Liana Bandziulis
One of the best-sounding small speaker systems we’ve heard this year is also one of the most expensive: The Fujitsu Ten Eclipse TD-M1 Wireless Speaker System, which costs $1,300. Bananas, yes. But queue up Von Karajan’s rendition of the Ninth, kick back in your Dieter Rams 620 chair, give the volume control a liberal nudge, and you’ll be feeling no remorse about the price.
They’re beautiful to behold. Each speaker is 9.5 inches tall and roughly the size of an NFL football, but with gentler curves. At the front of each enclosure is a 3-inch driver that’s covered by a white grill—with the grills on, the enclosures’ egg-shaped profiles are near seamless. Inside are 20-watt digital amps (one per channel) and a DAC for the whole system.
There are two wireless options. One is Apple’s AirPlay, and the other is a Wi-Fi direct mode that enables you to set up a one-to-one connection with a phone or tablet without needing to connect everything to the same network. Wired options include USB digital inputs (for playing your 192kHz/24-bitsources) as well as an analog 3.5-mm mini connection (for your cassette Walkman). But if you just want to run them as wireless speakers, you only have to plug them into power outlets. A free iOS app serves as a remote.
The sound? Lively and sparkling. Place the speakers about ten feet apart, plant yourself in the sweet spot, and they will reproduce live and studio recordings with impressive accuracy. Delicate stuff in particular—acoustic guitar music, vocal jazz—jumps to life. Bass frequencies are meaty and don’t sound the slightest bit artificial. And unlike many small speakers, the Eclipses sound best when you turn them up nice and loud.
Because they plug into AC outlets, these would work best as PC speakers on a desk, or as main speakers in a small listening room. Bookshelf speakers, maybe not so much. But their striking, unconventional design and excellent sound makes them a welcome visual and aural upgrade anywhere you’re currently harboring that pair of boring old black boxes.
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