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Oops, I did it again. Whilst beauty remains in the eye of the beholder, I really dig the fresh slightly porcine styling of the Terra III. Since I first saw the concept I thought it radically cool. With their slanted baffles they'd also be perfect for my extreme nearfield work desk. They wouldn't require those somewhat cheesy stands I'd jury-rigged from Ikea saucer stackers for the Mark+Daniel Minis. One step closer to a tidy work space. One more lame justification to buy another speaker. Hey, great idea!

Having lived in the American South West whose arid high-desert scapes have made people unafraid of color, our house and this website love color too. EBTB's custom paint shop held the keys to that kingdom. Just so I couldn't very well order review samples to indulge some personally desirable color, then send them back and stick the Bulgarians until some future customer declared interest in the same finish. So I bought the review pair upfront. I wanted carte blanche for anything-goes colorization. I ordered the yellow/green scheme I'd seen before but in reverse. The reedy yellow-ish green would go on the baffle, the pale yellow on the porky behind. Because my Bel Canto integrated has the clear-anodized front—I hate black hifi—the silver baffle trim bits were perfect. Even country bumpkins accessorize.

Shipped in twin cartons strapped together then cellophane wrapped for extra moisture protection, each speaker arrives perfectly cradled in fully shape-matched cloth-lined clam shells which protect the glossy automotive lacquers. Since the exposed soft dome tweeter is ungrilled, obvious care must be taken not to squish it whilst extracting each speaker from its two container halves. The clever handle behind the tweeter then walks the lightweight Terra III around in a breeze.

Six deep-dish aluminum spike receivers with non-slip pads are included as well as an excellent owner's manual. That goes into detail about time alignment and how to adjust baffle rake over various listening distances. Doing a Sherlock Holmes—that would be the brilliantly modernized Benedict Cumberbatch of the new BBC series—betrayed no criminal clues on the finish. Immaculate was the word. Sherlock would pass on this case to leave Watson fretting over the bills.

With mine handled by wire transfer upfront, I was free to forget Watson. I reshuffled the desk top and parked the Terra III in their intended final positions. To do a comprehensive test they'd have to depart again and temporarily hop on the British Track Audio stands for some farfield action in the usual big rig. But return here they would. It's where my eyes do most their daily feasting. Even the green French blinds way behind them pick up on the baffle hue of the Terra III. Are you disheartened yet by all this decorator fuss?

It is the most likely knee-jerk reaction this company endures by design. In this hobby beauty and brains too often are divorced strangers not on speaking terms. Anything that would combine the two encounters automatic suspicion for selling out on performance whilst pandering to fashion. I'm fed up with this. It's short-sighted. Condemning products which attempt to break this cursed circle with the derogatory lifestyle tag threatens our hobby. I much prefer to enjoy my hifi also when it's not playing. With my eyes. All else being equal, performance does tend to have the last word. Even so I wouldn't live with anything I considered ugly.

With essentials covered, is the Terra III's flamboyant funkiness gimmickry? Is it flash for the futuristically inclined but fast food to discerning ears? Or is this a serious audiophile speaker?

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