Keen pricing and solid engineering ensure this system’s appeal, says Andrew Everard

As I’ve noted before, the loudspeaker market isn’t exactly underpopulated: new companies seem to spring up all the time. However, one of the most recent arrivals on the UK scene is far from new: Teufel is based in Berlin, and has been in the speaker business for 30 years, first as a maker of self-assembly speaker kits and more recently as a direct-sell company with a large, and ever-growing, range of products.

There’s everything in the line-up from budget speakers to very high-end hi-fi stereo speakers and surround sound systems, and all are available with an eight-week money-back guarantee, enabling buyers to try them at home then return them if not satisfied. In addition, all the speakers are covered by a 12-year warranty (two years on electronics), and of course the direct-sell model keeps prices low, even if the weakness of the pound against the euro hasn’t done the company many favours in recent times.

I recently visited Teufel HQ, and was very taken with the little system you see here: the Concept B 200 USB is a desktop package designed for use with computers, iPods and the like, sells for a very sensible £219, and sounds very good indeed.

However, while it looks pretty simple, having just a compact amplifier unit and a pair of slim speakers, there’s rather more to it than that. For a start, the two-way speakers are biamplified, with 4x30W of Class D amplification in the main unit driving the twin 8cm mid/bass units and 25mm dome tweeter.

In addition, though the amplifier has conventional inputs for a product of this kind – USB, 3.5mm stereo jack and RCA phonos –, and can be used with an optional Teufel iPod dock, it’s also designed to work both as a soundcard for PCs and Mac computers, and as a three-port USB hub, as well as having a microphone input and headphone output for those using their computer with communications software such as Skype.

Tone and volume controls are provided, and the system comes complete with 1.5m speaker cables terminated with 6.3mm stereo plugs, while under the lid it looks very unlike a budget computer speaker system, with a hefty toroidal transformer, high-quality components and a clear, logical layout.

PERFORMANCE
The reassuringly solid feel of the Teufel amplifier unit and speakers is borne out by the performance on offer here: although this is a desktop system, and thus delivers limited bass – it runs out of steam at around 80Hz –, there’s nothing lightweight or insubstantial about the sound it delivers. That’s in no small part due to a clever bass reflex opening in the foot of each speaker.

I tried the Concept B 200 USB with my MacBook Pro computer, with a netbook running Windows XP, with an iPod via Teufel’s £35 dock, and connected to a music streaming device via the phono inputs, and in each case the unit delivered an involving sound with fine clarity and detail, more than a match for any desktop speakers I have used in the past.

There’s more than enough power to fill a small-to-medium-sized room with music, let alone deliver a superb sound for close-up listening, and the system never sounds strained or breathless, even when playing large-scale orchestral works. The tone controls are subtle in their operation, and able to give slight tweaks to the balance of the sound when required, but above all the balance of the presentation is full-bodied and natural, and the stereo imaging really very impressive given how close one is likely to be sitting to the speakers.

Indeed, with so much content now available on streaming music services, the likes of the BBC iPlayer and internet radio offerings, a little system like this, used with a desktop or laptop computer, could well form a perfect system for a second room. And given the Teufel’s performance and keen pricing, that’s a rather tempting prospect.

Teufel Concept B200 USB
Type Computer speaker system
Price £219
Inputs Stereo phono, one Type B USB, three Type A USB, 3.5mm stereo mini-jack, microphone
Outputs Headphones, two speakers
Power 4x30W
Tone controls Yes
Speaker drive units 25mm dome tweeter, 2x8cm mid/bass
Accessories supplied 1.5m speaker cables
Optional accessories iPod dock, USB connection cable
Dimensions (WxHxD) amplifier 25x5.2x17cm , speakers 10x31x22cm
www.teufelaudio.co.uk