The Z2s have been favourites of ours since November 2006, winning Awards in previous years by doing everything right at a reasonable price. Now Soundstyle has revamped them with some new features and a £10 price hike – the first in a decade.
Soundstyle has added lockable spikes to the base and improved the bolt and socket assembly of the main support for additional rigiidity, while also filling it with damping materials to reduce resonance. They also come with top spikes.
We gave them the Monitor Audio Bronze BR2s paired with Adele's 19 album and had a listen. The new stands neatly improve detail, with the rippling acoustic bass and Adele's winsome vocals taking on a new sense of clarity and space.
Dynamically, the music gains more drive and there's a real sense of excitement and verve in changes of tempo. Downsides? Tonal balance is a little lean, but the extra detail and panache in the sound outweights this minor shortcoming and these Z2s firmly remain a five-star product.
