($1000) As the late, great Sam Cooke song suggested, “It's been a long time coming, but a change's gonna come.” American high-end audio's motto of “price depicts performance”, has finally received a strong voice of opposition which has resulted in a domino-effect: manufacturers like Melody, Shanling, Xindak, Opera Audio, Eastern Electric and Vincent have helped remove the cheap “Chinese-made” stigma. This raised their respectability despite their affordability thus, allowing other non-U.S. manufacturers to follow suit, namely, the Polestar loudspeaker.

Making products like the Polestar F1, with their real-wood veneer and custom built drivers will prove nearly impossible for manufacturers outside of Asia to match. This is another Taiwan based high-end loudspeaker manufacturer that boasts superbly built loudspeakers at unbelievable prices. But it's the floor-standing Polestar's sonic ease and superb low-end definition (if a hair too plump) that surprises everyone who listens to it. In fact, I think it could redefine the price-performance criterion for competing floor-standing loudspeakers under a grand—if they have any.