more than I expected to and as a speaker system they really separated my head from my heart because my head was telling me one thing technically but my heart was just keeping me there listening to more music and more music and more music on them because they are a fun speaker they are an engaging speaker to listen to whenever a speaker system's got really lively dynamics it always makes music fun and exciting to listen to and again as a speaker system they're not that far away from being best in class worthy for their sound quality and I think the Klipsch RP600M have a lot of really good things going for them but those good things those standout characteristics could be the reason why you like them or maybe you wouldn't I'm going to award Klipsch with an essential audition award you need to hear that titanium tweeter playing through that horn just to you know alleviate some of your preconceptions of how that speaker might sound but you also need to listen just to make sure you like their liveliness and like or can handle their mid-range delivery and that just leaves two speakers and in some ways these two speakers are similar but in most ways they are chalk and cheese and that's really got me in a bit of a twist and really has made this even harder and that is because one of them is a totally sensible solution that looks nice that is built well sounds excellent and it's got an engaging and easygoing and listen all day type of sound but the other is a guilty pleasure type of speaker system that you know made me feel things and stirred my emotions more than any of the other speakers in this group test really it's not easy but let's start by talking about the Wharfedal Evo 4.2 and I do need to come clean the walnut pair that you've seen more recently in the videos for this group test they are mine I bought them and I bought them after I reviewed them because I liked the sound of the speakers that much and I bought them before I listened to any of the other speakers in this group test but what I found interesting is after listening to the Evo 4.2 then listening to the Bowers and Wilkins then the Klitsch and eventually the Kabass Antigua MC170 yes that liveliness and upper frequencies energies I definitely missed when listening to the Evo 4.2 but I really love how the Wharfedal Evo 4.2 look I really appreciate the build quality I really appreciate their mid-range and their bass quality I really appreciate just how much speaker that we are getting for our money and I also feel like as a speaker system they're going to work in the majority of normal rooms normal real world living rooms that most people have their hi-fi speakers in and I think when you roll all of that into one big package they are such a compelling speaker for the money that I very easily award them a Pursuit of Perfect Systems highest accolade of a serious performer award the Kabass Antigua MC170 was another real surprise speaker system to me that enigma that treble delivery have not heard or seen that before in a speaker system and it caught me out but for all the right reasons and the bass from the Antigua MC170 was absolutely fantastic and then when I looked at their spec sheet they're only rated down to 60 hertz and then back to the top end that really exciting lively energetic you know expressive speaker system that stirs emotions in your soul the mid-range and vocal from them is not perfect but it's still very good and then that enigma treble the life the dynamics the energy the drive from those speakers it just really elevates the musical experience to something that you do experience rather than just something you listen to and I can't help but be engaged by a speaker system that delivers music that way I'd like to award Kabass with the Pursuit of Perfect Systems essential audition award for their Antigua MC170 speakers they are very very interesting speakers but I think they are speakers that could quite easily divide opinions and make sure you listen to them if you're shopping at this price category but which speaker from the two of them am I going to give the best in class award to and that's a really really hard one my head is telling me that the dwarfed are a cleaner sounding speaker and probably a more mature sounding speaker but the nicer looking with a nicer build quality and more substantial and just generally more lovely but my heart is telling me that the Kabass are really really exciting okay it's decision time it's been really hard for me to separate the five of these speakers to try and pick two of the best let alone the ultimate best I really really liked the Kabass Antigua MC170 absolutely fantastic speakers but I think the niggles of them would possibly niggle me more than the niggles I have with the Warfedal Evo 4.2 so just by a smidgen or just by a hair I'd like to award Warfedal with the best in class award for the Evo 4.2 for the exact reasons that I've already mentioned they are a fantastic speaker that look lovely have fantastic build quality that feel big and feel solid and feel really quality and feel like you get a lot of speaker for your money so well done Warfedal yeah very very well done and again I think very well deserved I do want to say a huge thank you to all the manufacturers who sent me their speakers for this group test and allowed me to have them for an extended period of time it really has taken a lot of time to do this group test I want to thank everybody who's watched this whole review series from the start all the way through to the conclusion I hope you've enjoyed it I hope you found it useful and helpful I've genuinely put my heart and soul into it and try to make it as good as possible and as useful for you as possible I am planning to follow this up with a Q&A type of video so that you can ask me questions and I can go over some other bits and pieces that I haven't been able to cover in this conclusion video so make sure you look out for that I hope you've enjoyed everything that I've done for you so far and obviously there's always more coming so thanks again for watching and I'll see you soon take care