Teufel Columa 700: 5.1 speakers suitable for a wind tunnel

So, the other day, we were sitting around attempting to enjoy some movies on our HD TV. The problem was, the sound from the TV was rubbish. What we needed was a new home cinema setup to replace our much loved Klipsch system, which the nasty courier man ripped from our bleeding fingers last week. Then, by a combination of pure chance and a well-organised meeting, Teufel arrived at the Crave offices. As luck would have it, the company arrived with a set of Columa 700 speakers tucked under its arm.

The 700s are made up of a series of four CL 70 FR tall-boy speakers. These are for your stereo and rear-effects channels. You also get a centre speaker, known as the CL 70 C, and a subwoofer -- the CL 700 SW -- that looks like it could smash our eardrums into next week.

What we like about the Columa speakers is that their shape appears to have been half-inched from aeroplane design. The centre speaker looks like the sort of thing that would look perfectly at home on an Airbus. And for that reason, if you live in a wind tunnel, we'd suggest that these might be the speakers for you.

Watching movies in a wind tunnel is a ludicrous idea. But we're inclusive here, and the last thing we'd want to do is exclude people who choose to live their life in 300mph winds. And no, we don't just mean when the family is over at Christmas for sprouts.

The floor-standing, tall-boy speakers come with some rather tasty-looking stands, into which the speakers slot, and is secured with some less tasty-looking screws. The tall-boy cabinets are made from cast aluminium, which the company suggests ensure the audio quality will be excellent. The centre speaker is also matched to the satellite speakers, which should mean the tone and quality of the sound is smooth and consistent. We'll be testing these claims in short order, so check back soon.

What we're impressed by with Teufel is the company's attitude to testing its speakers. In order to reduce the price, it only sells direct via its Web site, so it's nearly impossible to audition them before you buy. To overcome this, the company offers a two-week return policy, so if you're unhappy you can just pop the whole lot into a post box and send it back. Well, Teufel will send a courier, which should prevent some embarrassing scenes at the local pillar box. It gets better though -- you can return them up to eight weeks after you bought them, as long as you pay for the shipping.

In terms of after-sales support, the company also promises not to use call centres, and it even uses customer feedback to improve the quality of its products. Imagine that: a company that listens. Shame it can't explain the merits of that to Vodafone. Teufel speakers also have a 12-year warranty, which we think is more than generous. 

The Columa 700 is available direct from Teufel via its Web site, and costs around £1,060 including shipping.