They look like the latest baddies from an episode of Doctor Who, but in the real world these bad boys are about as close to cinema speaker perfection as many mortals will come. We had the pleasure of testing the Performances as a stereo pair ("realistic, lavish, sublime"), and use a system as a reference in our testing rooms. Going beyond the futuristic looks, you find the ultimate in control, attack and dynamic ability. The downsides are the price, and the amount you'll have to spend on decent electronics, plus finding the space forthem.