Boston Acoustics HS 460

The HS 460 belongs to Boston Acoustics' Horizon series, a range of floorstanding speakers designed around a tall, narrow silhouette. The speaker stands directly on the floor, without an additional stand, and targets installations where a floorstanding-type presentation is desired without imposing a bulky footprint in the room.

Each cabinet houses two 6-1/2 inch woofers paired with an equal number of passive radiators, complemented by a one-inch soft dome tweeter. The passive radiator is a non-motorised diaphragm, set in motion by the internal pressure of the cabinet: it extends bass response without resorting to a port, which explains how such a slim cabinet can produce a substantial low end. The soft dome, for its part, softens the top end compared with a rigid dome and lends itself to extended listening sessions.

Boston Acoustics claims several design choices on this model:

• Deep Channel Design (DCD): achieving more bass with less amplifier power, making the speaker less dependent on a powerful amplifier;
• MBOS (Maximized Bass Output System): acoustic treatment aimed at improving performance in the bass register;
• Reduced Baffle Diffraction Design (RBDD): reduction of diffraction on the front baffle, for wider and more even off-axis dispersion.

This last point deserves attention: wider dispersion means the soundstage remains coherent when not seated in the central sweet spot, an advantage in a living room where one rarely listens from dead centre. Combined with the efficiency sought through DCD, this profile suits versatile domestic use, in stereo as well as as front channels in a multichannel system, with modest power electronics.

The HS 460 was offered in Midnight finish with onyx grilles and in Mist finish with silver grilles, with the Boston P.O.P. (Personal Options Plan) programme also allowing the speaker's appearance to be customised. These two variants explain why the model can be encountered with quite different appearances.

When buying second-hand, attention should first be paid to the transducers: on a speaker of this age, the surrounds of the 6-1/2 inch woofers should be checked by hand, looking for foam that is cracked, hardened, or detached from the basket. The passive radiators should be checked in the same way, their membrane needing to retain free and centred travel; a jammed or punctured radiator deprives the speaker of most of its bass. Next, inspect the soft dome tweeters, particularly vulnerable to dents, then the condition of the rear connection terminals and the sturdiness of the grilles, which often conceal impacts on the baffle. Finally, make sure the complete pair is present and that both speakers share the same finish.