The British have always had a tremendous reputation for designing quality loudspeakers. We export around 70% of our output to just about every country in the world, with current 'hotspots' being America, Russia and (ironically) China. Overseas, British speakers are regarded as a 'must have' for discerning (and often affluent) customers, just like European cars, Swiss watches and French wine.

However, if the truth be known, our own home speaker market has actually become rather stagnant in the past few years - imagine the vacuum cleaner market before Dyson came along, and you wouldn't be far off the mark. A relatively small number of manufacturers dominate proceedings, with ever contracting ranges that increasingly seem to only address the volume end of the market. I can see this when I look up at our shelves - we actually only stock a fraction of the number of speakers that we used to stock 10 years ago, because we simply don't think the others on offer are particularly good!

What our industry needs is a Dyson - and now it looks like we've got one!

Q Acoustics is a completely new loudspeaker brand, with a completely new speaker range, which I suspect will shake the market to its roots. To understand why I feel that way, we first need to understand a little of the background behind these excellent new products. They are the brain-child of two of the industry's leading speaker designers, who have been head-hunted by Armour Electronics and given free range (plus a virtually unrestricted budget) to produce the speakers of their dreams.

But who are Armour Electronics? Well, the name may not be familiar, but Armour was formed when world famous cable specialists QED merged with Goldring and Veda, producing a company that employs less than 200 people, but turns over around £40m per annum. Within our industry, that makes them one of the biggest, most efficient organisations around, with enough expertise and financial clout to make a huge impact.

And they have!

If you take a look at the picture to the left, you'll see a cut-out of the new ultra-compact Q Acoustics 1010, which features torque-mounted drivers, massive magnet assemblies, a Linkwitz-Riley crossover and superb construction throughout. This attention to detail would be entirely expected in a £300 design, but it is unprecedented in a speaker costing just £99 a pair. This high-spec approach continues throughout the range, with the top floorstanders sporting front baffles up to 32mm thick! Add to this a good choice of wood-effect finishes, cable management, a stand that bolts to the speaker itself, plus the option of an adjustable wall bracket and you have a sure-fire success.

But that's not the best bit, because all this attention to detail really makes it's presence felt when you sit down and listen to any of the Q Acoustics 1000 series. The sound from each model is clear, clean and exceptionally detailed, with just the right balance of bass warmth. These speakers really convey musical timing very well indeed - in a sense they seem to 'hard-wire' the music to your brain! I'll leave the last word to Armour's technical director Steve Privett, who said at the launch of Q Acoustics,

"How have we differentiated Q Acoustics from the rest? The simple answer is that we have moved the sonic goal-posts. We have designed and manufactured the very best speakers ever produced at their respective price points. They simply sound better."

I couldn't agree more.

Say hello to the Dyson of the loudspeaker world - then sit back and watch them hoover all the sales up!