There are a bunch of reasons not to dig the Ferguson Hill's FH007 speakers and FH008 subwoofer set. For starters, they are sold separately, and without the sub, the system isn't suitable for popular music. The main reason, however, is the price. This combo costs a whopping $1,590 list ($595 of that alone is the subwoofer). That said, there are two powerful reasons to love this system. One, it sounds really good, and second, absolutely everyone who gazes upon it is struck by its beautiful design. The tweeters and woofers for each channel are housed in separate acrylic enclosures, instead of within one wood speaker block like most traditional speakers. Despite their fancy looks and the company's audiophile claims, they work perfectly with a PC or an Apple iPod. If you actually have $1,600 to burn on a 2.1 speaker set, the Ferguson Hill FH007 and FH008 combo is pretty damn attractive and pumps out pretty nice audio to boot.

Because of its irregular shape, the FH007 speaker system will require a little more shelf space than most speakers. The tweeters, drivers housed in clear acrylic horns, measure 17 by 10.5 by 7 inches. The woofers, housed in clear spheres with the front side cut away for the drivers, have an 8-inch diameter. In both cases, the wildly modern design rests upon three metallic spikes. Since the speakers are so lightweight, a heavy bass rumble produced by the subwoofer could potentially vibrate them enough to cause movement. There are opaque rubber holders for each spike to prevent shifting, but it takes a bit away from the overall chic look.

The biamped class A/B cube amplifier is 5.5 inches cubed and has a brushed aluminum look. The front face houses a power LED and a volume knob. The rear panel has separate outputs for both the tweeter and the woofer of the left and right channels. There is a screw knob (Philips head) to adjust the bass level, which, even at max, is not deep enough for modern popular music (but certainly appropriate for classical). The left and right inputs are RCA jacks, so they will easily receive any analog component output you have, but there is also an included cable with two RCA plugs on one end and a single 3.5mm jack to use with PC and MP3 player outputs. The lower half of the rear panel houses a power switch, a voltage selector (the company is British, so there is a European-style connector in addition to the U.S. cable and voltage options), and the power cable connection. On either side of the amp is small vent—this thing gets pretty hot. Also, the speakers are shipped with white cleaning gloves. Yes, I'm serious.

The FH008 subwoofer is, by far, the least attractive element of the package. It has a removable grille and is 13 by 12.3 by 12.5 inches. With its boring white design, it neither matches the speakers and amp nor looks inspiring on its own, but I suppose it's rare that subs really look amazing. In my experience, people usually try to hide them. Why include the FH008 in this review if it's not technically part of the FH007 speaker set? Frankly, that was my initial reaction, but reps from Ferguson Hill insisted that, despite their being sold separately, the sub and the main speakers are intended to work together and the sub's inclusion is ideal for popular music. In other words, the sub exists to work with these speakers. They are certainly right. I can't imagine listening to any rock, pop, hip-hop, or electronic music on this system without the sub—there is simply no representation of the lower frequencies of an electric bass, the thud of a rock kick drum, or a fat synth's resonance without it. That said, it is wise to use it conservatively. I set mine around 10 Hz and put the volume at about 9 o'clock (on a knob that starts at 7 and ends at 5). The knobs for frequency control and subwoofer volume are accompanied by a power switch, voltage selector, power cable connection, left/right RCA input, and on/auto/off power switch that works with the amp to conserve energy. When the 007 is powered up, the FH008 will turn on automatically, but it conserves power when the amp is off.

Up against my Labs 2.1 speaker setup (Aperion 422 satellite speakers and S-8 subwoofer—actually a surround set, but in this case, I used only the left, right, and sub speakers), the Ferguson Hill set fared well. For some rock music, though, I preferred the Aperions. I made sure to have the subs set to similar levels and frequencies and found that, along with its extra thunderous boom, the FH008 sub was more likely to produce occasional unevenness in the bass notes. The FH007's dramatic horn shape is both its saving grace and its primary failing. The tweeter's audio output traveling through the acrylic horn certainly leaves its mark—some tones can sound tinny, especially in electric guitar-heavy music—and the "sweet spot" for listening seems to become smaller. Generally, however, I found the horns' effect pleasant, especially on vocals, orchestral instruments, and acoustic guitars. They certainly convey a greater sense of space than traditional speakers—and, hey, they look pretty damn cool. I also tried both sets of speakers with my laptop, my DVD/CD player, and my iPod, using a Marantz receiver to drive the Aperions. Connection was a snap with the FH007's amplifier because of the provided 3.5mm-to-RCA left/right cable—this would be a great sound system for people who store their home music on PCs.

The decision to place woofers and tweeters in entirely different structures certainly creates a unique look, but it also causes some complications—particularly for audio purists. Anyone looking to preserve the integrity of the stereo field will want to place each channel's tweeter and woofer pretty close together, without blocking either one's output. In addition to this, you'll want to measure each speaker's placement and make sure that both sets of tweeters and woofers are set up identically. Not doing so would be akin to, for example, having a regular set of speakers with one tweeter pointed off-axis. Placement of the sub, as usual, matters a lot less—just make sure the driver is not blocked and that the speaker isn't in a spot where it will cause a lot of rattling and vibration.

Modern-design fans will definitely flock to the Ferguson Hill FH007 and FH008, but I would steer audio enthusiasts who are fans of classical, acoustic, and vocal-driven music towards the FH007 alone. Add in the FH008 sub and all of a sudden popular music sounds pretty great, if occasionally a little bright. Jazz fans will appreciate the subtle use of the sub to get depth from the upright bass that the FH007 alone can't provide. Are these speakers worth the price? For sound alone, I'd say no—I've heard better for cheaper. But as a design piece that also puts out quality audio, you're always going to pay a premium. File the Ferguson Hill FH007 and FH008 combo set under exciting, but not essential, audio toys.

For support issues, visit fergusonhill.co.uk.