Price Paid:  $0.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
How fortunate I was to find these for sale in virtually pristine condition. Having had only 40 hours of playing time, they were virtually new and not even broken in yet. The Altairs are wedge shaped speakers, 28"H x 20"W at the base x 12"D. Each speaker has a 10" carbon-polypropylene woofer, a 5" open-back DIPOLE midrange, a 1" polymer dome (ferrofluid) tweeter with a rear mounted dome tweeter. The speaker is finished in an attractive faux gray granite.They weigh 40lbs apiece. This is a truly remarkable speaker! It seems to completely disappear...all you hear is the music. It IMAGES like no other speaker I''''ve ever had, and creates a HUGE soundstage that is wide and deep. If there is ambiance in the recording, you will hear it! It does all of this with a totally coherent, seamless sound from top to bottom. I emailed Bright Star Audio to see if I could obtain a "spec" sheet. Barry Kohan (owner/chief engineer) personally emailed me back and strongly urged me to purchase the EFC (Electronic Foundation Control) Module that was designed by Walter Jung specifically for the Altair. This "black box" was engineered to align and extend the low frequency response and increase the dynamic range. I purchased it. I inserted the EFC between the preamp and amp and suddenly an already outstanding speaker system became better...MUCH BETTER! Low frequency response was not only extended...there was added WEIGHT...Latin percussion, especially deep pitched surdos (Sergio Mendes-"Brasileiro") literally hit you in the chest! Dynamic range also improved dramatically with the EFC, not only on large orchestral works, but equally as much with female vocalists backed by a piano trio. This is a speaker that truly outclasses many speakers that even list at more than twice the price. I know...I''''ve owned them. I have, for the first time in many years, enjoyed listening to MUSIC hours on end without fatigue...that''''s how eminently musical these speakers are.

Strengths:
Imaging, soundstage width and depth, seamless coherent sound, low frequency weight(EFC), ambiance, construction, appearance. An owner (Barry Kohan) who always cordially replied to my emails and assisted me in setting up the Altairs properly.

Weaknesses:
Just one- Now I have to go out and buy good quality (read "expensive") rigid stands!

Similar Products Used:
I prefer not to mention the 6 prior speaker systems I''''ve owned (5 of which cost more than the Altairs)...None of them being the equal of the Altairs.