Teufel Columa 100 L review

Teufel’s Columa series of home cinema speakers aren’t intended for small living rooms or for people who like the minimalist approach. The towering satellite speakers dominate compact spaces like our test chamber. The main benefit of column speakers is that they align directly with your ears when sat on the sofa. This greatly improves positional audio when watching movies, but some people might consider them something of an eyesore.

We aren’t big fans of their glossy plastic design, especially when we sat them side-by-side with the wood-grained Columa 200. At least their construction is sturdy. The subwoofer is no exception, although we wouldn’t expect anything else from a box that weighs almost 13kg. It’s also almost half a meter tall, so finding a discrete home for it could prove to be a challenge.

Each speaker connects to an amplifier using regular speaker wire, but none is included with the set. You’ll have to buy your own, either from Teufel or another retailer, but this at least lets you decide how much you want to spend and how many metres you need.

These speakers breezed through our Blu-ray tests. The satellites sounded incredible at high volume levels, producing crisp high frequencies and a punchy mid-range without losing subtle details. The subwoofer blended seamlessly with the satellites, although we had to lower its volume to find the perfect balance when playing Blu-ray discs.

Music sounded fantastic too, especially heavier tracks that demanded lots of bass. Acoustic tracks were slightly enveloped by the subwoofer until we turned it down, but the satellites handled all genres very well.

The Columa 100’s sound quality is up to Teufel’s usual high standards and it doesn’t cost the earth. However, the plain design and plastic construction leaves a lot to be desired. Column speakers should become a part of the room they are placed in rather than fade into the background, but we wouldn’t particularly want to show these off. If you’re set on column speakers, the gorgeous Columa 200 is a much better, albeit more expensive, choice.