BG Loudspeakers 2014

STEREO MUSIC
GUIDE to
HIGH-PERFORMANCE
LOUDSPEAKERS
2014 Edition
Sponsored by
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2 Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers 2014
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go to: Contents | On The Horizon | Features | Desktop & Super-Compact | Stand-Mounted | Floorstanding Under $10k | Floorstanding Over $10k
Contents
Sponsored by
Features
From the Editor
On the Horizon: Great New Products
Coming Your Way
How to Choose a Loudspeaker
Illustrated History of
High-End Audio
Desktop and
Super-Compact
Loudspeakers
Audioengine A2+
KEF X300A
Audience ClairAudient The One
Neat Acoustics Iota
Our Top Picks in Desktop and SuperCompact Speakers
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Sponsored by
Stand-Mounted
Loudspeakers
Sonus faber Venere Model 1.5
Focal Aria 906
KEF LS50
Anthony Gallo Acoustics Strada 2 &
TR-3d Sub
Paradigm 30th Anniversary Inspiration
Monitor
Bryston Mini T
Harbeth Monitor 30.1
Von Schweikert UniField Two Mk 2
Our Top Picks in Stand-Mounted
Loudspeakers
Click on one of the links above to jump

to that section, feature or review.
Floorstanding
Loudspeakers
Under $10,000
Floorstanding
Loudspeakers
Over $10,000
Featured Review: MartinLogan Montis

Featured Review: MartinLogan
Summit X
Magnepan Super MMG System
GoldenEar Technology Triton Seven
Revel Performa 3 F206 and M106
GoldenEar Technology Triton Two
Eminent Technology LFT-8b
Dynaudio Excite X34
Nola Contender
Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby
Grand
Thiel CS2.7
JansZen zA2.1
Our Top Picks in Floorstanding
Loudspeakers under $10,000
Featured Review: Legacy Aeris

Sony NA2ES
German Physics Unlimited Mk.II
DALI Epicon 6
Rockport Technologies Atria
YG Acoustics Kipod II Signature
Wilson Alexia
Our Top Picks in Floorstanding
Loudspeakers over $10,000
Cl ick here to tu rn th e pa ge .
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Sponsored by
STEREO MUSIC
GUIDE to
HIGH-PERFORMANCE
LOUDSPEAKERS
2014 Edition
publisher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Hannon
editor-in-chief. . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Harley
executive editor. . . . . . . . . . Jonathan Valin
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and associate editor. . . . . . Neil Gader
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senior writers. . . . . . . . . . . . A
nthony H. Cordesman
Wayne Garcia
Robert E. Greene
Jim Hannon
Chris Martens
Tom Martin
Dick Olsher
Andrew Quint
Paul Seydor
Steven Stone
Alan Taffel
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contributing writers. . . . . . D
uck Baker, Greg
Cahill, Stephen Estep,
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McGee, Kirk Midtskog,
Bill Milkowski, Derk
Richardson, Ron
Doering, Jeff Wilson
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FROM THE Editor

Welcome to the 2014 edition of The Absolute Sound's Guide to High-Performance
Loudspeakers. The past twelve months made 2013 an incredible year in high-end audio,
especially for loudspeakers, and the advancements made in both affordability and quality
can be seen throughout this guide. Never before has great sound quality been so accessible.
Whether you are a first-time buyer or a veteran audiophile, loudspeakers tend to be the first piece
in the audio chain that gets purchased or upgradedand for good reason. No matter how simple or
complex, speakers have a profound effect on musical enjoyment, and determining which ones are worth
auditioning can be daunting. Armed with the insights found in the 2014 Guide to High-Performance
Loudspeakers, you will find this task much more enjoyable, and a little less daunting.
In our 2014 Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers you will see familiar features, as well as brandnew contentincluding an exclusive, previously unpublished review of the MartinLogan Montis, which
appears for the first time in this Buyers Guide. Neil Gaders On The Horizon returns, highlighting
fourteen forthcoming products to keep an eye out for. There is also an excerpt from Robert Harleys
The Complete Guide to High-End Audiothe preeminent source of information and advice on high-end
sound systemsentitled How to Choose a Loudspeaker. This four-page excerpt will help demystify
the process of auditioning loudspeakers at your local hi-fi dealershipan enterprise that can be a bit
overwhelming to a neophyte (and even to seasoned buyers). With expert reviews and sidebars to further
clarify select aspects of loudspeaker technology, this guide will help you make your next purchase with
greater confidence and ease. It may also help you save some money!
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We have divided the thirty-one full-length reviews found in this Buyers

Guide into four easy-to-navigate categories: Desktop and SuperCompact Loudspeakers, Stand-Mounted Loudspeakers, Floorstanding
Loudspeakers under $10k, and Floorstanding Loudspeakers over $10k. At
the end of each category, our editors have selected their Top Picksthe
loudspeakers they would buy or recommend to close friends and family.
Included in this Buyers Guide is a new segment called Further Thoughts,
in which some of our top reviewers reflect on earlier loudspeaker
reviews, adding valuable insights on products that have withstood the
test of time.
We hope you consider this Buyers Guide exactly thata guide to your
next purchase. We have taken the guesswork out of narrowing down the
many options available, and feel that the reviews, features, excerpts, and
Further Thoughts in the 2014 Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers
will help to make this your best-sounding year yet.
Happy listening!
Spencer Holbert
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go to: Contents | On The Horizon | Features | Desktop & Super-Compact |

Stand-Mounted | Floorstanding Under $10k | Floorstanding Over $10k
ON THE HORIZON
Hot New Loudspeakers

Coming Your Way
Neil Gader
Click on any ad to go to
that advert isers website.
ATC SCM19
The second-generation SCM19 two-way compact from
ATC employs the companys new SH25-76, 25mm softdome tweeter, an updated highly linear 150mm mid/
bass driver and crossovers housed in a new, curved,
laminated high-rigidity cabinet. The landmark tweeter,
developed to satisfy the companys long-established
rigor in drive unit engineering, deploys a unique dualsuspension system designed to suppress rocking modes
at high-power output levels. The configuration of a
short edge-wound voice coil in a long, narrow magnetic
gap ensures exceptionally low distortion throughout
its operating band and removes the need for ferrofluids, which can dry out over time, compromising
performance. A precision-machined 5.5mm rigid alloy
waveguide provides optimum dispersion, a flat on-axis
frequency response, and resonance-free operation. Improved crossovers use metalized polypropylene capacitors, large air-core inductors, and ceramic wire-wound
resistors for superior power handling and clarity. With
an impedance curve free from low values, the SCM19
presents an easy load for amplifiers of 75 to 300 watts.
Price: $3695/pr. transaudiogroup.com
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ON THE HORIZON
GoldenEar Triton One
The One is a sleek 54"-tall tower that, like the
Triton Two and Triton Three, houses a 1600W DSP
amp-powered subwoofer yielding impressive 14Hz
bass response. The upper-bass/midrange and high
frequencies are handled by a DAppolito Array of two
GoldenEar-engineered 5.25" drivers that surround
its signature High Velocity Folded Ribbon (HVFR)
tweeter, a design which generates high-pressure by
squeezing the air, rather than pushing and pulling it
like conventional domes or ribbons. The HVFR achieves
an exceptional impedance match to the air for smooth
response extending beyond 35kHz, without typical
break-up modes. The subwoofer section comprises
three forward-facing, quadratic sub-bass drivers in a
semi-line-source array, which are coupled to two pairs
of side-firing, horizontally opposed, planar, sub-bass
radiators. The cabinet with its non-parallel walls builds
upon the construction of the Triton Two, and adds even
thicker cabinet walls and baffles, improved bracing and
additional damping.
Price: $5000/pr. goldenear.com
Legacy Silhouette
On-wall speakers are often dynamically challenged, especially in the lower octaves. Not the case with the Legacy Silhouette. It provides top-to-bottom performance with plenty
of slam owing to its three-way design. A newly engineered
10" low-profile long-excursion woofer and pneumatically coupled radiator lay the foundation to support
the high acceleration 7" silver/graphite midrange.
Treble remains light and airy from Legacys 4"
AMT ribbon, boasting a high-temperature pleated
Kapton diaphragm and neodymium motor. The
Silhouette is 36" in length 15.5" wide. The artful
5" deep design appears even thinner in profile
due to the anti-diffractive contoured edges.
French cleat-mounting brackets make for quick installation on the wall surface. A template is also included
for those who wish to recess the rear of the speaker between wall studs. Silhouettes sensitivity is rated at 90dB @
2.83/1m with a frequency range of 45Hz to 25kHz. Finishes
are champagne anodize/eggshell grille, or black anodize/
black grille. Wood trim on request.
Price: $3800/pr. legacyaudio.com
JL Audio e110
The e110 is a 10-inch powered subwoofer that delivers unprecedented levels of performance priced well within the
reach of any serious audio enthusiast. The E-Sub drivers offer impressive, low-distortion, high-excursion envelopes
capable of handling the most demanding program material, or the most delicate. JL Audios exclusive DMA
technology (Dynamic Motor Analysis) is applied to shape, control, and stabilize the drivers motor strength, ensuring
linear behavior over a very long excursion range. Powering these drivers is a new switching amplifier with a regulated,
switching power supply resulting in a compact, lightweight, and efficient amplifier design. It incorporates a studiograde signal-processing section, which is controlled from a panel on the top of the subwoofer cabinet. Analog inputs
are provided for unbalanced line-level or speaker-level signals. The built-in active crossover is a true two-way, 4thorder Linkwitz-Riley design, with a low-pass filter feeding the subwoofers amplifier and a high-pass filtered signal
exiting through a pair of line outputs. E-Subs are easily interconnected in a daisy-chain arrangement.
Price: $1500. jlaudio.com
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ON THE HORIZON
Magico QSub 18 & QSub 15

The QSub 18 and the QSub 15 are the first
subwoofers from Magico. Built around
the renowned Q platform, the QSub 18 for
example, can deliver 136dB sound pressure
levels with less than 1% total harmonic
distortion at 20Hz. It tips the scales at
over 550 pounds, while its two 18" massive
woofers, each capable of 34mm of linear
excursion and power-handling of 8000
watts, are mounted in 2"-thick aluminum
baffles and fire adversely in phase to cancel
out driver-borne resonances and lower the
tremendous internal pressure. (QSub 15 is
350 pounds with dual 15" woofers). At the
heart of the QSub is a revolutionary new
6000W switching amplifier equipped with a
7000VA power supply and regulated output
stage. Designed to operate in two-channel
music or theater systems, the QSub has an
onboard digitally-controlled active crossover
for seamless integration. The controller can
also be bypassed for home-theater use.
Price: QSub 18, $36,000; QSub 15,
$22,000. magico.net
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Marten Coltrane Supreme 2

The Coltrane Supreme 2 is the culmination of Leif Olofssons goal to create the
best loudspeaker in the world. The five-way design combines cutting-edge Cell
drivers and crossover technology developed in a joint venture with Accuton.
All of the drivers have identical acoustic centers, delivering flawless phase
and time coherency. The driver domes are perfectly rigid, giving impeccable
signal settle time and linear pistonic behavior. The results are incredibly low
distortion levels even at the highest volumes. The drivers include twin diamond
tweeters to cover lower and upper treble ranges, a 5" ceramic midrange unit, a
8" aluminum laminated sandwich mid/bass driver, six 8" aluminum laminated
sandwich low-bass drivers and six 11" sandwich, rear-mounted, passive
radiators. The exceptionally rigid cabinets are constructed of carbon fiber
while the fronts and backs are made of layers of solid wood and wood materials
sandwiched together with deadening glue. The internal wiring is Jorma Design
Statement, custom-made for the Supreme 2. Sensitivity is 91dB, weight 507
pounds each.
Price: $480,000. ear-usa.com
MartinLogan BalancedForce 210 and 212

BalancedForce 210 and 212 are two powerful and
accurate new subwoofers from MartinLogan. Dual
low-distortion woofers in a 180-degree configuration
operating in exact opposition pair a high-power
magnet structure with 10- and 12-inch aluminum
cone diaphragms to deliver huge excursion and
sound output while preserving minute bass details
all without a hint of distortion. BalancedForce 210
features an 850-watt Class D switching amplifier.
BalancedForce 212 features dual-850-watt amplifiers
(one for each woofer) with a total system power
of 1700 watts. Custom-tailored low-pass filters
are available via USB download for nearly every
floorstanding MartinLogan loudspeaker released
over the last 30 years. Optional PBK allows for clean
powerful bass down to the lowest frequencies. A
unique tone sweep feature from 20120Hz assists
users in locating areas in listening rooms where
troublesome rattles may occur. Top trim is available in
a variety of high-gloss and wood finishes.
Price (each): BalancedForce 210, $2995;
BalancedForce 212, $3995; PBK room correction,
$99. martinlogan.com
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ON THE HORIZON
MeridianSpecial Edition Series of DSP Digital Active Loudspeakers

AsMeridian marks the 25th anniversary of its introduction of the
worlds first digital loudspeaker, it launches its new Special Edition
Series of DSP Digital Active Loudspeakers, which provide the
most revealing, lifelike, and powerful performance of any Meridian
loudspeaker to date. The Special Edition loudspeakers introduce
Meridians latest innovations in digital loudspeaker system design,
including a new Meridian-designed short-horn-loaded tweeter with
a beryllium dome; a new mid-range and bass driver with mechanical
clamp rings; and wideband, high-resolution analog electronics with
all-new DSP implementing the performance improvement of EBA
technology across the entire frequency range. The Special Edition
loudspeakers are available in piano-lacquer black and high-gloss white
paint finishes as standard, as well as the full array of custom finishes
as part of the Meridian Select program. An upgrade path is available
for owners of current Meridian DSP loudspeakers.
Price: DSP5200SE, $20,000; DSP7200SE, $46,000; DSP8000SE,
$80,000. meridian-audio.com
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PMC fact.12
The fact.12 is a product of PMCs passion for absolute
sonic transparency. A long-throw 5.5" bass driver
is complimented by a 2" soft-dome midrange and
SONOMEXTM 3/4" dome tweeter generating a frequency
response of 26Hz to 30kHz. With the PMC-developed
Advanced Transmission Line (ATL)bass-loading technology
and its audiophile level controls for precise adjustment
of high and low frequencies, fact.12 guarantees a flawless
sound in any listening environment with a vast range of
source equipment. Its three-way crossover is a new design
incorporating PMCs custom-wound air-core inductors,
enhancing the speakers accuracy and lowering distortion.
Pleasing to the eye as well as to the ear, its streamlined,
elegant cabinet is available in a variety of hand-selected,
sustainable wood finishes including white silk, rich walnut,
graphite poplar, and tiger ebony.
Price: $19,500. soundorg.com
Raidho D-1
The D-1 is the first Raidho speaker to employ the Danish
companys cutting-edge, diamond-technology drivers. A twoway mini-monitor with dedicated stand, the D-1 is identical in
size and shape to Raidhos celebrated C-1.1 two-way standmount.
The difference is that the 115mm mid/woofer no longer has
a ceramic-sandwich diaphragm but a diamond one made by
Raidho in Denmark. As diamond is some fifty times harder and
stiffer than ceramic (the second hardest and stiffest diaphragm
material), linearity and usable frequency range are increased,
while breakup modes are reduced in amplitude and elevated well
beyond audibility (above 20kHz), making for improved crossover
to Raidhos world-class sealed-ribbon tweeter. Available in
walnut burl veneer, piano-black, and high-gloss white finishes,
the D-1 is among the highest-fidelity two-way mini-monitors on
the market.
Price: $27,000 (including stand). raidho.dk.
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ON THE HORIZON
Sonus faber Olympica

The Sonus faber Olympica project is a
new family of passive acoustic speakers
characterized by the use of two iconic
Sonus faber materials: walnut wood and
leather. Employing unique asymmetric
cabinet designs, the models include the
Olympica I (two-way bookshelf), Olympica
II (three-way floorstanding), Olympica III
(three-way floorstanding) and the Olympica
Center, which made its premier at CEDIA
2013. The Olympica line also represents
Sonus fabers desire to present a range of
models that offers the right solutions for
every aficionado of two-channel or home
theater, whatever his or her space and
decor requirements, be it bookshelf or
floorstanding in various dimensions, while
also guaranteeing Sonus fabers historical
quality in materials, careful assembly,
performance, and of course the exclusive
charm of a loudspeaker made as a musical
instrument and entirely produced in Italy.
Price: Olympica I $6500/pr.; Optional
stands $1200/pr.; Olympica II $10,000/pr.;
Olympica III $13,500/pr. sumikoaudio.net
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Vienna Acoustics Imperial Series: Liszt

After several years of development, Vienna Acoustics has
announced the long-awaited release of its newest loudspeaker
design taking advantage of VAs patented Flat-Spider-Cone
Coincident Driver System. This model, the Liszt, a threeway bass-reflex design, is the first in what will be a series of
speakers using an all-new and slightly smaller version of this
driver technology first seen in VAs Klimt Series. The Liszt
is full-scale smaller sibling to Vienna Acoustics The Music
with a similar separate enclosure with independent horizontal
adjustment for the midrange/tweeter combination and an
internally complicated, dual-cavity, vented bass cabinet
featuring three of VAs patented Spider-Cone woofers. As with
all Vienna Acoustics speaker systems, the Liszt is beautifully
hand-crafted in Vienna, Austria.
Price: $15,000/pr. in cherry, piano-black lacquer, and
piano-white lacquer; $18,000/pr. in rosewood. vanaltd.com
Vandersteen Audio Treo CT

The Treo is now available in an optional Treo CT version
(carbon tweeter), which is a $1500 upgrade that features
the superb Carbon Tweeter from the renowned Model 5A
Carbon. The Treo is the latest speaker in the Vandersteen
lineup to evolve as a result of the R&D efforts that delivered
the patented carbon-fiber Perfect-Piston drivers used in the
flagship Model 7. In addition, the Quatro is now available as
the Quatro Wood CT at $12,990/pr. Carbon driver cones offer
the pistonic linearity of metal drivers without the unnatural
sonic colorations inherent in metal drivers. While the PerfectPiston Tweeter used in the flagship Model 7 is the fully
embodied ideal of high-frequency purity and resolution, the
Treo CT delivers a surprising amount of the air, space, and
natural purity previously heard only in Vandersteens top
speaker models.
Price: Treo $6490/pr.; Treo CT, $7990/pr. vandersteen.com
YG Acoustics Hailey
After the ambitious design project that
culminated in the acclaimed Sonja flagship
loudspeaker, YG Acoustics set forth to
incorporate these sonic ideals and aesthetic
sensibilities into a loudspeaker that is
accessible to a larger audience. At first blush
youll notice the unmistakable resemblance
the new Hailey has to the flagship Sonja
loudspeaker. This is not by coincidence, as
it permits the full expression of Haileys
technologies. Hailey incorporates the same
10.25" BilletCore woofer used in the Sonja
loudspeaker. A brand-new 7.25" BilletCore
midrange driver was designed specifically
for Hailey, offering a phenomenal strengthto-weight ratio for effortless performance.
For smooth, accurate, and extended high
frequencies, Hailey utilizes the esteemed
ForgeCore tweeter. DualCoherent technology
ensures perfect integration of drivers and
enclosure for flawless amplitude response
coupled with pristine relative phase.
Price: $42,800/pr. yg-acoustics.com
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Excerpted and adapted from The Complete Guide to High-End Audio. Copyright 19942014 by Robert Harley.
hifibooks.com To order call (800) 841-4741.
f all the components in your audio system, the loudspeakers job is by far the most difficult.
The loudspeaker is expected to reproduce the sound of a pipe organ, the human voice, and
a violin through the same electromechanical deviceall at the same levels of believability,
and all at the same time. The tonal range of virtually every instrument in the orchestra is to be
reproduced from a relatively tiny box. This frequency span of 10 octaves represents a soundwavelength difference of 60 feet in the bass to about half an inch in the treble.
Its no wonder that loudspeaker designers spend
their lives battling the laws of physics to produce
musical and practical loudspeakers. Unlike other
high-end designers who create a variety of
products, the loudspeaker designer is singular in
focus, dedicated in intent, and deeply committed
to the unique blend of science and art that is
loudspeaker design.
Although even the best loudspeakers cant
convince us that were hearing live music, they
nonetheless are miraculous in what they can do.
Think about this: a pair of loudspeakers converts
two two-dimensional electrical signals into a
three-dimensional soundspace spread out
before the listener. Instruments seem to exist
as objects in space; we hear the violin here, the
brass over there, and the percussion behind
the other instruments. A vocalist appears as a
palpable, tangible image exactly between the
two loudspeakers. The front of the listening room
seems to disappear, replaced by the music. Its so
easy to close your eyes and be transported into
the musical event.
To achieve this experience in your home,
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however, you must carefully choose the best

loudspeakers from among the literally thousands
of models on the market. As well see, choosing
loudspeakers is a challenging job.
The world abounds in poor-quality, even dreadful,
loudspeakers. Whats more, some very bad
loudspeakers are expensive, while superlative
models may sell for a fraction of an inferior models
price. There is sometimes little relationship
between price and musical performance.
This situation offers the loudspeaker shopper
both promise and peril. The promise is of finding
an excellent loudspeaker for a reasonable price.
The peril is of sorting through mediocre models to
find the rare gems that offer either high absolute
performance, or sound quality far above what
their price would indicate.
This is where reviews come in handy. Reviewers
who write for audio magazines hear lots of
loudspeakers (at dealers, trade shows, and
consumer shows), but review only those that
sound promising. This weeds out the vast majority
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of underachievers. Of the loudspeakers that are
reviewed, some are found to be unacceptably
flawed, others are good for the money, while a
select few are star overachievers that clearly
outperform their similarly priced rivals.
The place to start loudspeaker shopping,
therefore, is in the pages of a reputable
magazine with high standards for what
constitutes good loudspeaker performance. Be
wary of magazines that end every review with
a competent for the money recommendation.
Not all loudspeakers are good; therefore, not
all reviews should be positive. The tone of the
reviewspositive or negativeshould reflect the
wide variation in performance and value found
in the marketplace.
After youve read lots of loudspeaker reviews,
make up your short list of products to audition
from the crme de la crme. There are several
criteria to apply in making this short list to ensure that you get the best loudspeaker for your
individual needs. As you apply each criterion described, the list of candidate loudspeakers will
get shorter and shorter, thus easing your decision-making process. If you find yourself with too
few choices at the end of the process, go back
and revise your criteria. For example, if you find
a loudspeaker thats perfect in all ways but size,
you may want to find the extra space in your living room. Similarly, an ideal loudspeaker costing
a little more than you planned to spend may suggest a budget revision. As you go through this selection process, remember that the perfect loudspeaker for you is probably out there. Be selective and have high standards. Youll be rewarded
by a much higher level of musical performance
than you thought you could afford.
1) Size, Appearance, and Integration in the

Home
After youve designated a place for your
loudspeakers,
determine
the
optimum
loudspeaker size for your roomthe urban
apartment dweller will likely have tighter size
constraints than the suburban audiophile.
Some listeners will want the loudspeakers to
discreetly blend into the room; others will make
the hi-fi system the rooms center of activity
and wont mind large, imposing loudspeakers.
When choosing a place for your loudspeakers,
keep in mind that their placement is a crucial
factor in how your system will sound. (Chapter 14
includes an in-depth treatment of loudspeaker
positioning.)
The loudspeakers appearance is also a factor
to consider. An inexpensive, vinyl-covered box
would be out of place in an elegantly furnished
home. Many high-end loudspeakers are finished
in beautiful cabinetry or automotive paint
finishes that will complement any decor. This
level of finish can, however, add greatly to the
loudspeakers price.
If you dont have room for full-range,
floorstanding speakers, consider a separate
subwoofer/satellite system. This is a loudspeaker
system that puts the bass-reproducing driver in
an enclosure you can put nearly anywhere, and
the midrange- and treble-reproducing elements
in a small, unobtrusive cabinet. Youll still get
a full sound, but without the visual domination
of your living room that often goes with
floorstanding speakers. Moreover, the satellite
speakers small cabinets often help them
achieve great soundstaging.
Although the term bookshelf is often
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applied to small speakers, you cant get optimum
performance from a speaker mounted in a
bookshelf. Small speakers need to be mounted
on stands, and placed out in the room. Small
loudspeakers mounted on stands, sometimes
called minimonitors, often provide terrific
imaging, great clarity in midband and treble,
and can easily disappear into the music. On
the down side, small loudspeakers used without
a subwoofer have restricted dynamics, limited
bass extension, and wont play as loudly as their
floorstanding counterparts.
2) Match the Loudspeaker to Your Electronics
The loudspeaker should be matched to the rest
of your system, both electrically and musically.
A loudspeaker that may work well in one system
may not be ideal for another systemor another
listener.
Lets start with the loudspeakers electrical
characteristics. The power amplifier and
loudspeaker should be thought of as an
interactive combination; the power amplifier
will behave differently when driving different
loudspeakers. Consequently, the loudspeaker
should be chosen for the amplifier that will drive
it.
The first electrical consideration is a
loudspeakers sensitivityhow much sound it
will produce for a given amount of amplifier
power. Loudspeakers are rated for sensitivity
by measuring their sound-pressure level (SPL)
from one meter away while they are being fed
one watt (1W) of power. For example, a sensitivity
specification of 88dB/1W/1m indicates that
this particular loudspeaker will produce a
sound-pressure level of 88dB when driven with
an input power of 1W, measured at a distance of

1m. High-end loudspeakers vary in sensitivity
between 80dB/1W/1m and 106dB/1W/1m.
A loudspeakers sensitivity is a significant
factor in determining how well it will work with
a given power-amplifier output wattage. To
produce a loud sound (100dB), a loudspeaker
rated at 80dB sensitivity would require 100W.
A loudspeaker with a sensitivity of 95dB
would require only 3W to produce the same
sound-pressure level. Each 3dB decrease in
sensitivity requires double the amplifier power
to produce the same SPL. (This is discussed in
greater technical detail in Chapter 5, Power
Amplifiers.)
Another electrical factor to consider is the
loudspeakers load impedance. This is the
electrical resistance the power amp meets
when driving the loudspeaker. The lower the
loudspeakers impedance, the more demand is
placed on the power amp. If you choose lowimpedance loudspeakers, be certain the power
amp will drive them adequately. (See Chapter
5 for a full technical discussion of loudspeaker
impedance as it relates to amplifier power.)
On a musical level, you should select as
sonically neutral a loudspeaker as possible. If
you have a bright-sounding CD player or power
amp, its a mistake to buy a loudspeaker that
sounds soft or dull in the treble to compensate.
Instead, change your CD player or amplifier.
Another mistake is to drive high-quality
loudspeakers with poor amplification or source
components. The high-quality loudspeakers
will resolve much more information than lesser
loudspeakersincluding imperfections in the
electronics and source components. All too
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many audiophiles drive great loudspeakers
with mediocre source components and never
realize their loudspeakers potential. Match the
loudspeakers quality to that of the rest of your
system. (Use the guidelines in Chapter 2 to set
a loudspeaker budget within the context of the
cost of your entire system.)
3) Musical Preferences and Listening Habits
If the perfect loudspeaker existed, it would work
equally well for chamber music and heavy metal.
But because the perfect loudspeaker remains a
mythical beast, musical preferences must play
a part in choosing a loudspeaker. If you listen
mostly to small-scale classical music, choral
works, or classical guitar, a minimonitor would
probably be your best choice. Conversely, rock
listeners need the dynamics, low-frequency
extension, and bass power of a large full-range
system. Different loudspeakers have strengths
and weaknesses in different areas; by matching
the loudspeaker to your listening tastes, youll
get the best performance in the areas that
matter most to you.
Other Guidelines in Choosing Loudspeakers
In addition to these specific recommendations,
there are some general guidelines you should
follow in order to get the most loudspeaker for
your money.
First, buy from a specialty audio retailer who
can properly demonstrate the loudspeaker,
advise you on system matching, and tell you the
pros and cons of each candidate. Many high-end
audio dealers will let you try the loudspeaker in
your home with your own electronics and music
before you buy.
Take advantage of the dealers knowledge
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and reward him with the sale. Its not only

unfair to the dealer to use his or her expensive
showroom and knowledgeable salespeople to
find out which product to buy, and then look for
the loudspeaker elsewhere at a lower price; it
also prevents you from establishing a mutually
beneficial relationship with him or her.
In general, loudspeakers made by companies
that make only loudspeakers are better than
those from companies who also make a full line
of electronics. Loudspeaker design may be an
afterthought to the electronics manufacturer
something to fill out the line. Conversely, many
high-end loudspeaker companies have an almost
obsessive dedication to the art of loudspeaker
design. Their products superior performance
often reflects this commitment. There are,
however, a few companies that produce a full
line of products, including loudspeakers, that
work well with each other.
Dont buy a loudspeaker based on technical
claims. Some products claiming superiority in
one aspect of their performance may overlook
other, more important aspects. Loudspeaker
design requires a balanced approach, not
reliance on some new wonder technology that
may have been invented by the loudspeaker
manufacturers marketing department. Forget
about the technical hype and listen to how
the loudspeaker reproduces music. Youll hear
whether or not the loudspeaker is any good.
Dont base your loudspeaker purchases on
brand loyalty or longevity. Many well-known
and respected names in loudspeaker design of
20 years ago are no longer competitive. Such
a company may still produce loudspeakers,
but its recent products inferior performance
only throws into relief the extent of the
manufacturers decline. The brands the

general public thinks represent the state of
the art are actually among the worst-sounding
loudspeakers available. These companies
were either bought by multinational business
conglomerates who didnt care about quality
and just wanted to exploit the brand name, or
the company has forsaken high performance for
mass-market sales.
The general public also believes that the larger
the loudspeaker and the more drivers it has, the
better it is. Given the same retail price, there
is often an inverse relationship between size/
driver count and sonic performance. A good twoway loudspeakerone that splits the frequency
spectrum into two parts for reproduction by
a woofer and a tweeterwith a 6 woofer/
midrange and a tweeter in a small cabinet is
likely to be vastly better than a similarly priced
four-way in a large, floorstanding enclosure. Two
high-quality drivers are much better than four
mediocre ones. Further, the larger the cabinet,
the more difficult and expensive it is to make it
free from vibrations that degrade the sound. The
four-way speakers more extensive crossover
will require more parts; the two-way can use just
a few higher-quality crossover parts. The large
loudspeaker will probably be unlistenable; the
small two-way may be superbly musical.
If both of these loudspeakers were shown in a
catalog and offered at the same price, however,
the large, inferior system would outsell the
high-quality two-way by at least 10 times. The
perceived value of more hardware for the same
money is much higher.
The bottom line: You cant tell anything
about a loudspeaker until you listen to it.
In the next section, well examine common
problems in loudspeakers and how to choose

one that provides the highest level of musical
performance.
Finding the Right Loudspeaker
Before You Buy
Youve done your homework, read reviews,
and narrowed down your list of candidate
loudspeakers based on the criteria described
earlieryou know what you want. Now its time
to go out and listen. This is a crucial part of
shopping for a loudspeaker, and one that should
be approached carefully. Rather than buying a
pair of speakers on your first visit to a dealer,
consider this initial audition to be simply the
next step. Dont be in a hurry to buy the first
loudspeaker you like. Even if it sounds very
good to you, you wont know how good it is until
youve auditioned several products.
Audition the loudspeaker with a wide range
of familiar recordings of your own choosing.
Remember that a dealers strategic selection
of music can highlight a loudspeakers best
qualities and conceal its weaknessesafter all,
his job is to present his products in the best
light. Further, auditioning with only audiophilequality recordings wont tell you much about
how the loudspeaker will perform with the music
youll be playing at home, most of which was
likely not recorded to high audiophile standards.
Still, audiophile recordings are excellent for
discovering specific performance aspects of a
loudspeaker. The music selected for auditioning
should therefore be a combination of your
favorite music, and diagnostic recordings chosen
to reveal different aspects of the loudspeakers
performance. When listening to your favorite
music, forget about specific sonic characteristics
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and pay attention to how much youre enjoying
the sound. Shift into the analytical mode only
when playing the diagnostic recordings.
Visit the dealer when business is slow so you
can spend at least an hour with the loudspeaker.
Some loudspeakers are appealing at first, and
then lose their luster as their flaws begin to
emerge over time. The time to lose patience with
the speakers is in the dealers showroom, not a
week after youve bought them. And dont try to
audition more than two sets of loudspeakers in
a single dealer visit. If you must choose between
three models, select between the first two on
one visit, then return to compare the winner of
the first audition with the third contender. You
should listen to each candidate as long as you
want (within reason) to be sure youre making
the right purchasing decision.
Some loudspeakers have different tonal
balances at different listening heights. Be sure
to audition the loudspeaker at the same listening
height as your listening chair at home. A typical
listening height is 36, measured from the floor
to your ears. Further, some loudspeakers with
first-order crossovers sound different if you
sit too close to them. When in the showroom,
move back and forth a few feet to be certain
the loudspeaker will sound the same as it
should at your listening distance at home.
Make sure the loudspeakers are driven
by electronics and source components of
comparable quality to your components.
Its easy to become infatuated with a
delicious sound in a dealers showroom,
only to be disappointed when you
connect the loudspeakers to less good
electronics. Ideally, you should drive
the loudspeakers under audition with the same

level of power amp as you have at home, or as
you intend to buy with the loudspeakers.
Of course, the best way to audition
loudspeakers is in your own homeyoure under
no pressure, you can listen for as long as you
like, and you can hear how the loudspeaker
performs with your electronics and in your
listening room. Home audition removes much of
the guesswork from choosing a loudspeaker. But
because its impractical to take every contender
home, and because many dealers will not allow
this, save your home auditioning for only those
loudspeakers you are seriously considering.
Excerpted and adapted from The Complete
Guide to High-End Audio. Copyright 1994
2014 by Robert Harley. hifibooks.com To order
call (800) 841-4741.
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The Absolute Sounds Illustrated History of

High-End Audio is Now Shipping
he Absolute Sounds
Illustrated History of
High-End Audio, Volume
One: Loudspeakers brings to
audiophiles and music lovers
the behind-the-scenes stories
of high-end audios most
iconic companies and their
legendary products.
Illustrated History of High-End Audio
This lavishly produced large-format

book features never-before-published
interviews
with
the
founding
fathers of the high-end loudspeaker
industry, informative profiles of their
companies, timelines detailing the
most significant advancements in
each companys history, classic and
contemporary TAS commentary on
each companys landmark products,
and an overall assessment of each
companys contributions to the high
end. The company profiles are chockfull of fascinating details, nearly
all of them new. The stories of how
these legendary pioneers overcame
technical and business challenges to
create the high-end industry as we
know it today are riveting.
Vo lu m e o n e
LoudspEA kErs
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Illustrated History
of High-End Audio
Vo lu m e o n e
LoudspEAkErs
e d i t e d by R o b e Rt H a R l ey
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The Absolute Sound's Illustrated History of High-End Audio
In addition to these in-depth profiles, weve included shorter

pieces on many other companies that have helped shape the
high-end industry, including those at the forefront today. And
to make the book definitive, weve added a series of features
on landmark technological developments and trends, and on
the overall history of high-end loudspeakers. We trace the
loudspeakers development from its earliest incarnations in
1874 all the way through to todays high-tech marvels. This is
truly a monumental project that tells the complete story of
high-end loudspeakers.
The 320-page deluxe hardcover book is nearly the size of
an LP cover, and is richly illustrated with rare archival photos
of the company founders, their workshops, and early products.
No expense was spared in this books production, from its UVcoated hardcover format, to its deluxe dust jacket, to its ultrapremium paper and made-in-the-USA quality.
I encourage you to visit our Web site for The Absolute Sounds
Illustrated History of High-End Audio at tasbook.com. There
youll find sample page layouts, the table of contents, and a
complete description of the project. Weve also set up on-line
ordering so that you can be among
the first to receive a copy of this
landmark book. The first 2500
copies are reserved as a special
numbered limited-edition first
printing. These first editions are
sure to become collectors items
so order your copy while they last.
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Equipment reviews
Desktop &
Super-Compact
Loudspeakers
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Audioengine A2+ Desktop

Speakers and D3 DAC
A Perfect Starter Combo that Sports an Easy Entry Fee
Spencer Holbert
hough they werent that long ago, I havent owned a pair of desktop speakers
since my college dorm days. Space was at a premium back then, and the hi-fi
system that I loved had to stay at home and collect dust until I moved into
larger accommodations. Once I got my stereo back, I never thought twice about
computer speakersthat is, until I learned I would be reviewing Audioengines A2+
Powered Desktop Speakers and D3 DAC. It was with a mixed sense of excitement
that I opened the door a week later and found a box from Audioengine on my front
porch. I mean, theyre computer speakers; how good could they really sound? But
then again, if The Absolute Sound wanted a set of desktop speakers reviewed, then
they must be decent, right? It was time to discover the truth.
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The first thing I noticed when I opened the box

was the amazing amount of care Audioengine
takes packaging this system. Each speakeras
well as the power supply and cablesis placed in
its own microfiber bag, and everything in the box
fits snugly together in such a way that it seems
almost impossible for shipping damage to occur.
The Audioengine A2+ is as turnkey as it gets;
the speakers will accept virtually any high-level
source you can throw at them, as long as that
source outputs via RCA, USB, or 3.5mm. If you
are in the market for some affordable powered
desktop speakers, that means you will be able to
connect all of your source components to these
bad boys with nary a worry: TVs, computers,
iDevices, Blu-ray players, external DACs,
Betamax, five-second anti-skip CD playerser,
childhood flashback. They even have a variable
RCA output so that you can connect a subwoofer
(maybe Audioengines S8 powered sub?) or one
of Audioengines wireless streaming devices.
Included in the box are two meters of 16AWG
speaker wire to connect the left and right
channels (the binding posts also accept banana/
spade-terminated speaker cables), a 1.5-meter
3.5mm mini-jack audio cable (for those iDevices
and Walkmen), a 1.5-meter USB cable, a power
supply, and all necessary documentation. Short
of a puppy with a red bow, the A2+ Powered
Desktop Speakers come with everything you
need to start rockin in no time flat. An extra
surprise was also shipped along with the A2+
speakersthe Audioengine D3 DAC, which I will
discuss in a bit.
The only source I used with the A2+ speakers
except for a stint with rabble-rousing friends who
took turns playing iPod DJ via the 3.5mm input
was my MacBook Pro, which is presumably the
kind of source most consumers of Audioengine
products will use. I definitely ran the gamut of

digital audio quality, from lossy MP3s to hi-res
WAV files, Netflix streaming movies to DVDs,
and even Pandora. I also tested every possible
combination of audio format with the stock cables
all the way up to audiophile-grade connections
and speaker wire, just for the fun of it. But lets
stick with what comes with the A2+ speakers and
go from there.
Starting with USB input (which is a new feature that the last version, the Audioengine A2,
does not have), I connected my laptop directly
to the A2+ using the stock USB cable, launched
iTunes sans any third-party audiophile software,
and played one of my favorite soundstage test
tracks, Radioheads Everything In Its Right
Place. I love this track, not only because its
great music, but also because the way Thom
Yorke plays with phasing and the soundstage. But
when the track started, my heart sank: It sounded as if I were listening in a phone booth, plus
there was some serious cone breakup and distortion coming from the left channel (the channel
that houses the amp and inputs). I checked all
my settings and everything looked correct, so I
decided to step away for an hour, let the speakers break in for a bit, and come back for another
listen. Interestingly enough, that did the trick; after only an hour on repeat, the speakers sounded
much better, and the left-channel distortion had
vanished. The lesson is to let these speakers play
for a while before judging them (Audioengine allows for a 30-day audition, lucky you).
Actually, the A2+s sounded really good. Really
good. I would have never thought that 6" desktop
speakers could sound like this, except for maybe
those studio monitors that call themselves
desktop speakers. But these are actually designed
for use with your computer, hence Audioengines
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EQUIPMENT review - Audioengine A2+ Desktop Speakers and D3 DAC

tagline, Join the computer audio [r]evolution.
Okay, where do I sign? I suddenly had that ole
music-lovers itch to play as much music as
possible (the best kind of itch, I might add), and
selected numerous tracks from downtempoambient artists on the Ultimae record label.
Want to really test a speakers capability? Then
choose any album in Ultimaes catalogue (ultimae.
com) and be prepared to stretch for the highest
highs, lowest lows, and widest soundstage you
could possibly imagine. Well, the A2+ speakers
performed beautifully. Not only did they provide
enough bass extension to satisfy any bass head
(65Hz response seems a lot lower when speakers
are so close; then theres that S8 powered sub you
can add on), they proved extremely forgiving in
the set-up department. I set mine at arms length
(roughly 25" from ear to tweeter) and toed-in
directly at the flanks of my ears, which provided
the best soundstage. Did I mention they were
forgiving? Whether I hunched over my computer,
slouched in my chair, rested my head on my
hand ( la a tired college student), or sat up in
that sonic sweet spot, the A2+ speakers sounded
great. Lets check that price tag again: Yep, for
$249 you cant ask for any better than this.
Okay, now for some music that most readers
of TAS will recognize: Leonard Bernsteins classic
rendition of Le Sacre du Printemps in 24-bit/96kHz
from HDtracks. Uh-oh. Twenty-four-bit is a no-go
via the USB input on the A2+ speakers, which is
a somewhat disappointing, yet very understandable exclusion, as most people who buy the A2+
powered speakers wont have a large collection of
high-res audio files. If you have a bunch of highres files and want to use these speakers at work
or elsewhere, youll need an external DAC capable
of 24-bit audio. Luckily, I also received the Audioengine D3 DAC, but hold your horses; we first
need to test the 3.5mm analog-input mini-jack.
Just as you might expect, sound quality took a
step back, but this seemed to be an across-theboard decrease, which is less grating than a sudden drop within a certain frequency range. Still,
the 3.5mm mini-jack input is great for plugging in
that iDevice and rockin out while working in the
garage or having friends come over and connecting their phones. And at 15W RMS, these puppies
can crank. They were loud enough to fill my house
with music and drown out the clang of pots and
pans as I cooked breakfast, or, if youre so inclined,
the noise of dorm- and roommates.
During this first stage with the A2+ speakers
i.e. without a DACI was breaking in the sleek Audioengine D3 24-bit/96kHz USB DAC with a pair of
Grado PS500s. This thumbdrive-sized aluminumshell DAC is very pretty to look at, and matches
surprisingly well the look of my aluminum-cased
MacBook Prosomething that might be attributed to the designers days at Apple. I was at a coffee shop with the D3 when someone tapped my
shoulder and asked, Why are your headphones
plugged into your thumbdrive? Thirty minutes
and a quick audition later, the D3 had successfully converted the inquirer into a freshly minted
junior audiophile, flush with excitement and on
a quest to listen to high-quality music. If thats
not a litmus test, then I dont know what is. For a
piece of audio equipmentwhether the $189 D3
or the $110,000 dCS Vivaldito have the ability
to cause even the most curmudgeonly people to
spontaneously combust with aural happiness is
really what counts. No, Im not saying youll get
dCS-level performance for $189; Im saying that
for $189 youll have something with the power to

inspire that fits in your pocket.
I really wanted to hear that Stravinsky, so lets
get back to what the combination of the A2+
speakers and D3 DAC sounded like. With Amarra
Hi-Fi turned on and the D3 DAC plugged into my
computer (connected to the A2+ speakers via
the 3.5mm mini-jack), I played the 24/96 version of Le Sacre du Printemps. All right, Ill admit
that this might be cheating; theres no way that
such little speakers could recreate the power of a
live orchestra, but they still elicited an air-conductor session where I threw my arms around
Bernstein-like. The D3 DAC did exactly what its
supposed to domake digital audio sound great.
At $189, the D3 DAC is a must-have piece of the
A2+ puzzle. Plus, it comes with a nice " adaptor cable, so you can plug in those beefier headphones and enjoy all the music youve been missing because of that sorry built-in computer DAC.
Im not going to go audiophile on you and describe the minutest nuances of the speakers, because that would completely miss the point: these
are desktop speakers and are only $249, and for
$249 you get such quality sound its ridiculous.
They sounded so good that I started listening
to them instead of my main stereothats how
much I liked the A2+ Powered Desktop Speakers. As aforementioned, I even went a little crazy
and switched all the stock cables with audiophilegrade versions from AudioQuest and Wireworld.
Unnecessary? You bet. But I mention this because
how many 6" desktop speakers have USB, RCA,
and 3.5mm inputs, RCA output, can accept banana, spade, or bare speaker wire, and sound this
good for only $249? At that price, the A2+ speakers seem like the perfect gift for the recent high
school graduate, or college student, or really anyone who needs great sound in a small form factor.
Sprinkle a little sugar on top with the D3 DAC, and
youve got a winning combination that can now
improve on-the-go sound for grand total of $438.
Ahem, I have USB cables that cost more than that.
Now if only I had had a pair of these when I was in
college, life would have been sweet.
SPECS & PRICING

A2+ Powered Desktop Speakers
Inputs: USB (up to 16-bit/48kHz); RCA; 3.5mm minijack
Outputs: Variable RCA Out
Drivers: 2.75" Kevlar woofers, 0.75" silk dome
tweeters
Frequency response: 65Hz22kHz +/-2dB
Power: 15W RMS (60W Peak)
Dimensions: 4" x 6" x 5.75"
Weight: 10 lbs.
Price: $249
D3 24-Bit DAC
Frequency response: 10Hz25kHz +/-0.5dB
USB transfer mode: Asynchronous (dual clock)
Input: Up to 24-bit/96kHz
Output: Analog audio mini-jack
Price: $189
AUDIOENGINE
126 Industrial Dr. Bldg B
Burgaw, NC 28425
(877) 853-4447
audioengineusa.com
CLICK HERE TO COMMENT at www.theabsolutesound.com
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KEF X300A Digital Hi-Fi

Speaker System
Plug-in!
Neil Gader
EFs versatile coincident driver, the Uni-Q, has been cast in a new rolea part,
in my humble opinion, it has always been destined to play. Its the X300A
Digital Hi-Fi Speaker System. Ive admired this unique transducer for some
time but most recently when I evaluated the KEF LS50 (awarded a Golden Ear
in Issue 235). I continue to feel its one of the most satisfying compact two-way
speakers Ive encountered in the last couple years. The speaker is not only visually
arresting; it also boasts superb midrange sonics, full-bodied presence, and potent
midbass punch. I always thought it could be the basis for an outstanding nearfield or
portable monitor. And whaddya knowwith the X300A KEF engineers have taken that
next logical step and reimagined the LS50/Uni-Q for desktop duty and the world of
computer media.
The speaker may only be eleven inches tall,

but pint-sized or not, the X300A is no toy. The
cabinet has been reduced in volume and trimmed
in a more utilitarian finish. Visually immaculate
its as clean as a whistlewith a front baffle with
no visible hex-head mounting bolts or other
distractions, just the anodized, aluminum Uni-Q
(5" midbass and 1" tweeter) with its tangerine
waveguide and uniquely ribbed surround and
stylish trim ring. However, now its powered by
two built-in Class D amps that generate 50W for
the mid/bass driver and 20W for the tweeter.
The whole shebang is currently $599, less than
half the price of the LS50. (A wireless version of
the X300A is available for $999.)
So far so good. But what makes the X300A
a Digital Hi-Fi System relevant for the new
breed of desktop recording engineers, music
downloaders, and computer-media enthusiasts
is the inclusion of a full-time, 24-bit/96kHz USB
DAC. The takeaway is that all incoming signals
are digitized, effectively making the X300A a
self-contained stand-alone system that only
requires a computer source to be complete.
Tweakers may quibble, but users who want to
get up and running with a minimum of hassle
will celebrate.
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Koincident and Klever

Setup is easy thanks in part to the supplied
cables, which include a pair of two-meter
USB-to-mini-USBs and the twin power cords
required to power the internal amplifiers. All
connections are secured from the back panel of
the X300As. The left and right speakers serve
specific functions. The left channel acts as the
parent, the right channel as the child. One
USB cable connects the computer source to the
left channel; the other connects left and right
channels together. A rear-panel knob on the left
speaker controls volume, while another knob on
the right channel handles balance. Just why the
connections are buried on the back panel beats
me. I would have been happier if the volume/
balance adjustments were on the front.
In addition to the USB connection there is a
3.5mm auxiliary input on the back of the left
channel for a personal player like an iPod/iPad.
All incoming signals are then digitized via the
X300As internal ADC, and later reconverted to
analog.
A slider switch on the back of the left channel
allows the user to optimize the X300A for two
listening environments. In the desk position
the X300a is set for nearfield desktop listening
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EQUIPMENT review - KEF X300A Digital Hi-Fi Speaker System

by rolling off the bass to alleviate potential
boominess. When in the stand position the
X300a is optimized for open-field listening and
bass response is flattened out. Foam port plugs
or bungs are also supplied for smoothing bass
response to accord with wall/shelf placement.
An optional five-meter USB-to-mini-USB cable
is manufactured by Wireworld, and offered for
conventional in-room positioning. I evaluated
the X300A in two configurationsas desktop
monitors and on floorstands in a traditional inroom configuration.
The Power of One
In desktop mode, the X300A L/Rs were poised
about thirty inches from my seat, angled inward
a few degrees, and tilted up slightly. From the
moment I cued up Stravinskys Pulcinella [Argo]
with its vivid palette of short themes and quirky
rhythms it was clear that nearfield listening
is an ideal mission for the Uni-Q design. The
immediate effect was a speaker system that
was well balanced and dynamically adept, with
a strong midband balance and a firm presence
range. The X300A is nicely graduated across
the macro/micro-dynamic landscape with an
image stability and pinpoint focus that are only
approached by true single-driver designs.
Timbrally, the X300A reproduces music with
a slightly cooler, forward tilt. Its not a laid-back,
cool-your-heels kind of speaker. Its pacey, with
a jump factor that should get your trackball
and paperweights dancing. A cut like Steely
Dans Hey Nineteen is all about the groove it
establishes, and the X300A sets it beautifully.
The track is reproduced with terrific dynamic
snap, crackling transient action off the snare,
and a sensation of weight and impact unusual

in a desktop speaker. The background vocals
featuring the soulful Michael MacDonald are
stunningly articulate.
As a result of the systems proximity in a
nearfield setup its sonic personality has a more
upfront characterand a drier one. Because
of its intimacy, I perceived more of the inner
workings of a recording like Norah Jones Not
Too Late [Blue Note] and less of the reverberant
layering from the ambient environment of the
listening space. The tiniest instrumental details
take on greater immediacy, as transient attack
and other low-level dynamic information tend
to step forward. The presentation is not always
strictly natural in my view, but it is addictive and
allows music to attain a clarity and specificity
that are more akin to headphone listening but
without the bullet-to-the-brain oddities of most
cans.
Much of this impression owes to the fact that
bass response is punchier and better defined
than truly extended; in a desktop setup, lowend response never descends appreciably below
the upper midbass regions. As a result a cello,
for example, sounds a bit more sinewy than
warmly reverberant and reveals more bite off
the bow than resonances from the instruments
body. Similarly on vocals, choral groupings, and
massed strings, a hint more of the tweeter is
unmasked by the lighter tonal balance. More so,
for example than it is with KEFs own LS50.
In terms of scale, no one is going to be
fooled into thinking that the London Symphony
Orchestra is actually playing on the desktop.
But even at this reduced size, the soundstage
and image proportion are so complete, layered,
and stable, that its like observing an impeccably

detailed,
highly
resolved
miniaturized
performance. If youre unaccustomed to highend desktop listening, its actually an amazing
experience to enter the world that the X300A
creates.
When the X300As are lifted onto floor stands
and set out into the room, their sonic character
shifts dramatically. Bass response deepens.
Ambience retrieval and reverberant cues from
acoustic recordings are heightened. A greater
degree of warmth is introduced and some of
the desktop dryness is reduced. The key is wall/
corner positioning. The farther the distance
from those boundaries the greater the reduction
in low-frequency reinforcement. On the other
hand, close proximity can thicken bass output
and create soupy incoherence. In my setup, just
right happened to be about eighteen to twentyfour inches (measured at the front baffle) from
the back wall. Here, the X300A created a more
lifelike impression of orchestral scale and an
immersive surrounding acoustic that was both
riveting and realistic. In SPLs theres little need
to coddle the X300, but keep in mind that a
five-inch transducer does have its limits. On a
punishing track like the Copland Fanfare for the
Common Man [Reference Recordings] I could
get reliable output into the lower-to-mid-90dB
range at roughly six feet or so (higher in the
nearfield), but I backed off above that when
a flurry of tympani concussions caused an
occasional bbbuuurrrp from the Uni-Q.
I cannot avoid a quick comparison to its
passive/analog cousin, the LS50. In tonal
balance they are clearly cut from the same cloth.
But in output and dynamic gradients the LS50
offers a larger, warmer canvas. It also creates

a more convincing illusion of soundstage scale
and dimension, as it should for roughly twice the
priceDAC and amp not included.
How good is the internal DAC? Hard to say
since the X300A allows no substitutions. But it
is certainly more than up to the task and further
grousing would be missing the point concerning
the lengths KEF has gone to make listening to
the X300A a seamless experience. The versatile
X300A creates two distinct listening options
and both are loads of fun. Whether youre a
computer enthusiast or an old guard high-ender,
I cant imagine you not falling in love with KEFs
perky little plug-in.
SPECS & PRICING

Type: Two-way, powered loudspeaker in bass-reflex
enclosure
Drivers: Uni-Q array, 1" tweeter, 5.25" mid/bass
Frequency response: 79Hz28kHz (47Hz45kHz
-6dB)
Internal amplification: 50W, mid/bass; 20W, tweeter
Dimensions: 11.1" x 7.1" x 9.6"
Weight: 16.5 lbs.
Price: $599
KEF (GP Acoustics Inc.)
10 Timber Lane
Marlboro, New Jersey 07746
(732) 683-2356
kef.com
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Audience ClairAudient
The One
The Sound of No Crossover
Steven Stone
he One, as you might infer from its name, consists of a single full-range
driver shoehorned into a small box. The driver itself is the same unit that
Audience uses in its flagship $72,000/pair 16+16 speaker. Audience is unique
in this regard; I know of no other speaker manufacturer that employs the same
driver in all of its speakers from the smallest to the largest. Even more surprising
is that when installed in a nearfield system, The One is capable of delivering almost
as unobstructed a window into the original musical event as its larger sibling.
For readers whove never heard of Audience or
its ClairAudient line of speakers, its beginnings
go back to 1972 when Audiences president,
John McDonald, met the late audio designer
Richard Smith. Together they founded Sidereal
Akustic Audio Systems, Inc., which was extant
from 1979 to 1985. When design engineer
Roger Sheker joined the company in 1997,
Sidereal morphed into Audience.
From the beginning Audiences primary
goal was to build a full-range-driver speaker
without tweeters, woofers, or crossovers. Nine
years of research went into developing a driver
design that could accomplish Audiences sonic
goals. Finally in 2009 Audience unveiled its
first product, the ClairAudient 16 loudspeaker.
The other models soon followed, including the
16 +16, 8+8, 2+2, 1+1, and most recently The
One.
Tech Info
One single solitary driver system sans
woofers, tweeters, and crossoverswhat does
that get you sonically speaking? In one word
coherence. The entire Audience speaker line is
predicated on this premise. By eliminating the
crossover all the sonic issues it causes vanish.
Without the crossover circuit, phase issues at
the crossover points vanish. Timing and groupdelay problems introduced by a crossovers
filtering components disappear as well.
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But there is no free lunch in physics.

Eliminating the crossover puts greater
demands on the speakers single driver. Its
very hard for one driver unit to produce a
full-range signal with even power-handling
throughout its frequency range. It is also
difficult for a single driver to create an even
dispersion pattern without beaming at higher
frequencies.
Although Audience is understandably
reticent to release too many specifics on the
deep inner-workings of its proprietary dualgap motor A3S driver, according to Audience,
the A3S has an exceptionally flat response
from 40Hz (in certain optimized enclosures) to
22kHz 3dB. No other single driver available
today can deliver this kind of performance.
The A3S driver cone is made of a titanium
alloy combined with a concave dust cap made
using constrained-layer damping to control
high-frequency breakup modes. The total mass
of the driver cone is only 2.5 grams. This lowmass cone is coupled to a patented oversize
motor structure using neodymium magnets
and a large voice coil. According to Audience
the A3S has 12mm of usable excursion with
less than 1dB compression at levels up to 95dB
SPL. Achieving this usable excursion requires
an especially oversized spider made of special
materials to reduce airflow obstructions to
and from the voice coil.
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EQUIPMENT review - Audience ClairAudient The One

The A3S driver has vents in its pole pieces to allow a more
unobstructed airflow to and from the voice coil. This not only aids
in cooling but also prevents turbulence created by the drivers
large excursions. Other key components in Audiences A3S
driver include the proprietary basket design and patent-pending
S-shaped speaker-surround. This surround minimizes unwanted
diffraction and allows for large excursions while maintaining
uniform resistance on both sides of travel. The result is lower
measured harmonic distortion levels.
Such a special driver requires an equally special enclosure. For
The One speaker, Audience uses a small cabinet that has a large
port with a passive 3.5"-diameter radiator on the rear panel. The
box itself isnt a rectangle or a square. Instead its front and back
panels are angled, giving it a slight wedge-shape when viewed
from the side. The cabinet is finished in gloss black, and has a
single pair of five-way binding posts on the rear just below the
passive driver.
The Setup
Since The One was created for nearfield desktop use, thats how
I used it. The speaker itself is so small that without some kind of
stand it will end up well below ear level when placed on a desk.
I used the same pair of closed-cell, high-density stands that I
employed for my ProAc Anniversary Tablette review as well as
a pair of Ultimate Support adjustable speaker platforms to raise
The Ones so the centers of the drivers were only two inches lower
than my ear height. Audience also makes a small speaker support
that raises the speakers slightly while angling them up. I tried
these stands, but I preferred my solution because it delivered a
slightly larger sweet spot and a greater degree of adjustability.
Although The One speakers will produce a remarkably cohesive
and well-defined image almost regardless of how precisely they
are set up, proper set-up geometry is critical to getting the most
out of them. I recommend using a tape measure to ensure that
the two speakers are precisely triangulated so they are both
equidistant from your ears. Having one speaker more than an inch
closer than the other can have an audible effect. Also the toe-in
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between the two speakers needs to match. I used Genelecs free

SpeakerAngle iPod App to put each speaker at exactly the same
angle.
Although The One has a sensitivity of only 84dB at 1 watt, I
found that it mated well with a variety of amplifiers. During most
of the review I used an Accuphase P-300 and a single April Music
SI power amplifier, both of which had more than enough power
to drive The One to ear-bleed levels. Near the end of the review
I swapped these solid-state amps for a modified Dyna Stereo 70.
Although only rated for 30 watts, this amplifier also had more
than enough juice to drive The One to satisfying volume levels
without a hint of compression.
The Sound of The One
So what is the sound of one driver? First off, you get a level of
cohesiveness to the sound that only a single driver can produce. If
youve never heard a single driver speaker youre in for a delightful
surprise. The almost inevitable discontinuities between drivers
are completely gone. There is also far less low-level noise and
interference caused by crossover components. With no capacitors
in the circuit to store (and retard) energy in the crossover region,
music has a level of phase continuity that translates into a more
believable and natural sound.
For listeners whove never heard a single-driver loudspeaker,
a good aural corollary is what you hear from a single-driver
headphone such as the Audeze LC-3 or Stax earspeakers. Both of
these headphone designs employ a single full-range diaphragm.
Like The One they dont have a crossover, and like The One
both these headphone designs have an effortless cohesion and
consistent musical texture over their entire frequency range.
Instead of a pieced together sound, The One has an entire
frequency range cut from whole cloth with no seams, patches,
or bridges between low, mid, and high frequencies.
Over the years Ive heard many small footprint speakers in my
desktop system that image well. Some, such as the Gallo ADiva,
which also has a small three-inch driver, do a very convincing disappearing act on my desktop. But no speaker has ever been as invis-
ible or has vanished as completely as The One. When set up right,

it simply doesnt exist; instead you hear music in a near-perfect
three-dimensional soundstage. Perhaps its a result of the direct
coupling between The One driver and the amplifiers output stages.
But almost regardless of which power amplifier I used, The One
produced nearly identical soundstage characteristics. The depth
changed only slightly when I went from solid-state to tube electronics. This was in stark contrast to some speakers whose dimensional character can change radically depending on amplification.
SPECS & PRICING

Impedance: 8 ohms (4 or 16
software
ohm versions available for an
DACS: April Music Eximus
additional $20)
DP-1, Empirical Audio Off-Ramp
Sensitivity: 84dB/1W
5, Mytek 192/24 DSD DAC,
Maximum RMS continuous output
Benchmark HGC DAC-2, Lynx
per pair: 98dB
HiLo DSD DAC
Maximum RMS continuous power
Amplifiers: April Music Eximus
per speaker: 25 watts
S-1, Accuphase P-300
Price: $995/pr.; accessory stands,
Speakers: ProAc Anniversary
$75/pr.; product specific cable,
Tablette, Role Audio Kayak, Aerial
$249 for 5 pr.
Acoustics 5B, Golden Ear AON 2,

Velodyne DD+ 10 sub
Audience, LLC
Cables and Accessories:
120 N. Pacific Street, #K-9
Wireworld USB cable, Synergistic
San Marcos, CA 92069
Research USB cable, AudioQuest
(800) 565-4390
Carbon USB cables, PS Audio
audience-av.com
Quintet, AudioQuest CV 4.2

speaker cable, AudioQuest
Associated Equipment
Colorado interconnect, Cardas
Source Devices: MacPro model
Clear interconnect, Black Cat
1.1 Intel Xeon 2.66GHz computer
speaker cable and interconnect,
with OS 10.6.7, running iTunes
and Crystal Cable Piccolo
10.6.3 and Amarra 2.5 music
interconnect

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EQUIPMENT review - Audience ClairAudient The One

While on the subject of imaging and
soundstaging, I must say The One produced a
soundstage that was as large and as threedimensional as Ive heard from any speaker
including the Joseph Audio Pulsars and Aerial
Acoustics 5Bs. But unlike these two fine
speakers The One created a larger listening
window that remained stable even when I moved
to the extreme left and right in my listening
chair.
To see how well The One resolves information,
I did a comparison between two of my own
recordings of the Sibelius Violin Concerto. The
first recording was made over 16 years ago using
a DAT machine, while the other was made very
recently using the Korg MR-1000 DSD recorder
in 128x mode. Both were made in the same hall,
using the same microphones in approximately
the same location. Only the recorders and the
microphone preamps were different. Listening
to the two recordings through The One
speakers, I was immediately aware of how much
additional room sound and low-level information
was on the more recent recording. While both
recordings had quite specific lateral focus, on
the newer recording all the instruments had
greater physical presence and dimensionality.
The solo violin on the newer recording had a
distinctly defined location in three-dimensional
space as well as far-better-delineated edges.
The spaces to either side of the solo instrument
were blacker with a far greater sense of
exactly where the violins dimensions started
and stopped.
Listening to these two recordings through
The One, I also became aware of how much
digital recording has improved when it comes
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to capturing extremely low-level sounds. On

my old recording the music emerges from an
artificial brick wall of digital blackness, while
on the new recording you can hear the room
breathe behind the music in a more realistic and
analog-like manner.
Given the size of its single A3S driver, you
would expect that The One might lack the
dynamic drive of a two- or three-way speaker.
But these speakers equaled the dynamic
contrast range Im used to hearing from slightly
larger, more conventional designs such as
the Role Kayak or GoldenEar Aon 2. When it
came to micro-dynamics, The One bettered
the conventional dynamic driver speakers by
a good bit.
The One seemed to give each instrument more

dynamic speed and freedom.
One of The Ones big sonic surprises was its
harmonic balance. It just sounded rightnot too
warm and not too cool. The One is among the
least colored transducers Ive heard, period. If
the recording was warm, The One passed that
info along to my ears. If a recording had a peaky
midrange, that was also painfully obvious.
Although The One has a full-range driver, its
certainly not a full-range speaker. Bass? You
want bass? The One gives you some bass, but
dont expect any rabbit punches to the solar
plexus every time the kick drum hits. No, if you
want some bass you need to use a subwoofer.
But it had better be a good subwoofer. I
used a Velodyne DD+ 10 subwoofer set
for 65Hz crossover with The One. Once
dialed in, the Velodyne DD+ 10 and The
One proved a synergistic match. The
Velodyne was quick enough to keep
up with The One and The Ones bass
rolled off smoothly so that the upper
bass and midbass remained clean.
One of the big complaints I hear
about desktop systems, especially
from classical music listeners, is that
they never get the image size right.
Whether playing a trio or an entire
symphony orchestra, the instruments
occupy the same amount of real estate
between the speakers. With The One
installed in my desktop system, the
program material, not the speakers,
determined the size and scale I heard.
Mono recordings of Charlie Christian
were dead center and about as wide
as a quarter. My live symphony recordings had

the full scope of Macky Auditorium including the
reflections coming off the top of the proscenium.
I recently recorded Rautavaaras Cantus Articus,
which employs pre-recorded bird sounds.
The speakers used for the birds were in minibalconies, about fifteen feet up on either side
of the stage. Through The One speaker its easy
to hear that the birds are coming from a much
higher and more widely spaced physical location
than the symphony orchestra.
The One For You?
If you cant tell by now, I like The One speaker
very much. Properly set up, The One is a worldclass desktop monitor system. Although only
$1000 a pair, when you add in a high-quality
subwoofer, your total speaker system cost could
likely be around $3k. But for that money, youll
have a desktop speaker system that delivers
more musical information, more accurately,
than many room-based speaker systems with
far higher price tags.
The One ranks as the best dedicated desktop
speaker Ive heard. If youre looking for an
exceptional small-footprint monitor, The One is
simply a must-audition.
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Neat Acoustics Iota

Tiny But Mighty
Neil Gader
hat can five-by-eight inches buy you in the high-end today? A budget USB DAC? A power supply, a line
conditioner? A doorstop? How about a loudspeaker? Not just a smidge of a speaker either. More like an
iotathe Neat Acoustics Iota.
Neat is not new to the industry. For over

twenty years it has built an enviable
reputation among those in the know.
Unfortunately, U.S. distribution has run hot
and cold, lowering the companys profile
among North American hobbyists. However,
a new U.S. distributor, High Fidelity Services,
has taken Neat under its wing and its
fortunes appear to be on the upswing. Neat
Acoustics designs and manufactures in rural
Teesdale, located in the north of England.
Leading the engineering and design team
are Bob Surgeoner and Paul Ryder. Virtually
everyone in Neats employ is a musician,
always a good sign in my book. Currently
there are five unique series of loudspeakers
in the Neat line, extending from the desktopsized Iota to the medium-scale towers of the
Ultimatum Series.
The Iota is a two-way, bass-reflex design
with a rear-mounted port. Neat Acoustics
calls it a super-micro, and indeed it is so
small you can palm it. Its driver complement
includes a four-inch polypropylene cone mid/
bass unit with a ferrite magnet assembly.
The tweeter is a two-inch planar-magnetic
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ribbon transducer. The cabinet is heavy MDF.

Per Neat tradition, the crossover is simplea
basic, three-element network that employs
low-loss air-core inductors and high-grade
polypropylene capacitors. The Iota can be
had in a wide range of finishes including satin
white, satin black, flame red, zinc yellow, and
ultramarine blueall at no additional charge.
In order to accommodate the Iotas pintsize dimensions, Neat flipped the enclosure
orientation ninety degrees, snuggling
the ribbon tweeter up against the mid/
bass driver in a horizontal orientation, an
advantageous solution that allows tweeter/
inside or tweeter/outside positioning. While
the speaker can be placed out into a room,
listeners should take Neats suggestions
seriously and position them at, on, or near
a wall, thus maximizing bass reinforcement.
The added midbass output results in a far
more even and natural tonal balance. Of
course, every room will be different and Neat
suggests owners experiment freely. I dialed
them in to my satisfaction at about a twelveinch distance from the wall. There I achieved
convincing bass extension that descended
into the 60Hz range. Even thus situated,

the Iota remains slightly lean in the lowermids, so capturing the full resonant body
of Pieter Wispelweys cello is a bit much to
ask of it. On the other hand, there was no
mistaking the signature of an instrument
that tiny speakers often reduce to eggshelllike fragility.
Unlike their full-sized siblings, small
speakers have no place to hide any sonic
weaknesses or glaring colorations. But it took
only a few spins of some well-known musical
favorites to hear that the Iota has most of its
sonic ducks in a row. This is a loudspeaker
with a complete lack of pretension. Its warm,
relaxed midrange represents a total rejection
of the culture of souped-up, sonic hype weve
all encountered at one time or another. As
I listened to Joni Mitchell sing California
and A Case of You the Iota instantly
engaged me with a transparent top end
and a nicely proportioned midrange, which
imparted both dimensionality and inklings
of physicality to this legendary performer.
Detail and image definition were abundant.
There is a mellower, darker accent to the
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EQUIPMENT review - Neat Acoustics Iota

Iotas characternot unlike the complex tones
of an aged single-malt. A sound that instantly
put this listener at ease. Its top end rolls gently
rather than clawing for the last jot of extension,
and it mercifully steers way clear of the pointed,
stick-in-the-eye sting of many micros.
Its solid midrange neutrality and dynamic
energy were exemplified in Tom Waits Come
On Up to the House, which the Iota reproduced
with the full, burning, gospel emotion of Waits
vocal and a three-dimensional sense of depth
on drums, percussion, and brass. Also on the
closely miked Picture in a Frame and Take
it With Me, the Iota reproduced the depth of
Waits chest tones with remarkable naturalness.
However, at the heart of the humble Iota is its
inspired quasi-ribbon tweeter. It bathes the upper
octaves with a silken speed and fluidity that the
average soft dome just cant match in this price
range. The transients of Jonis dulcimer tingled,
and the clatter of her flat-picking was distinct.
Arturo Delmonis violin was convincingly
reproduced in all its intense, resonant emotion
from transient shadings to delicately shifting
tonal colors. Equally important was the
excellent inter-driver coherencenot always a
given where different transducer technologies
are employed. However, the Iotas cone mid/
bass joins with the quasi-ribbon tweeter in
a single unbroken voice. At least part of the
credit is attributable to the small size of the
mid/bass cone and a relatively high crossover
point above the presence range, where the
ear is less sensitive to driver interactions. The
added benefit is that the higher crossover point
leaves the ribbon plenty of dynamic headroom
to perform its sweet magic.
Not to kick sand, but Id be remiss if I didnt

touch on the Iotas predictable limits. With so
much seemingly effortless music on tap its
tempting to overdrive the Iota. Itll play fairly
loudly but dont expect it to generate ribcracking pressure levels, authentically scaled
images, or seismic bass excursions. And some
dynamic compression is baked into the cake of
every micro, particularly as the music descends
below 125Hz or so.
The Neat Acoustics Iota is one serious little
loudspeaker and ideal for connoisseurs with seriously limited space. As an aside, I dont know how
many times I became so lost in the music that
these little marvels produced that I was fooled
into thinking I was listening to the much larger
set of speakers residing in my listening room.
Thats just what the Iota does. And thats what
I call one Neat trick. Highly recommended.
SPECS & PRICING

Type: Two-way, bass-reflex stand-mounted
loudspeaker
Frequency response: 60Hz22kHz
Nominal impedance: 6 ohms
Sensitivity: 84 dB/1W/1m
Dimensions:7.9" x 5.2" x 6.5"
Price: $995
High Fidelity Services
2 Keith Way, Suite 4
Hingham, MA 02043
(781) 987-3434
hifiservices.com
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our top
picks
desktop & super-compact
Audioengine A2+
Paradigm Shift A2
Focal XS Book
A triumph of affordability, the Audioengine A2+ will give you some

of the best sound you can find in a desktop loudspeaker for only $249.
With a built-in 44kHz/16-bit DAC, RCA input, 1/8" mini-jack, 15W of
internal amplification, and frequency response down to 65Hz, the A2+
also provide the flexibility that budget-minded consumers crave. Add an
optional Audioengine D3 24-bit USB DAC, and youve got a computeraudio system made in audio heaven.
A 2012 Golden Ear recipient, the cleverly named Shift A2 is more than
just a serious loudspeakerits a winning example of forward thinking.
Compact, internally powered, equipped with DSP bass-management, and
packed with enough back-panel inputs to connect to almost any source, it
is what 21st century entry-level high end is all about. Its Everyman appeal
bridges generations of music lovers, and it just happens to sound great in
the bargain. It wont be for the devout traditionalists, but its combination
of sound and value extends the welcome mat to nascent high-enders who
may have previously thought they couldnt afford the entrance fee.
To view the XS Books as just another pair of flashy-looking computer

speakers would be doing them a disservice. While functioning best as
nearfield monitors tethered to a good computer-audio system, the XS
Book speakers would also work beautifully as part of a small-room
bookshelf system, combined with a Logitech Squeezebox or Sonos
network player. We can easily see someone enjoying XS Books as part of
a summer-weekend-house sound system: Store them in their case during
the weekdays, along with all the cables, and youre all set for a quick
Friday getaway. For $299 the Focal XS Book powered-speakers offer a lot
of sound, flexibility, and functionality. And though, in the end, they are a
lifestyle rather than an audiophile product, its a lifestyle that most people
wont mind living.
$249
www.audioengineusa.com (241)
$279-$329/each
www.paradigm.com (224)
$299
www.audioplusservices.com (224)
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NEXT page
our top
picks
desktop & super-compact
KEF X300A
Audience The One
With an internal DAC and 20W of built-in power, the KEF X300A digital hi-fi speaker system is a
great choice for fans of all-in-one systems. Neil Gader fell in love with these perky little plug n
play speakers, which are clearly cut from the same sonic cloth as their fabulous-sounding and more
expensive passive cousins, the LS50s.
The One, as you might infer from its name, is a single full-range driver shoehorned into a small box. The driver
itself is the same unit, the A3A, that Audience uses in its flagship $72,000 16+16 speaker. (Audience is unique
in this regard; no other speaker manufacturer employs the same driver in all its speakers from the smallest to
the largest.) According to Audience, the A3A has exceptionally flat response, claimed to be within +/-3dB from
40Hz to 22kHz. Be that as it may, properly set up The One is the best desktop speaker reviewer Steven Stone
has heard. If you are looking for an exceptional small-footprint monitor, The One is a must-audition.
$599
www.kef.com (238)
$995
www.audience-av.com (236)
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Equipment reviews
Stand-Mounted
Loudspeakers
previous page
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Sonus faber Venere

Model 1.5
Tiny Goddess
Neil Gader
onus faber, I thought I knew youthat we had an understanding. What

happened? Youve seduced me for years with romantic, walnut-and-leatheraccented, lute-shaped loudspeakers inspired by the 18th century craftsmanship
of the Cremonese master luthiers. Speaker designs that were so much a part of
the fabric of this industry that they seemed destined to endure, timeless in and
of themselves. So when I caught my first glimpse of your sleek and contemporary
Venere lineavailable in six, modestly priced models (including center-channel and
wall-mounted numbers)I felt the sting of betrayal. The Model 1.5, the baby of the line
and the subject of this review, looks as if stepped off a Milano runway, quickly tossed
back an espresso doppio, and bopped by MacWorldso au courant it could be in a
Roche Bobois catalog. But the more time I spent with this compact two-way, the more
my longing for yesterday began slipping away. Venere, Latin for Venus, the goddess
of love and beauty, represents a new direction for Sonus faber in this price category.
And true to its name I think Im smitten.
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EQUIPMENT review - Sonus faber Venere Model 1.5

Whether its adorned in either a glossy arcticwhite or a piano-black hand-rubbed-lacquer
finish, Venere is all about flowing lines. It sports
multi-radius arched side panels, a gently angled
front baffle, and a playfully upswept ducktail
top panel of tempered glass with Sfs logo
screen-printed on it in silver foil. However you
look at it, Venere is a game-changer for Sonus
faber, and its market positioning is clear. Entrylevel Millennials anxious to put the finishing
touches on their digital media systems or home
theaters should start lining up now.
As refreshing and easy on the eye as the
Venere lineup appears to be, it didnt just
materialize out of nowheremany of its styling
and design cues key off Sonus fabers lavish
$120,000 Aida floorstander. Beyond the Aidalike side-panel curves, there are the softly
curved corners designed to eliminate diffraction
artifacts, the general driver architecture, and the
new, larger soft dome. Also the lack of parallel
surfaces not only increases structural rigidity
but reduces internal resonances. The Veneres
beauty is more than skin-deepthe enclosure is
an MDF composite sourced by Sf not only for its
acoustically inert properties but also to meet
Californias stringent emissions requirements.
The base of the front baffle houses a narrow,
slotted, foam-filled port. To the rear, speaker
terminals are nicely offset from one another
for easy access and are doubled up for bi-wiring
or bi-amping. The quick-release magneticallyattached grilles are also well done.
The twin drivers are entirely designed by
Sonus faber Lab and manufactured by its
cadre of suppliers. Final assembly and finishing
occurs in China. Central is the silk-domed 29mm
tweeter (made by the German company DKM).

Its inset into a deep oval-shaped waveguide to
increase output, maintain linearity, and make its
dispersion at the lower end of its passband more
closely approximate the woofers dispersion
at the transition to the tweeter. The 6" mid/
bass driver uses a trademark Curv cone, and
it too is set into a shallow of the front baffle.
Curv refers to the innovative variant of the
polypropylene cone Sonus faber developed. Its
a woven, self-reinforcing material that features
better internal damping and higher rigidity
than mineral-filled polypropylene. It also offers
higher resistance to temperature extremes
with greater stiffness and tensile strength. Its
stiffness-to-weight ratio results in exemplary
roll-off properties.
The Veneres crossover point is set at 2kHz,
and sensitivity is a relatively low 85dB, a
predictable trade-off for a speaker of modest
internal volume that is expected to produce
authentic bass response.
The stands are purpose-built for the Model
1.5, constructed of a tempered glass base and
parallel MDF uprights that terminate in a steel
top-plate that mounts to the underside of
the Venere. Theyre rigid; they establish the
correct listening height with the adjustable
aluminum footers; and they couple to the floor
providing the proper amount of rearward tilt to
acoustically time-align the drivers. I consider
them a mandatory option. Caveat to D.I.Y.
enthusiasts: Due to the convoluted instructions
the stands may take more than a few minutes to
assemble, but Im told a clearer guide is being
considered.
Going in, I assumed that the Model 1.5 would
have the default sonic traits of many small,

two-way compacts: There would be riveting
detail, cavernous dimensionality, and a cat
burglar disappearing act. But such attributes
are often accompanied by wobbly bass and a
lack of dynamic reserves, deficits often masked
by a brighter-than-bright top end. (Fact is, its
much easier for a small speaker to top-load a
tweeter with detail than pressure a little woofer
to sputter out a series of organ pedal points.)
Heres what I didnt expect. First was the
darker, relatively even midrange tonal balance
and the refreshingly unhyped treble, not the
aforementioned rising top that Ive learned to
dread. I also didnt expect the volume of air that
the Model 1.5 seemed to set into motion in my
room particularly during symphonic recordings.
There was a sense of the physical nature of music
reproduction in the way it conveyed the thicker
body of a cello, the rippling skin of a timpani, the
darker resonances of a large piano soundboard,
or the complex textures of a contrabassoon.
Nor did I expect the midrange weight and bloom
that this fifteen-inch-tall monitor generated.
The Model 1.5 reproduces the bottom half of the
midband with a weight and heft that most smallvolume, narrow-baffle monitors cannot muster.
The thick blat of a trombone or a heavy bow
across the strings of an acoustic bass during
Stravinskys Pulcinella [Argo] is immediately
identifiable for what it is and the brain doesnt
have to suspend disbelief to enjoy the musical
moment. In fact, the Venere immediately called
to mind a larger, multi-driver speaker.
The treble for its part, rather than sounding dry
or brittle or over-etched with false detail, had more
than a hint of the darker acoustic signature that
reminded me of other Sonus fabers like the Liuto.

And by darker Im not implying run-of-the-mill
resolution. Just the opposite. During the Audra
McDonald lullaby Lay Down Your Head, the
Venere expressed a wealth of finely wrought, lowlevel transients and timbre as the string quartet
and accompanying harp delicately enter. When I
SPECS & PRICING

Type: Two-way, bass-reflex
Drivers: 1.2" tweeter, 6" mid/bass
Sensitivity: 85dB
Impedance: 6 ohms
Dimensions: 15.5" x 8.1" x 11.8"
Weight: 13 lbs.
Price: $1198 ($398/pr stands)
Sumiko Audio
(U.S. Distributor)
2431 Fifth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 843-4500
sumikoaudio.net
Sota Cosmos Series IV turntable; SME V tonearm;
Sumiko Palo Santos, Air Tight PC-3; Parasound
JC 3 phono; Hegel H300 and Vitus Audio RI-100
integrated amplifiers; Synergistic Element Tungsten,
Wireworld Platinum interconnect & speaker cables;
AudioQuest Coffee USB & Firewire digital cables,
Synergistic Tesla, Audience au24 powerChord,
Wireworld Platinum power cords.
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EQUIPMENT review - Sonus faber Venere Model 1.5

began playing Leonard Cohens Darkness from
his new album Old Ideas [Columbia] I didnt count
on the heavy core-resonance of his voice to be so
richly reproduced. Catching me equally off guard
was Korngolds Violin Concerto in D; the sound
was expansive, the output generous. The Venere
threw a wide, well-resolved, three-dimensional
soundstage brimming with ambient cues and the
feel of the venueof the sound reaching the
corners and back wall of the listening space.
Explosive is not a word that normally comes
to mind when describing the lower-frequency
extension and dynamics of an inexpensive
compact monitor but within rational limits the
Venere constantly surprised me in this area.
Bass response is solid into the 60Hz range and,
depending on room size and wall reinforcement,
has usable response even further down. And I
didnt have to worry about softballing the Model
1.5 in the volume department either. Often
low bass from a small speaker sounds vaguely
orphaned from the midrangea sonic gap pops
up where the music goes soft in the power range
of the upper bass/lower mids and then regroups
in the midbass. The effect is disquieting and
can be a deal-breaker. While the Venere 1.5
cant entirely break free of its own physical
constraints it does so in a manner that is entirely
reasonable and at times utterly convincing.
What also stands out is the inter-driver
coherence of the Model 1.5, which produces the
sense that music is originating from a single point,
rather than alternating between tweeter and
mid/bass. Its midbass and upper-bass response
is surefooted and seamlessly connected with the
adjoining octaves. Significantly, I never felt as if I
were fidgeting or otherwise subliminally cocking
my head this way or that in order to get an

accurate tonal fix on the speaker. It didnt impart
the dreaded tweeter-on-top/bass-on-bottom
discontinuity. What I heard was a smooth, solid
wall of unbroken sound that easily adapted to a
bit of slouching or off-axis listening. Obviously
the Venere will sound its best in the sweet spot,
stereo being what it is, but clearly the Sf team
has put some serious thought into its ovular
waveguide technology.
As good as the Model 1.5 is however, two
drivers in a 15" box, however alluring, ultimately
succumb to their own physical limitations. On a
minimalist track like Lyle Lovetts Baltimore,
a small presence dip laid the vocal back in the
mix slightly. There was also a bit of constriction
in the lower treble during Sheryl Crows I Shall
Believe that emphasized the upper elements
of harmonized vocals and deemphasized the
more throaty and chesty aspect of those voices.
Larger, sweeping dynamics are tamped down a
bit, and while bass response in a smaller room
was very good, dont expect the Venere to
reproduce a bass notes decay to the full extent
before running out of wind. On a major plus
side, port interaction and box colorations were
virtually absent from my listening sessions.
At the end of any evaluation, I always ask
myself the same questionam I sorry to see this
gear leave? The Model 1.5 was so irresistible
on a multitude of levelsconcept, design, cost,
and soundI concluded that I not only didnt
want it to leave but also to call it anything other
than a TAS Product of the Year would be an
injustice. And Im not done yet. Ill be reviewing
its floorstanding sibling, the Model 2.5, in a
forthcoming issue. I cant wait.
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Focal Aria 906

The F-Word
Neil Gader
ts often said that less is more in the pursuit of high performance. Take race cars, for example: Weight is the
enemy and anything that slows the car down is immediately tossed back into the parts bin (except for the
seatbelts). Engineers know that lightness equates to speed, and speed spells victory on the track. This same
philosophy finds application in the world of loudspeaker drivers. Case in point, Focals latest cones that recently
debuted aboard its newest Aria loudspeaker series.
Focal of France is already well known for the sophisticated and
virtually hand-built sandwich composite cones that bedeck
its premium line of Utopia III speakers. These W diaphragms
combine high internal damping and rigidity with the speed
and lightness that Focal engineers demand. How to duplicate
this level of performance on a broader scale and spread these
qualities among a wider range of models was the challenge for
Focal R&D. After five years or so, Focal found the Holy Grail in
its own backyard. As if reflecting the intensity of the effort, its
a four-letter f-word: flax. (You were thinking something else?)
Before delving into the facts about flax and the resultant F-cone,
an introduction to the Aria Series is in order.
Just the Flax, Maam
The Aria line comprises five modelsthree floorstanders, the 906
stand-mount reviewed here, plus a center channel. A side/rear
surround and a subwoofer will join the team this spring. The Aria
Series replaces Focals popular Chorus 800V and 800W.
The $1499 906 reviewed here is the lone two-way compact in
the Aria line. It uses a bass-reflex enclosure with a front-firing port.
Its tweeter is an aluminum/magnesium dome that uses a Poron
suspension (a cellular urethane foam) derived from the Utopias
beryllium tweeter. Its touted as a material with great damping
qualities and shape memory, in that it maintains its original
contours over time. Additionally the tweeter is set in a shallow
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ovular waveguide meant to promote even off-axis response. The

mid/bass driver is a 6.5" F-cone (this is where the flax comes in).
The crossover frequency is 2.8kHz. The 89.5dB sensitivity and
8-ohm impedance make it an easy-to-drive loudspeaker for any
competent amplifier.
Focal has also applied the less-is-more philosophy to the visual
design of the Aria. Compared with the busy, neo-Deco profile of
the Chorus range, the Aria appears elegantly understated with a
gloss-black glass top plate, a leather-like covering on the front
baffle, and brushed gunmetal trim rings accenting the drivers.
Surfaces are clean with no visible screws, plus the grilles attach
magnetically. The Aria enclosure is a combination of high-density
fiberboard of varying thicknesses (between 18mm and 25mm).
Sidewalls are non-parallel although not radically so. The standard
finish is walnut, but the 906 is also available in a dramatic glossblack at no additional cost.
So why flax? For one, this natural fiber is all Frenchnever a
bad place to start for a Lyon-based company. France is actually
the main cultivator in Europe of flax fiberprincipally in Flanders,
Picardy, Normandy, and the Pas-de-Calais regionsand its flax
is considered the best in the world. As cone material goes, flax
fibers are advantageous in that they are hollow and weigh in
at roughly half the mass of a comparable amount of fiberglass.
Focals researchers also liked its rigidity and high internal
damping characteristics. The finished F-cones are composed
of a flax-fiber core enclosed in two thin layers of glass fiber, a

sandwich construction not unlike that of Focals exclusive W and
K2 cones. Focal also points out that playing a role in the F-cone
development were certain global realitiessome economic and
some environmentalincluding the fact that the costs of synthetic
fibers or foams which originate from petrochemical resources are
impacted by escalating crude oil prices, making an organic or
ecological textile like flax more price competitive.
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EQUIPMENT review - Focal Aria 906

The Flax of the Matter
Obviously loudspeakers are much more than
just cone material, so I wont pretend that I
could isolate the F-cones unique attributes
from everything else happening within the
906. But one thing is certain: There is a whole
lot of music going on here. The speakers sonic
character is vivid, fast, vibrant, and dynamically
engaging. Befitting its size and bones, its output
reflects a slightly lighter overall cast, but thanks
to an impressive and pacey midbass the speaker
always feels grounded. Bass response is
excellent for this classdefined and controlled,
reliably extending into the fifty-cycle range, as
advertised, with a quick roll-off from there.
But central to its performance is its irresistible
midrange body, which lends the 15" tall 906
a nicely weighted tonal balance and dynamic
composure. At moderate levels its imaging is
well focused, and the spread of a soundstage is
broad and unbroken. Even when called upon to
reproduce full-range orchestral music like the
double-string orchestra of Vaughan Williams
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, the 906
has enough heft and energy in the lower mids
and below to impart genuine timbral authority
and soundstage scale. Outside of string sections,
other instruments that routinely stir things up in
the lower middle octaves are piano, woodwinds
like bassoon, and heavy brass along the lines of
tuba and trombone. The 906 captures the tonal
and resonant densities of these instruments like
few speakers in this class have before.
Not that the 906 doesnt have limits, for as
composed as the 906 is, a full representation
of the resonant, venue-enveloping body of these
instruments is a little beyond this compacts
abilities, but the Aria 906 gets you comfortably

in the ballpark. Impressive too is the relative
quiet, though not entirely invisible, way in which
the enclosure/port goes about its business.
Focal has done its homework keeping port noise
low and low-frequency rhythmic action and pace
high.
As for vocals, Ill make no bones about it
they are the crucible upon which I judge a
compact loudspeaker. A veritable deal-breaker.
To reproduce a voice naturally, the tweeter
and midbass need to cohere as oneanything
that implies a bias of one driver over another
or any disparities due to material colorations
completely break the spell. Thus, I expect
the speaker to reproduce music with a single
continuous voice. As I listened to a variety of
vocalists, a pure coloratura soprano like Anne
Netrebko, the deeper golden luster of mezzo
Rene Fleming, or the smoldering jazz-inflected
artistry of Holly Cole, there was a lively and
harmonious of-a-piece quality to the output of
the 906 drivers. Even as singers moved between
vocal registers the character, speed, and color
of the sound didnt shift as it often does with
cones and metal tweeters. I think this trait in
and of itself was validation of Focals faith in
flax. Judged on an absolute basis, I felt that a

smidge of chest resonance was often missing
with a bass-baritone like Bryn Terfel and that
a sopranos top register sometimes indicated a
hint of dryness in the Aria tweeter. However, in
the grand scheme of things these were minor
and unobtrusive issues.
While its relative tonal neutrality is important,
the key virtues that set the 906 apart are its
wide micro- and macro-dynamic envelope and
quick transient attack. This is the engine of its
performance, the spark that separates the authentic from the canned. It gives the 906 a commanding presence as well as a tender intimacy
on tracks like The Moon is a Harsh Mistress,
where Charlie Hadens acoustic bass was rich
and extended and Pat Methenys guitar playing
had an ideal combination of warmth, articulation,
and harmonic bloom. As I listened to Peter Gabriels remake of Mercy Street from New Blood,
I found the bass viols to be nicely weighted and
appropriately moody. The transient energy from
the percussion section all the way down to a distant triangle was smooth and swift. Ive heard
these same cues sound a bit tighter or more
transparent on costlier compacts like the ATC
SCM19 (review to come)a little sonic wool lightly
attaches around some bass resonances on the
906but the speaker never loses sight of the
fact that an acoustic bass is a resonant wooden
instrument. On another pop example, I cant say
enough about the rush of excitement I felt listening to Jerry Marottas inventive percussion expositions during Marc Cohns playful 29 Ways.
The explosive textures and tonal colors the 906
extracted from this recording were exhilarating.
My quibbles are minor. The upper mids/lower
treble range loses some intensity, which can be

heard as a softening of orchestral presence, with
violin sections receding into the greater body
of the orchestra, and interior images and inner
detail growing a bit more ephemeral. And though
the 906 cant quite physically manifest the full
sub-harmonic body of bass instruments, there is
still a notable amount of air and dimension.
With the debut of Aria, Focal has unleashed a
powerful and persuasive range ready to go headto-head with the likes of Sonus faber, Revel, KEF,
and other notables. As compacts go, the 906
touches all the right sonic bases for me. But
more than that, these factors all dovetail into a
single conclusionthat time and again, the Aria
906 just gets music right and at fifteen-hundred
bucks, does so for a song. And true to its name,
thats a lot to sing about.
SPECS & PRICING

Type: Two-way bass-reflex compact
Drivers: 1" Al/Mg inverted dome, 6.5" mid/bass
Sensitivity: 89.5dB
Dimensions: 15.3" x 8.9" x 9.8"
Weight: 19 lbs.
Price: $1499
AUDIO PLUS SERVICES
156 Lawrence Paquette Industrial Drive
Champlain, NY 12919
(800) 663-9352
audioplusservices.com
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KEF LS50
Star Power
Neil Gader
ome speakers sure know how to make an entrance. They just have a presence
when you first encounter them. I know thats how I felt when I crossed paths
with the KEF LS50 a few months ago. At a glance, this two-way bass-reflex
compact looks like little more than a stout box-speaker from an indeterminate era
as simple as it gets. But then you realize you cant take your eyes off it. Designed
to celebrate KEFs 50th anniversary, it tips its hat to the BBC monitors of the 70s.
But the LS50 is not an exercise in nostalgia. It bears zero resemblance inside or out
to the birch-ply two-ways of that erapopularized by Spendor, Rogers, Harbeth, and,
of course, KEF.
Beyond its modest silhouette, KEF has designed

the LS50 with enough innovations to stuff a
piata. Its visually striking with its high-gloss
finish and the KEF logo discreetly etched onto
a corner of the top panel. The pink-gold (a nice
50th Anniversary touch) diaphragm of the Uni-Q
driver is a pure KEF-designed coaxial unit and
the star of its current generation of speakers.
Bearing little relation to the deep-throated
coaxials of yesteryear, KEFs latest-generation
coincident was designed particularly for the
LS50. Its positioned dead center in a radically
curved one-piece front bafflean incredibly
dense, plastic compound which tapers to softly
rounded edges.
According to the design team, the 5.25"
magnesium-aluminum alloy midrange driver uses
a mechanism to damp diaphragm resonances,
so the usual peak in response common to
metal cones is ameliorated. According to KEF,
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the now-familiar tangerine waveguide uses

radial air channels to produce spherical waves
up to the highest frequenciesand this allows a
deeper stiffened dome diaphragm that raises
the first resonance, culminating in response
that extends beyond 40kHz. Collectively these
technologies ensure wide and even dispersion
without interference between drivers.
Despite the LS50s obvious physical
differences from the Blade, these speakers have
much in common. KEF has applied many of the
same engineering principles for coincidentdriver technology, internal damping, and
innovative baffle design. The unique curvature
and composition of the baffle is directly related
to the Blade project and is designed to mitigate
diffraction effects and spurious reflections
keys to good soundstaging and imaging. The
elliptical reflex port is offset in an upper corner
of the rear panel. Its profile reduces highwww.theabsolutesound.com
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EQUIPMENT review - KEF LS50

level turbulencesources of compression and
distortion. The ribbing associated with the
Z-Flex surround ensures that the surround
does not cause any excessive discontinuity for
sounds radiated from the high-frequency driver.
The enclosure, including baffle, is as nonresonant as Ive experienced at this level. Cabinet
construction is all MDF, but KEF analysis has
optimized placement of the internal bracing. Add
to that the constrained-layer damping placed
between the internal bracing struts and the inner
walls of the cabinet, and the term acoustically
dead has rarely been more applicable.
When sizing up the potential of a coincidentdriver eleven-inch cube like the LS50, one might
assume that it would likely be a voice speakersomething more akin to a bridge monitor
with distinct, perhaps even serious, wideband
limitations. But this isnt the case. Even under
levels of dynamic stress that would send a lot
of other mini-monitors heading for the hills,
the LS50s output is remarkably even. It hardly
flinches, even when its pushed hard. This is impressive, but high output alone is not much of a
trick for small speakers nowadays. What is much
rarer is high output with linearity and extension.
Sonically the LS50 doesnt suggest the lighter, faster, and edgier personality of the average
compact with a five-incher for a driver. This is
an essentially neutral monitor throughout the
midrange. But theres also a prevailing sweetness, a harmonic saturation that lends it a dark,
velvety overall character, and a bloom that is so
pleasing that I began affectionately dubbing it
the butterscotch sundae of small monitors.
When listening to a variety of symphonic music I noted image focus was excellent, as Id ex-
pected from a coincident driver. But its not hyper-focused. It provides a more spacious, open,
and, in my view, authentic representation of an
orchestra. Yes, the LS50 has quick transient reflexes, but that is not what grabbed my attention. Rather, it was its bloom and tonal weight.
Heavens to Betsy, this little speaker has guts.
As I listened to the Rutter Requiem [Reference
Recordings], overflowing with the huge Turtle
Creek Chorale and the massive voice of the pipe
organ, the LS50 supplied a rich impression of
large-speaker grandeur (although somewhat
scaled back) as it energized the room with ambience and provided the illusion of the walls fading
away as the musicians begin to materialize.
The mid- and upper-treble range is smooth; the
sibilance region is controlledcrisp and clean,
SPECS & PRICING

Type: Two-way bass-reflex mini-monitor
Drivers: Uni-Q array, 1" tweeter, 5.25" mid/bass
Frequency response: 79Hz28kHz (47Hz-45kHz,
Free! Download now at

theabsolutesound.com
Price: $1500
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29
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Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
Sensitivity: 85dB
Dimensions: 11.9" x 7.9" x 10.9"
Weight: 15.8 lbs.
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EQUIPMENT review - KEF LS50

but with compliance. As I listened to the Bryn
Terfel and Rene Fleming duet on Not While Im
Around from Under the Stars [Decca], I felt the
physical presence of these superb singers, their
voices seamlessly expressed. Their images were
pitched slightly forward, but only enough to grab
your attention and not enough to overwhelm or
minimize the musical accompaniment. There is
probably a hint of energy fall-off in the presence
range, which, when combined with the heavier
low end, adds a darker hue to vocals and ever so
slightly rounds the edges from peakier recordings. As I listened to Leonard Cohens Darkness
from Old Ideas [Sony], I keyed on Cohens voice,
whose deep, tired, full-chested character seems
dredged from the bottom of an old whisky barrel.
Here it sounded even darker than usual, as if it
had further sunk into his chest.
Ultimately, when pressed at higher volumes,
the LS50 will give away some of the finer lowlevel details. I felt that during the Bach Toccata in C [RCA], Kissins piano sounded slightly
dampened during high-pursuit lines. As Kissins
left hand descended into the lower octaves
there was a trace of soundboard plumminess
that suggested the presence of a hard-working
port. As with the Leonard Cohen example, the
12-string guitar that ushers in All Things Must
Pass from Concert for George receded slightly
in the mix, and during Jen Chapins ReVisions
[Chesky] baritone sax and acoustic bass shed
some weight and developed a more strictly midband character.
The heretic in me should add that owing to the
wide dynamic and spectral envelope of the LS50,
its a very satisfying companion when pressed
into home-theater mode. I tend to break in
speakers with all kinds of material, so if theres a

Blu-ray movie Ive been angling to watch, whatever speaker I happen to be running-in will be
pressed into duty. In this case, the soundtrack
to Wes Andersons Moonrise Kingdom, which
features Benjamin Britten pieces and Britteninspired pieces from Alexander Desplat and
Devos Mark Mothersbaugh, and further contributions from Leonard Bernstein among others, proved to be a lush romantic workout for
the KEFs, with terrific orchestral and percussive
selections that exploited the speakers dynamic
range and vivid timbral colors. Not to mention
excellent dialogue intelligibility, with no subwoofer or center channel required. Throw anything at it, the LS50 takes on all comers.
The LS50 is tuned for smaller rooms and is
meant to take advantage of the room gain that
can give midbass response a boost. However,
there are always exceptions, and KEF provides
elliptically sculpted foam plugs that are effective in reducing bass output a few decibels.
These can be helpful in troublesome situations
where the speaker setup is optimized for soundstage and imaging but where the room itself is
over-boosting LF output, thickening the bass
and thus masking details in key regions of the
frequency spectrum.
The KEF LS50 is one of the most all-aroundsatisfying little speakers Ive reviewed in some
time. Construction and execution are exemplary. It delivers the kind of performance that
deserves to be on a Wheaties box. And theres
an incalculable coolness factor that makes it a
breath of fresh air. The LS50 also answers the
classic question, Who says you cant teach an
old box new tricks?
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Anthony Gallo Acoustics Reference

Strada 2 Monitors and TR-3d Subwoofer
Looks Small, Plays Large
Chris Martens
nthony Gallo has always been an iconoclastic loudspeaker designer, and thus his
speakers neither look nor sound like the majority of their competitors. Nowhere
is this more apparent than in Gallos otherworldly but now-discontinued flagship
model, the Reference Nucleus 3.5 floorstander (reviewed by Neil Gader in Issue 209)a
product that despite its unorthodox appearance won considerable critical acclaim. Yet
the size, look, and current unavailability of the Nucleus 3.5 raises a question: What
solution is available to listeners who appreciate the sound of the Nucleus 3.5, but
want something smaller, more manageable, and less visually imposing? The answer,
as it turns out, comes from the newest member of the Gallo Reference-series family:
the Reference Strada 2 monitors ($1998/pair) and their companion TR-3d subwoofer
($984). Veteran audiophiles might at first mistake this sat/sub system for a mere
lifestyle or home-theater product, but in performance the Reference Strada 2
package packs serious audiophile-caliber credentials.
To come to grips with the Reference Strada 2, it
is helpful to understand some of the engineering
principles that inspired its unorthodox design.
From the outset, Mr. Gallo has sought to produce speakers with high-rigidity, low-diffraction
enclosures. With this end in view, Gallos thinkoutside-the-box solution has been to use semispherical enclosures made of spun stainless
steel, with openings on one side for the drive
units. Each Reference Strada 2 uses two such
spherical enclosures housing wideband carbonfiber mid/bass drivers, with the spheres attached
at opposite ends of a die-cast metal backbone/
frame and Gallos signature, cylindrically shaped
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CDT3 tweeter in-between. The whole assembly

resembles a space age barbell finished in silver and black (though an all-black option is also
available).
The Strada 2 is astonishingly rigid and robust
(try the time-honored knuckle-rap test and youll
get, well, bruised knuckles), and it offers virtually
no sharp edges to cause diffraction. In the interest
of enhancing enclosure rigidity, Gallo mounts
his mid/bass drivers from inside their spherical
housings, using sturdy compression rods to press
the drivers against the mouths of the enclosures.
An advantage of this approach is that not even
the driver frames protrude from the enclosures,
again eliminating possible sources of diffraction.

A thorough discussion of Gallos CDT
(cylindrical diaphragm tweeter) driver could
fill an entire white paper, so a brief description
must suffice. In simple terms, the CDT is a semicylindrical tweeter whose diaphragm is made of
a film-like piezoelectric material called Kynar. As
audio signals pulse back and forth, the thin-film
material expands and contracts, generating nearly
textbook-perfect semi-cylindrical wavefronts with
an extraordinary 180 of horizontal dispersion.
Because the Kynar film is low in mass and
does not need to travel far in order to produce
adequate output, transient speed is excellent
and distortion is low. One further benefit is that
the Kynar diaphragm acts as a high-pass filter,
meaning that the tweeter literally serves as its
own crossover network (though a transformer
is used to match the tweeters output level with
that of the mid/bass drivers).
Further reasoning that the best-sounding
crossover network is no crossover at all, Gallo
has configured the Reference Strada 2 so that
its two mid/bass drivers are allowed to run fullrange, using natural roll-offs at the high- and lowfrequency extremes to limit their operating band.
In turn, the CDT3 tweeter, serving as its own
crossover network, takes up where the mid/bass
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EQUIPMENT review - Anthony Gallo Reference Strada 2

drivers leave off, handling upper-midrange and treble frequencies
with speed and finesse. In short, the Reference Strada 2 is for
all intents and purposes a completely crossover-less, widebandwidth compact monitor.
The innovations dont end there, though, because Mr. Gallomuch
like his counterparts at KEFhas done considerable research into
the feasibility of giving compact speaker enclosures the physical
characteristics of much larger enclosures. KEFs solution was the
firms ACE (acoustic compliance enhancement) technology, while
Gallos ingenious answer involved the creation of a proprietary
enclosure damping material called S2. (Our understanding is that
S2 is a type of shredded polyolefin film, though Gallo does not
generally discuss the materials exact formulation.) Either way,
the result, as Gallo says, is that the Stradas perform as though
the speaker enclosure is significantly larger than it actually is.
Finally, the Reference Strada 2 uses Gallos Optimized Pulse
Technology (OPT), which is described as an impulse correction
and synchronization system designed to integrate the low, middle,
and high frequencies into one unified sound source.
The TR-3d subwoofer (the higher output of the two cylindrical
subs offered by Gallo) applies many of the same design precepts
of the Strada 2. Thus, the TR-3d eschews traditional box-type
cabinetry in favor of an all-metal, cylindrically shaped enclosure
with the woofer fitted in one end of the cylinder and the subwoofer
amplifier and controls in the other. Designed to rest on its side,
the TR-3d looks more than a little like the depth charges seen
on WWII-era destroyers, and some quip that, if turned up too
loudly, the TR-3d can sound like a depth charge, too. The sub uses
essentially the same ceramic-coated aluminium woofer originally
used in the Nucleus 3.5, backed by a rock-solid 300-watt amplifier
equipped with line-level and speaker-level inputs and a useful set
of controls, including a bass trim switch with settings for 0, +3, or
+6dB of boost centered at 30Hz.
Overall, the Reference Strada 2 system aims to provide as
much or even more performance than the now-departed Nucleus
3.5 floorstander, but in a more compact, more flexible, and less
expensive format. Thanks to its powered subwoofer, the Strada
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2 system is also comparatively easy to drive. By design, the

Reference Strada 2 monitors can be wall-mounted, tabletopmounted, or placed on optional floorstands ($450/pair). If seated
about a foot from adjacent walls, the Strada 2 enjoys significant
bass reinforcement and thus surprising low-end extension, while
when stand-mounted the speaker delivers less bass extension
but superior imaging, soundstaging, and overall transparency.
In short, the Reference Strada 2like all Gallo speakers in my
experiencebenefits from being given plenty of breathing room.
Accordingly, our review samples were mounted on Gallos floor
stands and placed well away from nearby walls.
How does the Reference Strada 2 system sound? Four
observations that come quickly to mind are that the system
sounds highly three-dimensional, is rich in musical detail and
information without sounding analytical, offers unexpectedly
muscular and incisive dynamics, and generally sounds bigger

than it appears. Lets explore each of these qualities in turn.
The almost eerie three-dimensional quality of the Reference
Strada 2 system hinges, I think, on its rigid and diffractionresistant enclosure design and the exceptionally broad, 180
horizontal dispersion of its CDT3 tweeter. Together, these
design features enable the sound to break free from the speaker
SPECS & PRICING

Gallo Acoustics Reference
Gallo Acoustics TR-3d
Strada 2
Type: Acoustic-suspension,
Type: Acoustic-suspension, two-
powered subwoofer
way, three-driver stand-mount or
Driver complement: 10" long-
wall-mount monitor
throw ceramic-coated aluminum
Driver complement: Two 4"
woofer
dynamic hyperbolic carbon
Frequency response: 18Hz180Hz
fiber mid/bass drivers, one
+/-3dB (in-room)
CDT3 (cylindrical diaphragm
Onboard amplifier output: 300
transducer) piezoelectric Kynar
watts RMS, 600 watts peak
tweeter (no crossover between
Controls: Continuously variable
the mid/bass drivers and tweeter
active crossover, 50Hz180Hz
is required or provided)
with LFE bypass switch; phase
switch, 0/180; bass EQ trim with
+/-3dB
settings for 0, +3, or +6dB @
Suggested subwoofer cross-over
30Hz center frequency
frequencies: Stand mounted, 80
Dimensions: 12" x 10.75" x 13.5"
120Hz; wall-mounted, 4080Hz
Weight: 33 lbs.
Impedance: 8 ohms (nominal)
Price: $984
Sensitivity: 90dB @ 1W/1m

ANTHONY GALLO ACOUSTICS
Weight: 13.5 lbs.
20841 Prairie Street,
Price: Speakers, $1998; matching
Chatsworth, CA 91311 USA
floor stands, $450
(818) 341-4488
roundsound.com

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EQUIPMENT review - Anthony Gallo Reference Strada 2

enclosures in an unusually compelling way.
Visually, you register the fact that the standmounted speakers are positioned several feet
from your listening chair, but the soundstage
seems to lead a completely independent life of
its ownas if it were a freestanding entity and
not an illusion being created by the speakers. On
well-recorded material, such as David Cheskys
Jazz in the New Harmonic [Chesky, Binaural+
CD], the Reference Strada 2 system can and
does transform the acoustics of your listening
room into those of the recording venue. This,
I think, is the epitome of disappearing-act
imaging, where the key is to keep the listeners
attention firmly centered upon the performance
and the space in which it unfoldsand not on the
speakers. Its a difficult trick that the Reference
Strada 2 system masters with ease.
Next lets look at the systems resolving
powers. One area where I think the Reference
Strada 2 has clearly improved on previousgeneration Nucleus and Strada models is
in extracting considerably more low-level
information from recordings, yet without
upsetting the underlying smoothness that has
long been a hallmark of Gallo designs. In practice,
the Strada 2 is arguably the most informationrich Gallo weve yet heard, delving deep into
textural and transient details to give a clearer
picture of whats happening in and between the
notes. With that said, however, let me add that I
do think the passive woofer system used in the
Nucleus 3.5 offered a smidgeon more tautness,
definition, and control than the Reference Strada
2 systems TR-3d subwoofer. But please dont
misunderstand me; the TR-3d is quite clean
sounding and well controlled as powered subs
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go. Its just that the subs amplifier produces a

slightly warmer, more rounded, and more fullbodied sound than is strictly accurate. Even so,
the Reference Strada 2 system is right in the
thick of the hunt among the higher-resolution
speakers in its price class, although top honors
in that department might rightly go to hybrid
electrostats from MartinLogan or to one of the
planar-magnetic models from Magnepan. What
the Gallo does so beautifully, however, is find
a fine balance point between resolution on the
one hand and gracefulness on the other. Thus,
listeners enjoy gain without paina tradeoff
many would readily embrace.
While the Strada 2s are obviously very
compact, they nevertheless are capable
of surprisingly vigorous output levels and
demonstrate the sort of turn-on-a-dime

dynamic agility that allows them to track
sudden changes in musical energy levels. A good
example would be the at-times fierce and always
exuberant horn section swells heard in Clark
Terrys Chicago Sessions 1995-96 [Reference
Recordings, HDCD], where the horn section
often operates in subdued cruise mode
during the body of a song, only to explode into
the musical foreground with almost shocking
force. Similarly, some of the oblique percussion
notes captured on the eponymous new age/jazz
recording Gaia [Windham Hill, CD] leap forth from
the speakers with startling realism, making it a
gripping experience to hear the Gallos at play,
even at low volume levels. It is one thing to hear
relatively large speakers handle these sorts of
material well, but quite another to hear small
satellite-type speakers pull off the feat. Once
again I credit the Strada 2s expressiveness
and agility to its rigid enclosure design, its
innovative S2 damping materials, and to Gallos
OPT technology. In any event, the Strada 2
speaks with a more muscular, definitive, and
dynamically incisive voice than its diminutive
size might lead you to expect.
Above, I alluded to the Reference Strada 2
systems ability to play big and frankly this is
more than a matter of simply being able to play
loudly (although the system can do that, if you
have an amplifier equal to the task). Rather, if you
expressed the Strada 2s play-big factor as a
mathematical formula it might look something
like this: small size x muscular and agile dynamics
x wide-open 3D soundstaging = a huge scope of
presentation. Many of us are drawn to the idea
of a bantamweight that can punch far above its
weight class, and the Reference Strada 2 system

certainly is that. To appreciate what I mean,
listen to Ry Cooders and Manuel Galbans Mambo
Sinuendo through the Strada 2 rig and note how
the system produces a huge soundstage, evincing
a dark, warm, and faintly mysterious Cuban vibe.
Talk about being transported to a different time
and place!
Are there any caveats? I can think of a few.
First, because dispersion of the CDT3 driver is
so broad, one must avoid potential unwanted
reflections from nearby surfaces (walls,
furniture, TV screens, etc.). During my listening
tests I solved this problem by using more
speaker toe-in than usual and by placing room
treatments on adjacent wall surfaces at the first
reflection points. Second, in order to enjoy the
smoothness Ive described, do give the speakers
as much (or more) run-in time as Gallo suggests;
this will help the speakers smooth out and open
up considerably. Third, listen with your ears
positioned at or very near tweeter height (if
you listen from above or below the centerline
of the tweeters, smoothness, coherency, and
focus will be diminished). Finally, dont skimp
on electronics or cables. While the Reference
Strada 2 system may look like a mere lifestyle
product, it needs audiophile-grade ancillary
components to give of its best (hint: be sure to
bring plenty of clean power to the party).
The Reference Strada 2 system is a lovely
and effective problem solver. It is compact, easy
on the eyes, and will fit in spaces where larger floorstanding speakers will not. Best of all,
it may look like a lifestyle speaker but turns
out to deliver legitimate, audiophile-grade, bigspeaker performance.
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Paradigm 30th Anniversary Inspiration Monitor

Beauty, Value, and Sonic Excellence
Chris Martens
he year 2012 was Paradigms 30th anniversary as a loudspeaker manufacturer, and to mark the
occasion the firm has chosen to build two very limited edition loudspeakers: a floorstander called the
Tribute and a stand-mount monitor called the Inspiration, which is the subject of this review. Paradigms
intent with these models was not necessarily to create statement-class products, but rather to build speakers
that would represent the very essence of the company. What is that essence? In distilled form, I would
say Paradigm combines one part meticulous design (leveraging design philosophies originating out of the
loudspeaker research tradition pioneered at Canadas National Research Council), one part advanced materials
science, one part build-quality, and one part (one very big part) value for money.
In practice, this means that the Inspiration
monitors combine a mix of technologies
drawn from two of Paradigms Reference
Series speaker lines: the top-tier
Signature range and the next-to-the-topof-the-range Studio range. The result is a
speaker that merges the sonic identities
of these two popular speaker families,
yielding a whole that is greater than the
sum of its parts. What is more, the 30th
Anniversary models are treated to oneof-a-kind finishes with walnut cabinets
done up in a translucent garnet-red
lacquera color that is an exceedingly
deep, dark (so dark it at first seems jet
black) red, polished to a lustrous shine
and breathtaking to behold.
The Inspiration is a two-way, twodriver bass-reflex monitor that uses a
1" pure beryllium-dome tweeter (drawn
from the Signature range) plus a 7"
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black-anodized pure aluminum mid/bass

driver (patterned after drivers used in
the Studio range). The mid/bass driver,
in particular, bristles with advanced
technologies named, typically, with
exotic-sounding three-letter acronyms.
Thus, it features a patented (NLC) nonlimiting corrugated (TPE) thermoplastic
elastomer surround said to allow for
smooth, precisely controlled, long-throw
driver excursions. Further, both the
tweeter and mid/bass are mounted to
the speaker enclosure using Paradigms
so-called IMS/Shock-Mount baffleless technology. Paradigm describes this
technology as a butyl-rubber driver
fastening system in which critically
placed isolation inserts and gaskets
decouple drivers from the speakers
enclosure. Paradigm makes no attempt
to flush-mount the Inspiration drive
units in the speakers front baffle, but

rather allows the drivers substantial
metal frames protrude somewhat from
the face of the baffle plate. However, to
combat potential diffraction problems,
Paradigm provides low-profile speaker
grilles that deliberately wrap around
the driver frames to provide smooth,
diffraction-reducing, almost waveguidelike surfaces, said to enable the speakers
to deliver optimal sound when they are
played with their grilles on.
Attention to detail is evident
throughout the Inspiration. Ducted port
openings, for example, are fitted with
turbulence- reducing high-velocity,
low-noise aluminum flanges, anodized
in black to match the mid/bass driver
cones. Crossover networks receive the
royal treatment, too, using polypropylene
capacitors, precision high-power ceramic
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EQUIPMENT review - Paradigm 30th Anniversary Inspiration Monitor

resistors, and air-core and laminated steel-core
inductors, with driver connections made via
heavy-gauge HPC high-purity copper wire.
Plainly, Paradigms aim with the Inspiration
is to give customers a very serious high-end
loudspeaker, but at something less than the
customary high-end price.
For this review, I used the Inspirations
with Paradigms matching 30" stands ($999/
pair). The stands are beautiful to look at (they
sport etched, 30th Anniversary Edition
Paradigm Reference logos on chrome-plated
escutcheons), are very heavily built with
provisions for bolting the Inspirations to their
top plates, andmost importantlyposition the
monitors at just the right height for seated
listeners. The only caveat is that to assemble the
stands youll need both metric and English hexhead wrenches, plus a fair amount of good oldfashioned elbow grease. Once set up, however,
the stands are sturdy and attractive.
The key question, of course, is this: How do
all these technical elements coalesce when it
comes time to listen to music? As I said above,
the Inspirations merge the sonic characteristics
of Paradigms Signature and Studio Series
speakers in a synergistic way. But let me expand
on that comment for the benefit of those who
may not have spent much time with Paradigms
speakers in the past.
Paradigms Signature speakers are the firms
flagship offeringsthe speakers that use the
companys most advanced driver materials
and technologies and are thought to offer the
greatest resolution, clarity, transient speed, and
frequency extension. Paradigms Studio models,
in turn, fall just one click down the line, offering
near-Signature-grade materials and technologies

and providing very high levels of performance
at sensible prices, while delivering a sound that
is Signature-like, but perhaps somewhat more
forgiving and thus subjectively more full-bodied.
Given these characteristics, you can probably
guess where the Inspirations design is headed,
which is toward a felicitous mid-point that
leverages elements of the traditional Signature
and Studio sounds. Heres how that works.
On one hand, the Inspirations beryllium
tweeter (which is arguably the driver most
responsible for defining the revealing sound
of Paradigms Signature models), serves up
extremely high levels of resolution and transient
speed, capturing delicate upper-midrange
and treble transient and textural details with
sophistication and panache. The tweeter, then,
is responsible for giving the Inspirations a
delicate, tightly focused, and unmistakably
high-resolution sound. You can appreciate these
qualities whenever you listen to recordings that
feature long, lovingly captured echoes or reverb
tails, such as the exquisite reverb-haloed vocals
you might hear on Mary Chapin Carpenters
Come On Come On from her album of the
same name [Columbia], Similarly, the tweeter
enables the speaker to capture the lingering
and quite essential hall reverberations heard
on Silvestre Revueltas Sensemay [Chicago
Symphony Orchestra Brass Live, CSO Resound
SACD], which establish a realistic 3-D context
within which the music can unfold.
On the other hand, the aluminum mid/bass
driver gives the Inspiration a full-throated
and robust sounda sound that, while offering
substantial amounts of resolution, manages
never to step over the line into clinical sterility.

It is great fun, then, to hear the Inspirations hold
forth on relatively large-scale and dynamically
demanding materials, such as the William
Walton Crown Imperial Coronation March, also
found on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Brass Live disc. When the big brass section
swells and the intense low-percussion moments
arrive simultaneously, the Inspirations rise
to the occasion while keeping faith, in a tonal
sense, with the distinctive timbres of each
orchestra section. But the Inspirations also
work beautifully on pop/rock material as I
discovered when listening to the at times
blistering track Satori in Chicago from Noah
Wotherspoon & The Stratocats BuzzMe [APO
Records]. Something there is in me that loves
the sound of a Fender Stratocaster playing
the blues at full howl, though it is a sound
that is harder to reproduce than you might
think (especially for certain polite high-end
speakers best suited to playing dainty chamber
music at no more than moderate levels). The
Inspirations, however, never backed down from
the challenge, so that as Wotherspoons Strat
screamed, crooned, stuttered, and snarled, the
30th Anniversary monitors simply followed suit
with nary a complaint.
Put these Signature and Studio-like qualities
together in one speaker and you truly have
a best-of-both-worlds solution, which I think
is exactly what Paradigm had in mind. Driver
integration in the Inspirations, while perhaps not
quite up to standards of certain planar-magnetic
or hybrid electrostatic loudspeakers, was
generally very, very good. Perhaps the only trace
of any discontinuity that I could hear involved
SPECS & PRICING

Type: Two-way, bass-reflex, stand-mount monitor
Driver complement: One 1" beryllium dome tweeter,
one 7" anodized aluminum mid/bass driver
Crossover frequency: 2kHz
Frequency range: 54Hz45kHz +/-2dB, on axis
Sensitivity: 92dB (in room), 89dB (anechoic)
Dimensions: 8.25" x 14.625" x 13.125"
Weight: 24 lbs. each
Price: $2599 (optional Inspiration stands, $999)
Paradigm Electronics Inc.
205 Annagem Blvd.
Mississauga, ON L5T 2V1
Canada
(905) 564-1994
paradigm.com
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EQUIPMENT review - Paradigm 30th Anniversary Inspiration Monitor

scenarios where, when playing less-than-ideallyrecorded material, the beryllium tweeters would
somewhat pointedly expose recording flaws for
what they were. But frankly, if you want the kind
of resolution that Paradigms beryllium tweeters
put at your disposal (and I, for one, certainly do),
then this is simply a sonic tradeoff with which the
listener must be prepared to make peace.
The Inspirations imaging and soundstaging
capabilities are likewise very good, with
particular strengths in rendering soundstage
width and depth. For an example of this quality
in action, try the track Tribute from Ross
William Perrys Itll All Make Sense [Kid Blue
Music], where you may find, as I did, that the
guitar sometimes plays from the far left side of
the stage and from a position well behind the
plane of the loudspeakers. My point is that the
Inspirations doon good recordingsa very fine
job of creating a believable sense of place, a
stage upon which the music can breathe.
Even so, I still hold some reservations
regarding Paradigms use of diffraction-reducing
grilles. My take is that this system works to a
point, and better on the Inspirations than on
most other Paradigm speakers I have heard, but
that there is nevertheless an even higher level of
three-dimensionality that might be achieved if
Paradigm would explore some of the diffractionminimization techniques competing speaker
manufacturers have found beneficial (e.g.,
flush-mounted drivers, very gently radiused
waveguide flanges where needed, cabinet faces
with deeply radiused, smoothly curved, fallaway front-baffle surfaces, etc.). To be clear,
the Inspirations never overtly draw unwanted
attention to themselves, and their drive units
are superb, but they are still not quite classleaders in the sonic holography department.
Like most Paradigm speakers, the Inspirations
are neutrally voiced and for the most part
free from obvious colorations. With that said,
however, I should add that, while the Inspirations
deliver solid and satisfying midbass output, they
offer relatively limited deep bass. Depending
on your listening tastes and preferred types
of music, you might not notice or particularly
care about this characteristic. However, if you
have your heart set on enjoying bass response
reaching into or below the mid-30Hz region, then
you might want to step up to Paradigms similarly
voiced, but more full-range Tribute floorstander.
(Indeed, a Paradigm marketing team member
who shall remain nameless once quipped that the
Inspiration, though a fine speaker in its own right,
is probably inspired to grow up to be a Tribute.).
On the whole, I think listeners will find the
Inspirations represent an awful lot of speaker
for the money. For me, the dead-sure indicator of
this was that, whenever I pictured possible sonic
competitors for the Inspirations, I found I was
automatically thinking of more costly speakers.
The Inspirations do a fine job of representing
the whole spectrum of values for which Paradigm
stands. They give us advanced materials and
technology (e.g., the beryllium tweeter and
anodized aluminum mid/bass driver with its
distinctive corrugated surround), fine buildquality (the dark garnet-red Inspirations on their
matching stands are a sight to behold), and great
value for money. But most of all, they provide an
accurate, engaging, high-integrity sound, which
is what has attracted so many followers to the
Paradigm brand for the past thirty years.
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Bryston Mini T
Whole New Ballgame!
Ron Doering
ont look now but the USAs quiet neighbor up north is a major hotspot for
high-end audio. Companies like Class, Mirage, Energy, Paradigm, Totem,
PSB, and Oracle are almost household words in some households. Add to this
list Aurum Acoustics, Blue Circle Audio, Ed Meitners EMM Labs, Raysonic Audio,
Reference 3A, and I think you too will find that there is some pretty creative design
work being done in the Great White North.
Hailing from Peterborough, Ontario, Bryston of
course is well known, and greatly respected, for
its amplifiers and, more recently, digital gear.
Favored by the pro-audio market, its stuff has
never been cheap but neither has its buildquality ever really been less than first-class.
Now Bryston is getting into the loudspeaker
business in a country that is already home to at
least 14 well-regarded speaker manufacturers.
Mulling over this new venture I was surprised
that Bryston had taken amplification out of the
equation; you can hook the Mini Ts up to one
of Brystons own SST2 amplifiers, a combination
that will no doubt work very well, but you dont
have to. Given Brystons expertise it could
have cooked up the ultimate self-powered
loudspeaker, and wouldnt we all want one of
those?
Well, maybe, maybe not. Bryston wants to
move loudspeakers, and the self-powered variety
is going to be a tough sell for those who have
already invested in a good amp. James Tanner
of Brystons brain trust and the main instigator
of its speaker business also reminded me that
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the self-powered loudspeaker, at least when

amplification is applied internally as is the norm,
invites the use of compact Class D circuits, which,
if not quite anathema, is a topology he considers
second-rate. So what is Bryston bringing to the
party?
According to Tanner, the main areas of
opportunity were loudspeakers that do not
suffer from dynamic compression, have big
listening windows, and excellent in-room
power response. To address compression Tanner
found the best solution to be multiple highquality drivers in a vertical array. Ultimately
expressed in Brystons flagship Model T, which
aims seven drivers at the listener, the vertical
array helps explain the size of the gigantic (for a
bookshelf speaker) $2695 Mini T; it also explain
why a small, two-way design, like a Totem Model
1, is not going to come from Bryston.
Im used to frequency response data that
show a single curve; however, the Mini Ts
published frequency response graph contains
two similarly shaped curves. One (labeled LW) is
level, and the other (labeled SP) heads steadily
south starting at 100Hz or so. LW or listening

window is superbly flat and comprises an
average of response curves measured from the
typical on-axis listening positions. The SP or
sound power response curve is also superbly
flat but falls 810dB as it approaches 10kHz. It is
the average of all the response curves taken in
a 360 angle around the loudspeaker, otherwise
known as the polar response. The combination of
this direct (on-axis) and reflected sound is what
we ultimately hear, and according to Tanner,
achieving linearity in both curves is crucial to
optimum performance. He was certainly not
surprised when I informed him that the Mini
Ts produced the flattest frequency response
(32Hz10kHz 2.7dB) I have yet observed in my
listening room.
In electronics Bryston is certainly no startup, but it pretty much is in the loudspeaker biz,
which makes the Mini Ts measured performance
all the more impressive. However, Ill let you in
on a little non-secret: Bryston hasnt entered into
this venture alone. Technical and manufacturing
assistance, as well as the use of a state-of-theart anechoic chamber, were provided by Axiom
Audio, a company I wasnt familiar with but
which is evidently a major player in the hometheater market, building loudspeakers (including
drivers) as well as amplifiers. Knowing that
Axiom is in possession of an expensive anechoic
facility strongly suggests that it takes speaker
design seriously. Also learning that Axioms

Ian Colquhoun, an alum of the psychoacoustic
research facility that is Canadas National
Research Council, and Andrew Welker, formerly
of API/Mirage, both lent a hand or two in the
design of the Mini T makes expectations of strong
performance more reasonable. So the Mini Ts are
flat and, in that sense, accurate, but do they
sound good?
Use and Listening
My heart goes out to the sales person,
copywriter, or ad campaign that is charged with
getting across what these speakers are about.
Im now staring at two pumped-up bookshelf
speakers sitting on made-to-fit but otherwise
unremarkable tubular stands (sand- or shotwww.theabsolutesound.com
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EQUIPMENT review - Bryston Mini T Bookshelf

fillable), clad in an equally unremarkable,
although well executed, black ash-pattern vinyl
(hardwood veneers are available at an additional
cost). Constructed of, again, unremarkable
although carefully braced and assembled MDF,
the cabinets house what look to be rather
pedestrian driversdust cap, cone, rubber
surround. Even the mounting of said components
is rather ordinaryno coaxials, seemingly no
attempt at time-coherent signal launch a la Thiel
and others, and no special patterns or materials
on the front baffles to help control diffraction.
My speakers in college looked more advanced.
Not much here for an ad in a glossy magazine.
Time to call the model agency.
The shame of it is what cant be gotten
across in the crass ad-fueled world we live in,
or in the necessarily brief audition the Mini Ts
will probably get in a showroom, is the hours
of testing, data generation, data digesting,
tweaking, more testing, etc. that were necessary
to achieve the results Ive seen, measured, and
heard. And Im not talking about this being done
in the designers living room. Unfortunately
components that have that sparkling personality
which immediately catch your ear, whether that
be particularly healthy bass or a dramatic treble
(which may falsely suggest clarity), may win out
over comparatively duller accuracy under such
conditions.
I know that monitor may have a strong, not
necessarily positive, connotation with some
folks but really this is what the Mini Ts are, and
in the best possible sense. In this regard the Mini
T is simply the latest expression of the NRCs
philosophy that accuracy is accuracy, whether
in the home or the studio, and anything else
leads, in their words, to a circle of confusion.

If this sounds to you like a middle finger raised
to all those artist-designers whose ears we
should trust, then who am I to argue? Here I am
listening to a product designed by a bunch of lab
rats and Im loving it!
As expected given the careful attention
paid to off-axis power performance, listening
position is not critical, although obviously you
want to be centered somewhere in between
the Mini Ts for stereo. Indeed, these are one of
the few speakers Ive experienced which do the
trick of realistically putting a singer, guitarist,
bassist, what have you, in the next room. Doing
my laundry I could swear on a stack of TAS back
issues that Ella Fitzgerald was right there next
door in the listening room. Well of course she
was, as that is where my stereo is, but my point
is that it sounded as if a real person were singing
in the other room. Try this and youll see what I
mean (or not).
Neither is seating position that critical when
listening in stereo. Put away the listening chair
and bring out the listening couch! While sitting
dead-center at the apex of an equilateral
triangle to the speakers returned the best
listening results, a couple of feet side to side and
even up or down did not ruin the solidity of the
sonic image. This is not to suggest sloppiness or
inaccuracy, but rather that the solid image had
some give, seeming to bend to where my head
needed to move, at least within a radius of three
feet or so. On Oliver Nelsons Stolen Moments
from his The Blues and the Abstract Truth there
was hardly a bad seat in the house, and the best
seat was treated to a brass and rhythm section
in punchy, uncompressed sound.
If Bryston insists on calling these bookshelf

speakers then I feel it is my duty to inform you of
their abilities in tackling musics nether regions,
for bookshelf traditionally means you should
not expect much bass. Well feel free to have
expectations in this case. The earth-shaking
organ C pedal was indeed earth-shaking,
whether in the Saturn movement of Holsts The
Planets or in Sunrise from Richard Strauss
Also Sprach Zarathustra. These speakers put
out real, pitch-accurate bass at least down to
where pitch ceases to matter; according to my
measurements 32Hz was down only 4dB from
1kHz, and the curve was quite smooth between
these points.
Downsides? Well there are better looking
loudspeakers out there, at least in my opinion,
although the Mini Ts would probably be quite
fetching in one of the real wood veneers you can
opt for. And given their size and height when
mounted on custom stands, the Mini Ts dont
exactly blend in easily with the typical furnished
room, but neither are they grotesque. Last but
not least, you will need to have a fair amount of
power on tap to get them to sing. Think of 100
watts/8 ohms as a minimum.
Conclusion (Flat is Good)
Perhaps because of their basic simplicity and
design malleability, loudspeakers, more than any
other audio component, can and do attract the
artisan designer-manufacturer. Here, especially,
just a little bit of technical knowledge and a
whole lot of perseverance and creativity can go
a long way. And if said artisan can in turn find
enough people who agree that the sound he is
able to coax from his contraption is musical
and are willing to pay the asking price, well this

could even be a successful business proposition.
Perhaps this is why the word accurate is not
that popular in loudspeaker sales literature. On
the other hand, Brystons Mini Ts have gone a
long way toward answering the question posed
by Floyd Toole and the NRC some time ago.
If perfectly flat frequency response is now
expected from electronics, why should the
greater than 3dB in-room response curves
commonly found in loudspeakers (regardless of
price) be acceptable?
SPECS & PRICING

Driver complement:
Dimensions: 10.5" x
One 8" ceramic-coated
22.5" x 9.8"
aluminum cone woofer,
one 5.25" ceramic-
Price: $3195/pair in real
coated aluminum
wood veneer; $2695/
cone midrange, one 1"
pair in vinyl; $499/
titanium dome tweeter
pair for custom stands
Crossover frequencies:
although Bryston
160Hz and 2.3kHz
suggests any quality
Loading: Bass-reflex
stand 1824 inches in
Frequency response:
height
37Hz22kHz (+/-3dB)
Maximum SPL: 118dB
BRYSTON LIMITED
Min/Max recommended
677 Neal Drive
power: 10250W
Peterborough, Ontario
Sensitivity: 85dB (1
Canada
watt, 1 meter anechoic)
K9J 6X7
Impedance: 4 ohms
(800) 632-8217
nominal
bryston.com
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Ravishing!
Paul Seydor
lan Shaws Harbeth Monitor 30.1, which has been released in

time to celebrate the companys thirty-fifth anniversary as a
manufacturer of high-quality loudspeakers, is the best compact
two-way speaker system I have ever heard, regardless of type, cost,
or complexity. By this I mean, of course, that it does a better job of
doing the things that are most important to me when it comes to the
reproduction of music in the home: tonal neutrality, timbral accuracy,
cohesiveness, low distortion, and that elusive impression of vitality
which makes recorded music come alive. The speaker is an updated
version of the Monitor 30, a studio monitor intended for professional
applications where high accuracy in a not large enclosure is required. I
say not large to indicate that the speaker is not a sub-compact, being
three to four times the size of mini-monitors like the fabled LS3/5a
or Harbeths own P3ES yet somewhat smaller than the standard twocubic-feet of speakers like Spendors SP1/2 or Harbeths own Super
HL5. The size was in fact dictated a priori, part of the brief to develop
a drop-in replacement for the BBCs Rogers LS5/9, which became
unavailable in the late nineties. As befits its monitor status, the 30.1
boasts high neutrality, superb resolution, and a matching of drivers
with respect to coherence and sonic character that is equaled by
only a small handful of multiple-driver dynamic loudspeakers in my
experience. Speaking with a single voice in a way reminiscent of Quad
ESLs, it is also of similar seriously low coloration and distortion, high
transparency, and musical authority. The Monitor 30.1 is at once a
never-ending joy to listen to and highly revealing, its supremely natural
tonal balance neither accentuating the unpleasant qualities of bad
recordings nor enhancing the pleasant qualities of good ones. This is one
speaker for which the clich rings completely true: You can listen to it
without fatigue for literally hours on end.
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EQUIPMENT review - Harbeth Monitor 30.1

That said, let me hasten to add that the 30.1 is
not a speaker for everyone, nor is it all things
to all music. In common with all other compact
(and smaller) speakers, it will not, unassisted,
reproduce the bottom octave at levels to match
the rest of the range, its practically flat to only
about 60Hz, and its specified 3dB point is 50Hz.
This means that while it actually does reproduce
the 32Hz organ pedal point at the beginning of
Also Sprach Zarathustra, it will do so only at
reduced amplitude (thus power) with respect
to the rest of the range. Room reinforcement
will provide some additional strength, but only
some, not least because optimal performance
requires placement away from boundaries.
Dynamically its very robustamazingly so when
you consider the size of both the cabinet and
midrange/woofercapable of clean, unstrained
levels much too loud for me to listen to
comfortably for very long in my plus-2500cubic-foot (21' x 15' x 8') room. But I wouldnt
nor, I suspect, would its designerrecommend it
for very large spaces, say, baronial living rooms
or the like. But this still leaves a wide spectrum
of settings in which its loudness limitations
are effectively nonexistent; and because the
response of the drivers integrates so seamlessly
and so quickly beyond the plane of the baffle,
the 30.1 can be used in very small rooms where
proximate seating might be unavoidable. Indeed,
few speakers in my experience appear to be this
satisfactorily adaptable to so wide a variety of
environments.
Now that Ive written an introduction
that sounds like a conclusion, allow me to
introduce the design and to elaborate upon its
performance. The 30.1 is a front-ported two-
way with a specified frequency response of

50Hz20kHz +/-3dB in free space. Its tweeter
is a 25mm soft-domed SEAS unit, while the
eight-inch midrange/woofer is manufactured
in house and made from Harbeths RADIAL
compound, about which more anon. Sensitivity
is a low 85dB with a minimum recommended
power of 25 watts, though considerably moreI
alternated between a Quad 909 at 140 watts a
side and a Croft-designed Carver AV705x at 225
watts a sideis advised in anything but a small
room. Ideally the 30.1 should be stand-mounted
away from walls, with the tweeters around ear
height (the Canadian company Skylan makes a
SPECS & PRICING

Type: Two-way vented
Frequency response: 50Hz20kHz +/-3dB free
space, 1m with grille on
Impedance: 6 ohms
Sensitivity: 85dB 1W/1m, 25Wpc minimum power
recommended
Power handling: 150W program
Finish: Cherry, tiger ebony, eucalyptus, maple,
rosewood, gun grey, arctic white, jet black
Price: $5695$6390 (per pair, depending on finish)
Fidelis AV (U.S. Distributor)
14 E. Broadway
Derry, NH 03038
(603) 437-4769
fidelisav.com
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dedicated aftermarket stand, available direct or
through FidelisAV, Harbeths U.S. importer).
As a designer and manufacturer, Alan Shaw
follows in the footsteps of the British Broadcasting
Corporation, where in the sixties and seventies
BBC engineers conducted quite a lot of research
into speaker design and performance toward
developing a range of monitors capable of
accurately revealing what was being broadcast.
Their primary interest was in voice and music,
largely classical, and their investigations
involved intensive research on everything from
drivers and crossovers to cone materials and
enclosures, careful experimentation by both
measurement and listening, and meticulous
record keepingall practices Shaw observes
to this day. (I refer interested readers to my
interview with Shaw in the June/July 2009
issue of TAS, where he discusses his working
methods in great detail.) Inspired by Dudley
Harwood, the founder of Harbeth and a
pioneer in the use of polypropylene for drivers,
Shaws company developed a new synthetic
compound, which he calls RADIAL (the acronym
derives from Research And Development Into
Advanced Loudspeakers), a material claimed
to retain polypropylenes smoothness without
its dulling effect and suppression of detail,
Bextrenes consistency without its colorations,
and none of the vagaries of paper. All Harbeth
woofers and midrange drivers are now made
from RADIAL. Apart from thisa big apart,
I should add, as when it comes to vanishingly
low coloration, there really is something quite
special about that material, at least to judge
from all the Harbeths Ive heardneither Shaw
nor his company is particularly innovative.
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Instead, he draws upon a combination of triedand-true principles that he implements with

rare care, knowledge, and sophistication. He
also believespassionately, he likes to put
itin the use of computer models to simulate
loudspeaker behavior and performance. Of
course, critical listening plays an indispensable
role, as it did at the BBC, where, according to
Shaw, the designers were in the unique position
of being able to walk between the studio and
the control room and hear for themselves the
differences between the live and the reproduced
sound. Shaw once told me that his daughters
voice, the sound of which he obviously knows
very well, constitutes some of his most reliable
source material. Its absolutely crucial that the
loudspeaker can reproduce the human voice
convincingly, he argues.
For me, speech/vocal quality is the real
arbiter because the human voice-box just doesnt
produce the sort of colorations that speakers
do. Its soft, wet, highly damped tissue and it
cant produce spitty, gritty, beaky, wiry, quacky,
hollow soundall those are speaker colorations.
Because of its emotional content, music is less
revealing of coloration than speech and voice. If
you get speech right, the rest falls pretty much
into place.
It should hardly come as a surprise, then, that
the glory of Harbeth speakers is a near peerless
midrange. When it comes to the Monitor 30.1
theres no sense using a lesser word: its simply
ravishing in its warmth, richness, vividness,
and beauty. The principal reasons are two.
First is the RADIAL material itself, second is
how unusually flat across the entire midrange
the 30.1s are, notably free from the usual
irregularities you find in most speakers. But

more is needed than a merely flat midrange.
Equally important is that this flatness extends
down through the transition from the lower
midrange to the upper bass, the two octaves
or so from around 300Hz to around 100Hz. If
this region has a dip, trough, or cancellation,
music is robbed of body, warmth, and the ability
to render timbre properly. Yet an astonishing
number of speakers exhibit these infelicitous
characteristics, including many that are very,
very expensive, especially floorstanders and
other designs that dont take account of the
floorbounce (i.e., a cancellation in the frequency
response owing to the first reflection off the
floor). The result is an excessively lean balance
that robs most instruments and all vocals of
their fundamentals. Speakers like this can sound
really punchy and rhythmic (or pacey, to
use that awful coinage so beloved of our British
brethren), but with respect to accuracy and the
sound of real instruments and voices, they are
also wrong.
The most common complaint by my wifeno
audiophile but a fervent music loverof so many
speakers she hear is, Theres no depth, by
which Danielle means not imaging depth, but
depth of tone in singers she is familiar with. (Its
why she typically asks me to bring the Quads
back out as soon as possible once Im through
evaluating other speakers.) Sinatra is one of
her acid tests, a particularly good one because
if the wood (i.e., the lower range) in his very
distinctive voice is missing or reduced, then
the head tone is accentuated and the nasality
is subtly emphasized. But any baritone will do
hell, so will a tenor like Placido Domingo, whose
voice has darkened and deepened such that he

is essaying baritone roles these days, like Simon
Boccanegra.
But the real kicker is that even womens voices
cannot be correctly reproduced if this critical
area of the frequency spectrum is deficient. The
range of a true contralto voice starts at around
200Hz, that of a soprano around 250Hz. Doris
Day, whose Hooray for Hollywood album often
figures in my evaluations, has an exceptionally
clear and light voice, but over too many speakers
her timbre often comes out too light and it is
robbed of a difficult to define but immediately
audible impression of color and body. However,
listen to her over a speaker flat throughout the
midrange, as the 30.1 is, and youll hear that real
substance grounds all that lightness. Even more
a singer like Ella Fitzgerald: On Do Nothing
till You Hear it from Me (The Duke Ellington
Songbook, II) she sounds some startlingly low
chest tones. If a speaker isnt up to reproducing
these correctly, the voice just isnt right.
You dont necessarily have to agree with
Shaw that getting voices right gets everything
else right, but its surely true that if voices dont
sound right, not much else will either. This is
because the fundamentals of most instruments
fall where voices domiddle C, after all, occurs
at 261Hz. Take pianosat one point during
the evaluations, a close friend and seasoned
audiophile, who happens also to be one of the
finest studio musicians in Los Angeles, dropped
by with a new recording of piano music by
Sebastian Currier, a composer Id never heard
of before [Naxos 8.559638]. The piano sound
is incredibly immediate and close enough that
the effect is to put the instrument in the room,
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which it does quite effectively, with breathtaking
transparency, presence, and a really huge
dynamic range. Yet there is nothing harsh or
edgy about the sonics or soft or mushy either;
as rendered by the 30.1s, it sound just Right!
my buddy exclaimed (which made me laugh
because exactly that adjective recurs countless
times in my notes).
My wife and I recently had the good fortune to
acquire a six-foot Bluthner, the smallest grand
suitable for performing venues. The entire lower
spectrum of this magnificent instrument is a
wonder to hear (not for nothing was Bluthner
Rachmaninoffs piano of choice). Even though
the 30.1 falls short in the lowest octave, it is so
neutral throughout midrange and upper bass
that it goes some distance toward doing this
sound justice. Yet Ive heard speakers several
times its size and multitudes its price that dont,
though they will play a whole lot louder and
project a bigger image.
Still, this compact speaker continually
surprises me with how really big it can sound.
A sufficiently powered pair in a normal-sized
room will scale many solo instruments and small
ensembles like trios, quartets, and vocal groups to
virtually lifelike size and they come close enough
with chamber ensembles suitable for baroque
or classical music. And for full orchestras? Well,
one of the first things I put on when the Monitor
30.1s arrived is a recording, again brought over
by a good friend and experienced audiophile, of
Bruckners Ninth Symphony conducted by Guilini
leading the Vienna Philharmonic [DG]. This
beautiful recordingof a magnificently played
performance, the strings notably sweet, the
brass mellow, the winds mellifluous, with terrific
dynamic rangeoffers a cohesive orchestral

sound that allows a good bit of the hall into the
mix. Now, as most of you (I hope) know, orchestral
music doesnt get much bigger than Bruckner,
with its augmented brass, roaring tympani, and
repeated waves of extended, massive climaxes.
We were slackjawed by how tremendously the
30.1s reproduced this recording.
Then, out of curiosity, I pulled Bernsteins with
the same orchestra in the same venue on the
same label off the shelf. Wow. Youd swear you
were hearing wholly different pieces of music.
Bernsteins is more closely miked, but what
is really stunning is difference in interpretive
vision: Guilinis, Bruno Walters, all old-world
melancholy alternating with old-world grandeur,
Bernsteins hardly less lyrical, but with an urgent
intensity and a high, tragic drama, the dynamic
window of the interpretation considerably
wider, more powerful, and almost frightening
in the impact of the big moments, qualities the
speakers readily revealed in the playing itself.
Listen to the sustained climax near the end of
the first movement, the way the trumpet soars
above the full orchestra and then gives way to
the horns. Or take the scherzoby far Bruckners
greatest, in my opinionhere feral, ferocious, and
terrifying, the passages of massed brass against
tympani impressive in their weight, menace, and
sheer piledriving force that you can feel in your
stomach. I must single out the reproduction of
the trombones, which really do in their depth
and blattiness sound like real trombones. Or
go to the last movement and listen through the
first big climax to the quiet passage that follows
it and note how truthful the dynamic contrasts
from very soft to very loud are rendered with
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finesse and precision. Once my friend and I
had recovered from the comparison we had to
keep reminding ourselves, one, that this almost
shockingly powerful performance was recorded
in concert scant months before Bernsteins
death when he was already very sick from the
illness that would kill him, and, two, that a pair
of speakers 19" x 11" x 10.5" could handle such
demanding material at such levels without
evident strain.
I do not want to overstate this. When it comes
to big orchestral and choral music, the 30.1s do
not bring ensembles into your room and they
do not project them to life size (or more than
life size, if that happens to be your bag). What
they do is provide an uncommonly transparent
window onto the concert hall. Within the terms
of that metaphor, very few loudspeakers of
any size or price in my experience are able to
reproduce so convincing a simulacrum of an
orchestra, albeit at reduced size and amplitude,
and even fewer with as much faithfulness to the
sound of real voices and instruments. It is in this
context that the deep-bass limitations I noted
at the outset should be viewed. The Monitor 30.1
is a very honest speaker inasmuch as Shaw has
resorted to no trickery with respect to crossover
manipulation in order to tease out more bass
than it can produce. The driver responds as low
as is consistent with its specifications, the port,
and the enclosure size, and thereafter rolls off
smoothly. If the 30.1 has a naturally warm and
full sound, which it does, and if it never, ever
sounds thin or anemic, which it doesnt, this is
because it remains flat in the warmth region.
And that, finally, is all thats really necessary to
do a satisfactory job on much orchestral music.
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To be sure, bigger speakers with a bigger

woofers, like Harbeths own monitor 40.1, will
reap considerable rewards when it comes to
bass drums, pipe organs, tubas, and so forth,
and their large baffles will project greater
weight and force from the likes of string basses
and tympani, qualities that will be especially
welcome in larger rooms. That kind of projection
these Harbeths will not manage nor will they
provide anything like the sense of real bottomend weight and deep, deep foundation. But Ive
never heard any compact speaker that can or
does do these things. If you demand themand
they certainly constitute a reasonable demand
you should pass over the 30.1 for something
larger or more extended or else investigate a
subwoofer. (One good candidate would be RELs,
as they seem to match up especially well with
speakers in the BBC mode; I would also take a
good listen to those from HSU Research.)
If Ive been concentrating on a specific area
of reproduction in this review, it is because
its an issue Ive been wanting to address for
some time now, and the 30.1, so outstanding
in the midrange, has provided an occasion to
do so. But the speaker is similarly outstanding
throughout the rest of its range. The original 30
exhibited a mild trough in the presence region,
which has been so substantially reduced in the
new version that you really have to listen for it
and even then its evident only rarely. The sound
in the topmost octave is smooth and natural
with only a very slight bit of extra texture, for
want of a better word, on exhibit in the 810kHz
region. The only reason this texture is
occasionally perceivable at all is that the slight
residue of remaining presence politeness
subtly accents the return to flat around 810k.

But it is so benign that most of the time on most
music it is not noticeable at all, and there is
absolutely no edginess, snap, crackle, pop, tizz,
or sizz, instead an entirely natural presentation
of the way percussion instruments, cymbals, hihats, bells, etc. really do sound when you hear
them live. One cut I often use is Christy Barons
Mercy Street cover from her Steppin [Chesky,
SACD] because it features, along with several
other high-pitched percussion instruments
(like bells), a rain stick. I happen to have a
collection of rain sticks, and while none sounds
quite like any other, this one as reproduced by
the 30.1s sounds recognizably plausible. And
these speakers do ambience superlatively (as
does every Harbeth Ive heard). As I am writing
this I am listening to a program of Christmas
carols sung by the Huddersfield Choral Society
(its the Christmas season), a large chorus
accompanied by an orchestra and organ in a
big hall. The presentation is uncannily realistic,
with the chorus and orchestra occupying the
entire soundstage from side to side, the chorus
extending behind the orchestra, the vastness of
the space convincingly reproduced.
As for resolution, perhaps the most revealing
test I know is the a cappella introduction to
title track track on Jacinthas Autumn Leaves
[Groove Note SACD]. I attended these sessions,
where the lid on the piano was closed and
damped with blankets and the singer, wearing
headphones so she could hear the pianist playing
notes to help her stay in tune, was placed in an
isolation booth. Despite these heroic efforts,
tiny amounts of the piano still bled through her
headphones and made their way onto her vocal
tracks. All of these are extremely low in level, a

few, including one near the beginning, close to
inaudbility. Yet the 30.1s revealed every single
one without requiring earsplitting levels to do
so. Better resolution than this you can rarely
get.
Hardly inexpensive at $6000 a pair, the
Monitor 30.1 is so beautifully voiced, balanced,
and natural sounding as to make it one of the
most completely satisfying speaker systems
Ive ever used. To give you some idea of just how
much I like it, most of the time when I review
or otherwise evaluate speakers I cant wait to
get them out of the house and return to my
Quad 2805s or 57s. The occasion of this review
is the first time in I cant remember when that
Im perfectly happy to keep listening to the
speakers under evaluation. I dont know how
much longer the 30.1s will be allowed to remain
here now that Ive finished, but I fully intend to
keep them up and running until the deliveryman
knocks at the door. And he can bloody well wait
while I box them up!
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Von Schweikert Audio UniField Two Mk2

A Steady Stream of Musical Delight
Dick Olsher
lbert Von Schweikerts design goals for the UniField Two, the middle model
in VSAs Studio Signature Series, were rather simple. Many of his customers
asked for a small speaker that would work well in both small and large
rooms with virtually any amplifier. Specific performance criteria were a large sweet
spot, and enough bass output to simulate a larger floorstander. From a distance
the UniField Two appears to be a two-driver system, and may well pass for a
conventional stand-mounted two-way design. However, up close it is apparent that
the upper 7-inch woofer is actually a coaxial design by SEAS of Norway with a 1-inch
fabric dome tweeter nestled over the pole piece. So that would make the UniField
a three-way design, right? Well, not exactly. The catch is that the upper woofer,
featuring a PP/TPX polymer cone, is allowed to work into the deep bass while being
augmented below about 80Hz by a 7-inch aluminum coned woofer. The end result
is typically referred to a 2.5-way design, basically a two-way with a subwoofer.
As Von Schweikert aptly points out, an important advantage of such a design is
the elimination of the mid/woofers high-pass crossover network, and hence no
capacitors in series with the critical midband. There has been much ado in recent
years over the sound of capacitors with the cost of exotic types easily exceeding
that of typical drivers. But its fair to say that the best-sounding capacitor is no
capacitor at all. Instead of capacitive-coupling, the mid/woofers bass excursion is
controlled by sealing it into a small internal chamber densely packed with AcoustaStuf polyfill.
Coaxial drivers are rare birds in audiophile

designs. Tannoy is justly famous for its dualconcentric driver and more recently KEF has
made waves with its Uni-Q driver. A coaxials
primary goal is to align the acoustic centers of
the tweeter and midrange, forcing them to
behave as a single driver so as to emulate the
performance of a point source of sound. The
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payoff is vastly smoother off-axis performance

relative to a conventional driver layout and thus
a wider sweet spot. And as Ill detail shortly, the
SEAS coaxial is indeed capable of remarkable
imaging due in great measure to its time-aligned
wavelaunch. However, the practical engineering
problem all along has always been the tweeter
design, the traditional knock against coaxial
tweeters being that they dont measure very well.

The fact that the coaxial tweeter is horn-loaded
by the midrange-woofer cone makes it difficult to
obtain a smooth frequency response. In fact, Von
Schweikert considers the SEAS coaxial tweeter
to be a bit of an enigma. He is well aware of its
frequency-response imperfection, and that it
lacks any type of fabric impregnation or fully
pistonic motion, and yet despite all that, he finds
it to sound wonderful. I was, at least initially, less
enamored of this tweeter and can confirm that
its on-axis frequency response is not particularly
pretty due to a significant response dip in the
lower treble and an excess of extreme treble.
On the matching factory stands, the speakers
were at first toed in toward the listening seat, but
I discovered rather quickly that I wasnt happy
listening to the tweeter head on. Since off-axis
measurements showed a much more natural balance, I nixed the toe-in idea, pointing the cabinets
straight ahead. This placed the tweeters at an angle of about 25-degrees relative to the listening
seat and gave me the sort of balance I was after:
a smoother lower treble partnered by a naturally
rolled-off extreme treble. It should be noted that
Im not a fan of in-your-face treble and much prefer a middle of the hall presentation. With the
speakers optimally set up, it became clear that
the coaxial principle was working to perfection.
Even without any toe-in, the resultant sweet spot
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EQUIPMENT review - Von Schweikert Audio UniField Two Mk2

was massiveno need to place your head in a vise
to enjoy a stupendous stereo experience. When
it came to imaging, the UniField delivered the
goodies. I was most impressed by its exceptional
focus and transparency, making it easy to resolve
spatial outlines and subtle image shifts within the
confines of a spacious soundstage. Resolution of
massed voices was superb, allowing me to follow
the ebb and flow of a particular voice in a chorus.
After all of the preliminary experimentation, my
view of the treble range crystallized sufficiently
to pronounce it musical enough to enjoy, though
it understandably lacked the transient finesse
and purity of ribbons and electrostatic types.
The midrange driver turned out to be a winner,
sounding smooth yet detailed, and manifesting
a purity of tone which most cone mids would
die for. The UniField dug into a complex mix
with confidence. In particular, its resolution of
artificial reverb launch and decay was scary
good. Timbre fidelity was excellent even when
scaling the full female soprano range. My only
minor criticism had to do with slightly coarse
upper-midrange textures, most obvious on violin
overtones. This turns out to be the transition
region between the midrange and tweeter, the
crossover being at 2.2kHz.
The UniField Series uses curved side walls to
minimize internal standing waves. In addition,
much effort has gone into making the cabinets
acoustically inert, which is all about minimizing
cabinet-wall vibration. And that means reducing
wall flexure by using thicker and stiffer materials.
VSAs elegant solution is based on the concept
of constrained-layer damping but also strives to
eliminate energy transfer from the drivers to the
baffle by decoupling them with a 6mm-thick vis-
coelastic clay-polymer gasket. VSAs triple-wall

laminate combines three materials of different
resonant signatures. The outer layer is MDF which
is bonded to a layer of synthetic stone, fabricated
from crushed gravel, minerals, and resin binder.
The inner layer is hard felt, which is absorptive of
sound energy. The total wall thickness is an impressive 2.5 inches and is the type of construction
currently deployed in every Von Schweikert Mk2
speaker system. This approach is the antithesis of
the British, so called BBC-style, thin-wall speakercabinet designs. The notion of tuning the cabinet to the orchestra comes to mind, and while
it could be argued that some cabinet resonances
are less objectionable to the ear and might in fact
be consonant with the music, the end result is inevitably a sonic coloration. After auditioning the
UniField Mk2, it seems to me that VSAs approach
of minimizing all cabinet resonances is the correct one in that it clearly raises the bar in terms
of achievable bass precision.
The cabinet is vented which suggests a bassreflex loading, and that is in fact the case, the box
tuning being 38Hz. But this turns out to be no ordinary bass-reflex design. Four internal chambers
filled with Acousta-Stuf define a mini-labyrinth,
which significantly dampens the twin impedance
peaks produced by a typical bass-reflex design.
The measured minimum impedance was 3.8 ohms
at 100Hz and the impedance magnitude was
nearly single-peaked and fairly flat, varying by
only a factor of two in the deep bass. VSA refers
to this bass tuning as a hybrid reflex/transmission line. I like the idea of contouring the overall
Q of the speaker system using acoustic damping.
Although conceptually it is still a long ways from a
classic transmission-line bass loading, this tuning
works in practice by nudging bass performance

toward that of an aperiodic sealed box.
In-room bass extension measured flat to about
38Hz. It was a case of bass reach coupled with a
surprising degree of punch. Most stand-mounted
speakers are not well suited for reproduction of
symphonic music. The UniField Two proved to
be a welcome exception. It possessed sufficient
bass heft and dynamic prowess for realistic
reproduction of an orchestras power range. The
bass balance, usually an issue for stand-mounted
speakers, was shifted toward the midbass. There
was considerably more midbass energy relative
to the upper bass which manifested as a slight
emphasis of an upright bass body tone. Choice of
partnering amplifier became an important issue.
The UniField boogied superbly when matched with
high-damping-factor solid-state amplifiers. It also
scored highly in bass precision, a performance
benchmark undoubtedly attributable to the
combination of an acoustically inert cabinet
and an aluminum-coned woofer. However, bass
resolution suffered substantially when the
UniField was driven by a low damping factor tube
amplifier. Lacking amplifier control, the bass
range took on a distinctly tubby character. The
good news is that there is no shortage of highdamping-factor solid-state amplifiers in the 100
to 200Wpc range.
In the bass range, the UniField Two Mk2 offers
impressive performance for a small box speaker.
As such, it competes effectively with British
stand-mounts from Spendor and Harbeth. Think
greater rhythmic precision and bass heft. Its
coaxial technology bestows upon it exceptional
image focus. In fact, if you like mini-monitor
soundstaging, youll love the UniField Two.
Optimally set up, it will reward you with a steady

stream of musical delight. And thats what its
all about.
SPECS & PRICING

Frequency response: 32Hz25kHz (-6dB), 40Hz
20kHz (+/- 2dB)
Sensitivity: 88dB 1W/1 meter, anechoic
Power rating: Up to 200 wpc
Weight: 51 lbs.
Dimensions: 10" x 17" x 14"
Price: $7995 (stands included)
Von Schweikert Audio
1040-A Northgate St.
Riverside, CA 92507
(951) 682-0706
vonschweikert.com
GAS Ampzilla II amplifier modified by Mike
Bettinger of GAS Audio, Lamm Audio M1.2
Reference and Bob Carver Cherry 180 monoblock
amplifiers; Apple Mac BookPro running Sonic
Studios Amarra Version 2.6 software, EAR DACute
DAC, April Music Eximus DP1 DAC/Pre and Stello
U3 digital data converter; Kuzma Reference
turntable; Kuzma Stogi Reference 313 VTA
tonearm; Clearaudio da Vinci V2 phono cartridge;
Pass Labs XP-25 phono stage and XP-30 line
stage; FMS Nexus-2, Wire World, and Kimber KCAG
interconnects; Acoustic Zen Hologram II speaker
cable; Sound Application power line conditioners
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our top
picks
Stand-Mounted Loudspeakers
GoldenEar Technology Aon 3
KEF LS50
Revel Performa3 M106
Paradigm 30th Anniversary Inspiration Monitor
GoldenEars Aon 3 is an attempt to capture the

beautifully focused, revealing, and coherent sound
of todays best two-way stand-mount monitors at a
decidedly down-to-earth price. An augmented twoway design it combines a 7" wide-bandwidth mid/
bass driver with a Heil-type tweeter, also using two
side-mounted passive radiators to extend bass depth
and punch. The result is a monitor that provides agile,
detailed, and nuanced mids and highs while serving up
bass that is unexpectedly full-bodied and that matches
the quality of the speakers midrange and treble. Care
in placement and setup is needed for best results.
Those listeners willing to sacrifice some of the Aon
3s extended low-frequency performance may find
GoldenEars slightly smaller Aon 2 offers even more
compelling three-dimensional imaging.
Built to celebrate KEFs 50th anniversary, the LS50

monitor spins pure coincident-driver magic thanks to
its blushing pink-gold Uni-Q coaxial midrange/tweeter
mounted in bulls-eye fashion atop a uniquely arched
baffle. Visually arresting and sonically satisfying, it
delivers tonal neutrality at just the right pitch, with
superb midrange sonics, full-bodied presence, and
potent midbass punch. Thanks to its beautifully
crafted high-density enclosurean ideal platform
for the space-saving Uni-Qtheres little in the way
of cabinet resonances or port colorations. Imaging
is as clean and pinpoint precise as youd expect from
KEF. Positioned in a small- or medium-sized room,
the LS50 makes a statement like few small speakers.
Youll want to hold on to these no matter how many
upgrades you make to the rest of your system.
Revels M106 is cut from the same rich fabric as its

big brother the F206, but designed for smaller spaces.
A vocal lovers dream, the two-way M sports the
identical and brilliantly refined dome tweeter with
acoustic lens waveguide of the floorstander, creating a
wide sweetspot, a rewarding lack of localization, and
estimable composure under all sorts of dynamic fire.
Plus, it delivers nearly imperturbable output so that
even under punishing conditions this feisty compact
remains linear. Theres a cooler cast to its tonal balance
likely due to the lighter bass, but its character is still
unmistakably, accurately Revel. History will show this
is one of the great compacts of the last ten years.
Comparable in sonic quality to much more costly

loudspeakers, the Paradigm 30th Anniversary
Inspiration Monitor sports advanced technology and
fine build-quality without the lofty price tag. Though
limited in deep bass, these stand-mount loudspeakers
are classic Paradigm, with neutral voicing and no
significant colorations. A lot of speaker for the
money and another winner in Paradigms long list of
exceptional products.
www.goldenear.com (232)
www.kef.com (231)
$999
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$1500
$2000
$2599
www.paradigm.com (235)
www.revel.com (234)
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our top
picks
Stand-Mounted Loudspeakers
Bryston Mini T
Raidho C 1.1
Bryston electronics are famous for their superb build-quality and highend sonics. With its first loudspeaker, the Mini T, the Canadian company
knocks another one out of the park. Boasting the flattest response that
reviewer Ron Doering has measured (32Hz10kHz 2.7dB), the Mini
Ts are hidden gems in a plain-Jane exterior. Nothing on the outside hints
at the quality of sound produced by these bookshelf speakers. Bring
plenty of power to the game, though (100Wpc minimum).
For PS, the Monitor 30.1 is the best compact two-way speaker system
he has heard, regardless of type, cost, or complexity. A studio monitor
intended for professional applications where high accuracy in a compact
enclosure is required, the 30.1 boasts high neutrality, superb resolution,
and a matching of drivers with respect to coherence and sonic character
that is equaled by only a small handful of multiple driver dynamic
loudspeakers in his experience. Speaking with a single voice in a way
reminiscent of Quad ESLs, it is also of similar vanishingly low coloration
and distortion, high transparency, and sheer musical authority, with an
absolutely ravishing midrange. Despite its size, it does extremely well on
demanding large-scale material at natural levels, with bass extension to
below 50Hz. This is one speaker for which the clich rings absolutely
true: You can listen to it without fatigue for literally hours on end.
Greater realism in hi-fi is always a matter of more and less. Where

it plays linearly (which is everywhere but below 50Hz or so) Michael
Brresens elegant Raidho C 1.1 two-way, ribbon/cone, stand-mount
mini-monitor gives you bothmore detail and less electro-mechanical
noiseto a truly astounding degree, and without any bleaching of tone
color. The result, on select great recordings, is a realism that not only
raises goosebumps but that can actually extend beyond the momentary
to an entire cut. Trust me, JV wrote, I have heard few (actually, no)
other speakers in my home reproduce a violin with such unstinting,
uninterrupted realism as this Raidho. An honest-to-goodness great
loudspeaker, and one of JVs current references.
$2695
www.bryston.com (238)
$5990
$18,000
www.raidho.dk (224)
www.harbeth.co.uk (232)
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Equipment reviews
Floorstanding
Loudspeakers
Under $10k
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Featured Review
MartinLogan Montis
Reserve Series
Electrostatic Hybrid
Loudspeaker
The Hybrid Perfected
Paul Seydor
I knew there was something special about MartinLogans new Montis
electrostatic hybrid when I first heard it at the 2013 Newport Audio
Show. For one thing, my wife wanted to linger a while and listen further.
Now Danielle would almost rather eat chalk than audition audio
equipment, and at this particular show decent or better sound was by
far the exception to the rule. We returned to the room later that day
as much for relief as for interestand the next day I went back myself.
With each visit I liked what I heard better (all kudos, by the way, to
audio veteran Dan Rosca for the setup). In due time I requested a review
pair. Despite my longstanding preference for planar electrostaticsall
vintages of Quad ESLs and the late, lamented Acoustatsmy experience
with previous MartinLogans was limited; and attractive though I found
many aspects of their performance, they never quite succeeded in
closing the deal as it were. In one fell swoop, the Montis changes all that:
This is a really great loudspeaker.
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MartinLogan Montis Reserve Series Electrostatic Hybrid Loudspeaker
Based in Lawrence, Kansas, where the company
has been designing and manufacturing highquality electrostatic loudspeakers for well over
three decades (though manufacturing is now
shifted to Canada), MartinLogan hardly needs
an introduction for either its products or its
technology. The Montis is one of three hybrid
models in MLs topof-the-line Reserve Series,
above the Ethos and below the Summit X, which
my colleague Dick Olsher raved about in TAS
209and is reprinted in this Buyers Guide.
(The flagship in the Reserve line is the CLX Art,
but it is a full-range ESL, not a hybrid.) I refer
readers to that review for a thorough technical
description of MLs electrostatic technology
or better still to Dicks profile of the company
in The Absolute Sounds Illustrated History of
High-End Audio, Volume 1: Loudspeakers. The
Montis is almost as tall as the Summitboth
around 60 inches highand uses the same 44"
x 11.3" CLS electrostatic panel. CLS stands for
MLs unique Curvilinear Line Source, which
involves a gentle horizontal convex curve the
better to disperse the higher frequencies, thus
mitigating the narrow treble radiation of so
many electrostatics (notably Quads). Not that
it scatters the sound all around the room like
an omnidirectional; rather, the dispersion is
limited to approximately a thirty-degree angle,
which is more than sufficient to prevent thehead-ina-vise syndrome. The Reserve series
as a whole incorporates several improvements
over past ML panels, including aluminumalloy
frames of exceptional strength and rigidity
and both a physical and electrical ruggedness
that make them almost impossible to damage.
(Accessible through MLs Web site is an amusing
video called Myth, which addresses most of

the so-called problems of electrostatics, that
has one of the companys engineers banging
a CLS panel to demonstrate how rugged it is.
Providing you dont actually poke something
through the statorswhich would be difficult,
as the perforations are smallany sort of
accidental physical damage to the membrane
itself would be unlikely in the extreme.) CLS
panels play as delicately as any transducer
on the planet, yet they also boast exceptional
reliability: not since the fabled Acoustats of the
eighties have I felt no anxiety about destroying
a panel by driving an electrostatic as loud as I
wanted, and no Acoustat was ever as efficient,
easy to drive, and transparent as the Montis.
Impressive as MLs latest CLS panels are, it
may be the woofer and its associated crossover
that are the real wonder here. The main
difference between the Montis and the Summit
is that the latter crosses over at 270Hz to a
pair of powered 10inch woofers per array for
the bass, whereas each Montis has just a single
powered-woofer crossed over at 340Hz. The
-3dB point of the Summit is 24Hz, the Montis
29Hz. But the Montis has one considerable
advance over the Summit, what ML calls a 24bit
Vojtko DSP engine. Named after Joe Vojtko,
one of MLs resident engineers and designers,
this circuit uses digital processing to help the
CLS panel and the woofer mate as coherently
as possible. It was precisely this thorny matter
of ultimate coherence and integration that left
me unconvinced by all ML hybrids I heard before
the Montis. However Vojtko has managed
it. This new model is the most completely
successful ES/cone hybrid I have ever heard
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(though I must add that Ive not heard the
Summit). Once you get the speaker optimally
positioned and the rearpanel control at the
right level, the integration is to my ears for all
practical purposes seamless and coherence
absolute, banishing any sense of listening to
two different methods of propagating sound
waves.
Before getting down to listening, a few more
nuts and bolts. Despite its height, the Montis
cuts a very svelte and surprisingly unobtrusive
figure; though the aluminum alloy frame
exceptionally rigid and solidand the stators
are black anodized, the perforations in the
latter make the speaker physically transparent
for most of its height, so you dont feel as if
SPECS & PRICING

Driver compliment: 44" x 11.3" electrostatic panel, one 10"
powered cone woofer
Frequency response: 29Hz-23kHz +/-3dB
Integral woofer amplifier power: 200 watts
Sensitivity: 91dB
Recommended amplifier power: 20-500Wpc
Weight: 58lbs each (net)
Dimensions: 12.7" x 59.3" x 18"
Price: $9995
MartinLogan LTD
2101 Delaware St.
Lawrence, KS 66046
(785) 749-0133
martinlogan.com
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a pair of Stanley Kubricks monoliths have

descended into your room. There is a nominal
4-ohm impedance, but these are electrostatics,
so impedance dips much lower at certain
frequencies. That said, I had no trouble driving
the Montis to clean levels louder than I could
comfortably stand with Zesto Audios 60-watt
Bia tube amp or NADs M50 integrated at 180
watts a side. Efficiency is 91dB, helped no
doubt by the fact that the woofer has is own
dedicated power amplifier.
The Montis is state of the art in all the areas
for which electrostatics are traditionally
outstanding: it has a tonal balance that while
not quite dead neutral (more on this in a
moment) always sounds supremely natural and
extremely smooth. It is as sonically transparent
a transducer as any ever madecertainly as
any Ive ever heard, which is to say that it rivals
any Quad of my experience, which includes
every Quad ESL ever made. It has dynamic
range that is quite beyond the capability of any
Quad and for that matter any other ESLs of my
experience, including Acoustats. (Acoustats
might have had the capability to play as loud,
but they were so damned inefficient that I doubt
amplifier power existed to make it possible.)
And its frequency response, especially at the
bottom end, not only exceeds Quads, it exceeds
many socalled fullrange cone speakers with
which I am familiar. Finally, it can do size to
match any Magneplanar Ive ever heard without
what always strikes me as the Maggies tonal
anomalies and discontinuities (much improved,
I grant, in the latest models, but still not enough
to persuade me).
What seduced my wife about the Montis
was its musicality and warmth. Danielle is no
audiophileaccompanying me that afternoon

last year at Newport was her one concession to
an audio show in sixteen years of marriage! By
warmth she didnt mean the term as audiophiles
typically use it; rather, she meant that it didnt
sound hi-fi, as in edgy, bright, toppy, glaring,
irritating, and relentlessly, fatiguingly overdetailed. In this she was absolutely correct. In
fact, the Montis, as measured by Robert Greene
in my room, is ever so slightly forgiving in the 2k4k region, and above that exhibits a mild sloping
response. Together these characteristics are
neither gross nor obvious, and do not manifest
themselves as coloration or a significant
deviation from overall neutrality. The effect
is rather more like a shift in perspective from,
say, row AG to H-P. This means that with
recordings that are far too closely miked,
which is to say most recordings, the Montis
will actually sound more natural in ways that
a literally accurate speaker will not. If I were
to search for a thumbnail characterization, Id
say its tonal character is reminiscent of what
in the old days used to be called New England
sound: essentially neutral, uncolored, smooth,
civilized, maybe a bit polite. But with one huge
difference: no New England speaker Ive ever
heard was ever capable of a presentation as full
of life and vitality as the Montis, able to scale
instruments to life size and bring the room as
alive with music. And no such speaker ever
sounded as open and free from a box as this
one.
Because the Montis has a tonal profile more
or less similar to that exhibited by most really
good concert halls, it almost always sounds
musically right, natural, and realistic. Of course,
the smart money will tell you that you should
look elsewhere if you want to play rock and roll,

and for many listeners that advice may indeed
be smart. I dont listen to a lot of rock myself,
but what I do listen tofrom Buddy Holly to the
Rolling Stonessounds great on the Montis,
not least because of how big the projection is.
Mick Jagger at his raunchiest certainly doesnt
come across as polite, and when the singers
come in behind Cat Stevens on the last cut of
Tea for the Tillerman, the effectdynamically,
spatially, dimensionallylifts me out of my seat.
And thanks to that wondrous woofer, any sort
of drums and electronically generated bass
are sensationally strong and clean with superb
definition and control.
When it comes to classical music, the Montis
presentation of large orchestral and choral
music or opera is spectacular in scale, impact,
and once again that elusive sense of realism:
The presentation open outs with tremendous
size, weight, and impact. The brindisi from
the new Chicago Symphony Otello, conducted
by Muti, is presented exactly as recorded:
a concert performance with the orchestra
spread out in a Cineramasized array, the large
chorus toward the rear, and the soloists front
and center. Bass response is fabulous, clarity
fantastic, and dynamic range sensational.
With performances that are aurally staged
for recording, like the SoltiCulshaw Ring, the
Bernstein Carmen, and Joel Cohens Sing We
Noel, the Montis soundstage is so convincingly
three-dimensional that I found myself
wondering why anyone needs to bother with
surround sound. On smaller ensembles, the
same uncanny sense of transporting either you
to the venue or the performers into your room
obtains. One of the best choral recordings of
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recent years is Conspirares Sacred Spirit of

Russia [HMUSA], which captures the spacious
acoustics of a beautiful-sounding church (in
Austin, Texas) to a fare thee well. When the
small chorus sing out and the voices expand
to fill the room, youll hear an object lesson in
what loudness level in relationship to volume
is all about. When the material is intimate
and miked well, like some string quartets, the
impression of the instruments arrayed across
the room behind the speakers is spooky in its
dimensionality, body, and sheer here they
are presence: The Yale Quartet in Beethovens
Opus 132 or Sonny Rollins in Way Out West are
different examples.
As noted, MartinLogan specifies the -3dB at
29Hz. Ladies and gentlemen, that is very low
for a full-range system of any price and size and
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for once I am inclined to take it at face value.

Playing Volume Two of Kei Koitos Bach organ
recital [Claves] boggles the mind that such
depth, resolution, and sheer power are coming
out of a single 10inch woofer. String bass from
jazz ensembles have an ideal combination of
definition and fullness and they never sound dry.
No, the Montis doesnt reproduce that sense of
subterranean bass or the full room sound that
a true subwoofer like the REL 528SE does (Issue
241), but that seems to me just about the only
way it falls short. And keep in mind, very few full
range speakers out there will descend as low
as the Montis does before they start doubling;
meanwhile, you can always add a REL or one
of MLs own subwoofers for performance that I
doubt any fullrange speaker in a single enclosure
or array would equal or surpass.
No speaker is perfect, and the Montis

is no exception. That mild trough in the
presence region can occasionally have the
effect of making the presentation, notably
of solo voices, fractionally less immediate,
which a comparison to my Quad 2805s
or Harbeth Monitor 30.1s readily reveals.
But for my tastes this is compensated
for by a midrange and lower midrange
of such lifelike dimensionality that I
dont mind. Ive called attention to the
speakers soundstaging capabilities, than
which I have heard none superior. But the
soundstaging is better than the imaging
as such. Owing in large part, I assume, to
the curvilinear panels with their increased
lateral dispersion and the fact that this
also seems to affect the back wave
(these being dipoles), the fabulous spatial
characteristic of the Montis extracts a
small price in imaging specificity. I dont want to
make too much of this. You will not hear ten-foot
wide violins unless theyre recorded that way;
mono images stay focused in the center; and
movements within the soundstage are clearly
trackable, e.g., the way the recorder advances
from back to front in the left channel, crosses the
room, and recedes in the right channel on The
Christmas Revels. As befits its spaciousness, the
Montis almost always sounds realistic. Indeed, a
few days before writing this review I heard an
orchestra in a moderately sized hall where I was
sitting in row P, and with eyes closed it was not
possible to pinpoint exactly where, say, the wind
soloists were sitting, though the general vicinity
was obvious to within a few feet. The point I want
to make is that while the Montis is not imprecise
when it comes to imaging, neither is it laser-like
in its ability to resolve positional cues with a

cartographers exactitude, the way, say, a Quad
or a really good compactmonitor like Harbeth
30.1 or a Magico is if you seat yourself in the
middle, have all the levels correctly matched,
and the recording allows for it. But never once
while listening to music was I ever aware of this
deficiency; I draw attention to it only because
I know there are readers for whom this is an
issue of supreme importance (as it is not for me).
The Montis, like all ML speakers, comes
with an exceptionally comprehensive and
instructive manual to assist even a neophyte in
getting the best performance in real listening
rooms. This is one manual thats worth reading
carefully and at least trying out some of what is
suggested. The only caveat I have is a formula
ML offers for triangulating the speaker to side,
front, and listening position distances. I tried
this formula, which situated the speakers fairly
close to the front wall and which resulted in a
closeddown presentation that robbed the sound
of its life, vitality, and dimensionality. (Robert
Greene was visiting that day and he concurred.)
Like everyone else who manufactures planar
loudspeakers from Quad to Magneplanar,
MartinLogan is, let us say, optimistic about
how close you can move their speakers toward
the front wall without seriously impairing
performance. My advice is to keep them well
out from the wall and as far as you can from
the sidewalls without compromising a good
stereo spread. Then pay careful attention to
the manuals advice for toein and you will have
a presentation that just about ideally mediates
imaging precision, soundstaging, and tonal
balance.
Equally important to enjoy the integration
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between the woofer and the CLS panel that
is possible with this design is the woofer-level
adjustment on the back. The natural tendency
of most audiophiles will be to leave the indicator
at the mid or 0 position or to raise it. Go
ahead and start there, but if you begin to hear
the woofer as a separate contribution to the
overall sound, then you almost certainly have
it adjusted too high. In my room, for example,
three makings below the middle position
yielded both the flattest measured response
and the most seamless integration.
Like any accurate speaker system, the Montis
will tell you whats ahead of it in the reproducing
chain. I started with the Zesto Audio Bia, an
all-tube amplifier with what I suspect may be
a highish output impedance. The results were
predictable. The midrange was gorgeous and
anything I played was meltingly beautiful. But
while the bass was strong and powerful with
good definition and splendid bloom, Id have
to lie to say it had the kind of sheer force
and crunch that the NAD M50 brought to
the proceedings. Same with the top end: The
combination of the BIA together with the MLs
own sloping response was, welllets just say
that it was very kind to my dogs ears. Mine too,
but at the same time I never felt that certain
kinds of high percussion ever bit the ear in
that pleasingly scintillating way that high hats,
cymbals, even the highest reaches of the piano
can. Switch over to the NAD and you hear what
youre missing. Mind you, I could listen to the
BIA/Montis combination until the cows came
home, so musically valid and pleasing is it. But
just know that it doesnt allow you to hear the
whole of what the Montis is capable of, which
is to say that it can kick a lot more booty and
more effectively with good solid-state units.

In truth, I was happy with either combination,
but I suspect most listeners will lean toward
solidstate.
I deliberately waited until I took all my notes
and virtually had the review written before I
went back and read Dick Olshers review of
the Summit X. I was pleased to discover that
what we had to say tallied so closely with one
another, including even our impressions of
tube versus transistor amplifiers. The Montis
is one of a tiny handful of the finest speakers
Ive ever been privileged to review and one of
the finest Ive ever heard regardless of design,
type, complexity, or pricespeaking of which,
Ive carefully withheld that piece of information
until now so as to not to prejudice the snobs
who let price determine how good an audio
product is allowed to sound. The Montis
costs $9995 a pair. That is not a misprint, nor
am I going to condemn it further by using the
B wordyou know the one I mean, the one
with seven letters ending in n, that is code
among some audiophiles (and, alas, far too
many reviewers) to mean the product theyll
settle for when they cant afford the one they
really want. No, as I said at the outset, this
is a great speaker system. Period. Like my
Quad 2805 or ESL-57 or Harbeths Monitor
40.1 and 30.1, the Montis is capable of doing
some things Ive never heard bettered by any
speaker regardless of size, price, or design. One
thing that makes it very special, however, is
how dramatically lifelike it can sound because
of the way its prioritized its sonic and musical
goals in just the right order and proportions,
while minimizing or eliminating inevitable
compromises and trade-offs. No, Im not about
to replace my 2805its slightly superior tonal

neutrality and coherence, not to mention its
vanishingly low coloration, still carry the day
for mebut if I had room enough for another
set up, the Montis would be on the shortest of
short lists.
And let me leave you with this: A producer
friend of mine who makes consistently some
of the very finest recordings of classical music
anywherea number of her recordings are
used as references by reviewers on this and
other high-end audio magazinesalso owns
Quad 2805s. When she played several of her
recordings on the Montis in my listening room,
she pronounced it the finest reproduction of
any setup she has ever heard. No, shes not
giving up her Quads either, but she is planning
to purchase a pair of the Montis. Thats a higher
recommendation than anything I could write.
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Featured Review
MartinLogan
Summit X
Xtasy
Dick Olsher
For MartinLogan X marks the spot. Promoted as the worlds best hybrid electrostatic, the
Summit X does in fact redefine sonic expectations in this particular loudspeaker genre.
Updated from the original Summit, the X features redesigned crossovers and electronics. On
paper the hybrid approach makes perfect sense. The goal is to blend electrostatic mids and
highs with a conventional woofer for enhanced dynamics and bass extension. The key word
here is blend, as too often the end result had been a discombobularity where the transducers
were joined at the hip. This may not be a rigorous technical term but it perfectly captures the
sensation of listening to disparate drivers whose radiation pattern and resonant signatures are
distinctly different.
No one has been at it longer or worked harder
at it than MartinLogan. It has been a long climb
to the summit, but Im pleased to pronounce the
Summit X as the winner. It succeeds on multiple
levels, including industrial design. Framed by
extruded aluminum-alloy pillars, a Curvilinear
Line Source (CLS) transducer presents a slim
and elegant faade that should translate into
a high wife acceptance factor. A curvilinear
diaphragm requires the steel stator panels to be
positioned front and back to exacting tolerances,
and that is only possible with the help of a rigid
frame. The stators are said to expose twice as
much diaphragm surface area as a similar sized
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conventional electrostatic panel. This means that

not only can you see through them more readily,
but also more sound energy is radiated into the
room.
The woofers and a bevy of electronics are
packaged in a modestly sized bass module that is
neatly tucked away on the backside. It is home to
a pair of 10" aluminum cone woofers (one facing
out and one firing downward) and two 200W Class
D amplifiers. There are no bass-reflex ports to be
seen anywhere. The enclosure is sealed and the
frequency response is equalized and contoured
to provide extension into the low 20slower
response, in fact, than that of many so-called
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MartinLogan Summit X
subwoofers. Of course, the bass is actively
powered. The nominal crossover frequency is
270Hz, which means that the external power
amp you connect only drives the electrostatic
panels, while the built-in power amplifiers take
over below that frequency. For those of you
who are curious, here is a synopsis of the signal
path flow based on information kindly provided
by Devin Zell at ML: From the binding posts
the signal proceeds in two directions. For the
ESL transducer, there is a passive high-pass
filter followed by a step-up transformer. For
the bass, the signal is first stepped down to a
preamplifier line-level. The signal then passes
through (not necessarily in exact order) lowpass and high-pass filters, EQ filters, and 25
and 50Hz EQ controls. The signal is then split
and fed to custom filters to implement the
controlled-dispersion PoweredForce bass. Bass
signals are monitored to prevent amplifierclipping or overdrive conditions before being
fed to the power amplifiers to drive the woofers.
Apparently, all of this electronic wizardry is
loosely denoted as the Vojtko crossover,
designed by or under the supervision of Chief
Audio Technologist and resident genius, Mr.
Joe Vojtko.
You may wonder what exactly Controlled
Dispersion PoweredForce bass is all about.
Being an essential factor in the Summits
transducer integration, its worth an in-depth
look. The basic idea is to make the woofers
dispersion pattern around the crossover
point mimic the dipole radiator pattern of the
electrostatic panel. It is well known that a
dipole exhibits a figure-eight radiation pattern
with little side radiation in the bass and a back
wave that is 180-degree out of phase with the
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front wave. Output cancellation occurs when

the wavelength is large enough to wrap around
the baffle. The Vojtko crossover allows the
woofers to remain in phase below 100Hz and
radiate omnidirectionally. Woofer phasing is
shifted slowly between 100 and 160Hz so that
the front and back woofer output becomes
dipole-like above 160Hz. The end result is that
in the overlap region between the transducers
the wave launch blends cohesively, giving the
impression of a single transducer at work. Well,
the concept works well enough except for one
missing detail and that is matching surface
loudness density. While the electrostatic panel
distributes sound energy over a fairly large
surface area, the woofers output is confined to
a small area. A piano makes for an instructive
analogy. It generates a lot of acoustic energy
but it is spread out over a large soundboard.
By contrast, a conventional woofer squeezes a
pianos low end out of a 10-inch-or-so diameter
area, effectively a point source relative to
wavelength. You obviously will not notice
anything unusual about the bass range when
transitioning to the Summit from a box speaker.
But if you are accustomed to planar bass, e.g.,
Magnepan, or in my case the Analysis Audio
Omega planar magnetic/ribbon, then its easy
to recognize the surface loudness difference.
In a nutshell, planar bass is spatially more
expansive, and hence more realistic.
Given its 91dB sensitivity, you would think
that driving the stat panel would be a piece
of cake for even low-power tube amplification.
I was looking forward to deploying my
substantial collection of 30Wpc tube amplifiers
in the pursuit of sonic bliss. Unfortunately,
that notion went right out the window. The
electrostatic panels impedance is capacitive in

nature and decreases with increasing energy,
reaching a minimum of 0.8 ohms at 20kHz.
That makes the Summit a prime candidate for
amplifier-speaker interaction. Unless an amps
source impedance is very low, meaning that its
damping factor (DF) is high, it will invariably roll
off the treble. The Berning ZH-230 struggled in
this respect as did other tube amps. A typical
tube amplifier with a source impedance of
about 1 ohm is said to have a DF of 8 relative
to an 8-ohm load. The same amp would exhibit
a DF of less than one driving the electrostatic
panel at 20kHz. One tube amp in particular
started rolling off the Summit at 5kHz and was
down 10dB at 20kHz. Make no mistake about
it: This represents significant adulteration of
the tonal balance. The amps that performed
best in preserving the Summits frequency
response were high-DF solid-state (rather than
hollow-state) designs, with a minimum DF of
150 relative to 8 ohms. MartinLogan doesnt
recommend any particular amplifier; however,
I can. My two favorite amps for the task at
hand turned out to be the Electrocompaniet
AW180 (DF=1000) and my Ampzilla II (DF=150),
refurbished and upgraded to a FET front end by
Mike Bettinger, GASAudio.net.
It seems to me that two-channel audios best
chance of survival in a surround-sound world
is in the hands of dipole loudspeakers. My
imaging priorities are a stable out-of-the box
soundstage and realistic image size. In these
areas, dipoles, and in particular planars, have in
my experience outperformed conventional box
speakers. Im not a fan of pin-point imaging,
which my British peers have held up as a gold
standard for over a generation. I rather prefer
The Absolute Sound 2013

Golden Ear Awards
MartinLogan
Summit X
Loudspeaker
I called the Summit X a nearly perfect union of
electrodynamic and electrostatic drivers and I
continue to be Xtatic about the Summit X. It
redefines what is possible in the hybrid ESL genre
by coupling a Curvilinear Line Source featuring the
XStat electrostatic transducer to an active bass
system. The latter includes a pair of 10" aluminum
cone woofers and two 200W Class D amplifiers,
using a Vojtko Voiced crossover network. Expect
bass extension to 20Hz with plenty of slam and no
discontinuity at the crossover region. Exceptional
soundstage transparency is on tap together with
the traditional ESL virtues of transient speed and
detail resolution. Tonal balance is slightly on the lean
side. Treble balance may be dialed in by toeing-in the
speakers so that their axes intersect in front of the
listening seat. Due to its capacitive impedance above
300Hz, the Summit is most comfortable being driven
by a solid-state amplifier, though tubes may be used
as well if some treble roll-off is acceptable. It is most
likely the best-sounding hybrid ESL in the world, and
that is bad news for expensive box speakers. (209)
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image outlines to possess realistic extension
rather than to be midget-sized, condensed,
if you will, into a virtual star field. Planars,
including the electrostatic transducer, do a nice
job of simulating a realistic height and depth
perspective.
Setup, however, is critical and a bit more challenging in the case of a dipole. As with all dipoles, its essential to have some control over
the listening environment. For optimal performance the speakers should be positioned about
five feet from the rear wall. Be sure to read the
owners manual for a good discussion of set-
up strategy. A key adjustment is toe-in angle.

Be sure to experiment in this regard, as it seriously impacts the overall tonal balance. As the
speaker is rotated from fully toed-in to straight
ahead, the frequency range affected is 2kHz to
10kHz. In particular, expect a 3 to 4dB reduction
in the range of 3 to 4kHz, which is right smack in
the upper midrange and presence regions. In my
room a straight-ahead orientation worked best
that is, no toe-in, with the listening seat in line
with the inner third of the electrostatic panel.
Of course, your tastes may differ from mine. I
strongly dislike a bright tonal balance. Ive been
SPECS & PRICING

Frequency response: 2423,000 Hz +/-3dB
MartinLogan LTD
Horizontal dispersion: 30
2101 Delaware St.
Vertical dispersion: 44 (112cm) line source
Lawrence, KS 66046
High-frequency transducer: XStat electrostatic transducer:
(785) 749-0133
44" x 11.3" (497 square inches)
martinlogan.com
Low-frequency transducer: Two 10" cast-basket, highexcursion woofers
Amplifier: Woofer, 200Wpc (4 ohms)
Kuzma Reference turntable; Kuzma Stogi Reference
Sensitivity: 91dB/2.83 V/1 meter
313 VTA tonearm; Symphonic Line RG-8 Gold MC
Impedance: 4 ohms, nominal; 0.8 ohms, minimum at
phono cartridge; Air Tight ATE-2 phono preamp;
20kHz
SoundTradition Live! MC-10 step-up; Weiss Engineering
Recommended amplifier power: 20600 watts per channel
Jason CD transport and Medea DAC; Concert Fidelity
Crossover frequency: 270Hz
CF-080 line preamplifier; Lamm Audio M1.2 Reference,
EQ controls: +/-10dB at 25Hz; +/-10 dB at 50Hz
Electrocompaniet AW180, and deHavilland 50A
Power Draw: Standby: <1W/channel; Max: 350Wpc
monoblocks, GASAudio.net Ampzilla II and Berning ZH230
Dimensions: 12.7" x 60.9" x 21.3"
stereo power amps; FMS Nexus-2 interconnects; FMS
Weight: 75 lbs.
Nexus speaker cable
Price: $14,999
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accused occasionally of disliking treble. For the

record, I think that treble has its place; it should
fit within a realistic tonal perspective. And if
that means a slight treble roll-off with increasing frequency, the result of no toe-in, so be it. It
is also possible to adjust the vertical angle of the
panel from -1 to -11 degrees by appropriate selection of front and rear feet. The feet are set for
-5 degree out of the box, which should work for
most listening environments. Finally, be sure to
break in the woofers for the full 72 hours recommended in the manual. The Butyl surrounds are
stiff and need plenty of exercising before bass
output reaches specification.
Conceptually it is quite proper to view the
Summit as a full-range transducer with bass
augmentation. The payoff is total cohesiveness
starting in the lower mids and extending to
the upper treble. The conventional approach
to designing a wide-bandwidth speaker is to
deploy a bevy of drivers: woofers, midrange,
tweeter, and possibly even a super-tweeter.
The assumption inherent in any multiway box
speaker is that it is possible to chop up the
corpus of the music using crossover networks
and then reconstitute it acoustically. The ugly
truth is that since the drivers acoustic centers
are typically non-coincident on the front baffle,
there is considerable interference between
them. Move your head a few inches up or down
and the frequency response changes. Theres
usually one axis on which measured response
looks good, and thats the one you would
expect to show up in the sales brochure. The
electrostatic panel, on the other hand, does
not suffer from such issues. The measured
frequency response at the listening seat
was quite smooth above 300Hz. The payoff
of speaking with one voice over the critical
Bonus Content
FURTHER THOUGHTS
As you might expect, my reference system
is in a constant state of flux with speakers
rotating in and out to accommodate ongoing
review projects. The transition from the Summit
X to a conventional box speaker invariably
surprises me with its radically different image
size perspective. Its not as though image
size is somehow encoded during a recording
session; a two-channel mix down cant do that.
The key point is that a planar transducer is
able to synthesize the impression of a height
perspective with reasonable realism, whereas
a small midrange or mid-woofer driver tends to
collapse image size to a tidy point within the
soundstage. Perhaps its a personal preference
or a question of being within ones comfort
zone, but when I kick back to enjoy the music
its far easier for me to accept the Summits
version of reality. No subwoofers need apply.
Ive had no interest in complicating matters
with an external subwoofer. And why should
I with bass extension approaching 20Hz and
superlative midbass dynamics. My enthusiasm
for the Summit X has not diminished over the
past several years. Speakers have come and
gone, but it is still one of the main pillars of
my reference system, and in my estimation, a
classic in the making. Dick Olsher
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midrange and upper octaves is a stable and
extremely transparent soundstage. In my room,
the resultant soundstage width extended well
beyond the speakers outer edge, and the depth
perspective was fully fleshed out. It was truly
spooky at times, when the sensation of being
able to reach out and touch someone took hold.
With no veiling to speak of, stage lighting, if
you will, was fully turned on. It was effortless
accessing the inner recesses of the soundstage
to localize a particular spatial outline. My gut
feeling was that transparency was not only as
good as Ive experienced, but also as good as
its likely to get.
The traditional electrostatic virtues of
transient speed and detail resolution were very
much in evidence. The mechanics of musicmaking are about starting and stopping, attack
and decay, and this the Summit reproduced
with excellent fidelity to the real thing. It was
easy to hear deeply into a complex mix or to
resolve nuances inherent in cymbal brush work.
Harmonic textures impressed with exceedingly
low distortion levels, as pure and sweet as a
snow white dove. There was more, however, to
the Summit than just pretty sound. Talk about
spontaneous combustion! Its presentation
sparkled with dynamic nuance, and given the
chance in matching amplification, musical
lines caught on fire delivering the musics full
emotional intensity.
And unlike full-range electrostatics, it could
really push the pedal to the metal, changing
gears from soft to loud effortlesslyno strain,
no pain. In my room, bass extension was
nearly 20Hz, putting to shame all extant fullrange ESL designs. Midbass headroom was
stupendous, generating an impressive punch

factor on tympani strikes. It was more than just
a case of quantity; bass lines were generally
tight and well defined. The combination of nonresonant bass and midrange clarity added up
to unadulterated timing cues and a compelling
sensation of rhythmic drive. I preferred to
leave the bass EQ controls at the 0dB setting.
Even a +2dB adjustment at 50Hz resulted in
noticeably ripe midbass. Actually, the problem
in my room was a response notch in the upper
bass, centered at about 200Hz. The result was
a slightly lean tonal balance lacking the big tone
presentation of my Omega planar magnetics.
There may well be a slight dip around the
crossover frequency at 270Hz, which is further
exacerbated by room modes. In any event, I
certainly could have used a bit more upper bass
output, say +3dB. It would have been really nice
to trade the 25Hz control for one at 200Hz.
How about it, MartinLogan? In most rooms
its either the midbass or the upper bass that
needs fixing, making 50Hz and 200Hz controls
most relevant.
If a speaker ever deserved hyperbolic
praise, it is the Summit X. Im Xtatic about
the Summit X! It represents a technological triumph, but most importantly, technology in the service of music. Whether youre an
oil Sheikh or on a more moderate budget, the
Summit X should be on your short buy list. I
can safely affirm that it is the best-sounding hybrid ESL in the world, and that is bad news for
expensive box speakers. In fact, I cant think of a
box speaker under $40k I would rather live with.
A mandatory audition for anyone serious about
reproduced music.
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Magnepan Super
MMG System
Inimitable
Neil Gader
any of my encounters with Magnepan loudspeakers predate my high-end

audio writing by many years. Even now the instant I hear a Maggie system
Im transported back as if by time machine to the late seventies and to the
home of a friend who owned a six-panel Magneplanar Tympani 1D system driven
by the legendary Audio Research SP3a preamp (with Van Alstine modification
naturally) and the sock-it-to-me D150 stereo amplifier. Id bring over handfuls of
EMI and Decca pressings and thumb through the latest issue of the then digestsized TAS and spend countless hours immersed in the listening experience.
Compared with most of the cone transducers
of the day the Tympani 1D had an astounding
midrange, a crystalline transparency, and
immediacy to burn. It was a sound pure and
unfettered by cabinet coloration. What was
perhaps its most gasp-worthy attribute, and
the narcotic that had me returning week in
and week out, was the huge wave-front that
it launched from its massive radiating area.
It scaled symphonic images and soundstage
information with rare authority. In that aspect
it recalled the Cinerama theaters of the 1960s,
which would sometimes play a little game with
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audiences to gin up expectations. As show

time arrived, the curtain would open but only
to the normal screen size and then pause. An
instant later the curtain would resume opening,
widening ever closer to the wings of the
proscenium, the audience howling in delight.
This was the same super-scaled wow that I
got whenever I listened to Maggies.
I have to admit that after just a few short
minutes listening to Magnepans entry-level
system, dubbed the Super MMG, the wow
factor is still there. The Super MMG system,
priced between $1199 and $1750 depending
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EQUIPMENT review - Magnepan Super MMG System

on configuration, is a slightly different take on
the tried-and-true for Magnepan. This MMG is
Magnepans smallest panel. Its the familiar twoway planar-magnetic design with a quasi-ribbon
tweeter. It operates unlike a dome/cone in that
instead of a voice coil the audio signal drives a
series of evenly spaced wires glued to a low-mass
Mylar diaphragm. The diaphragm is suspended
between magnets. Unlike electrostatics,
planar-magnetic designs do not require large
transformers or a connection to an AC outlet to
polarize the membrane. The MMG quasi-ribbon
is also Mylar film, a difference that distinguishes
it from the aluminum foil true ribbon design
found in Magnepans more expensive offerings.
[In a true ribbon, the diaphragm is also the
conductor. In a quasi-ribbon, conductors are
bonded to the diaphragm. RH]
The Super MMG system is actually a package
that includes a single Diplanar Woofer Module
or DWM (dual DWMs are an option). To attain
Super status the original MMG has been
lightly hot-rodded throughout but optimized
particularly in the crossover section for this
pairing. The discretely proportioned DWM is
designed to reinforce the bass and midbass
region by adding diaphragm area. Rolloff of the
shallow-slope crossover extends into the upper
bass/lower mids. Power? Although Maggies have
no need for transformers like their electrostatic
cousins, they do require amps capable of driving
4-ohm loads. And they do like powerto that
end its instructive to remember that most of
the surface area of the Maggie is dedicated to
power-hungry low frequencies.
Knowing how difficult it is to earn acceptance
of a third or potentially fourth speaker in the
room, Magnepan has designed the DWM so that

it can be easily disguised as furniture or even
hidden within an existing cabinet, if there is
at least 30% open area within the cabinet for
bass frequencies to escape. Examples of these
options can be viewed on the Magnepan Web
site. Finally for interested parties without a
dealer in the neighborhood, the Super MMG
system is available as part of Magnepans very
accommodating 60-day unconditional home
trial.
I listened to the system three waysMMG solo
to get my bearings, with a single DWM, and with
double DWMs. Adding a DWM was easy. Simply
connect the amplifier to the Amp In taps and
then connect the speaker pair to the high-level
Output taps. These are designed for banana
plugs or bare-wire connection but Magnepan
offers spade adapters if needed.
I have a habit (self-diagnosed) that when I
sit down in front of a pair of Maggies I tend to
gravitate away from heavy, beat-oriented rock
and towards acoustic, classical, or otherwise
minimally processed music. Its not because a
speaker like the Super MMG wont do Metallica
or Green Dayit mostly will. Rather its been the
case that its sweetest charms are inextricably
linked to the greater micro-dynamic and
harmonic complexities that make up acoustic
music and that are typically squeezed out
of most pop mixes when they hit the digital
plumbing of compressors and ProTools.
So, out came the discs that many speakers
in this price segment tend to struggle with.
Suddenly the delicate and plaintive harp motif
in the corner of the orchestra during The Wasps
[RCA] found its harmonic range or the soaring
piccolo during Pulcinella [Argo] sweetened and

soared without a hard brittle overlay. But most
impressive was how the cavernous, dimensional
space of large venues came alive, like the
Troy Savings Bank Auditorium in New York on
Laurel Masss Feather & Bone. Reverberant
information was no longer condensed as if
needing to fit within a small box.
The Super MMGs low distortion and effortless
transient attack reveal the tiniest intricacies
the depths of string section layering as well as
the individuation of musicians. In at least these
criteria they are indeed faster than a speeding
bullet. The Super MMGs virtually caress the
atmospherics of fragile percussion instruments
and even the smallest cues can be startling in
their immediacy. From the rattles of a snare
drum to the jangles of a tambourine, I kept
thinking nano-dynamics as I listened to Holly
Coles track Train with its soft shakers, distant
vocal callouts, and assorted twangs and tinkles
by a menagerie of percussion.
These Maggies throw open windows onto
ambient and reverberant cues so that even
the most garish slap echoes are remarkable
to hear, as in the prime example that occurs
during Jennifer Warnes Song For Bernadette
from Famous Blue Raincoat [Impex]. Each time
Warnes sings a phrase ending in a consonant
(like the t at the end of Bernadette) youll
hear the sustained decay of the hard consonant
drifting like a feather on the air and disappearing
over an acoustic horizon. As I listened to Mary
Chapin-Carpenters Stones in the Road, the
focus of a finger-picked figure, the snap of a
flat-pick off the steel string, or the soft touch on
a piano keyboard were all there.
The MMG Supers tonal balance is generally

good but there are a couple bumps. I found a
bit of a presence rise in the roughly 2kHz region
and again in the sibilance range that lent the
SPECS & PRICING

Super MMG
Type: Two-way, quasi-ribbon planar-magnetic
Sensitivity: 86dB
Impedance: 4 ohms
Dimensions: 14.5" x 48" x 1.25"
Price: $1199 ($1750 with twin DWM panels)
DWM
Type: Planar-magnetic dipole bass panel
Frequency response: 40Hz200Hz
Sensitivity: 86dB
Impedance: 4 ohms
Dimensions: 19.25" x 22.5" x 1.25"
Magnepan
1645 Ninth Street
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
(651) 426-1645
magnepan.com
Associated Equipment: Sota Cosmos Series IV
turntable; SME V tonearm; Sumiko Palo Santos, Air
Tight PC-3; Parasound JC 3 phono; Synergistic Element
Tungsten/CTS, Wireworld Platinum interconnect &
speaker cables; AudioQuest Coffee USB & Firewire,
Synergistic Tesla & Audience Au24 SE phono &
powerChord, Wireworld Platinum power cords.
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EQUIPMENT review - Magnepan Super MMG System

system a more forward, detailed sound, but
neither of these was a glaring issue. Female
vocals evidence a little more head tone and
a little less chestiness, further confirming
the systems leans toward the more delicate
recorded information and away from heavier
dynamic histrionics.
My biggest issue with the system is its
relationship between soundstage/image scale
and the dynamic range that supports them. An
example would be the acoustic-guitar playing
of Nils Lofgren during his epic Keith Dont Go
track. Staging and scale are brilliantly rendered.
The cut features all kinds of timbral detail and
dynamic bravado as well as the sheer physicality
of his playing technique. However when Lofgren
thumb taps the bridge of the instrument for
additional percussion embellishment you should
feel the wavelaunch from the soundboard almost
like the impact of a drumhead. This is the region
where the Maggies tend to be a little lightthe
same region where cone transducers tend to
excel. So while the MMG unquestionably rules
the roost over micro-dynamics gradations from
the lower middle range on down, the delivery of
full-tilt macro-level energy is softened, lacking
the explosive immediacy of the live experience.
What does the DWM bring to the party? Since
its a midbass woofer, not a true sub, dont expect
bottom-octave excursions. Its more like a good
vitamin supplement that benefits the entire
system. The DWM refines pitch response and
kicks it up a gear dynamically. The entire system
gains a stronger sense of grounding. Response
well into the upper bass region becomes clearer
and more focused than with the MMG on its own.
And yes, its a little more kick-ass, too. Listen to
the bass vamp during the intro to Holly Coles

I Can See Clearly from Temptation. It doesnt
wilt or intensify depending on the note struck.
It supports but doesnt stomp on the speakers
transient gifts or otherwise cloud the sonic
landscape.
Integration is historically the bugaboo of
subwoofers and bass speakers. But the DWM
is pure dipole bass, freed of cabinet or port
coloration. The quality of its bass response is
in perfect character and perspective with the
rest of the system. In place of bottom-octave
extension it adds weight and secures the
soundstage and breathes gobs of ambience.
More than anything it magnifies the existing
resolution.
One DWM or two? There are two answers.
Room size is onea single for smaller, a double
for larger. Either way the DWM can grow on you.
But there is also the low-bass-quality factor.
Dual bass panels can provide a more even inroom responseeach bass panel effectively
filling in the frequency response dips of the
other, smoothing out the room-mode nulls and
peaks that occur in most acoustic settings.
The Super MMG system is such a winning
effort that its easy to lose sight of the fact that
its competing in the under-$2k price segment.
In fact I kept comparing it unconsciously to all
sorts of pricier speakers Ive written about in
the past few months. This is a loudspeaker of
such extreme value that failing to put it on your
shortlist only means short-changing yourself.
Leap tall buildings in a single bound? Well,
maybe not quite. But in most every other way,
super indeed.
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GoldenEar Technology Triton

Seven
Overachiever!
Chris Martens
enjoy ber-high-end audio equipment as much as the next fellow; nevertheless, I have an abiding
fondness for overachieving products that deliver high levels of performance for reasonable sums
of money. I suppose this has to do with my conviction that the enjoyment of music is (or in an
ideal world should be) something for all to enjoynot just for an elite, well-heeled few. My wish is that
high-end audio could be less a rich mans game and more a sport for the common man. Happily, at
least a few worthy high-end audio manufacturers share this wish and have developed products that
are affordable yet offer compelling and, in the best cases, downright brilliant sound quality. One such
product is the GoldenEar Technology Triton Seven floorstanding loudspeaker ($1399/pair) that is the
subject of this review.
Let me begin my supplying a bit of background. As most

of you know, GoldenEar Technology is a loudspeaker
manufacturer co-founded several years ago by Sandy
Gross, who was also the co-founder of Definitive Technology
and a co-founder of Polk Audio. Mr. Gross enjoys a welldeserved reputation as a serious, dyed-in-the-wool, highend audiophile, but what has made him a legend is his
unflagging commitment to producing speakers that offer
audiophile-worthy sound at down-to-earth prices (actually,
a hallmark of each of the speaker companies Gross helped
create). Thus far, GoldenEar has offered several ranges
of products, many of which have gone on to win critical
acclaim and numerous industry awards.
In view of Sandy Gross enviable track record over the
years, you might expect the Triton Sevens would simply be
chips off the old block, and in some senses they are. The
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Triton Sevens stand, at present, as the smallest and least

expensive of GoldenEars Triton Series floorstanders, and
a casual stroll through the technical specifications pages
at GoldenEars Web site conveys the impression that, while
Triton Sevens share some design features with the large
Triton Twos and Threes, they are in essence Triton Lites.
This impression, however, is misleading because somewhere
between the preparation of the specifications page and the
creation of the actual product a wonderful thing happened:
Namely, the Triton Sevens wound up sounding different
from and better than their bigger siblings in many of the
ways likely to matter most to audiophiles. Lets get this
straight: The Triton Sevens are smaller, less complex, and
less expensive than their stablemates, yet actually sound
all the better for it. How can this be?
In trying to assess what makes the Triton Sevens
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EQUIPMENT review - GoldenEar Technology Triton Seven

superior performers, I reflected on a line
attributed to the late, great British sports car
designer Colin Chapman (of Lotus fame). When
asked how to make racing cars go faster on
a consistent basis, Chapman is said to have
quipped, Simplicate, and add lightness. Well,
if asked what makes his new Triton Sevens
sound so very good, Sandy Gross might smile
and say that they simplify and add (sonic)
transparencyand we are speaking, here, of
transparency delivered by the bucket full. As
a result, the Triton Seven sounds remarkably
open, articulate, and revealingridiculously so
for its modest price.
At first glance, the Triton Seven seems
disarmingly simple. It is a compact tower-type
speaker that stands only 39.75" tall and that
sports just three active drive elements: a small
Heil-type HVFR (High Velocity Folded Ribbon)
tweeter flanked by two wide-bandwidth, highexcursion 5.25" mid/bass drivers (for more
on which, see below). For the necessary lowfrequency reinforcement the Triton Seven also
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provides a pair of side-firing 8" planar subbass radiators (i.e., passive radiators). The
speaker is housed in a svelte, gently sweptback, black-fabric-clad enclosure with a gloss
black trim cap on top and a matching black
floor-plinth embossed with a soft gold-colored
GoldenEar logo. If this capsule description
seems a little underwhelming, it helps to bear
in mind that with the Triton Seven, as with so
many other great loudspeakers, the genius is
in the details.
As I suggested above, the Triton Seven
combines several difficult-to-meld sonic
virtues. It offers plenty of resolution and high
degrees of transparency, and demonstrates
impressive transient quickness, yet also
sounds smooth. GoldenEar achieved this result
by carefully doing its homework in blending
the output of its lightning fast Heil-type HVFR
tweeters with the output of its also very fast,
wide-bandwidth piston-type mid/bass drivers.
The result may well be the most accomplished
hybrid mix of Heil-type and piston-type drivers
that I have yet heard in any loudspeaker,
regardless of price. GoldenEar has succeeded
where many others have tried and failed, partly
by banishing apparent speed and textural
discontinuities between the disparate driver
types, but alsomore importantlyby getting
them to sing with one coherent voice.
What is more, GoldenEar has fitted the
production-version Triton Sevens with allnew, long-throw mid/bass driversones that
dramatically up the performance vis--vis the
firms previous mid/basses. Audio journalists
and dealers who heard the prototype Triton
Sevens at CES 2013 are in for a real surprise,
because the difference these new mid/bass

drivers make is a large one. They offer audibly
higher resolution and quicker transient
response than GoldenEars previous mid/
basses did, which is saying a mouthful given
that the original drivers were already quite
good.
Second, the mid/bass drivers also offer
superior dynamic performance across the
board, not just in the sense of being able to
play more loudly (although they certainly can
do that), but also in the sense of revealing far
subtler shadings of dynamic expression.
Third, the new drivers have significantly
higher excursion limits than their precursors
did, which means they not only play gracefully
at higher output levels but also offer much
more extended bass response than before.
Unbelievable though this may seem, when
augmented by the Triton Sevens passive
radiators, those little mid/bass drivers produce
authoritative (and I mean really authoritative)
low-end response that extends well down into
the 30Hz range.
Finally, the Triton Seven enclosure is special.
The slender towers are designed to provide
the desirable damping characteristics of a
transmission-line enclosure with the low-end
weight, power, and efficiency of a sophisticated
passive radiator-equipped system. To this end,
GoldenEar strategically positions what are said
to be very effective though costly damping
materials directly behind the twin mid/basses
in the upper part of the tower. The damping
materials give the speaker excellent driver
control through the midrange, upper bass, and
midbass regions. But, as frequencies descend,
the damping materials allow the towers to

open up, permitting back-wave energy from
the mid/bass drivers to couple with their
associated passive radiators in an extremely
efficient way. The result is bass that is taut,
tuneful, and rhythmically correct, yet offers the
kind of low-frequency weight and slam typically
associated with much bigger speakers. Not a
bad days work for a pair of 5.25" drivers, eh?
(Hint: You can probably win wagers among
audiophile friends by daring them to guess the
size of the Triton Sevens woofers.)
Put all of these factors together and you
get what I think isdollar for dollarthe finest
affordable high-end loudspeaker Ive yet heard
(and I say this from the perspective of being
an enthusiastic user of Magnepan 1.7 planarmagnetic loudspeakers, which many of my
colleagues and I consider the greatest single
bargain in all of high-end audio). Let me offer
some observations based on real-world listening
experiences to help support that statement.
One of best qualities of the Triton Seven is its
almost eerie sense of focus. This became clear
for me as I listened to a series of tracks from
Anne Bissons Portraits & Perfumes [Camilio
Records]. Ms. Bisson has a distinctive voice
that is light and breathy yet full of underlying
richness and hints of wry humor just waiting to
be released. If you have ever heard Ms. Bisson
speak or sing, you might agree that her voice
is unforgettable. When I played Portraits &
Perfumes through the Triton Sevens there
was that voicesounding palpable, present,
richly textured, and reallooming between the
loudspeakers and positioned just a few feet
behind them. One might expect (or at least
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EQUIPMENT review - GoldenEar Technology Triton Seven
hope for) such moments of realism from loudspeakers carrying

steep price tags, but it is a real rarity to hear them served up by
speakers selling for just $1399/pair. But with the Triton Sevens,
moments of realism like these seem to occur early and often.
Next, the Triton Sevens offered remarkably good imaging and
three-dimensionality thanks, in large part, to their ability to
retrieve very low-level textural and transient details and thus to
capture subtle spatial cues in the music. To hear these qualities
in action, try Jamey Haddad, Lenny White, and Mark Shermans
Explorations in Time and Space [Chesky], which was recorded
without compression or equalization in the Hirsch Center for the
Performing Arts (formerly St. Elias Catholic Church) in Brooklyn,
NY. The album features a series of highly inventive interchanges
between three master percussionists, who perform on an
impressive array of instruments. On Explorations, the GoldenEars
generated exceptionally wide, deep, and precise soundstages,
revealing the exact locations of each of the percussionists (and
their various instruments) on stage. Even sounds emanating
from the far rear corners of the soundstage remained beautifully
focused, stable in their positions, and dynamically alive.
Finally, the Triton Sevens proved to be remarkably dynamically
expressivemuch more so than their size or configuration would
lead you to expect. A good example would be the Gerard Schwarz/
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Royal Liverpool Philharmonic performance of Alan Hovhanesss

Mount St. Helens Symphony [Alan Hovhaness, Mysterious Mountains, Telarc, SACD]a piece that paints a vivid symphonic picture
of the events leading up to the violent eruption of the Mount St.
Helens volcano. When heard under ideal circumstances, this recording offers up moments of delicate beauty juxtaposed with
majestic but at times quite explosive mood swings. Frankly, many
speakers turn the composition into a compressed dynamic muddle,
but the Triton Sevens did not. Instead, they effortlessly captured
the depth and breadth of the orchestral sections arrayed upon the
stage, rendering quieter passages with deft dynamic shadings.
Yet when the eruption passage came along, the Sevens shifted
dynamic gears instantly, reproducing the full, fierce, percussion
and brass blasts that represent the sheer power of the volcanos
eruption. If I hadnt experienced this with my own two ears, I would
never have thought speakers fitted with just two 5.25" mid/bass
drivers and a Heil-type tweeter could ever convey so much weight
and grandeur. Maybe less really is more.
Are there downsides here? Well, for those who want speakers
that can serve double-duty in music and home-theatre systems, or
that can play rock or other forms of power music at high volume
levels, GoldenEars larger Triton Two and Three towers might be
better choices than the Sevenslargely because they feature builtin powered subwoofers that extend bass depth and clout while making the speakers easier to drive. I would also say that for those who
prize uncanny top-to-bottom coherency and realistic image height
and scale, the Magnepan 1.7s (or the new Magnepan Super MMG
system) might be a better choice. But on the whole, the Triton Sevens can easily go toe-to-toe with any like-priced competitors and
can also handily outperform any number of higher-priced speakers. One last thought I will offer is that a downside of the Triton
Seven is that it will make you want to acquire the best associated
electronics and source components you can afford (but then, thats
always been the way of things with truly great loudspeakers).
Heres the bottom line: If you want to find out just how much
high-end goodness $1399 can buy in a pair of loudspeakers, then
you absolutely must audition the Triton Sevens. I consider this
speaker a masterpiece of value-oriented audio engineeringone

that sets a performance standard that will not easily be matched
or surpassed.
SPECS & PRICING

Type: Two-way, three-driver
player/DAC; Oppo BDP-105
floorstanding speaker with passive
universal/Blu-ray player/DAC;
radiators
AURALiC VEGA digital processor
Driver complement: One Heil-type
(DAC/preamp)
HVFR (high velocity folded ribbon)
Media Server: Lenovo ThinkPad
tweeter, two 5.25" cast-basket
PC with Intel i5 processor, 8GB
mid/bass drivers, two 8" passive
DDR, 128 GB SSD, and outboard
radiators
2TB Western Digital music library
drive; dBPoweramp ripping/format
Sensitivity: 89dB
conversion software, jRiver Media
Dimensions: 7.25" x 39.75" x 11"
Center 19 media management
Weight: 42 lbs. (shipping), 32 lbs.
software, JPLAY digital audio
(unpacked)
output software
Price: $1399/pair
Amplifier: Rega Osiris integrated

amplifier
GoldenEar Technology
Speakers: Magnepan 1.7
P.O. Box 141
Cables: Furutech Flux-series
Stevenson, MD 21153 USA
Evolution-series interconnects,
(410) 998-9134
speaker, and power cables; Kimber
goldenear.com
B Bus Ag USB cable

Power Conditioning: Furutech
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT
Daytona 303, PS Audio Soloist in-
Analog Sources: Nottingham
wall line conditioner
Analogue Systems Space 294
Racks and Isolation: Solid Tech
turntable/Ace-Space 294 tonearm;
Reference Racks of Silence with
Benz Micro ACE L moving coil
associated isolation accessories
cartridge, Fosgate Signature
Room Treatments: Auralex
phonostage
StudioFoam panels, RPG Binary
Digital Sources: Rega Isis CD
Abfuser Diffsorber (BAD) panels

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Revel Performa3 F206

and M106
Revels Rockin Reboot
Neil Gader
he Performa Series is the middle of the three lines from Revel, part of the
high-end division of Harman known as the Luxury Audio Group which also
manufactures JBL Synthesis, Lexicon, and, of course, Mark Levinson. Now
in its third generation, the Performa3 Series includes compact and floorstanding
models plus multichannel-specific loudspeakersthat is, center and surround
channels. This review considers the meat and potatoes of the Performa3 collection,
the mid-sized $3500 F206 floorstander and its stand-mounted cousin, the $2000
M106 (see Sidebar).
I have twice toured Harmans extensive R&D
facility in Northridge, a community in the north
valley region of Los Angeles. Im familiar with
the depth of research and analysis, the rigorous
product testing, and the extensive listening that
goes on there. Product changes are made after
great deliberation, and at a pace that suggests
little regard for the hiccups of market trends.
Thus models like the Ultima Salon2the Revel
flagshipand the earlier Performa F52 (a personal
favorite, see my review in Issue 162) have been
perennials on TAS Editors Choice list. However,
even the most successful products need a reboot
from time to time and Revels latest represents a
significant evolution of a proven loudspeaker line.
Visually the look of Performa3 is, indeed, more
in tune with todays market. Gone are the square
profile and sharp corners of the past. In their
place is a softer, more curvaceous enclosure nar73 Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers 2014
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rowing from the front baffle to the rear panela

look that bears distinct similarities to Ultima2.
Anchoring the enclosure is a flared plinth stabilized by heavy adjustable spiked footers. The Performa3s curved enclosures are inherentlystiffer
than the box shapes they replace and are formed
with contiguouswood layers and modified internal bracing patterns to address the non-parallel-walled construction. The loudspeaker grilles
attach magnetically and the enclosures are finished in high-gloss pianoblack or white or American walnut. Everyone who encountered them in
my listening room remarked on the superb finish
quality of the Indonesian-manufactured line.
For the record, the F206 is a three-way floorstander in a bass-reflex configuration fitted with
a front-firing port. The drivers include a pair of
6.5" woofers and a single 5.25" midrange transducer, both of which employ ribbed-aluminum diawww.theabsolutesound.com
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EQUIPMENT review - Revel Performa3 F206 and M106

phragms with cast-aluminum baskets. They also
feature copper Faraday rings that stabilize the
flux field during operation, assuring lower harmonic distortion even at high listening volumes.
Crossover points are 275Hz and 2.15kHz. The aluminum dome tweeter has been fashioned around
a newly designedmotor and dome assembly. But
the attention-getter is the tweeters integrated
and visually arresting acoustic-lens waveguide,
based, in Revels words, on a breakthrough
mathematical approach. Veteran Product Development Manager Kevin Voecks commented
that the primary point of using a waveguide is
to match the dispersion of the tweeter with that
of the midrange (or woofer, in a two-way system)
over the crossover range. The corresponding challenge is to avoid reducing the tweeters dispersion
above the crossover region. Voecks added that
this design actually achieves the hoped for result
of increasing the dispersion of the tweeter above
the crossover region while simultaneously decreasing the dispersion in the crossover region.
Revel followers will recall that power-response
performance (as in total radiated soundthe overall combination of on-axis and off-axis response)
has long been a focus of Revel engineering.
One thing is certain, it doesnt take a golden
ear to be smitten by the prodigious strengths
of the F206. In fact, it doesnt even take five
minutes. The speaker has charisma pure and
simpleand by that I mean it offers such an
enthusiastic outpouring of musicality, dynamic
energy, and imaging precision that it simply
commands its audiences attention.
The F206 is a paradigm of balanceone that
doesnt campaign for a specific sonic criterion to
the exclusion of others. Tonally there are no broad
flat spots or nasty peaks. Rather, it presents a

united front built upon low-frequency dynamic
reserves, excellent slam and midrange dynamic
presence, and a treble range thats eloquent yet
mercifully without the needle of tweeter localization. To some this essentially neutral tonal profile
may convey a little bit of the unblinking eye of a
studio control monitor. Frankly, compared to the
alternative, I consider that a more-than-laudable
goal. However, the F206 is better than that; its
openness in the treble and general tonal warmth
keep accusations of analytical at bay. Still, few
artifacts or colorations from other elements in
the system chain escape the F206s gaze.
Its core strength is the top-to-bottom
coherence of its four-driver array. The sound
emerges from a firmly rooted low-frequency
foundationan attribute that anchors all the
other elements of a symphony orchestra and
equally serves small combos, solo piano, or
rock/pop chestnuts. Theres not a whisper of
drivers going rogue or intimations of individual
transducers rat-tat-tating as if from a machine
gunners nest. Regardless of the source material,
I consistently experienced a sense of densely
packed layers of sound, an acoustic fabric of
seamless energy unbroken within the sturdy
proscenium created by the F206. While only a
mid-sized speaker it scales images grandly in
the room. As I listened to the now-classic LP
Sussex Overtures by Malcolm Arnold [Reference
Recordings RR-48] I noted the stunning image
separation, the contrasting tonal colors of the
clashing wind and brass sections, the transient
detail flying off the bow of the bass violins during
a pizzicato section, the waves of reverberant
air generated by the timpanists and percussion
section. (In the interests of full disclosure it

was only later, as I was casually scanning this
albums liner notes, that I was reminded that
Voecks, then of Snell Acoustics, is a credited
consultant on this superior album.)
As regards imaging, throughout my sessions
with the F206 and M106 I could hear something
different about the Performa3 tweeter and
waveguide. It was the element that separates
Performa3 from its predecessor. Clearly it was
integrating smoothly with the mids, as was
evident each time I played a choral track like the
Rutter Requiem [Reference]. The human voice,
solo or in groups, remains for me one of the best
means to validate inter-driver coherence. But
there was something more. And as I listened
to tracks of the Jimmy Cobb Quartet on Cobbs
Corner [Chesky], it crossed my mind just how well
the trumpet was supported from below and how
fully integrated it was within the venue. What was
different about the trumpets image, and now
as I look back on my listening notes the Revels
imaging in general, was a slightly greater width
to individual imagesless defined edges and
softer, more rounded boundaries. Certainly there
was plenty of transient mouthpiece and breath
action, but the Revels treble didnt etch images
as forcefully within the soundstage. It more
reasonably and, I think, accurately let images
open and spread their harmonic wings with
minimal constriction. For me, the Revel makes
the more authentic interpretation and creates a
sound that I expect to hear in the concert hall.
The overall quality of the bass is excellent,
honest, and strong. Its virtually billiard-table flat
down to forty cycles with solid response smoothly rolling off into the mid-thirties. This is exactly
as stated in the Revel literature, which I later confirmed with an informal RTA sweep in my room
the flattest in-room measurement Ive attained
outside of the omnidirectional mbl 120 (Issue
228). A hint of midbass warmth conveys weight
but also an organic sense of low-frequency air
that underscores the natural hall ambience of a
recording. The Revel narrowly misses the deepest wavelike rumblings of the pipe organ in Rutters Requiemthat adrenaline rush of floorboard
SPECS & PRICING

F206
Type: Three-way bass-reflex
Drivers: 1" tweeter, 5.25" mid, 6.5" woofers
Sensitivity: 88dB
Dimensions: 9.8" x 41.4" x 13.7"
Weight: 58 lbs.
Price: $3500
M106
Type: Two-way bass-reflex
Drivers: 1" tweeter, 6.5" woofer
Sensitivity: 87dB
Dimensions: 8.3" x 15" x 11"
Weight: 19 lbs.
Price: $2000
Harman International Industries
8500 Balboa Blvd.
Northridge, CA 91329
revelspeakers.com
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EQUIPMENT review - Revel Performa3 F206 and M106

and room-rafter excitation that makes the finest hairs on the back of your
neck stand up. But theres more than enough bass to satisfy all but the most
ardent subwoofer devotee.
The takeaway here is the level of quality and integration, as bass response
dovetails into the lower midrangea quality on display during Holly Coles
I Can See Clearly. On this track the bass line vamp has a distinctive,
almost bouncy up-tempo flavor meant to elicit the optimism that is the
songs theme. Each note, as if leaning forward ahead of the beat, should be
resolved cleanly and with definition. The F206 nailed them. Additionally
there is very little noise from the forward-firing port, and although the
bass-reflex configuration of the F206 isnt completely invisible, its impact
on the overall pace and flavor of the low-frequency reproduction is minor.
Turning to LP playback I pulled Christopher Cross eponymous debut
album from the racka multi-platinum blockbuster back in 1980. Cross
nabbed all four major Grammys for his efforts. In any case I hadnt listened
to this one in some time and was pleasantly surprised to discover just how
much low-level information and timbral detail were left in its grooves. The
seamless midrange/tweeter integration of the F206 made childs play of
the soaring string charts penned by co-producer Michael Omartian during
Sailing. Not to mention the inner detail and resolution the Revel displayed
reproducing the soulful backup singing by former Doobie Brothers front
man Michael McDonald during the monster radio hit Ride Like The Wind.
Still I have to admit there were moments when I longed for a slightly lighter and faster touch with transients and a more effortless sense of upper-frequency air and extension. Soundstage width is excellent but depth information is only average. The speaker does cry Uncle a bit on the deeper rumbles of the last half-octave or so of bottom bassso I could ask for slightly
more resolution of the deepest bass cues. Finally, whether its the cabinet
or the port or a combination of both, midbass information can sometimes
sound a mite over-ripe, making symphonic crescendos and heavy percussion lose some definition.
The Performa3 F206 and M106 are segment-defining loudspeakers. And
by emphasizing the sonic totality of the listening experience, they have
more than exceeded my already lofty expectations. Im often told that there
are no bargains anymore in the high end. Well, naysayers havent met the
F206 and M106. So seek them out. Revel has just given value-level a fresh
kick in the pants.
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Performa3 M106: Two Of A Kind

The M106 is the two-way, bass-reflex,
the effortless reach of the F206for
of the chorale. With the F206s greater
stand-mounted little brother to the
example, the piercing high-energy blasts
extension this moment is heard as a
F206. Visualize, if you will, the identical
of the trumpet solos in the Jimmy Cobb
rush of low-frequency air within the hall
tweeter and one of the woofers from the
disc are tamped down somewhat.
slowly escaping and wafting into the
F206, lop off about 60% of the cabinet,
It is exceedingly articulate in the
darkness until all is stillness. With the
and, voil, the M106. A difference in this
5060Hz midbass region, but it rolls off
smaller M106, this decay is accelerated,
iteration is that the port is mounted to
fairly quickly below that. And unlike the
the hall returning to silence on a much
the rear, preserving the short profile.
F206 with its superior extension and
shorter tail of resonance. And on Tom
Sensitivity is also down slightly as befits
more natural, looser feel in the bass,
Waits Come On Up To The House
the inefficiencies intrinsic in the smaller
the M106 expresses bass cues with an
from Mule Variations [Anti] theres some
cabinet. The 6.5" driver is now assigned
elevated sense of tension, in the same
overall compression that takes away a
a much wider band of frequencies to
way the higher strings of a guitar or violin
slight bit of the momentum of the track.
reproduce. Plus the crossover point is
are just a little tauter. So while Shelby
The effect of the tweeter/acoustic
raised to 2.3kHz in comparison to the
Lynnes Just A Little Lovin retains the
lens waveguide is slightly different in
F206s 2.15kHz.
satisfying mallet smack of the kick drum
the sense that resolution and imaging
Sonically theres no doubt that the
that rhythmically anchors this track,
are somewhat magnified with the M106;
M106 is cut from the same cloth as the
it also doesnt quite reflect the natural
the same elements are integrated more
F206, so Im not going to restate the
decaying ripple of the drum. A lot of
organically in the F206 due to its more
many similarities. There remains the
initial punch but not the full exhalation
powerful and extended bass response.
same wide midrange sweetspot of the
of resonance and air on the decay. This
But the M106 turns its own innate low-
floorstander, a vocal lovers dream.
sense of control has larger ramifications
octave limitations to its advantage
Theres a rewarding lack of localization
as
ambient
by unlocking a bounty of midrange
and estimable composure under all sorts
complexities on orchestral pieces like the
detail and by performing a soundstage
of dynamic firean imperturbable output
Rutter Requiem, which features a large
disappearing
so that even under punishing conditions
chorus and massive pipe organ in an
Copperfield. Like the F206, the M106 is
(a little Metallica perhaps?) it remains
equally massive acoustic space. Heres
also a segment-defining product. As the
frequency-response
where even the finest compacts find it
famous board game saying goes: Do not
cooler cast to its tonal balance, likely due
difficult to strike the balance between
pass go! Immediately place the M106
to the lighter bass, but its voice is still
bass extension and scale and ambience
on your short list and seek it out for
unmistakably F206.
retrieval. A prime example is midway
audition. NG
linear.
Theres
the
M106
deals
with
The M106 differs significantly in two
through the Lux Aeterna theme where
predictable areas. Dynamically it lacks
the organ stops dead beneath the voices
act
worthy
of
David
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GoldenEar Triton Two

Sophistication and Value by Design
Chris Martens
n the early 1970s Sandy Gross helped co-found Polk Audio and then teamed with Don Givogue in 1990 to found Definitive Technology.
Now, Gross and Givogue have joined forces again to create a third loudspeaker company: GoldenEar Technology. At each step along the
way, Gross and team have consistently pursued an idea that I, for one, hold dearnamely, the notion that high-end audio should be a sport
for all to play, not just an elite few with deep pockets. Naturally this means figuring out ways to build loudspeakers that deliver authentic
high-end sound, yet sell at a sub-high-end prices. Sadly, history has shown us that while many loudspeaker-makers have learned to talk the
talk of affordable high-end audio, relatively few seem able to successfully walk the walk. Why, then, should GoldenEar succeed where so
many have tried and failed?
Well, a big part of the answer is that Gross and
Givogue are seasoned industry veterans who share
a common goal and who complement one another
perfectly. Sandy is the visionary, the one with
the keen and discerning ears, and the one whose
restless and inventive streak drives him to make
good things better. He also has an uncanny gift for
creating speakers that fulfill the aspirations and
desires of music lovers, yet are priced within reach of
enthusiasts of moderate means. Don, in turn, is the
technically rigorous pragmatist, the no-nonsense
engineer, and the one whose deep manufacturing
expertise and discipline yields cost-effective
speakers with sonic benefits that are observable,
repeatable, and real. Putting their talents together,
Gross and Givogue have come up with what may
be their most accomplished loudspeaker to date:
the GoldenEar Technology Triton Two floorstander
($2995/pair)a speaker that debuted at the 2010
CEDIA show and has been impressing critical
listeners ever since.
The Triton Two is a three-way, five-driver, dual76 Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers 2014
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passive-radiator-equipped floorstander with a

built-in powered subwoofer. Highlights include an
HVFR (High-Velocity Folded Ribbon) tweeter the
design of which is patterned after Dr. Oskar Heils
famous Heil Air Motion Transformer tweeter.
GoldenEar says the HVFR tweeter propagates
sound waves and moves the air by squeezing it
with its accordion-like pleated diaphragm, rather
than pushing it as conventional drivers do. The
resulting driver is said to provide exceptional treble
extension and transient speed, plus high output
levels with very low distortion. Additionally, the
Triton Two incorporates a pair of cast-basket, MVPP
(Multi-Vaned Phase Plug-equipped) 4
" midrange drivers arranged in a DAppolitotype configuration alongside the HVFR tweeter.
GoldenEar says these midrange drivers achieve
smooth linear frequency response extending
above 20kHz (much higher than the upper limit
of the drivers operating range in the Triton Two).
The point of all that surplus bandwidth is to make
sure the midrange driver offers sufficient transient
speed and textural nuance to keep up with the

lightning-fast Heil-type tweeter.
The lower part of the Triton Two tower houses a
built-in powered subwoofer, which incorporates dual
5" x 9" woofers coupled with dual 7" x 10" passive
radiators (which GoldenEar colorfully describes as
infrasonic radiators). The oblong shape of the
drivers and passive radiators is said to help resist
certain types of diaphragm resonances and breakup
modes that can occur with traditional circular
woofers. The subwoofer is powered by a 1200-watt,
DSP-controlled digital amplifier. GoldenEar says
the amp has a Programmable Logic Device (PLD)
machine with a nearly instantaneous 278nS update
time to perfectly manage a myriad of functions
including soft-clipping, DC offset control, outputstage anti-saturation protection, and discrete
multi-band limiting. Together, these elements give
the Triton Two bass that extends down to a claimed
lower limit of 16Hz.
Like Henry Fords famous Model T the Triton Twos
are offered in any color you want as long as its
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EQUIPMENT review - GoldenEar Triton Two

black. The entire speaker enclosure, whose
slender, tapered, airfoil-like shape is very easy
on the eyes, is covered by a stretchy black fabric
sleeve, which looks great and saves buyers
the expense of costly lacquered or veneered
cabinet panels. There is, however, a gloss-black
trim plate that clips to the top of the speaker,
covering the opening of the grille sleeve, thus
giving the fabric cover a pleasingly organic and
seamless appearance. A matching black floor
plate, which is supplied with threaded spikes,
helps stabilize the towers while making them
more resistant to potential tip-over accidents.
But enough of background; lets talk about the
Triton Twos sound.
Starting with first things first, let me
observe thatonce you get the user-adjustable
subwoofer output levels dialed-in properly for
your roomthe Triton Two system offers very
smooth and neutrally balanced tonal response,
with excellent extension at both frequency
extremes. Better still, the Triton Twos offer
plenty of definition, detail, and resolution,
but do so without imposing any of the rough
edges or other painfully self-evident sonic
compromises those qualities sometimes entail.
In a very real sense, the Triton Two has been
voiced from top to bottom, with the sheer
excellence of its sophisticated HVFR tweeter
setting a high performance standard that the
rest of the speaker reaches upward to meet.
GoldenEars HVFR tweeter provides sumptuous
treble detailing and realistic high-frequency
harmonics, as well as beautifully capturing
the sense of air surrounding instruments,
yet it does all this without the slightest hint of
edginess, stress, or glare. The sound is so free
from the usual treble problems of spotlighting,

etching, or artificial edge-enhancement that
some listeners perceive the speaker to be
slightly rolled-off on top. While there may be
a small (and I mean very small) grain of truth
to this assessment, I think whats really going
on is that listeners acclimated to sharp-edged
piston-type drivers simply dont know what
to make of the HVFR tweeters almost eerie
smoothness. Over time the HVFR tweeter will
spoil you rotten, because it tends to make
other high-frequency transducers (even some
quite good ones) sound a little hard-edged,
SPECS & PRICING

Type: 3-way, five-driver, dual-passive-radiatorequipped floorstander with built-in powered
subwoofer
Driver complement: One High-Velocity Folded Ribbon
(Heil-type) tweeter, two 4 1/2" mid/bass drivers, two
5" x 9" woofers, two 7" x 10" passive radiators
Built-in amplifier: 1200-watt subwoofer digital/DSPcontrolled amplifier
Sensitivity: 91dB
Impedance: 8 ohms
Dimensions: 48" x 7.5" x 15" (height includes
mounting base, without spikes)
Weight: 60 lbs.
Price: $2995 per pair
GoldenEar Technology
(410) 998-9134
goldenear.com
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aggressive, or overstressed by comparison.
But a pleasant surprise is that the Triton
Twos MVPP midrange driver matches the
positive qualities of the HVFR tweeter step
for step, so that it offers excellent transient
speed, textural nuances aplenty, and wonderful
qualities of easygoing purity and transparency.
Most importantly, the midrange driver is fast
enough and subtle enough to blend seamlessly
with GoldenEars Heil-type tweeter, so that
I observed no textural discontinuities at all.
This is saying a mouthful when you stop to
consider that many speakers equipped with
Heil-type tweeters (even some very costly
ones) exhibit obvious discontinuity problems
where the tweeters sound fine but make
piston-type companion drivers sound sluggish
by comparison. In the Triton Two, you hear an
uncannily sweet, smooth, seamless marriage
between GoldenEars MVPP midrange driver
and HVFR tweetera marriage responsible
for much of the real sonic magic of which this
system is capable.
What exactly is the nature of this sonic magic?
I would say the speakers most spectacular and
compelling qualities involve its mind-blowingly
vivid imaging and effortless 3-D soundstaging.
It is upon these twin virtues that all the speakers
other strengths hinge. Assuming you have the
Triton Twos reasonably well positioned in your
room, you can expect to experience moments
where sounds seem almost completely free
from the speaker enclosuresas if they are
originating on their own without any apparent
effort or even involvement on the speakers
part. And once sounds have been liberated from
the confines of the speaker enclosures, they
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unleash the kind of gripping, sound outside

the box experience that many listeners will
find revelatory.
Let me expand on this point for a moment.
Many otherwise fine high-end loudspeakers
leave me underwhelmed in that they strive to
get most sonic virtues right, yet maddeningly
produce left and right blobs of sound that
cling to the speakers like spent chewing gum
on a park benchyecchh! In contrast, however,
the Triton Twos demonstrate a nearly worldclass ability to produce downright spooky
three-dimensional
soundstagescomplete
with the requisite depth, breadth, and height
and they do so without requiring much if any
tweaking. One practical upshot of this is that
you can, if you wish, position the Triton Twos
much farther apart than you would most
speakers without causing the dreaded hole
in the middle to appear. You can also use the
separation distance between the speakers
as a tuning tool that enables you to strike a
realistic balance between imaging specificity
(the closer the speakers are together, the more
focused the sound will be) versus soundstage
width (the farther apart the speakers are, the
wider the soundstage becomes). Just find the
appropriate balancing point in your room and
voil: instant realismor something pretty
close to it.
To hear how the Triton Twos smooth yet
revealing highs and mids coalesce to create such
convincing holography, try listening to Solitary
Orchid from Zhao Jiazhens Masterpieces
of the Chinese Qin from the Tang Dynasty to
Today [Rhymoi Music]. For those of you not yet
acquainted with the Qin (pronounced, I am told,
chin), let me mention that it is a remarkable,

zither-like, fretless, stringed instrument, ancient
in origin, and capable of astonishing range,
dynamic subtlety, and delicacy. It serves not only
as an acid test for imaging and soundstaging
qualities, but also for timbral and textural
accuracy. When reproduced accurately on this
track, the Qin should present itself in a natural,
moderately reverberant acoustic space, while
exhibiting a certain hushed, focused intensity
and a voice that is articulate and piquant, yet
subtly sweet. (This is harder to do than you
might think, since some speakers manage to
make the Qin sound hard and screechylike an
alley cat stuffed into a bag of broken glass.). But
happily, the Triton Two made beautiful sense of
Zhao Jiazhens performance, here.
Several aspects of the Triton Twos handling
of Solitary Orchids were impressive. First,
I was struck by the focused intensity of the
image of the Qin at center stage that the Triton
Twos achieved; many speakers claim to create
palpable images, but the GoldenEars actually
deliver the goods. Second, I was enchanted
to hear the speaker faithfully capture the
extremely rich and complex harmonics of the
Qin, and to hear it reveal interactions between
those harmonics and reflective surfaces
within the recording venue, thus conveying
a believable sense of the performance space.
Third, I found that the GoldenEars captured
even the smallest details of Zhao Jiazhens
performance, right down to the most delicate
and intricate fingering noises, plucking
sounds, glissando-induced string squeaks, and
sustained high-pitched harmonic overtones
(Im told that, in keeping with ancient traditions,
composers of music for the Qin provide detailed

notes showing how and where such incidental
performance noises should appear). In short,
the Triton Twos produced a rich, sophisticated,
and profoundly evocative treble/midrange
sound that belied their modest price.
Down below, the Triton Twos powered subwoofer section provides no-excuses full-range
bass, without sounding thick, bloated, or overbearing. Unlike some speakers that claim to
provide full-range bass but that exhibit substantial roll-off below 40Hz, the Triton Two offers significant bottom-octave output, routinely
reaching way down low to reproduce deep bass
notes you might not have known were present in
your favorite recordings. For this reason, listeners will want to spend time judiciously adjusting
the subwoofers output levels (it is easy to crank
in more low bass wallop than you bargained for,
so restraint is the order of the day). The Triton
Twos bass-to-midrange integration is very good,
but not quite up to the standards established by
some of the best current $5k$10k/pair speakers. Theres not much missing, though, apart
from subtle touches of heightened midbass transient speed, textural finesse, and focusqualities
you might find and enjoy in speakers such as the
new Magnepan MG3.7 ($5500/pair). But note
that the Maggies cost more than twice what the
Triton Twos do, are much harder to drive, and deliver bass that doesnt actually go as low or play
as loudly. My point is that while the Triton Twos
low-end characteristics are not perfect, they
strike an admirable compromise between depth
of extension, power, and finesseall of which can
be achieved while driving the GoldenEars with
very modest amplifiers.
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To give the low end of the Triton Twos
a meaningful workout, I put on the second
movement (Scherzo: Allegro molto) of the
Copland Organ Symphony [Michael Tilson
Thomas, San Francisco Symphony, SFS Media,
SACD] and came away duly impressed. The final
three minutes or so of the movement give you
an opportunity to hear the low register of the
organ in juxtaposition to the sound of loud low
percussion instruments, which the GoldenEars
handled with both grace and real gusto. There
is sufficient pitch definition for you to hear the
deep, well-focused sound of low-pitched notes
emanating from the organ itself, followed a splitsecond later by the slightly more diffuse rumble
of those notes reverberating and then decaying
within the recording space (Davies Symphony
Hall, San Francisco). Similarly, the concussive
thwack and boom of the large drums
sounded just about idealclean and controlled,
yet appropriately full-bodied at the same time.
Finally, let me draw your attention to two significant and interrelated aspects of the Triton
Twos performance; namely, the fact that it is
relatively high in sensitivity (91dB) and an extremely easy load to drive (in large part because
the speakers built-in subwoofer amplifier shoulders virtually all of the low-frequency workload).
As a result, the Triton Two can be driven to very
satisfying volume levels by only moderately
powerful amplifiers, though it isas you might
expectvery sensitive to amplifier quality. Sandy Gross, for example, drives his personal pair
of Triton Twos with a relatively small, low-output
SET amplifier, which is the sort of option you
cant realistically hope to pursue with such affordable high-end speakers as the excellent but
decidedly power-hungry Magneplanar MG1.7s. In

practical terms, this means the Triton Twos are
not only fine value-priced speakers in their own
right, but also make suitable platforms upon
which to base excellent value-priced systems
(this in contrast to well-priced speakers that require a gazillion dollars worth of amplification in
order to sound their best).
One additional point to note is that if you
choose to use one system both for music and
movie playback, GoldenEar offers a set of voicematched surround and center-channel speakers so that your Triton Twos can easily become
the centerpieces of a superb multichannel surround systemone that, by definition, includes
two built-in powered subwoofers. Interestingly,
a complete Triton Two-based five-channel surround rig costs only $3495an option that
music-minded movie enthusiasts might want to
consider.
GoldenEars Triton Two system establishes
what I consider new high-water marks in allaround performance per dollar. The system
gets all of the big things right, such as smooth
and neutral tonal balance, good sensitivity,
full-throated dynamics, and absolutely killer
surround-sound imaging. But it also provides
many of the small but significant performance
touches that differentiate great speaker
systems from merely good onessuch as
transient quickness, textural subtlety and
finesse, resolution of low-level sonic details,
plus the ability to convey a desirable and elusive
quality of sonic effortlessness. Once again,
Sandy Gross and Don Givogue have managed to
place the key elements of high-end sound within
reach for music lovers not made of money.
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Eminent Technology LFT-8b

Extraordinary
Robert E. Greene
he Eminent Technology LFT-8b is an extraordinary speaker. With full frequency extension at the
top (and then some), nearly full extension at the bottom, distortion as low as electrostaticsbut
lots of dynamic oompha discreet, elegant appearance that will fit well into almost any dcor, and a
remarkable ability to differentiate against room acoustics and produce something very like the sound of
an acoustically treated room in an ordinary room, its list of virtues is compelling.
And it is only $249,900. No, sorry, thats $24,990. Whoops,
wrong again, it is actually $2499. Yeah, you got it, thats the
price. Not the price of a house, nor even a car, but the price
of a good bicycle will get you a pair of speakers that in some
respects are among the best there are. No, the ETs are not
perfect. They are not quite so neutral as is possible, and they
are sensitive to set up with regard to stereo integration,
but the virtues of the ETs are very real. The low distortion
in particular is striking; these speakers are capable of really
beautiful sound. And that is what we all want, right? This is not
even to mention the naturalness of having the sound floating
in the air at ear levelwhere it belongsand with no sense
of vertical compression the way point sources do andwell,
I could go on, and I shall, I shall. To call this speaker a good
bargain would be like calling Beethoven a good composer
true, but wildly understated. Fantastic or some such word is
more appropriate.
Bruce Thigpen, the moving spirit of Eminent Technology,
has a long record of innovative thought in audio, going back
to the ET air-bearing tonearm years ago. Meanwhile, he has
produced the surprising infra-woofer. (While my review of the
LFT-8b was in progress, Thigpen went off to Africa to help with
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a study on the hearing of infrasound by elephantshe would

be the man to go to for infra-sound all right. See rotarywoofer.
com for more.) He has been working with planar-magnetic
drivers for some time, and the LFT-8b is the latest version of
his thinking on the subject.
The Physical Nature of the Speaker
The ETs have a sealed-box woofer, mounted essentially on
the floor, a midrange membrane driver magnetically driven,
and a tweeter of that same sort. Of course, speakers with
this general type of driver complement have been around for
a while. But the ETs membrane drivers are of an unusual,
essentially unique kind: They have an ultra-light membrane
on which the conductors are etched (no wires glued on; wires
would add more mass than the etching). And they have a
two-sided magnetic arrangement that produces a constant
magnetic field through the space in which the driver moves
and hence produces a truly linear response in the lowdistortion sense.
Distortion in the ET sounds as thought it is down at
electrostatic levelsor lower. This seemed to me one of the
lowest-distortion speakers in the midrange that there is,
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EQUIPMENT review - Eminent Technology LFT-8b

perhaps the lowest, this side of impractical
plasma drivers. This is in spite of the general
possibility of membrane drivers vibrating in
non-pistonic mode at some frequencies; even
so, perceived distortion here remains extremely
low to nonexistent, and measured midrange
distortion is down at levels like 0.1% or less,
almost entirely second harmonic (inaudible
or at most completely innocuous at this level)
depending on frequency, according to the
manufacturer. True ribbon tweeters, which are
reasonably abundant, also have low distortion for
the treble, but, as far as I am aware, no one else is
making planar-magnetic drivers that go down as
far in frequency as the mid driver of the ETs does
with such low distortion via that two-sided driver.
And this seeming techno-spec counts in listening
terms, as you will definitely read.
Physically, the speaker consists of a panel five
feet high and just over a foot wide, attached to
a woofer box. The speaker has easily detachable
and re-attachable grills front and back. My
wifes visual reaction, sound as yet unheard, was
that she hoped they sounded good because she
really liked their looks.
The speakers come with the panels separate
from the woofer boxes. But assembly is easy
and of course one-time-only (it helps to have a
second person to hold the panel up while you
screw it onto the woofer box).
Why They Sound the Way They Do
To understand the unusual sound of the ETs, one
should first think about more usual speakers,
the all-but-ubiquitous three-way floorstanders.
Now in a broad sense, these speakers are all very
much alike. Of course differences are audible.
With the threshold of hearing of response

differences being about 0.1dB for broadband
differences, no two speakers are likely to sound
exactly alike for that reason alone. Still, the
three-way floorstanders are fundamentally more
alike than different. They all bounce sound off the
sidewalls, the floor, and the ceiling, and even if
their radiation patterns vary from one model to
the next, they are essentially similar. Compared
to traditional floorstanders, the ETs are really
different. A lot different. Like Dorothy relative to
Kansas, you know you arent in Box-Floorstander
Land any longer.
For a start, the midrange driver is dipole and it
is a big driver vertically42 inches high, though
SPECS & PRICING

Type: Three-way floorstanding loudspeaker with 8"
dynamic woofer and planar midrange/tweeter
Power requirements: 75W minimum
Sensitivity: 83dB (1W/1m)
Frequency response: 25Hz50kHz +/-4dB (typical
room)
Impedance: Nominal 8 ohms
Maximum SPL: 105dB at 1m
Weight: 65 lbs.
Price: $2499
EMINENT TECHNOLOGY
225 East Palmer Street
Tallahassee, FL 32301
(850) 575-5665
eminent-tech.com
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only 4 inches wide. So on account of the dipole
operation, there is effectively no sound radiated
to the sides, and with the correct angling, the first
sidewall reflection is considerably suppressed.
The woofer is on the floor, so the floor reflection
is part of its direct sound. And both the tweeter
and the midrange drivers are extremely beamy
in the vertical direction, so their sound hardly
bounces off the floor or ceiling.
In effect, if you put the ETs far from the back
wall, then it is a long time before you hear much
of anything but direct sound. Six or seven feet
at least from the back wall is good, if you can
arrange that, or even farther.
The difference between this sound and widedispersion floorstanderswhich bounce sound
off the floor, the ceiling, and the sidewalls, with
all those reflections arriving quite earlyis striking indeed. The ETs do not create a soundstage
out of the structure of your room. They transmit
directly to you what the sound of the speaker itself is and what spatial information is actually recorded. Your listening room is bound to influence
bass somewhatit always does through Allison
effect and modal excitation. But above the bass,
you are hearing with the ETs an extraordinarily
direct sound. This room reach has several consequences.
First of all, one hears the frequency response
of the speakers unaltered by the room, to a
surprising extent. This gives the sound an
unusually vivid character. The midrange driver
on its own is very flat over a wide range, but
up around 8kHz, where the crossover has
suppressed it some but not completely, it
seems to have a bump up in output. Similarly
the woofer has a lump of extra energy around
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1kHzout-of-band in a sense, but not totally

suppressed. These effects bounce the details
of the frequency response around a bit, and the
8kHz lump at least needs pulling down to avoid
a kind of metallic sheen.
One derives better phase behaviorthis
speaker is phase linear for all intents and
purposesand perhaps greater coherence
from the broad overlap of the drivers, but one
pays a certain penalty as well in the intrusion
of these nominally out-of-band difficulties.
Speaker design is always about choosing ones
compromises!
Also, pair-matching of the tweeters is not
in the same league as, say, the SEAS Excel
domes used in the Harbeth M series, where the
response matches within a fraction of a decibel.
Perhaps it is not really crucial in practice, but
pair-matching in the treble is not to the highest
standards.
The suppression of the early reflections and
the reduction in overall room sound is literally
ideal in stereo theoryBlumleins theory is
predicated on direct sound only. And for what it
is worth, I like it, too. But this radiation pattern is
somewhat analytic as to microphone technique.
Of course, neither spaced-omni recordings nor
most multi-tracked mix-downs have any real
reason to make detailed spatial sense. If one
hears them as they are, the spaced-omni stuff
sounds like pools of light, not a continuum, with
far too much left-right, and the multi-miking
sounds like multi-mono. Hearing such recordings
as sounding right in any reasonable sense
requires some smearing by the room. Here the
smearing is largely gone, and a lot of recordings
sound not very spatially coherent at all.
Now part of this is just hearing what I consider

to be the truth. But in all honesty, I think part
of the tendency of recordings to sound a little
spatially discontinuous is the fact that the linesource tweeter sits next to the midrange unit
on one side. This is not an arrangement that
I would expect to behave ideally in imaging
terms, since the relative phase relationship of
the midrange and tweeterand they overlap a
great dealis highly dependent on the listeners
horizontal position. The speakers are not beamy
horizontally as far as individual driver responses
are concerned, but there is lobing between the
midrange and tweeter on account of the broad
overlap in frequency range from the shallowslope crossovers and the side-by-side placement.
(It would be preferable in principle to have two
midrange panels on either side of the tweeter,
it seems to me, to get a sort of horizontal MTM
effect. This would stabilize the imaging.) In any
case, the particular configuration here creates
some imaging effects that are both not quite
correct and also unstable with respect to head
movements. You have to be really careful about
where you sit and how you angle the speakers to
avoid hearing the drivers as separate sources.
Beware of careless audition: Exact set-up and
exact listener position are crucial here. But if
one sets up the speakers ideallyand doesnt
move!this becomes much less of a problem.
(The manufacturer says that in most rooms
tweeters on the inside work better but not in all.
Experimentation is the key.)
Incidentally, the indicated wiring of the woofers
relative to the mid/tweeter array is backward in
my view. While the manufacturer says it gives
better phase response in the direct arrival, it
created a large and musically unfortunate hole

in the lower midrange. Until I tried the woofers
reversed in polarity relative to the upper unit,
I was going to write a review that said that, for
all its low distortion, the ET sound was really
quite far from being musical or indeed accurate.
But wired correctly, reversed relative to what
is written on the enclosure, all that changed.
Musicality became a strong point and measured
in-room response accuracy is very good. The
100250Hz region can be somewhat up in this
wiring, depending on room effects, but better
that than having a dip here.
The ETs have very good resolution, and the
resolution goes far down in the frequency range.
The deep bass always involves the room with
any speaker, but the ETs maintain the definition
down to surprisingly low frequencies. One
hears more easily than usual exactly what the
cellos, bass clarinets, and trombones are up
to. This effect is very impressive and musically
significantone can really hear what is going
on lower down. Many speakers are transparent
from the top down into the mids, but tend to
mush out a bit further down. Either that, or
they purchase transparency further down at the
price of attenuation of the lower frequencies.
One thinks of the floor dip that enervates music
even if it does make it more transparent in
some sensethe sound of a table radio with a
subwoofer distantly attached, for example. Not
with the ETs: When set up well, they go smoothly
down into the bass with no deep dips from floor
effects, though the 250500Hz range can
sound a little weak compared to the prominent
midrange, unless the latter is pulled down a
couple decibels. The clarity throughout the
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upper bass and low mids is very good indeed.
This is a speaker where it would make sense to
talk about good behavior far below the treble,
where waterfall analysis is most usually done.
And this clarity goes on up in frequency,
too. The often subtle harpsichord part in the
Sitkovetsky arrangement for string orchestra
of Bachs Goldberg Variations [Nonesuch] is as
clearly delineated as I have ever heard it on this
old favorite.
On the middle setting for the tweeter level,
which makes the crucial 5kHz10kHz octave
sound more natural than does the nominally
flat (top) setting, the top octave is down a little,
somewhat rolled-off. (The top setting is too
bright in the 510kHz octave, while the low
setting rolls off the top so much that high
percussion is all but lost in the mix, so the middle
setting it was.) The top-end roll-off was literally
observable, of course, but even so the high
percussion in John Eargles remarkable Delos
recording of Shchedrins Carmen arrangement
still came through with delicacy and definition.
This is presumably because of the intrinsic
clarity of the speaker. Nicely missing was the
tizz of the rising-on-axis dome tweeters so
popular today.
The midrange percussion on this recording
sounded unusually convincing, quite startlingly
so. Part of this excellence of middle-range
percussion is presumably related to the
nearness to phase linearity. As John Dunlavy
used to say, Linear phase keeps ticks from
turning into tocs.
One reads a lot in recent audio writings
about resolution without finding out very
much about where it comes from. The ETs
excellent resolution arises in my estimation

from the acoustic emphasis on direct arrival
and from the ultra-low distortion of the nearly
massless drivers, which are driven directlyno
transformers or capacitors, as electrostats
almost always have. And of course cabinet
sound is minimalthere is no cabinet involved
above the bass. The amplifier signal does not
go through a transformer or any filtering, other
than just the low-order crossover filtering.
Effectively, the amplifier is connected directly
to drivers which should beand in listening
terms arelinear down to extremely low levels.
An ultra-light membrane driven by a two-sided
magnet structure has no way to refuse delicate
signals, and hence cannot eat detail. What comes
in goes out. It has nowhere else to go, actually.
(Something about conservation of energy and so
on comes to mind here, if I may speak in terms
of physics for a moment. The all but massless
and very flexible membrane cannot generate
nor retain internal heat as a massive driver can
from forced flexing, so the input energy has to
go the only place it can go, into sound.)
I got it into my head to try out the ETs
on the most demanding of source material,
namely the combination of large chorus and
large orchestra. This sort of thing is almost
impossible to reproduce adequately in a
domestic environment. Something like Waltons
Belshazzars Feastwith large chorus and
powerful orchestral forces including a battery
of unusual percussion (which come to the fore
in Praise Ye the Gods)is just not going to
work, is it? But the thing is that it actually came
remarkably close with Telarcs Robert Shaw/
Atlanta recording. Babylon was a great city
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was ultra-convincingit is a great rendition
of this short but stunning passageand when
the chorus sang By the Waters of Babylon,
it was also unusually convincing, with just the
right separation of the voices. It sounded like a
blended group of individuals, but without shortchanging the blending. (Shaws choruses are
amazingif youve heard one of his groups live,
you know. If you havent, you can get the idea
here!) And during Praise Ye the Gods I wanted
to stand up and cheer.
One of the things going on here, specifically
with the high percussion, is that a line-source
tweeter presents high-frequency transients
better than most point-source setups, because
even the best dome tweeter will tend to make a
high transient that is hard left or right sound as
if it were coming from the tweeter. Because after
all, it is! The line-source tweeter presents a less
constrained picture vertically, and sounds more
natural in this regard; the sound floats at ear
level in a very natural way. None of the looking
down at the miniaturized, vertically constricted
music that low floorstanders present.
There was also an unusually convincing
rendition of the effect which always occurs
with large ensembles live, not so much depth of
image as such, but the sense that there is a large
space, different from your own listening room,
into which one can listen without encountering
the constraint of the rear wall. The space is just
there, running on back and letting the orchestra
and chorus, which are far too large to exist in
ones own room, exist in the kind of perceived
space of the real performance venue. This is
not a question of outside-the-speaker images
generated by sound off walls, but rather of the
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erasing of your own listening roomand a most

gratifying thing it is. This aspect of sound is what
high end originally sought, even if to some extent
it has been forgotten.
Next, I switched to Thorofons ultra-beautiful
live recording of Bruchs Das Lied von der Glocke
with the Dresden people. I seldom treat this as
an audio test itemtoo beautiful for me to want
to overexpose myself to it. But after Belshazzar,
I really wanted to hear how the ETs would do it.
On to the recorded speaking voice, in this case
the Sherlock Holmes Bascombe Valley Mystery,
recorded by the BBC. And here something arose
that was not so obvious with the larger-scaled
material. The voices and sound effects sounded
natural in tonal character. People sounded like
people. Except that they were spread out. Listen
to this on a speaker with ideal image focus
for me most recently the Stirling Broadcast
LS3/6 of Derek Hughes designand the people
sound like point sources, as indeed people do.
With the ETs, they were spread out a bit. Some
might call this dimensionality, but I am afraid
that this is really a bit of defocusing. This is not
disagreeable and can be very convincing, but it
is not quite right in theory. Still, the voices were
vivid in the way that real voices of trained actors
are vivid at close range.
The orchestra I play in is rehearsing Rachmaninoff right now, and any discontinuity from
the speakers to those live rehearsals was quite
minimal, much less than with most speakers.
And the specifics could be breathtaking. The
great saxophone solo in the first movement accompanied by the other winds in a succession
of duet-like exchanges was beautiful, and the
tone colors of the instruments were presented
superbly. Midbass was marvelous, with the cello pizzicatos emerging with perfect clarity but
without exaggeration. Overall, this was the stuff
that orchestras are made of.
Summing Up
The ET LFT-8b harken back to the early days of
high end, when many speakers were adventures
in design and, for the reviewer and consumer,
a bit of an adventure in setup and usage. The
ETs have limitations: They are not entirely flat
and they sound somewhat colored in the upper
midrange and treble (just a little EQ largely if
not entirely eliminated the colorations); the
sound depends on exact listener position to a
greater extent than most speakers; the sound
is adjustable in various waysnot only the overt
adjustment of the highs but the relative polarity
of the woofers, and grilles on or off, front or back,

leaving certain crucial decisions to the user. And
the ETs are quite insensitivewhile they are an
easy load in the impedance sense, they demand
a powerful amplifier to play as loudly as they can
play, which is in fact quite loudly. No electrostatic
restrictions come to mindbut one needs power,
at least 100 watts a channel, preferably more.
Some of these limitations may strike you as
too limiting indeed. And yet, and yetif you are
willing to work with the ETs, you can come to
hear something truly extraordinary, for which
the word magical comes to my mind. The purity
of sound of the ETs can be irresistible. In the
end, when frequency response is arranged to
be essentially correct, the beauty of music is
very much attached to lowness of distortion
not just in theory, but also in practice. And here,
in low perceived distortion, the ETs are all but
incomparable. Really, I mean it. And the ability
to erase the listening room, something the ETs
also do unusually well, is a central issue of audio.
The sensitivity to listener position disturbed me
a little, as did the colorations, but in the end, I
often found it hard to turn the ETs off and go
about my business.
The promise of this type of two-sided planar
magnetic driver seems to me almost unlimited.
The midrange driver behaves so perfectly over
so much of its operating band as to be almost
uncanny. And even if the speaker design itself
does not quite explore the enormous potential
of this driver to the extreme, one still gets a
surprisingly convincing view of the real sound of
music at an extremely low price. Not perfect, but
something fascinating and wonderful even so,
and of true sonic beauty.
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Dynaudio Excite X34

Good Vibrations
Neil Gader
f theres anything that gets my

back up its the lament that all the
sexiness and excitement in audio
resides at the extreme high end of the
market. That is just so wrong. In fact so
absurdly wrong that I will happily argue
that the high end has been enjoying a
most Golden Age of affordable gear.
Exhibit one: the Dynaudio Excite X34
loudspeaker.
For the uninitiated, the Excite range is the
affordable sweetspot of the broad Dynaudio
line and a short step beyond the entry-level DM
Series. Its also Dynaudios gateway product
to lure enthusiasts along the road to upscale
offerings like the Focus and Contour series. Excite
is represented by four updated models, the X34
considered here, a larger floorstander the X38,
the compact X14, and the X24 center channel.
Even avid Dynaudio enthusiasts might be
forgiven for confusing the $3400 X34 for
its predecessor the Excite X32 (reviewed
by Kirk Midtskog, Issue 205). Yes, the basic
bones are the same. It remains a slim two-way
floorstander with crisp, clean understated lines,
identical dimensions, and a very small footprint.
At a mere 36 inches tall, its silhouette is on
the shorter end of the scale for a floorstander.
Some visual tip-offs for the updates in the X34
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include magnetically attached grilles, a fully

veneered natural wood front baffle and plinth,
and high-quality Torx metal screws in the same
color as the driver frames. Stability has also
been enhanced with the addition of die-cast
aluminum outrigger feet fitted with integrated
damping rings and adjustable spikes.
The latest Excite drivers retain the long-throw
woofer and smaller, lightweight voice coil that
was featured in the Excite X32 model. Bass port
tuning has been updated, and thanks to a more
amplifier-friendly crossover the X34 draws less
current from the amp. The X34 is now a true
8-ohm impedance loudspeaker compared to the
4 ohms of its predecessor.
Dynaudio has also addressed the X34s
directivitythe way in which it disperses sound
off-axis. The idea is to reduce coloration caused
by floor and ceiling reflections, the prime culprits
behind bass cancellations and general image
smearing. Dynaudio ameliorates these in the
X34 by using a lite version of its DDC (Dynaudio
Directivity Control), a technology developed
at Dynaudio Professional and found on its pro
studio monitors and home-audio flagships, like
the Evidence Platinum. The process is directed
at optimizing the relationship of transducers
both mechanically and acoustically, and
implementing a proprietary crossover design
chosen to reduce, in Dynaudios words, sound
reflections from the floor and ceiling of any room

by at least 75% through the exact matching
of the phase responses of the individual drive
units, consequently achieving a sound radiation
vertically focused towards the listener.
In terms of sonic performance, the X34
isnt partial to specific genres of music; from
country to classical, its equally satisfying. For
Dynaudio it appears that overall balance trumps
any two or three specific criteria. The result is
a little tower that within some very acceptable
limitations achieves a near full spectrum of
spirited output and low-frequency authority. For
me, if there is a single word that describes the
sonic personality of the X34, its Party! The
sound signature is outgoing, with a forward lean
and a positively energetic temperament. There
are no broad frequency suck-outs, nor does
the X34 lay back on dynamics or overly-recess
octave ranges to attain an undeserved level of
three-dimensionality. The sturdy little towers
are also remarkably free from cabinet artifacts
and port coloration.
In tonal balance, the X34 is reasonably
neutral with the exception of some upper treble
shading, and a hint of mid/upper bass ripeness.
Anchored by a surprising allotment of lowfrequency energy and dynamic punch, the Excite
X34 more than lives up to its name, achieving
levels of performance that in the proper setting
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EQUIPMENT review - Dynaudio Excite X34

suggest many of the best virtues of a good 2.5-way
like the Sonus faber Venere 2.5 (Issue 232) or a
three-way like the superb Revel F206 (Issue 234).
Its not a speaker to shy away from an explosive big
band recording like Count Basie Live at the Sands
[Mobile Fidelity]. Heavy brass has a way of making
cowards of smaller compacts, but the X34 pretty
much has an answer for every fusillade.
Vocals are well balanced with a good measure of
chest resonance and upper-octave air, an impression that was conveyed as I listened to Colin Hay
covering his own song Overkill, a mega-hit from
his bygone, down-under, Men At Work days. This
is an unplugged version with only a simple, and
slightly muted, guitar accompaniment. The sound,
though closely miked, is airy and incredibly intimate, like Hay was singing in your living room.
Goodness knows my loyalty to stand-mount
monitors is unwavering, but the X34s lower
mid/upper bass response fills in gaps that many
compact-speaker aficionados may not even have
realized have gone missing. The weight of bass/
baritone singers is one example. A bass or baritone
singers body is one big, barrel-like resonator, a
fact that is plainly heard when he performs live
and unamplified. In fact, the weight of his voice is
not unlike the darker colors produced by a pianos
soundboardsustained and rich as chocolate.
Speaking to that point, I heard Bryn Terfel in
recital at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los
Angeles under just these circumstances and I was
astounded at the weight, the gravitas, of his unmiked voice and the piano accompaniment in this
huge, 3000+ seat venue.
At a little over three feet, the X34 is not an
especially tall floorstander particularly for American
audiences. And, oftentimes the combination of a
lower tweeter height and that drivers dispersion

characteristics creates an impression of a low
acoustic ceiling having descended over the
orchestral venue. However, that impression never
materialized in my time spent with the X34. During
Laurel Masss Feather and Bone the massive space
of the Troy Savings Bank venue retained most of the
vast acoustic reverberant cues that Im familiar with.
(The Dynaudio Directivity Control at work, perhaps?)
Strings could be sweeterthey tend to be a little
dry, and violin section layering is not quite fully
explored. This comports with my view that lowlevel image resolution, micro-dynamics and focus
could be more revealinga conclusion I reached
listening for the softly tapped cymbal embedded
deep in the soundspace during the March section
of Vaughan Williams The Wasps or the delicate
harp theme that follows the main melody in the
opening section of the same piece.
Bass response is very good, audibly descending into the mid-thirty-cycle range and rock-solid
to 40 Hertz. Its fairly uniform in output although it
does thicken and diffuse somewhat in the midbass.
(Foam port plugs are supplied to reduce bass output
if required.) Still, the X34 maintains a firm grip on
orchestral bass drum and other low-frequency resonances and decay information, even within the complexities of a full-blown symphonic performance. The
tight, acoustic bass line during Holly Coles Take Me
Home was controlled and unwavering with a convincing sense of pace and rhythm. In such moments I
hear clean stops and starts, devoid of timing artifacts
or hangover from the port. I should add that this level
of LF performance should make the X34 particularly
attractive to home-theater enthusiasts (especially in
concert with the X24 center channel) who arent prepared to go the LFE/subwoofer route.
The Excite X34 is one versatile little number that

was willing and able to get down and party with
the best of them. With few exceptions, it touches
all the musical bases and does so with a footprint
no bigger than an average-size compactfood for
thought monitor-fans. An authentic crowd pleaser
in the most musical sense.
SPECS & PRICING

Type: Two-way, bass reflex
Drivers: One 1" tweeter, two 6" mid/bass
Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
Sensitivity: 86dB
Dimensions: 6.7" x 36.6" x 10.6"
Weight: 37 lbs.
Price: $3400
Dynaudio North America
1140 Tower Lane
Bensenville, IL 60106
(630) 238-4200
dynaudiousa.com
Sumiko Palo Santos, Air Tight PC-3; Parasound
JC 3 phono; Synergistic Element Tungsten/
CTS, Wireworld Platinum Series 7, Analysis-Plus
Big Silver Oval interconnect & speaker cables;
AudioQuest Coffee USB & Firewire, Synergistic
Tesla & Audience Au24 SE phono & powerChord,
Wireworld Platinum power cords
previous page
NEXT page
Nola Contender
A Boxer with Legs
Neil Gader
nd in this corner, standing 44" tall

and weighing in at a trim 50 pounds
per side is the Nola Contennnnnnnnnnderrrrrrrrrr! This playfully pugilistic loudspeaker
theme (that Ive admittedly been exploiting) began
with the Nola Boxer, a two-way compact that I
reviewed a couple years ago and that went on to
nab a TAS Product of the Year Award for 2010
(Issue 209). Last year Nola released the subject
of this review, the Contender in the middleweight
ranks. And Nolas trainer, aka owner/designer
Carl Marchisotto, wasnt done yet, as he recently
introduced the $10k KO, built to compete in the
heavyweight division.
Boxing metaphors aside, the $3600 Contender is a three-way
design in a floorstanding, bass-reflex enclosure. Visually it
maintains the no-nonsense, working-class silhouette that the
Boxer exemplifies but with some critical differences. While the
silk soft-dome tweeter from the Boxer is retained, this slender tower loudspeaker adds an additional 6.5" laminated pulpcone woofer and downward-firing port. The identical upper and
lower bass drivers are housed in separate chambers with nonparallel walls. In this instance the upper driver is ported to the
rear, while the lower driver is loaded via the downward-firing
port. The chambers are tuned to different frequencies to pro87 Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers 2014
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vide the smoothest and most extended in-room bass response.

Internally the Contender features two separate, shockisolated, hand-wired crossover boards of a shallowslope design. In critical areas, the Contender also uses
Nordost monofilament silver wirethe Boxer does not.
The Contender also retains the high 90dB sensitivity and
8-ohm impedance of the Boxer, so that any high-quality
amplification beyond roughly 30Wpc will drive it comfortably.
In dimensions, except for the extended enclosure, the
Contender retains the overall footprint of the Boxer, making
it an easy fit even in rooms that are normally uncomfortable
with floorstanders.
The Contender is designed to fire straight into the roomno
toe-in is recommended. This also yields the most expansive
soundstage and most neutral treble response. But since no
two rooms are identical, its always worth experimenting
with placement. In order to allow the port to work properly,
the included floor spikes elevate the speaker 1.5" above the
floor. However, since this is a narrow-baffle speaker, special
care should be used around rambunctious kids, pets, or overcaffeinated audiophiles. My suggestion is that Nola consider
offering, on an optional basis, outrigger-style supports for
additional stability.
I asked Marchisotto about the distinctive low placement
of the woofer relative to the floor and he stated that with
a very low crossover to the lower woofer (about 60Hz), the
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EQUIPMENT review - Nola Contender

wavelength is long at the crossover frequency
(about 20 feet), and so I am allowed to mount
the woofer low to the floor for best low-bass
loading, while still maintaining a good phase
match with the upper woofer. He adds that as
in all three-way designs, the midrange quality
and resolution will improve, as the upper woofer
(midrange) covers less range than in a two-way or
2.5 way design. The lower woofer is also ported
to the floor to better couple deep bass.Anyway
the goal here was to produce a speaker that had
the virtues of the Boxer with 90dB sensitivity,
but with addition of bass extension to a usable
25Hz.
Thems Fightin Words
Making the transition from compact to
floorstander is never a sure thing. A lot can be lost
in translation. However, Marchisottono rookie at
this gamedesigned the Contender to share many
of the Boxers sonic traits. There is the familiar
lively rhythmic pulse that I found so appealing
in the Boxeran effervescent energy that gets
the toes tapping. Its midrange personality is an
outgoing one that doesnt lay back or recess
images to create false soundstage depth and
exaggerated dimensionality. Bass lines are tight
and articulate, and kick drum rhythms and skin
timbres are distinct. Music is presented with a
resounding weight and scale, particularly given
the speakers modest dimensions. I especially
loved the rich soundboard resonances that this
speaker imparted during solo piano selections
from Bill Carrothers Civil War Diariesthe sheer
mass and solidity of the instrument materializing
in my room. Transient action is solid as well, and
there is a wide dynamic envelope that pumps
extra juice into the mids. Pushed really hard the

Contender loses just a bit of steam dynamically
as it descends into the lower mids and upper bass,
the range where the artillery of heavy brass and
winds swing into action, but the subtraction is
mild.
The key differences of the additional driver and
expanded enclosure volume are heard and felt
in two areas. The midrange is livelier and more
visceral. The presence range is more neutral
and charismatic than that of the slightly more
reserved Boxer. The Contender reproduces both
female and male vocals with precise articulation
and a stronger sense of vocal textures such as
the chest and body of the performer. The softdome tweeter is very good, reasonably smooth,
and free from noticeable material colorations.
While it isnt the last word in silken airy response
or ribbon-like liquidity, its more than up to
the task in this range. Still, I think male vocals
benefit the most from the nicely weighted lower
midrange of the speaker, so that during Leonard
Cohens Darkness on Old Ideas [Columbia] the
cavernous power of Cohens iconic baritone is
fully revealed. On the other hand, a female voice
like Holly Coles on Temptation shows some
added top-end brilliance and sibilancetraits
that add definition to each note but that also
result in a cooler timbre.
Bass response is nicely controlled, but still
retains the warmish character and looser feel
that I find is more consonant with lifelike lowfrequency reproduction. And rhythmically
the Contender has a sure-footed and springy
quality that doesnt sag on its heels. This was
exemplified during the classic Blood, Sweat &
Tears track And When I Die [Columbia], a cut
thats all about pitch and precision and good

rhythmic timing in the bass lineelements this
speaker has in droves. In my room the Contender
extended flat down to 40Hz although there was
perceivably a good deal of response below that.
The stated 25Hz is a bit optimistic, however.
The Contenders overall performance was even
more impressive when I turned to orchestral
musicmaterial recorded in a hall with natural
acoustics. In such voluminous environs the
Contender showed its flair by painting a
soundstage on a grand scale. During Jupiter
from Holsts The Planets [EMI] I was able to
see from the front of the stage to nearly
the back wall of the hall. The Contender also
generated impressive low-frequency reverberant
information during Brittens Four Sea Interludes.
The sensation of an active, acoustically
expansive venue was impressive for a speaker of
this spec, as was the lack of enclosure coloration,
which allowed low-level percussion and deeply
pitched brass and tympani to be reproduced
cleanly and convincingly. The Contender seemed
to revel in the wealth of ambient information it
could reproduce. Its a skill that bass-restricted
compacts like the Boxer, for all their point sourcelike focus, struggle to master.
No question, the Contender impresses with
a lot of the right moves, but it isnt without a
couple of minor hitches. Theres an added glint
and sheen on top that can make brass sections
and upper-octave piano sound a bit leaner and
drier when they play full-bore. In some instances
I could also detect a hint of port tuning. For
instance, during Fanfare For The Common Man
[Reference] the Contenders lower octave
thickened slightly, masking resolution.
While not perfect, at the end of the day theres

essentially little that throws the Contender off
balance for long. And at its price, no scorecards
will be needed for this bout. No split decision
here. With the Contender, Nola has built a bigger,
better Boxera Boxer with legs, higher energy,
and higher musicality, top to bottom. And for
money that wont leave you feeling suckerpunched after the purchase.
SPECS & PRICING

Sensitivity: 90dB
Impedance: 8 ohms
Weight: 50 lbs.
Price: $3600
Accent Speaker Technology, Ltd.
1511 Lincoln Avenue
Holbrook, NY 11741
(631) 738-2540
nolaspeakers.com
Sumiko Palo Santos, Air Tight PC-3; Parasound JC
3 phono; BMC CS2, Hegel H300 and Vitus Audio
RI-100 integrated amplifiers; Synergistic Element
Tungsten, Wireworld Platinum interconnect &
speaker cables, Audience Au24 SE phono cable;
AudioQuest Coffee USB & Firewire, Synergistic Tesla
& Audience au24 powerChord, Wireworld Platinum
power cords
previous page
NEXT page
Vienna Acoustics Beethoven

Baby Grand Symphony Edition
High-Value Hi-Fi
Ron Doering
t all started with trains. Toy trains that is. Toodling around the Christmas tree way back in 1970. Instead of
the proudly made in the USA Lionel trains that some of my friends had, giant things which were seemingly
large and powerful enough for the smaller children in the neighborhood to ride on, my little choo-choo could
fit in the palm of your hand and was foreign-made. As small as it was it impressed me even as a five year old. The
engine, modeled after a pre-war German steam type, was delicately and accurately detailed. The colors were varied
and authentic, as were the tiny inscriptions that would appear in a full size train as serial numbers and warning
placards. Mechanically, it ran with the precision of a sewing machine and the accompanying directions sheets and
brochures had an exotic flavor, punctuated by umlauts, and funny looking symbols like . It was a small kit, only
an engine, three cars, maybe eight feet of track, but as I found out much later this was quite a dear Christmas
presentread expensive.
That train set was made in what used to be called West Germany
by the Mrklin Company. I still have the set and will probably give
it to my grandkids once Im through playing with it. This was my
first experience with what seems to be a Germanic flair for injecting
something special into even very ordinary things. My train was
a little gem in its astonishing level of craftsmanship and, to an
American, exoticism in the sheer European-ness of the packaging
and design. The same could be said about the Volkswagen Beetle,
which in the 1960s and 1970s seemed to occupy the driveways of
every third house in my town. Yes, it was like any other car in having
four wheels and seats, but beyond that the Bug was a design
unmatched in every other respect. Somehow it was more than
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cheap transportation. The Beetle made a statement; it pulled at the

heartstrings and went down its own path.
The A students in geography will rightly note that Vienna,
the home of Vienna Acoustics, is in Austria and not Germany.
Fair enough. Nonetheless the qualities that I alluded to
abovepracticality, superb design, unexcelled fit and finish,
distinctivenesssurely were incorporated in the Vienna Acoustics
Beethoven Baby Grand Symphony Edition (BBG-SE from here on)
loudspeaker reviewed here.
For loudspeakers its not an easy thing to be truly distinctive,
especially at this price point. I could accurately (if not faithfully)
summarize the BBG-SE as a compact, three-way, bass-reflex
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EQUIPMENT review - Beethoven Baby Grand Symphony

floorstander, which would also describe
hundreds of other loudspeakers. But this would
be like categorizing a Mercedes E350 as a midsized V-6 sedan. While to a certain extent this
is true, as you and I know thats not nearly the
whole enchilada. To understand what makes the
BBG-SE distinctive is to know that at the design
helm is one laser-focused Peter Gansterer,
head honcho at VA, who could probably go by
the nickname Dr. No for all the off-the-shelf
drivers he approves of. Grand total: none.
Instead, Gansterer designs his own drivers and
has them manufactured to his specifications,
which include proprietary materials and
construction methods, all very much on
display on the BBG-SE. Interestingly, although
VA works with some pretty famous and wellrespected manufacturers including Eton, SEAS,
and especially ScanSpeak, just a quick look at
the patented clear polymer Spidercone XPP
bass and X3P midrange drivers tells us that
this is not merely a case of a tweak here or a
modification there, as one might expect from
other loudspeaker manufacturers that claim
to use bespoke parts. In demanding such a
major redesign Gansterer basically said: Your
technology is not good enoughdo it this way.
When you think about it, this is equivalent to
telling Maria Sharapova that her serve is all
wrong. I hear tell that Dynaudio, for one, didnt
want to hear this and has refused such a buildto-spec arrangement. Even the quite averagelooking silk-dome tweeter is well beyond the
ordinary. Its an all-new design developed for
the coincident driver of VAs $10k Beethoven
Imperial Grand, which just debuted at the
Consumer Electronics Show.
Gansterer and company can focus on the

dynamic portions of their speakers because
they have their cabinets built and finished (to
VAs specs, of course) by people who do this
sort of thing for a living. Unfortunately that is
all I can tell you as the identity of the custom
joinery shop is on a need-to-know basis and I
merely wanted to know. What I do know is that
the result is spectacular; my cherry-finished
samples were paradigms of the cabinet-makers
art. Its nice to see that while other high-end
speaker manufacturers have invested in the use
of non-wood construction and finishing methods,
Vienna Acoustics has continued to champion
the more traditional approach. Other finishes
are piano-black or, for a $450 up-charge, pianowhite or rosewood.
Vienna Acoustics is no fan of bi-wiring or biamping and so discourages such practices by
providing a single pair of binding posts, which
are extremely robust, beautifully machined, and
milled from a silver-and-gold alloy. They are
also positioned where they should besurfacemounted and widely spacedand adults are
expected to use this loudspeaker, so be warned
that there is no plastic shielding of any kind. VA
does concede that sometimes those dear little
woofers and tweeters need a little protection
and so provides what at first blush appear to
be dead-ordinary, removable, cloth-over-frametype grilles. On further inspection the frames are
lovely examples of precision metal work, formed
from delicately machined extruded aluminum. I
found them to be quite soncially transparent.
Where and how a loudspeaker meets the floor
is so crucial that it is hard for me to understand
how little attention some manufacturers give
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EQUIPMENT review - Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grand Symphony

to this detail. My cynical view is that this may
be a result of potentially high cost coupled with
the physical location of the end product, e.g.
the floor, to which few audiophiles pay close
attention. Spikes are certainly in vogue but
they are commonly the too-small " variety
set directly into the base plate of the cabinet.
I find these really hard to adjust, and if the
cabinet has a narrow dimension, making it tippy,
the necessarily smaller footprint made by this
footing makes things even less stable. So I feel
that VA personally answered my prayers with its
approach in using hefty metal brackets which
cantilever four quite large (and heavywatch
out!) spikes outward. Not only does this add
much appreciated stability to the cabinet, but
the spikes can be easily turned and adjusted for
level from above.
Listening
Unpacking, assembling, and positioning the
BBG-SEs was a no-brainer as VAs supremely fit
Kevin Wolff did it all for me. And when he was
done, I had him move some furniture. Will he do
the same for you? One can only ask. And lest
you think I crawled off to take a nap while all
this was going on I did make the coffee and, of
course, observed and asked questions. Kevin
ended up arranging the speakers about twoand-a-half feet from the front wall (actually a
built-in cabinet and shelves) measured from
the back of the speakers, slightly toed-in, and
ever so slightly tilted back. The size of my room
dictates a cozy listening geometry, which in this
case was an eight-foot equilateral triangle with
the listening chair at the apex.
According to Kevin the speakers had been
around the block a few times and so it is no

surprise that my initial sonic impressions
changed not a bit during the auditioning period.
In sum this was a highly detailed, convincingly
three-dimensioned presentation. Images were
stable across the soundstage with a hint of
vertical information, which is rarely achieved in
my experience. Bass was satisfyingly extended
but noticeably not as powerful as that of my
resident Snell E/IIs. On further investigation,
employing test tones and hand-held SPL meter,
I found that the BBG-SE had a slightly tipped
up response curve, rising gradually over 13dB
from 32Hz to peak at 1kHz where it pretty much
flattened as far out as I could measure (10kHz).
Call me crazy but I had high hopes that the
BBG-SEs and my other Austrian in residence,
the Ayon Orion II, star of my last review, would
somehow be a match made in Vienna Waltz
heaven. Alas, while this was not a complete
disaster, I felt that the tilted-up response was
exaggerated somewhat by the Ayon. All that is
good about the speaker was still there, it just
sounded thinner. If you like a little more meat
with your sonic potatoes the thing is to give
the BBG-SE current, which in this case was
much more readily provided by the solid state
NADand I have no reason to doubt that these
speakers would benefit greatly from even bigger
dollops of juice than I was able to provide. The
250 watts suggested by Vienna Acoustics as
an outer limit strikes me as a not unreasonable
targetjust make sure these are quality watts.
With a properly matched amplifier the BBGSEs are quick, throw a wide and well-delineated
soundstage, and are detailed as all get-out. Yes
those fancy drivers do make a difference.
If you dabble in computer audio, go to

HDtracks right now and download the Grateful
Deads American Beauty and Bill Evans Waltz
for Debby, both now available in 96/24. But
be warned, this can take a while. Its worth it,
though, because you get all the information,
detail, and psychoacoustic cues of good vinyl
playback but without the analog noise floor.
High-resolution speakers like the BBG-SEs just
revel in this stuff.
The Deads Friend of the Devil opens with
a staggered entry of instrumentsacoustic
guitars (Jerry, then Bob), bass, after a few
measures mandolin (courtesy of Dave Grisman)
and, finally, drums. Through the BBG-SEs every
instrument was full of character, remaining
an identifiable voice throughout the track in
both position within the soundstage and sonic
signature. These are real instruments played by
living, breathing people, so no note, let alone
phrase, is played the same way twice. Through
a lesser system this is a pleasantly hummable
thing to listen to, but its akin to viewing the
Eifel Tower or the Empire State Building from
many miles away. Walk right up next to these
structures and you now begin to see finer
design details and hints of how the buildings
were actually constructed. This is what listening
to music is like through a system with high
resolving power.
Waltz for Debby was recorded live at the
Village Vanguard in the Mad Men era when
people not only drank and smoked too much, but
also evidently werent going to let a rare musical
genius playing live before them get in the way
of their own blathering. Yes, this is the one with
clinking glasses, waiters being called, jokes being
told, conversations carrying on from the table

nearest the stage. Non-audiophile friends shake
their heads. You paid how much for that?
SPECS & PRICING

Driver complement:
ASSOCIATED
Two 6" woofers, one
COMPONENTS
6" midrange, one 1.1"
NAD C325BEE and
hand-coated silk-dome
Ayon Orion II integrated
tweeter
amplifiers; Kenwood
Loading: Bass-reflex
KT-8300 AM-FM tuner;
Frequency response:
Rotel RDD-980 CD disc
30Hz22kHz
drive; Meridian 203
Sensitivity: 91dB
DAC; Dell Inspiron 530
Impedance: 4 ohms
PC running Windows
nominal
Vista, J River Media
Dimensions: 8.5" x 40"
Center 15; Hegel HD2
x 14.75"
USB DAC; Thorens
TD309 turntable; Dual
Price: $5000 a pair
CS 5000 turntable (78s
(cherry wood or
Only); TP 92 tonearm;
piano black), $5500
AudioTechnica AT-95B
(rosewood or piano
cartridge; Ortofon OMB
white)
78 cartridge; Bellari
VP129 phonostage;
VANA Ltd. (U.S.
Snell E/II loudspeakers;
Distributor)
Kimber Kable PBJ
728 Third Street, Unit C
interconnects; Kimber
Mukiteo, WA 98275
Kable KWIK-12
(425) 610-4532
loudspeaker cable;
vanaltd.com
Staples 5 meter USB

cable; Have Canare
DigiFlex Gold coaxial
digital cable
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EQUIPMENT review - Beethoven Baby Grand Symphony
But the point is people have been purchasing

this album for over 50 years for the simple
reason that a summer night in 1961 at a New
York nightclub was captured forever. When
viewed that way, the boors at the table chatting
about the banalities of the time are as important
a feature as Scott LaFaros lovely, lyrical bass or
Paul Motians exquisite brush work. In this way
the BBG-SEs performed a little bit of the magic
that some of us are only too happy to shell out
great wads of dough to get. On one particular
evening, sitting on the couch, I was transported
back to a time before I was born, to a place Id
never actually been, to experience one of the alltime-great jazz trios delicate interpretation of
Gershwins I Loves You Porgy. The obnoxious

table near the band didnt bother me at all.
Finally, a further word on bass may be called
for given my observations above. Smart bass
is very difficult to achieve and so is usually
expensive. Stupid bass is easier and cheaper,
which is why you hear so much of it. But if the
objective is to launch a series of sound waves
with precise timing and in perfect coordination
with other very different drivers launching much
shorter waves at much higher frequencies, then
we suddenly find ourselves in pretty rarefied
territory. The Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby
Grands do smart bassfast, tight, tuneful, and well
integrated. I never had cause for complaint, and,
yes, the low E pedal at the close of the Uranus
movement from The Planets [London] was wallshakingly powerful; more important the note
was pitch-perfect, not merely an approximation.
While my reference speakers do have flatter
response down to the nether regions, the tradeoffs employed to achieve thisless focused
imaging and a certain dark character overallare
either acceptable to the listener, or not.
Conclusion
Putting it all togetherperformance, build- and
parts-quality, progressive and sophisticated
design, fit and finish, the fact that it is
European-made by workers getting Europeanstyle wages and benefits, and its sheer beauty
the Beethoven Baby Grand Symphony Edition
loudspeaker offers a lot for its frankly not
unreasonable asking price. Indeed (yes, Im
writing this with a straight face) this is one of
the highest-value audio components Ive yet
encountered. Gut gemacht!
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Thiel CS2.7
A Major Step Forward
Anthony H. Cordesman
hiel has a long track record of

producing some of the best
speakers around, but this time it
has taken a major step forward.
The Thiel CS2.7 is a remarkable transducer at
any price and a superb value even at its cost
of $7999 a pair. To be quite frank, I expected
far more sonic compromises relative to Thiels
top-of-the-line CS3.7. In practice, however, the
CS2.7 is one of the most neutral, detailed, and
transparent speakers Ive heard, and its only
real compromises lie in the deepest bassa
sonic area largely of interest to synthesizer and
organ fans.
I also have to say that a photo will not do it
justice. If you want to seduce your wife into
accepting a floorstanding speakerand paying
nearly eight grand for itthe Amberwood version
of this speaker is as suitable for exhibition at
MOMA as it is for the listening room, combining a
sculptured profile, a visual impact that manages
to be striking without being dominating, and a
size whose shape and height is well suited for
real-world listening rooms without appearing to
tower over the rest of the furniture.
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But then, as a loyal reader of TAS, you have to

at least pretend you could care less about looks.
It should all be about the sound (although a little
glitter factor in technology and design can be
allowed to creep in).
Sonic Coherence, Treble and Midrange, and the
Coaxial Coincident Driver
Let me begin with sonic coherence and the
soundstage. The Thiel CS2.7 comes close to
mimicking a point source. Like other current
Thiel designs, it uses the same coincident
tweeter/midrange driver pioneered in the CS3.7
(see sidebar). As a result almost all of the music
and soundstage information emerge from a
single driver. Whether this is necessarily better
than closely spaced separate drivers is far from
clear. There are many other speakers including
my reference Vandersteen Model 5 Carbons
that achieve excellent coherence with separate
tweeters and midranges.
Nevertheless, what Thiel calls a Coaxial
Coincident Driver not only produces a
remarkably integrated sound without tying
the imaging and soundstage to a location near
the speaker or a given driver; it also has the
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EQUIPMENT review - Thiel CS2.7

kind of unity and transparency that full-range ribbons and
electrostatics are praised for.
If you need a written description for techie (read dork)
status in bragging sessions with fellow audiophiles, Thiel
states that, the midrange and tweeter diaphragms are
formed of anodized aluminum. The unique ribbed geometry
of the midrange is engineered to deliver immense rigidity
and clarity. An uncharacteristically large diameter voice
coil further braces the midrange against the out-of-phase
bending common in virtually all other loudspeaker drivers.
Tremendous control and high output capability is afforded by
the massive neodymium magnets powering the drivers. A very
large ring magnet drives the midrange, while 5 neodymium
magnets drive the tweeter. As with all Thiel designed and
built drivers, this element utilizes a short-coil/long-gap and
copper stabilized motor system to ensure ultra-low distortion
and utter faithfulness to your music.
Decades of listening to high-end speakers have taught me
that no single design approach is best or right. It has also
taught me, however, that the finest speakers do largely live
up to their hype.
In this case, the highs and midrange are truly revealing
without any tricks emphasizing the upper midrange or
presence areas, without creating any apparent peaks in the
highs, and without some sweet spot in loudness or dynamic
detail. This comes across clearly with massed strings and
demanding solo passages with clarinet, trumpet, and flute
instruments that can all sound hard or lose some of their
musical realism with the wrong driver and speaker.
As is the case with the CS3.7 and all of todays best speakers,
the CS2.7 is not forgiving, but it also does not harden classical
music or acoustic instruments. It is exceptionally revealing
of the detail in small (very well recorded) jazz groups and
demanding rock recordings. It also gets voice consistently
right, avoiding any coloration of male voice in the midrange
and artificial exaggeration of the upper range of soprano
voice or exaggeration of sibilants.
The Sound Stage, the Drivers, and the Cabinet

The radiation patterns of the Coaxial Coincident Driver are
also exceptionally well chosen, provided, as the instruction
manual states, that you keep the speakers a reasonable
distance away from sidewall reflections. The soundstage has
very good coherence from left to right, without gaps in the
middle or seeming to cut off to the left or right of the speakers.
The sound is consistent at any reasonable listening height
and loses very little upper-octave data and imaging detail
when you are standing. You can use an unusually wide
spread between the speakers without losing center fill or
exaggerating the size of solo instruments or small musical
groups, and depth is about as good as your room, speaker
placement, and listening material permit. I would recommend
a carpeted floor over a wood floor for listening to the CS2.7s
at reasonable distances, though it was no more vulnerable to
floor reflections than other floorstanding speakers of its size,
and less so than many.
The cabinet shape and design obviously play a role here as
well. The front baffle is not as sculptured or physically timealigned as some other speaker designs, but the cabinet is
tapered at the top, relatively narrow (11"), and relatively deep
(16.7").
The cabinet is also is exceptionally well-braced inside, and
replaces the one-inch-thick MDF cabinet walls in previous
CS2 Series models with much stronger curved plywood. It
uses a 3"-thick front baffle to mount the drivers and three
solid 1"-thick internal braces, the top one of which seals
the coaxial enclosure from the bass chamber. No parallel
surfaces exist anywhere inside the cabinet, limiting the
development of standing waves.It is not as mass-damped as
some competing speakers. The CS2.7 weighs only (only?)
77 pounds. However, its structure and an excellent spiking
system make it exceptionally vibration-free even at volumes
above 90dB.
This almost certainly contributes to its exceptional
midrange coherence, as does what is clearly an exceptional
crossover design that blends the treble and midrange in the Coaxial
Coincident Driver near seamlessly with the lower midrange and bass.
The Bass
If there is any trade-off in cost and size, it lies in the deep bass, but the
trade-off is much smaller than I expected. The CS2.7 has only an 8" woofer,
but it is supported by an oval passive radiator. Thiel also claims that this
woofer has distortion that is 1/10th that of typical woofers of this size. The
magnetic system is a Thiel proprietary short-coil/long-gap design whereby
the voice coil never exits the ultra-strong and stable magnetic field set
up inside the gap, thus helping the amplifier exertcomplete control over
woofer motion.The motor structure is stabilized by sheathing the center
pole with a copper sleeve, and by including a copper shorting-ring at the
base of the back plate. The first of these measures dramatically reduce the
inductance of the voice coil thereby ensuring that the frequency response
of the driver is not modulated by the motion of the coil over the pole. The
copper shorting ring guarantees that the voice coils magnetic field (again,
analogous to the signal from the amp) always reacts against a rigid and
fixed magnetic field as set up by the magnet.
Once again, I cant validate any given set of technical or design claims, but
Thiel has long produced some exceptional woofers and passive radiators,
SPECS & PRICING

Bandwidth: (3dB) 35Hz20kHz
THIEL Loudspeakers
Frequency response: 35Hz20 kHz
1026 Nandino Blvd.
+/-2.5dB
Lexington, KY 40511
Phase accuracy: +/-10
(859) 254-9427
Sensitivity: [email protected]/1m
thielaudio.com
Impedance: 4 ohms (2.4 ohms minimum

@160Hz)
Recommended power: 100400 watts
Weight: 77 lbs.
Price: $7999
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and the CS2.7 did meet its specification of
relatively flat power output down to nearly 35Hz
in the best location in my listening room when I
measured its response using a mix of pink noise,
bass warble tones, an AudioTools RTA and FFT
routine, and an iTestMic.
The bass was not only extended, it was also
very smooth with the right room location, and
very tight and detailed. As is usually the case,
it also initially sounded a bit limited until I ran
it through the usual range of bass spectaculars
and test tones. Unlike many other speakers,
the fact that the CS2.7's bass does not have
some inherent coloration or peak means that
the deeper bass really is deep, rarely produces
massive power, and does not have some form of
overhang on deep bass transients.
This is not the ideal speaker to try to blast
away with the opening organ tone in Thus Spake
Zarathustra, Saint-Sans Symphony No 3, or the
kind of electronic music and rock whose main
musical virtue seems to be vibrating your house or
driving the neighbors in your apartment building
to manslaughter. You wont get the same bass
with Kodo drums or the Telarc bass drum records
as you do with the CS3.7s or the subwoofer built
into my Vandersteen Model 5 Carbons, and you
wont get the ultimate impact of an exaggerated
deep bass line in a vocal like the Jennifer Warnes
recording of Way Down Deep (The Hunter).
But for the other 97% of music you will get
very extended bass that will take you to the
real-world limits of the bottom octaves and do
so with minimal coloration. Id also suggest that
for most audiophiles who are not total bass
freaks, this can actually be better than speakers
that do have subwoofer-like bass.
The last 5 or 10Hz often come at a major cost

in room interactions the moment they actually
appear. This can sound dramatic for a while,
but resonance, room vibrations, etc. become a
pain in the, er, ear once you really start listening
for extended periods. (There is also enough
extraneous deep bass on some recordings to
produce low-level room-effects almost without
you realizing or expecting it.)
In short, the CS2.7 has real bass for real
music for real people in real listening rooms. It
may choose overall accuracy from the top treble
to deep bass over exaggerated output in the
deepest bass, but life is a series of tradeoffs and
this is a case where I feel Thiel has made all of
the right ones.
Compatibility and Interfaces
As for compatibility, the CS2.7 has no rear-panel
adjustments and no options for bi-amping or biwiringnot that it seems to need such features.
It was not sensitive to any given speaker cable
I had, but clearly revealed the differences
between the ranges of AudioQuest and Kimber
Cables I use as references. It also produced the
sound I expect from a range of solid-state and
tube amplifiers, including my reference Pass
Labs XA160.5s and the Cary CAD 120S II, and
did not seem an unusually demanding load.
The CS2.7s bass performance did, however,
benefit from higher-current amplifiers with
higher damping factors. Id recommend a solidstate amp with at least 100 watts and high
current capability. As for listening levels, the
CS2.7 was clean with music to levels of 110dB,
although I did not explore its possible use a rock
monitor driven consistently to levels of 120dB or
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morelevels that have no place in high-end listening
where anyone cares about his hearing.
I recommend front ends, preamplifiers, and
amplifiers that are neutral to warm, and avoid ones
that are a bit hard or bright. As least with classical
and other acoustic music, the CS2.7s timbre is
neutral but does not have any added warmth or rolloff in the upper midrange and highs.
I did, incidentally, get information from Thiel after I
completed the first draft of this review that the 2.7s
take some 300 hours to break-in. This is one hell of a
long practical break-in time. I also found that breakin did not make a dramatic difference or affect the
issue of timbre Ive just discussed. The speakers
did seem to get even more transparent and have
a slightly higher degree of midrange warmth with
break-in, but there is no way to exactly compare a
speaker with the 200 hours Id put on it when I began
this review versus the same speaker at 300 hours
when I finished. Acoustic memory simply is not that
accurate.
I would strongly recommend you actually read the
instruction manual. It has unusually good speakerplacement instructions, and its worth spending
serious time experimenting with placement. The
Thiel CS2.7 is not particularly placement-sensitive if
kept at a reasonable distance from room boundaries,
but it is far too good to simply plunk down casually
without a long series of efforts to find the best mix of
soundstage, bass, overall timbre, and detail in a given
room. Id also suggest that if you do hear any initial
coloration, you have a placement and not a speaker
problem.
Finally, the Thiel 2.7 works as well with digital roomcompensation systems as any speaker around, and
worked very well with the very affordable DSPeaker
Anti-Mode 2.0 Dual Core unit [reviewed by Robert E.
Greene in Issue 230]. But dont push the Thiel 2.7s
much below 30Hz, by using too much bass boost in
the lowest frequencies, or equalize them much above
200Hz, unless you really need to. The speakers already
have really good bass for transducers their size, and
trying to turn them into an electronic jukebox is not
going to improve their sound.
The Thiel Coaxial

Coincident Driver
The Coaxial Coincident Driver that is at the
worked out, purely in his head, every last
heart of the CS2.7 is the identical unit used
detail of the drivers construction needed to
in the more expensive CS3.7. It mounts an
make it perform as intended. The trial and
aluminum dome tweeter at the center of
error took place in his imagination.
a midrange diaphragm, ensuring that the
The ribbed aluminum midrange diaphragm
output of the drivers arrive at the listeners
is equally innovative. Jim had been working
ears at the same time, no matter what the
with different materials and cone shapes in
listening distance or height.
an effort to produce the stiffest material
Jim Thiel told me several years ago at a
with the lowest mass. His efforts paid off
CES how he had conceptualized such a driver
with about a 10% increase in stiffness and
and its advantages. When combined with
a 10% reduction in mass. Most loudspeaker
first-order crossovers, the system would be
designers would have been thrilled by
time and phase coherent at any listening
this advance and moved the driver into
angle, height, or distance. Jim thought about
production. But Jim told me that he asked
the driver for more than a year, putting off
himself Why settle for a 10% increase in
building a prototype because he believed
stiffness? Why not try for something with
that hed need to dedicate six months to
ten times the stiffness? This inspiration
a year perfecting the driver. He had other,
resulted in the radically different ribbed
more pressing, design commitments that
aluminum midrange diaphragm of the
required his attention.
coincident driver, as well as the flat ribbed
One Saturday, he was overcome with
woofers in the CS3.7, which, according to
curiosity and made what he thought
Thiel, are ten-times stiffer than conventional
would be the first of dozens and dozens
diaphragms. Robert Harley
of prototypes. A couple of hours later, he

had, to his great astonishment, a working
prototype that performed nearly flawlessly.
Summing Up
One hell of a speakerand one your wife or partner is
likely to be happy to live with.
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That driver became the cornerstone of the

Thiel line. Whats remarkable is that Jim had
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JansZen zA2.1
Higher Truth
Robert E. Greene
suppose everyone has the dream. After a long day at an audio show, somewhere
down that last corridor, suddenly there is a speaker that transcends all that went
before, that gives the audio analog of how Sibelius described the inspiration for
his Fifth Symphony: The Gates of Heaven opened and I heard the music.
Of course such an audio experience is never
quite complete, and the impression might be
momentary, too. Almost inevitably the critical
intellect begins to take a role, and some small
or not so small things may begin to disturb. (Sibelius had to get down actually to doing the orchestration, too.) But still, I had an experience
along these inspirational lines when I heard the
JansZen zA2.1 loudspeaker at the T.H.E. Show
Newport this just past July. And this impression
has survived the long exposure of the review
process largely intact.
The JansZens strike me still, after that long
exposure, as having an unusual dose of sonic
magic. They are high end in what used to be the
traditional sense, in that quite a bit of effort is
needed to get the very best out of them, but the
very best is very good indeed. And if the article
that follows emphasizes the adjustments possible and the need for them, please never lose
sight of the fact that at the end of the road is
a speaker in the top echelon at re-creating the
beauty of concert music. The zA2.1 is a fussy,
listener-position-dependent, at first potentially
frustrating loudspeakernot a plop-it-downand-sit-anywhere speaker that will provide a
previous page
fairly good but perhaps not great sonic experience in casual use. But with things done right,
the magic is there to an extent that few others
can offer.
Perhaps one should not be totally surprised
Whats bred in the bone and so on. Designer
David Janszens father Arthur Janszen, was one
of the great figures in audio in the 1950s and
1960sthe designer, in particular, of the legendary KLH Model Nine full-range electrostatics,
which incidentally were a driving force behind
the founding of The Absolute Sound. (In an interview with John W. Cooledge some time ago,
Harry Pearson described how a shoot-out between the Nines and the then widely celebrated
Bose 901s was a pivotal event in the decision of
JWC and HP to start TAS together.) But if David
Janszen grew up with electrostatics and learned
the art of making them in his family setting, he
has also surely struck out in his own directions
with the zA2.1s (hereafter, just the JansZens).
The Speakers Themselves
For a start, the JansZens are not dipoles. Earlier electrostaticsthe original Quads, the nearly contemporaneous KLH Nines, the Dayton
Wrights, the Acoustats, the Xstatics, the Quad

63s, the SoundLabs, the MartinLogans, the
Sandersoperated their electrostatic part at
least as a dipole. Outside of some of the Beveridge models it is hard to think of an electrostatic that did not use the electrostatic element
in dipole form, except in some cases where the
electrostatic part was used purely as a tweeter.
The JansZens, on the other hand, operate the
electrostatic element inside an enclosure. The
electrostatic element (which is itself compound)
covers both midrange and treble frequencies,
with the crossover from the cone woofers being at 500Hz, first-order. The two-woofer system is housed in a sealed box, one driver above
and one below the mid/tweeter electrostatic
unit. And the whole fits together to form a single compact floor-standing unit which does not
require placement far out into the room, as dipoles inevitably do if used at any but very high
frequencies.
Peter Walker said he once experimented with
an electrostatic unit in a box but went back to
dipoles because to him it sounded like a speaker
in a box. With all due respect, this was apparently not inevitable. To me, the JansZens do not
sound boxy at all. And, in fact, the unipolar nature of the mid/tweeter unit likely contributes to
the remarkable coherence of the speaker since
it matches the nature of the woofer at crossover.
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EQUIPMENT review - JansZen zA2.1

The mid/tweeter unit itself has a crossover, with the whole area
operating in the lower part of its range but part of it rolling off in
the highs so that only a portion radiates the true high frequencies. This diminishes the otherwise inevitable beaming associated
with running a flat radiator that is four inches wide on out into the
stratospherethe response of the JansZens extends to at least
30kHz, according to the designer.
The division of the mid/tweeter unit is vertical so that beaminess is diminished horizontally but remains extreme in the vertical direction. In effect one has a 16-inch tweeter! You need to
aim the JansZens directly at you in the vertical senseyou need
to be in that 16-inch beam of highs and preferably in the middle
of it. The speakers are tilted back on their pedestals so as to put
the axis aimed at ordinary listening height for a listener at three
meters. If you want to sit closer, you need to tilt the speakers
back fartheror sit very low. This tilting is not hard to do (there
are adjustable feet or, for preliminary purposes, you can put, say,
paperback books under the front feet).
Already you are beginning to see the adjustability of things. The
vertical position and to a lesser but nontrivial extent, the horizontal
angling (toe-in) will change the sound. (Actually the vertical positioning is not really an adjustmentyou need to be on axis vertically.
But horizontally one can control the top octave by toe-in.)But there
is much more to adjust. The speakers include level controls on both
woofer and midrange/tweeter units. These adjust the woofer level
conventionally, but adjust the mid/tweeter level by changing the
polarizing voltage. This means that increases happen fast for the
mid/tweeter, but decreases happen very slowly since the higher
polarizing voltage has to droop down to the desired lower level.
Start at the bottom and push up slowly. And if you overshootbe
prepared to wait a while. (Turning off the speaker is a good way to
reboot to the lower level but you still have to wait bit.)
We are not through, however, with adjustments, not even if we
add in the obvious influence on the bass, which happens for all
speakers, of where the speakers are placed in the room. With the
airLayer option, which I recommend, there are side-firing tweeters of a non-electrostatic type, ring radiators actually, on the out98 Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers 2014
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side sides of the speakers, the level of which can be adjusted from
zero to rather strong output.
I have to admit that my initial reaction was to ignore these on
theoretical grounds. I like to tell myself that I like anechoic stereo
and that it is never a good thing to bounce sound off the walls
when one can avoid it. Fair enoughwith dipole radiators where
one can all but eliminate the first sidewall reflections essentially
completely by angling the speakers correctly. Not everyone likes
the result, but it is uncolored in energy response.
But with a forward radiator, things can change. Without the
airLayer tweeters activated, the first wall reflection has a rapid
slope downwards starting at about 1kHz. By 2kHz or so, the energy content has really dropped off a lot and the result is a slightly
muffled sound unless you are quite close to the speakers. How
prominent this effect will be depends on how close you are to the
sidewalls. In the setup I was using, with the speakers only two or
three feet from the sidewalls, the sound was improved by activating the airLayer side-firing tweetersbut not too much. In fact,
just a touchactivate them too much and the sound gets toppy.
But that little touch matters!
This is something one needs to do by ear. And note that there
is no big problemand even, in fact, an advantageif there is a
shortage of extreme highs in the reflected sound. It would probably be ideal to damp the sidewalls quite a bit in the real top and
turn up the side tweeters a little further to get extra energy down
towards the presence range.
And I found it advantageous to put the JansZens a definite distance from the sidewalls, neither more nor less. This specificity
has to do with the fact that since the far-off-axis response rolls
off quite a lot starting a little above 1kHz, the exact perceived balance depends on the wall proximity. Another adjustmentbut you
can get it right!
Truth to tell, I would have liked to see the side-firers themselves
rolled down in the extreme top so that one could bring up a bit
the energy in the presence range without the top end coming on
stronger. But there is limit to how many adjustments there can be.
As is, there are many things to try.
Perhaps this all sounds a bit like techno-babble. And the details
will vary with the acoustics of your listening room. But you will be
able to check for yourself how much effect arises from the sidefiring tweeters and from changing distance to sidewalls. Adjust
everything carefully! And do go for the airLayer option, I would
suggest, but use it subtly.
The Sound and the Adjustments
At this point, a feeling might arise that with so many adjustments,
exactly what the JansZens sound like is a moving target. How much
simpler are those basically conventional dynamic driver floorstanders, which for all their exotic drivers and extremist cabinet
SPECS & PRICING

Product type: Floor-standing hybrid
Sensitivity: 87dB /1W/1m
electrostatic loudspeaker
Impedance: 6 ohms nominal
Driver configuration (per channel):
Power handling: 25150W
Two 7" alloy cone woofers in
recommended, 250W maximum
a sealed enclosure above and
Maximum SPL: 108dB/pair at 4m,
below a 7" wide x 16" high mid/
room of moderate size
tweeter assembly, comprising two
electrostatic panels in separate
Price: $8750 factory-direct, 30-day
enclosure internally; airLayer
return option; airLayer option,
option: One tweeter on outboard
$495 additional
side of each cabinet, leveladjustable
JansZen Electrostatic
Crossovers: First-order 500Hz to
Speakers
mid/tweeter assemblies, secondary
480 Trade Road
first-order crossover to half the
Columbus, Ohio 43204
electrostatic elements width to
(866) 535-8835(North America)
widen horizontal dispersion of the
(614) 448-1811 (international)
high frequencies
janszenloudspeaker.com
Frequency response: 30Hz30kHz,

+/-3dB (in room)
NEXT page

construction are basically, with no disrespect intended, rather conventional speakers perfected,
even if they cost a fortune. And, of course, those
speakers are simpler in use because they are also
unchangeable. If you do not like the sound, there
is nothing to do except change speakers, short
of changing the acoustics of your listening room
and/or using equalization whether digital or
analog.(A little adjustment of top end by angling
is also usually possible but to a limited extent
with almost all speakers.)
With the JansZens, there is more wiggle
room, as it were. Now this means there is also
more possibility of messing upyou can make
the speakers sound really awful if you do the
wrong things, say turn the woofers all the way
down, the mid/tweeter electrostatic units all the
way, and set the side-firing tweeters at max. You
ought to try the extremes of the adjustments,
just to get a feel for how much control you have
but you wont want to try the extremes for long.
But if there is opportunity to be wrong, there
is also opportunity to perfect, to find, somewhere in the middle, a sound that is all but ideal.
The whole process of adjustment of the JansZens when done right produces something exceptional. And of course once the setup is done,
then further experimentation is not needed.
This can be a one-time-only process, and although a bit long, an interesting one.
Let me turn now to the specifics of how the
JansZens can sound at their best.
The Sound in Musical Terms
First of all perhaps one is struck by their remarkable coherence. Crossovers and driver changes
are mostly likely to come across as incoherent in
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the range above around 1kHz. (This is why threeway dynamic speakers can get away with crossovers around 500Hz, even though that is squarely
in the region of music instrument and human
voice fundamentals.) Here there effectively is no
crossover in the strong sense above 500Hzthe
transition from full radiation of the whole of the
electrostatic to high frequencies, to only part of
the electrostatic panel is not audible.
If one listens to say the piano figures running up
and down the keyboard in the first movement of
the G Major Grieg Violin Sonata on the Hancockengineered recording on Bridge, the piano sounds
completely unifiedthe only shifts of timbre are
those of the instrument itself. Lots of speakers
make it hard to hear out drivers, or even impossible to do so. Few indeed give this unified representation of timbre from top on down.
Attached to this is a very low level of perceived coloration. To get everything adjusted
perfectly in my room actually involved for absolute perfection a little lift around 1kHz and
a little cut around 2kHz, but one could skip
this without too much difference. (I am always
tweaking around with such things, even though I
know few other people worry about them.) And
even with the speakers adjusted only on their
own, the feeling of neutrality in the true sense
was very strong. Not only were the speakers
balanced, with the right adjustments, in a natural and accurate way, but colorations localized in
frequency ranges were minimal. The JansZens
sounded really uncolored.
And as one expects from electrostatics, perceived distortion was extraordinarily low. The
speakers added no edge nor harshness nor hardness nor any of the ills that speakers are heir to.
With pure-sounding source material, pure sound

was what one got. And presentation of detail
was excellent. Without anything being flung at
you from frequency response irregularities, subtle inner parts (e.g., the harpsichord continuo in
the Bach/Sitkovetsky Goldberg Variations on
Nonesuch) could be followed with ease but with
no sense that they were being over-emphasized.
Always one could follow inner parts in complex
music with extraordinary ease. People like to
quote the lowness of distortion of electrostatics in terms of low harmonic distortion, but my
guess is that it is really the low intermodulation
distortion over the whole operating range that
gives this extraordinary clarity.
And this matters musically. One of the most
striking things about live musics sound is how
separated its strands are even when at the
same time the overall sound is blended. It is like
a tapestry where each thread is visible but at
the same time the whole design is completely
integrated. This effect is provided better by the
JansZens than by almost any other speaker.
Moreover, this effect continues when music gets
loud. Complex passages remain clear and clean
even at loud moments.
Part of this is that the speaker does not put
a lot of high-frequency energy into the room.
Room roar, as I call all that irrelevant sound
bouncing around, is minimal. And thus a major
source of auditory confusion is removed. The
big moment in the third movement of the Mahler Fourth Symphony with Cleveland/Dohnanyi
on London, a moment where one instinctively
expects to cringe a bit from the confused, ugly
sound contributed by the listening room and the
speaker both, sailed right by without anything
but the powerful effect that this makes in live

performance. No cringe at all.
The JansZens are small speakers by the standards of nearly full-range floorstanders. But they
have a lot of volume capability and nearly full
bass extension. The latter is bit surprising perhaps. But like the Acoustic Research speakers of
yore, they use the slow roll off of sealed-box loading and a certain willingness to reduce sensitivity
to get really deep bass. (The nominal sensitivity
is 87dBnot super-low but on the low side by
contemporary standards. But amplifier power is
cheap!) Certainly with orchestral music, there is
no sense at all of any missing bass. The bass is
solid and precise and defined all the way to the
bottom of the orchestraand with one woofer
on the floor nearly, no floor dip. Subwoofers are
needed only for aficionados of earthquakes or
pipe organs of the Romantic style.
Tonal Balance and Stereo Imaging
As noted, the balance overall of the Jans-Zens is
both adjustable and position-dependent. When
everything is just so, they sound very flat and
neutral. To my ears, there was a certain sense
of recession of the mids, of the octave from
12kHz, although this was a rather small effect.
But there is a major difference between the
sound of the JansZens and of wide-dispersion
speakers, a difference that arises from the nature of the room sound. The JansZens put less
high-frequency energy into the room as a whole.
And this makes a difference. To some extent,
one can offset this with the side-firing tweeters.
But not exactly. Namely, the effect of the sidefiring tweeters does not seem to give precisely
what would be the effect of a usual wide-disperwww.theabsolutesound.com
NEXT page

sion floorstander, where the far-off-axis sound
would be rolling down with rising frequency in
a pattern designed to give a certain kind of perceived sound balance. This exact idea of speaker
balance for wide-dispersion floorstanders is not
really based on much (the science behind it is
really just market research). Some kind of rising
directivity with increasing frequency is reasonable but the specification in detail is up for grabs.
But one particular pattern is common enough
that people are used to it.
The JansZens take a different path from most
speakers. As in a concert hall, the reverberant
sound in the room is short on high frequencies.
They roll off more steeply and sooner off-axis
than usual narrow-front floorstanders and thus
they have much less energy in the top end in the
reverberant field than usual, more like a concert
hall. (The comparison with concert halls is not
absolutely precise because home listening rooms
with their decay that is much faster than concert
venues are not really correctly modeled in listening terms as reverberant fields in the sense of
concert halls. But for what it is worth, you can
find details of the concert hall situation in my article from Issue 38 reprinted here (regonaudio.
com/Records%20and%20Reality.html).
Moreover, the deliberate suppression of early
reflections especially in the higher frequencies
by the JansZens makes their stereo presentation
rather different from the speakers that bounce
lots of high-frequency sound off the sidewalls.
To my ears, this is to the good. The best stereo
available in terms of insight into the recording
is from RFZ (reflection-free-zone) rooms, where
there are no early reflections at all but there is
room sound later. (Truly anechoic stereo, where
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the direct arrival is all there sounds rather odd

and tends to image in the head. This does not
happen with the JansZens nor with RFZ rooms
since there is enough room sound later to dissipate any possible in-the-head effect.) One does
have to admit, however, that reflection-free stereo sounds different, with spaciousness generated only to the extent that it rises in the lower frequencies and none of the artificial space
and air arising from lots of early sidewall reflection in the high frequencies (one thinks of
the sound of Bose, perhaps). But the space that
is really there on the recordings is presented superbly by the JansZens, with the venue and the
microphone technique presented clearly.
This controversy has been going on for a long
time and will no doubt continue: How much contribution from the room do you want in stereo
playback? As with most controversies, selfstyled experts abound, promising to have
determined the answer. But the experts do not
agree, and in the end there is of course no answer that is definitive because there is no real
paradigm of stereo recording and playback reciprocity (except Blumlein, where the paradigm
is in fact anechoic playback). You have to listen
and decide for yourself. But listen on the JansZens to some complex material and observe
how clarity is maintained and you will see what
can be done with the reflection-free method.
The effect can be truly startling. One can hear
something so like concert reality as to be almost
mind-boggling. Stereo is by nature a somewhat
imperfect process, but it is capable of remarkable things when one removes the effects of
early reflections. Be prepared though: This is a
different kind of sound from what you get out of
speakers with wide dispersion in the high frequencies close to reflective walls. Different and
I would say better. But different for sure.
Dynamics
The JansZens will play loudly (well over 100dB)
and cleanly at high volumes. These are not dynamically limited speakers as far as sensible use
in rooms of domestic size. And they are very
linear in dynamic behavior. But their perceived
dynamic behavior is unusual precisely because
there is no rising cringe factor as levels go up.
Distortion does not become an issue nor does
room roar. So one can easily overlook how
loudly they are playing. The owners manual quite
rightly points this out and cautions the listener. I
recommend an SPL meter to check occasionally
what is happening.
This whole subject is widely misunderstood in
audio. One of the mechanisms by which music
gives the impression of getting louder is that the
distortion produced by instruments themselves
increases as they are played louder. An unthinking
listener can confuse messenger and message and
can start to believe that components with distortion that remains low as levels rise are undynamic. I am not making this up. A well-known reviewer
claimed for example that the Sunfire Signature
(which could put out 2500 watt pulses) was undynamic compared to tube amplifiers. You can form
your own impression of what was going on there.
In this same sense, some people who do not
know anything might say that the JansZens were
undynamic. And then are those people who interpret room roar as dynamic enhancement. They
must find the front row center in an orchestral
concert really unexciting since it is a long time,
indeed, before any sidewall reflections arrive. It

really ought not be necessary to discuss such
nonsense, but these misguided views are expressed so widely that I thought I had better.
In any case, the JansZens remain untroubled
when things get loud. This is delightfuland of
course correct. But do watch the playback levels. Live orchestral levelslow 90dBs at big moments in front row seatssound unstrained. And
that is plenty loud enough.
I really liked this feature of the speakerslike
live music. I am rehearsing the Sibelius Second
Symphony at the moment with a 90-person orchestraloud at times. (I am at a safe distance
outside, first violinsso I do not need ear plugs. It
is good to be able to hear realistic levels without
strain when you want to, though in practice I almost always listen considerably below the level
one encounters at the front of the stage.) And
dont let anyone tell you that the JansZens are
undynamic because distortion does not rise with
level.
The Big Picture
In the last decade or so, high-end speaker design
has to my mind become rather conventional, a
matter of perfecting the usual dynamic driver
floorstander, where quite standard designs are
executed with extreme attention to practical
things like cabinet rigidity. But surely the exceptions to this, those designs that to try to go
beyond, to find a different and perhaps higher
truth, surely those are of the essence of serious audio and are the source of much of its fascination. For those who thus look beyond, who
search beyond the horizon, the JansZen zA2.1s
are a must-audition.
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our top
picks
Floorstanding Loudspeakers Under $10,000
MartinLogan Montis
Magnepan Super MMG
GoldenEar Triton Seven
Vandersteen 3A Signature
When TAS senior writer Paul Seydor first heard the

MartinLogan Montis at the 2013 Newport Beach audio
show, he found himself drawn to the room over and
over again. After several days of sublime sound, he had
to audition the speakers at home, and was surprised to
find that this speaker captivated him to such extremes.
This speaker isn't just a "bargain," it's a speaker that PS
considers reference quality. See the exclusive, featured
review for the first time in this 2014 Guide to HighPerformance Loudspeakers.
www.martinlogan.com
The Super MMG System is a slightly different take on

the tried-and-true for Magnepan. The bundle includes
a pair of MMGs specifically hot-rodded for use with an
included Diplanar Woofer Module or DWM (dual DWMs
are optional). The results are remarkable. The Super
Systems low distortion and faster than a speeding bullet
transient attack reveals the tiniest intricacies, delivering
fragile percussion cues with startling immediacy. It also
throws open wide windows on ambient and reverberant
details, and it unquestionably rules the roost over microdynamics gradations. The addition of the DWM lends the
system a stronger sense of grounding, and with the added
bass comes greater focus and clarity than that of the solo
MMGs. Leap tall buildings in a single bound? Darn close.
And in every other way, super indeed.
www.magnepan.com (235)
As Chris Martens proudly proclaimed in his review

of the Triton Sevens, I have an abiding fondness for
overachieving products, and the GoldenEar Triton Sevens
are speakers that can definitely be called overachievers.
These tall, slender, quasi-transmission-line floorstanders
can go toe-to-toe with any similarly priced competitor, and
handily outperform many higher-priced speakers, as well.
For $1399, the Triton Sevens are masterpieces of valueoriented audio engineering.
www.goldenear.com (233)
Like all Vandersteens, the Golden Ear Award-winning 3A

Signature is time-and-phase accurate. Its driver complement
features the patented midrange and tweeter used in the
vaunted Vandersteen 5. The 3A Signature has a relaxed
presentation, is musically seductive, and will appeal to
those who want to forget about the sound and enjoy the
music, though it does trade off some dynamic contrast and
midrange resolution for its overall ability to involve the
listener.
www.vandersteen.com (139, 122)
$9995
previous page
$1199
$1399
$4495
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our top
picks
Floorstanding Loudspeakers Under $10,000
PSB Imagine T2
Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grand
Legacy Focus SE
$9650
These elegant floorstanders of moderate size offer a surprisingly big sound,

with dynamics sufficient to present large-scaled music convincingly and enough
bass to cover orchestral and rock music, though pipe organ enthusiasts will want
to add a sub or two. The T2s vanish into the soundfield and present a suitably
expansive sonic picture when the recording justifies it. They are very low in
distortion with a pure midrange and a very clean treble. And they have a truth
to timbre, a tonal neutrality, that is top tier. Orchestras have a lifelike realism
that is startling; pianos sound like pianos, vocals like people singing. Paul Barton
has produced a masterpiece here, at a most reasonable price.
www.psbspeakers.com (226)
Refined, luxurious, and lovingly hand-built in Europe, the Austrian-designed

BBG is one of the highest-value components RD has ever run across. Highly
detailed and possessing a convincingly three-dimensional presentation, the BBG
conjured images that were stable across the soundstage with more than a hint
of vertical imaging information thrown in for good measure. Bass was not as
powerful as that from RDs resident Snell E/IIs, although it was smart bass
fast, tight, tuneful, and well integrated into the speakers overall frequency
balance. A brief sojourn with another Austrian in residence, the all-tube Ayon
Orion II, resulted in a slight thinning of timbre and loss of bass control when
compared with RDs similarly rated but more powerful NAD integrated; the 250
watts suggested by Vienna Acoustics as an outer limit is not an unreasonable
target.
www.vienna-acoustics.com (233)
This big, high-sensitivity four-way features an array of six custom drivers,

including dual 12" spun-aluminum woofers, dual 7", Rohacell-reinforced,
silver-graphite mid/bass units, a 3" ribbon midrange, and a 1" ribbon tweeter.
The Focus SE goes far lower in the bass than any other speaker near its price,
delivering tremendous power and impact down to 20Hz. Despite the Focus
SEs huge dynamics and robust bass presentation, the woofers are extremely
well controlled, and blend well with the rest of the system, including the ribbon
mid and tweeter. Thanks to the integration of the disparate drivers, the Focus
SE produces a smooth frequency response and timbre, and a very coherent and
consistently musical sound, with the speed and life you expect in the best ribbon
designs.
www.legacyaudio.com (215)
$3498
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$5000
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This section sponsored by
Equipment reviews
Floorstanding
Loudspeakers
Over $10k
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Featured Review
Legacy Aeris
Reinventing the Speaker
as a Hybrid System
By Anthony H. Cordesman
Photography by Cody Hamilton
previous page
The Legacy Aeris is a great speaker by any standard, and I can see why
Robert Harley recommended it so highly after a listening session at the
Rocky Mountain Audio Show [Issue 230]. It is a truly full-range speaker,
with bass deep into the subwoofer region, outstanding performance at
every frequency to the limits of hearing and beyond, excellent definition,
outstanding dynamics, and a visual image that might win it an entry to
the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
It comes with separate 500-watt amplifiers dedicated to each bass driver with
a crossover point low enough that you can still get the best sound out of your
regular power amplifier, and it has a very well chosen mix of drivers that provides
a coherent and naturally detailed sound at any reasonable listening distance, as
well as enough dipole radiation to widen the stage and reproduce more natural
ambience.
And yet, these are only half of the reasons Im excited about the Aeris. Bill
Dudleston, Legacys chief engineer, has produced some other excellent speakers,
but the Aeris breaks new ground in what for me is the most important frontier
in high-end audio: It comes with the Aeris Wavelaunch processor that allows you
to tailor the frequency response to be as musically realistic as possible in a realworld listening room.
The Aeris Wavelaunch processor is an electronic unit that goes between your
preamp and amplifier. It gives you up to 30 settings that you can use to adjust
the sound of the speaker to correct room-interaction problems, partly correct for
over-bright, close-miked older recording, and evenif you are fanatic enough
compensate for the different equalization curves in LPs.
NEXT page
Legacy Aeris
Music vs. Technology
Most experienced audiophiles will already be well aware of just
how serious room-speaker interaction problems are with more
conventional speaker designs. Back in the 1960s, Roy Allison
pointed out that low-frequency response in any normal listening
room will look like the Alps no matter how accurate the speaker
is in an anechoic chamber, or when measured so nearfield that
room interaction problems are minimized. There are always peaks
and valleys well in excess of 5dB, and almost always serious
colorations from such peaks and valleys in the midbass, where
the impact is clearly audible. There also are smaller response
and reflection problems that affect the rest of the upper bass,
midrange, and upper midrange. These can be corrected to some
extent by adjusting the location of the speakers and listening
position and by room treatment. I have never measured anything
approaching a normal home listening room, however, where such
preventative measures eliminated such response problems.
Moreover, flat response measurements inevitably create a
musical sound that is too hard and bright. A single response or
target curve also cannot correct for the fact that recordings differ
sharply in timbre. This is particularly a problem for classical music
fans because todays all-too-typical close-miking, while dramatic
in apparent detail, produces an upper-midrange hardness that is
often a cause of listening fatigue when a speaker is voiced for
flat response and placed in a real-world room.
Designing individual components for flat measurements and
then voicing them for the best musical performance has severe
limits. First, technical measures cover only a relatively limited
part of the error budget of problems detected by the human ear.
Second, any front-to-back walk-through in a concert hall will tell
you immediately there is no one flat responseand that what
you hear on stage is not what you hear live. Third, no one lives in a
concert hall. Even a custom-designed listening room is susceptible
to significant speaker-room interaction problems unless the
system can be equalized to deal with them.
The good news is that we have learned to be tolerant of such
colorations, and speaker designers now almost universally use
the crossover in their speakers to act as a passive equalizer to
previous page
both improve frequency response and musicality. The bad news is

that audiophiles as a breed are far less tolerant than others. This
helps explain why audiophiles often talk about speakers as the
most colored component in a stereo system, why they keep changing speakers, and why listening to a speaker in a large showroom
where the speaker is precisely matched to the room doesnt guarantee that it will sound as good when you get it home.
No one can solve these problems simply by changing speakers
or listening rooms. Our perceptions are not shaped by the
character of the speaker or the listening room per se, but by
the interaction between them. Moreover, this same interaction
means no combination of front-end gear, no matter how good, will
be voiced with the nuances that best correct for these problems
in speaker-room coloration. As a result, the search for the best
high-end sound inevitably means consciously or unconsciously
tailoring the system around the speaker-room interaction problem
as well as finding the best-sounding individual components.
In the past, most equalizers that tried to reduce these interactions created as many problems as they solved. Older analog
equalizers could partly solve truly critical room problems, but were
often badly colored themselves. They also altered dynamics, and
took some of the life out of music. Furthermore, they could only
affect timbre and not the other problems in getting the best signal
at the listening position like phase and time.
A few pioneers have addressed such problems with considerable
success. Richard Vandersteen, for example, designed speakers
with built-in subwoofers that could be corrected to deal with
many real-world problems in the bass below 100Hz without
coloring the rest of the speakers response. Firms like TacT Audio
and Audyssey developed digital equalizers that address most of
the problems in response, make automatic room corrections, and
adjust some aspects of time and phase.
Manufacturers like Rives have improved analog equalizers to
the point where any colorations are so inaudible that the benefits
outweigh the drawbacks. As Robert E. Greene points out in
a recent review, the DSpeaker Anti-Mode 2.0 Dual Core roomequalization system provides the first truly affordable roomcorrection system that can be inserted into any normal home
NEXT page
Legacy Aeris
system, although it has some limits in digital headroom and
input flexibility.
The Legacy Aeris System
And here we get back to the Aeris system. The Legacy Aeris
is not a speaker as much as a system for ensuring the speaker
can be adjusted to solve room-speaker interaction problems in
a musically realistic way. This is the single most important area
for advances in high-end audio, and Bill Dudleston has pushed
further into this area than any designer Im aware of to date.
You can get a full description of the Aeris on the Legacy
Web page, along with its manual and a technical paper on its
design. Its technical specification are shown below. In sound,
however, the following features define a unique approach to
speaker design:
The signal going to the speaker is shaped by an outboard electronic unit called the Aeris Wavelaunch processor that goes
between your preamp and amplifier. It provides 40-bit DSP
room correction with a 24-bit CODEC and features balanced
analog inputs and outputs, level adjustment, and a USB port
to interface with your computer for optimizing performance.
It not only provides room correction but also equalizes and
time-compensates the sound at the listening position.
T
he Wave Launch provides up to 30 different adjustable
settings for different frequency response curves.
T
he electronics provide signal routing and processing via
the 4-input by 8-output matrix and XConsole software.
Each balanced input and output of the routing matrix has
independent level adjustment and each output can be
configured as a submix of any of the inputs.
The included Aeris algorithm divides the left and right inputs
with a customized high-pass and low-pass network to form
a stereo two-way crossover. The transfer function for each
loudspeaker is pre-programmed at Legacy for linear output
from each driver, correcting minor anomalies inherent in
the combined array. The output side of the matrix is factory
configured for Aeris, the input side (left side of the matrix
previous page
display in the software) is to make adjustments in your room

Software with an empirically derived algorithm is integrated
into the speaker design to compensate for losses in lowfrequency separation by increasing the ratio of difference
information in bass frequencies to more closely approximate
half space (free space with ground plane).
The Aeris Wavelaunch processor provides the necessary
amplitude and time-domain adjustments to utilize
beneficial low-frequency boundary gain while reducing antimodal resonance. This, in turn, significantly reduces cone
excursion requirements, thus decreasing distortion.
Reverberation is minimized by reducing sidewall reflections
via the radiation nulls to the side of the speaker. This openair arrangement behaves as a dipole from 80Hz to 3kHz,
summing into a cardioid pattern with the bass drivers in the
band from 80Hz to 200Hz. According to Legacy listening
panels in controlled trials have felt that imaging precision
and soundstage width are consistently improved in the
Legacy Focus system.
Separate 500-watt full-bandwidth ICE power amplifier
modules are provided for each of the two 12" woofers to
reduce intermodulation distortion and prevent the users
main amplifier from encountering up to 40 volts of EMF backgenerated by the Aura motor system used in the woofers.
Increased dynamic range and waveform tracing accuracy
are ensured by employing drivers with higher sensitivity
and greater acceleration. The high-flux magnetic motors of
the midrange drivers are larger than those on most bass
drivers.
The cardioid-shaped radiation pattern decreases boundary
coloration from sidewalls while also decreasing modal
sensitivity at low frequencies.
A new dual tweeter based on the Heil Air-Motion Transformer
with a range of seven octaves and a sensitivity of 98dB is
integrated with a high-sensitivity 8" midrange.
In short, the Aeris is not so much a speaker as a hybrid system that integrates speaker design and electronics to a degree
Ive never encountered before, and with remarkable success. Ive
The Absolute Sound 2013

Product of the Year Awards
Upper-End Loudspeaker
of the Year
Legacy Aeris
Legacys Aeris is one of the great values in upper-end loudspeakers today. For
your $18.5k you get a lot of loudspeaker: a six-driver, 4.5-way floorstander with
dual integral 500W power amplifiers (one for each 12" woofer), 10" mid/woofer,
8" midrange, and dual AMT tweeters. Moreover, the Aeris comes with Legacys
Wavelaunch DSP processor that provides time- and amplitude-domain processing to
reduce room modes and deliver flat frequency response. The Wavelaunch also allows
you to quickly and easily dial-in a specific tonal balance to suit your taste. The result
is a loudspeaker that is extremely neutral, goes very low in the bass without strain,
is capable of wide dynamic swings, and has a very smooth tonal balance. Despite the
multiplicity of drivers, the Aeris manages to sound continuous from top to bottom.
With a whopping 95.5dB sensitivity and built-in woofer amplification, the Aeris can
be driven by even low-powered amplifiers. Anthony Cordesman summed up the Aeris
thus: Great as many stand-alone speakers are, the Legacy Aries is the avatar of
what the next generation of speakers should be. That makes the Aeris our UpperEnd Loudspeaker of the Year.
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Legacy Aeris
had some great speakers in my listening rooms
over the years, but I have never before been able
to get around so many room-interaction problems.
The difference is striking.
Setup
Your dealer will do the initial setup with you and
you can listen to music as well as test tones.
Setup is not only measured; it is also interactive.
You can hear what is happening. You can have
the bass adjusted to be as musically natural
as possible and then add new settings to the
equalization options the dealer installs by using
a PC or Mac and experimenting as you listen.
You can also work with your dealer to make
sure the initial setup does not overcorrect or
undercorrect. Every good automated system
I know of does not try to make things truly flat
because this over-equalizes the speaker and
creates new room interaction problems. But even
the best correction system with automated setup

has to be designed for all rooms, all speakers and
subwoofers, all music.
Working with the dealer to tailor the setup
while you are actually listening to music makes
a critical difference, particularly because this is
an area where measurement alone produces uncertain results. Every FFT and RTA measurement
system I have produces at least slightly different
measurements at the same listening spot with
the same electronics and speaker and the same
bass material. One may be right, but there is no
way to know from the measurements alone.
Listening to a Dealer Setup
Bill Dudleston set up my review pair just as a
dealer would. He measured my room and the
speaker response, and then worked with me
just as a dealer wouldto ensure the musical
results were at least as good as the measured
SPECS & PRICING

Type: Six-driver, 4.5-way loudspeaker with integral woofer
Sensitivity: 95.4 dB
amplification and DSP speaker/room correction
Cabinet dimensions: 14.5" x 58" x 16"
Tweeter: Dual Air Motion Transformer System (one 4"
Base dimensions: 19" x 1" x 15"
AMT tweeter, 1" AMT super-tweeter)
Weight: Approximately 200 lbs.
Midrange: 8" titanium-encrusted, accordion-edge
Price: $18,500; premium finish, $19,750; exotic finish,
Midwoofer: 10" accordion-edge
$20,800
Subwoofer: Two 12" spun-aluminum diaphragm with cast

frame
Legacy Audio
Internal amplification: Two 500-watt ICEpower modules
3023 E Sangamon Ave.
for bass section
Springfield, IL 62702
Frequency response (+/-2dB): 16Hz30k
(800) 283-4644
Impedance: 4 ohms
legacyaudio.com
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Legacy Aeris
settings. He then tailored the resulting
equalization and time adjustments to provide a
musically realistic flat setting, a warm setting,
and a recessed setting that compensated in
part for the excessive brightness or hardness of
close-miked recordings.
The results are typical of what an audiophile
who does not want to create his own settings
would get, and they were exceptional from the
start. The treble and upper midrange were very
extended and provided all the air I could want
without hardness. The Legacy Dual Air Motion
Transformer (the Heil AMT) tweeter was smoother
than any previous Legacy I have heard, but did
not soften detail in any respect. It was equal to
the best ribbons and electrostatics. I have heard
speakers that rival the Aeris capability to get
the very best out of the best SACDs and highresolution downloads, but I have not heard better
top-octave sound at any price.
Equally important, the transition to the
lower midrange of the titanium-encrusted
8" midrange did not encrust any aspect of the
music. Many designs Ive heard that mix driver
technologies have at least minor sonic anomalies
in the transition areas between them. The Aeris
reproduced the midrange of my best piano and
violin recordings seamlessly and with the kind
of accuracy that is sometime missing in even
the most expensive competition. It did equally
well with flute and clarinet and soprano voice,
reproducing the difficult passage in voice in ways
that showed the strain a given singer was under
but that added nothing in hardness or coloration.
I cant say that it could salvage mediocre
harpsichord recordings, but it did as accurate a
job of reproducing the most difficult instruments
in the sonic repertoire as Ive heard, and it was
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as natural with cymbals as my recordings allow.

Bach is often synonymous with great music and
bad recordings. I knowI have several hundred
recordings of Bach chamber music. I found the
Aeris did an exceptional job of ensuring all of the
detail came through without adding the kind of
coloration I often hear even from very expensive
speakers. The same was true of Vivaldi and
recordings with original instruments, which often
are more a curse than a blessing.
You dont have to love classical music or the
Baroque, however, to hear the Aeris sound
quality. Try Jazz at the Pawnshop and you may
well hear even more detail than you thought was
on the recording. The same is true with acoustic
guitarist Bruce Dunlaps jazz recordings and
with classic, pre-digital, naturally miked pop
recordings like young Joan Baez or Judy
Collins. I dont imply that the Aeris is not equally
revealing with modern rock and jazz recording,
but it is much harder to guess at what is accurate
when the recording is not acoustic.
As for the bass, the Aeris will reproduce all of
the bass detail that is actually on even the most
demanding bass spectaculars. Saint-Sans, the
deepest organ music, Kodo drums, Telarc bass
spectaculars, bass guitar, synthesizertake your
pick. What is more important is that the Aeris
Wavelaunch processor smoothed out the midbass and upper bass and created a smooth transition into the midrange to well over 500Hzone
of the great advantages of a system that is not
automatic and not limited to frequencies below
80 or 100Hz.
The Aeris can overdrive my room at every bass
frequency that is musically relevant, although
you will still need a subwoofer for earthquakes,
thunderstorms, explosions, and communication
with elephants. The Aeris has exceptional bass

detail from the deepest musical bass smoothly
up into the midrange, and yes, the claims about
reducing boundary problems are true. The Aeris
not only provides great bass detail, it does so more
evenly throughout the room. I normally can hear
and measure far more room-boundary effects in
the bass both with music and test tones.
The dynamics are just as good as everything
else. The Aeris does not have any sweet spot in
loudness. The upper-octave drivers and midrange
do an outstanding job with low-level detail in
even the most complex orchestral material. The
same is true at levels well over 110dB, although
my tolerance does not extend beyond a few
brief moments at that level. I left it to friends to
abuse their favorites at sustained listening levels
with deep bass being played at well over 100dB.
They were as impressed with the Aeris as I was
unimpressed with their judgment.
The soundstage was roughly the equivalent
of a point source, but broadened by the dipole
feature of the speaker and given impact by the
exceptional bass. The Aeris holds an excellent
center image and stable overall stage with very
good width and depth. If you want exaggerated
width you wont get it, but you will get what
is on the recording and get a relatively wide
listening area, as well. The driver height of
the AMT tweeter is also almost perfect for a
seated listener, and imaging depth, width, and
proportion have a realistic balance that does
not favor one good recordings soundstage over
another. A pleasure regardless of whether the
music is solo guitar or the new Cyrus-Beiber
version of the Ring cycle.
And if You Are Willing to Experiment

I did have two complaints. One is that the LEDs,
which can easily be switched off, should be blue
to match my electronics. The second is that
adjusting the Aeris Wavelaunch processor can
become addictive.
Bill Dudleston did warn me that he had clients
who tried to adjust the Wavelaunch processor for
individual recordings. I found, as I began serious
listening, that I was using my computer to do
something very close to this. I started by slightly
adjusting the frequency extremes for older
recordings and then created another setting to
deal with the excessive midrange energy in far
too many recent recordings.
My addiction grew once I found I could tweak the
sound as I listened and come close to correcting
for different LP equalization curves, improving
the sound of poor or mediocre recordings on the
fly. In the process I learned more and more about
the equalization and compensation process. As
a result, I started creating individual settings for
different types of music.
About the only thing that saved me from a
major intervention was the fact the Wavelaunch
processor settings have to be recalled manually
(no remote yet) to select the different curves.
As a result of the immense effort in walking
30 feet, and having to actually reach out my
arm to reach the switches, I was able to bring
my addiction under control. I got my settings
down to a reasonable number in addition to Bill
Duddlestons set-up options, and restricted my
tendency to tweak the recording as it played to a
few recordings that actually justify the attention.
In all seriousness, it is one thing to buy one
great speaker with one set of trade-offs and
sonic nuances and another to be able to keep a
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Legacy Aeris
flat setting as a reference and branch out to
adjustments that allow you to explore a wide
range of sounds and choose the most musically
realistic mixes. You will eventually have to
either trust your judgment or the dealers
setup, but do remember there is no way you
can get truly accurate responseor the most
musically natural resultsfrom a given speaker
in a given listening room unless you do make
such adjustments.
Given the fact there is no one recording
standard, no one recording equalization, and
no predictable room-speaker interaction, this
really does make a difference and I suspect
many other audiophiles are going to go through
the same experience. Best of all, it really is
easy. If you want see what I mean, just go to
the video demos on the Legacy Web site or on
YouTube. If you can download the videos, you
have the smarts to operate the Wavelaunch.
Compatibility and Setup
This is a complex system to install and weighs
about 200 pounds a side. Dealer help and
support will be critical, and you need to make
sure the dealer will work with you during setup.
Id also consider paying for a revisit after a
month of listening if you dont want to adjust
the unit yourself.
Other than that, the Aeris built-in bass
amplifiers simplify the load and the speakers
high efficiency simplifies their power needs.
I would not use single-ended triodes, but any
amp of over 50 watts is in the ballpark and a
100-watter is more than safe.
I did not experience any particularly
sensitivity to speaker cables. My reference
AudioQuest and Kimber worked fine, and so
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did some older model Straight Wire. Id go for

longer interconnects and shorter speaker
cables with no trick impedances, junction boxes,
or capacitive loads.
The
Wavelaunch
processor
benefited
from good interconnects but ordinary, highquality balanced cables work just fine. I would
recommend that Legacy include higher-quality
XLR connects as the ones provided had poor
lock-in features. You may even need specialized
XLR cables to go from your preamp to the
Wavelaunch.
You may also need to get a set of adapter
cables (available from Legacy) that attenuate
the signal coming from the Wavelaunch to your
amplifier, a useful device if the amplifier has
a high input sensitivity. At first I had some
low-level noise from the processor using my
Pass preamp, but zero noise with the adapter
cableseven with my ear near the drivers.
The digital headroom in the Wavelaunch was
outstanding, the software reasonably intuitive
in a form-follows-function way. The controls
were easy to operate with both the Mac and PC
after a little experimentation, and the readouts
were clear. I would like to see an easier way
to make the cursor lock onto a given curve
to adjust it upwards, downwards, or in width,
but this seems a simple software fix that will
probably be solved by the time you read this.
I was not a fan of the speakers appearance
without the accessory grille cloth, or of the
AMTs large gold logo. I doubt many partners
who are not total audiophiles will go for the
techie look as well. Get the optional grille
cloth. It is magnetic and easy to remove.
Finally, Bill Dudleston tells me that by the time
you read this, there will be a set-up CD that can
be used with one of the FFT/RTA applications for

the iPad and similar tablets to measure frequency response and perform other tests. I would
want to be able to make such measurements and
be able to do my own setups. In fact, I cant figure out why most speaker manufacturers dont
provide such set-up discs tailored to their speakers and an easily affordable device like an iPad.
Not every speaker can come with a Wavelaunch
processor, but every speaker benefits from getting the bass response right and the highs on the
proper axis. Youd still have to listen, but ignoring
the help measurements can give is as silly as failing to listen.
Bonus Content
FURTHER THOUGHTS
After listening to the Legacy Aeris for months, I find
little to change in my review. The one thing that has
impressed me more over time is the quality of the
dual air motion tweeter and upper midrange, and how
well the AMT folded ribbon tweeter integrates with
the 8 midrange driver. At first listen one tends to
focus on the bass and dynamics, but it is the clarity
and realism of the 4" ribbon and complementary 1"
AMT ribbon super-tweeter in reproducing all music
with detail and without edge that is most impressive.
The Aeris clearly benefits from a professional setup
Summing Up
The Legacy Aeris is a speaker that helps
redefine the state of the art. Every improvement
in audio components matters, but there are
two that rethink what an audio system should
be. The first is integrating speaker design
with room compensation and the ability to
set up different frequency response curves to
compensate for the problems in recordings.
The second is the creation of music servers
like the Meridian Sooloos that can store vast
amounts of music in ways that not only allow
you to listen to high-resolution digital audio but
play back the music with far more flexibility,
and compare different performances, artists,
and composers with an ease that can redefine
your listening experience. Great as many
stand-alone speakers are, the Legacy Aries
is the avatar of what the next generation of
speakers should be.
as provided by dealers. The instructions provided for

making user adjustments post setup are fine, but for
audiophiles frequently moving their speakers about,
an automated process would be useful. Presently,
Legacy recommends the use of pink noise and
spectrum analyzer for setup.
Bill Dudleston, the designer of the Aeries,
tells me that he is working on software that will
simultaneously optimize the frequency and time
domain to fit the intended listener target function
using a provided pre-calibrated microphone. The
process under development will also improve
room energy accuracy out past 30ms without
introducing
positionally sensitive
compensation
of early reflections (which can be very weird for

multiple listeners). The advantages of giving equal
weighting to the time domain is that resonances will
be addressed in the processes unlike simple boost or
cut equalization which can modify transient behavior.
Existing Aeris clients will be offered the upgrade
option when available. Anthony H. Cordesman
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Sony NA2ES
Certain To Please
that arises is what has changed that makes it

possible for the price to be so much lowerthe
$10,000 NA2ES is less than half the price of the
AR2and how much sonic change is entailed in
the differences.
Robert E. Greene
ony is a giant of the audio world,

dominating large segments of the
mass market. But on occasion it
also turns its enormous resources toward
high-end goals. When it does, the results
are always fascinating and impressive.
The arrival on the scene a couple of years
ago of the Sony AR1 speakers marked a
strong re-entry of Sony into the high-end
speaker market. And the AR2, a somewhat smaller and less expensive but otherwise very similar model, only reinforced
the impression that Sonys new speaker
venture was definitely to be reckoned
with. The AR1 in particular struck me as
quite spectacularly good. Even though it
is not a particularly large speaker, it could
be convincing not just in a home environment but also in very large rooms (as
at T.H.E. Show in Newport Beach, 2011,
where a pair were filling a ballroom with
symphonic sound most impressively).
This was associated with a great sense of
ease in rooms of domestic size.
The Sony NA2ES continues Sonys foray into highend speakerdom, but at a lower price point than
the AR1 and AR2. Naturally, the first question
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The Changes Made

The NA2ES quite definitely represents that same
personal sonic vision of designer Yoshiyuki Kaku.
And many of the physical changes from the A
series are a matter of using something more along
the lines of mass-production techniques and less
handcraftsmanship. (The AR1 and AR2 are built
with a very high level of craftsmanship, akin to
the making of a piano, say.) And there has been a
slight compromise in driver choice. But slight is
the operative word there. The tweeter assembly
is something distinctively different in the NA2ES,
howeverI shall return to that later. In any case,
in appearance there is little compromise at all: If
the AR1 and AR2 have the look of fine furniture,
the NA2ES is not far behindits appearance is
graceful and elegant and the finish is superb, if
not quite as exceptional as the AR speakers with
their hand-rubbed multi-layer lacquer.
The Sound: Facing the Live Comparison
As it happened, the NA2ES arrived to face a difficult test. I was in the midst of rehearsals of an
all-Tchaikovsky program, with a big orchestra90+
players. However vivid ones ongoing memory of
orchestral sound is, and I have been playing in
orchestras most of my life, to come home on a
Wednesday night from a rehearsal of the Tchaikovsky Fifth and sit down on Thursday morning
to listen to a recording of it is an extreme test
of a speakers mettle, so vivid is the immediate
memory. As it happened, the NA2ESs were subject precisely to such tests, and in many respects
they acquitted themselves remarkably well.

Of course there are caveats. I
was sitting near the conductors
podium (outside, second stand, first
violinsthe front edge and near the
center of the orchestra). From that
perspective the orchestra is huge
geometrically. The sheer spatial
extent is not going to be reproduced
in a home environment. But other
things that are demanding aspects
of the situation turned out to be
considerably better dealt with
than one would have expected,
especially from speakers of
moderate size.
To take the most obvious one
first, the NA2ESs offer remarkable
dynamic capability for such
moderately sized speakers. Later
on, I heard them demonstrated
at the 2013 T.H.E. Show Newport
Beach in an enormous room,
larger than almost anyones home
listening room, and they handled that with aplomb.
In a home environment, they were capable of
live symphonic levels without difficulty, if not
quite with the absolute ease of the considerably
large AR1s (which are really remarkable in this
regard). I did not push them to this limit, but the
listed maximum input power and the sensitivity
combine to give a 110dB maximum SPL estimate.
Certainly they were perfectly happy with peaks
up into the high 90dBs, which was as loud as I felt
inclined to go, even briefly.
And the NA2ESs had adequate bass extension
for the orchestra, albeit again stopping short of
the essentially full-range lower end of the AR1s.
The bass did not go down forever, but it was clean

and articulate and, if it lacked the really deep
bottom end of the AR1s, it was, even so, satisfying
in the bass on orchestral music and on rock as
well.
The midband of the NA2ESs is both very clean
and uncolored. While the midrange driver of the
NA2ES does not feature the cut and re-glue construction of the cone used in the AR Series, and
in principle the simpler mid drivers of the NA2Es
should make the speakers perform slightly less
well, in memory (I no longer had an AR for direct
comparison) the difference did not seem enormous. The midrange remained excellent. And huwww.theabsolutesound.com
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EQUIPMENT review - Sony NA2ES

man voices sounded very convincing. Paul Seydor was playing his favorite Sinatra, Angel Eyes
from Only the Lonely, at the show demo referred
to above, and the sense of a natural human voice
was excellent, as it was in my home environment. Silo from the Scud Mountain Boys (surprise from REG, Mr. Classical) sounded just as it
shouldand the words were enunciated, well, as
well as the Scud Mountain Boys enunciate words.
And on the old audiophile standby, Opus 3s Tiden
Bar Gaar, the singer had the right Scandinavian
sound, and the Swedish was nicely articulated,
both clearly and with the accent just so, spot on.
Natural midrange indeed.
Returning to the Tchaikovsky FifthI was using
the Harmonia Mundi recording of Gatti conducting
Royal Philharmonicthings were sounding quite
convincing in my informal comparison of live
recent memory versus recorded as far as dynamic
capacity, bass extension, and midrange character
were concerned. And spatially things were fine.
The NA2ESs do the vanishing trick so beloved
of audiophilesand so expected nowadays, truth
to tell. No one will be disappointed in the space
department with width and depth both correctly
presented and image precision being excellent.
The New Tweeter Assembly
So far as good. Now on to the higher frequencies.
The NA2ES uses a tweeter assembly, a threetweeter unit, quite different from the single
domes (per speaker) of the AR series. As I
gathered from an interview with designer Kaku,
this tweeter was developed to widen the pattern
of radiation. He described having been impressed
by the realism given to natural sounds by omniradiating tweeters and his intention of retaining
this realism without the difficulties attendant in

a forward-radiating speaker of integrating a true
omni design. The three-tweeter unit has a tweeter
of ordinary size (25 mm) flanked above and below
by smaller tweeters, with all three mounted in a
metal plate so that distances can be set exactly
the exact distances apparently really do count.
This design has been very carefully worked out,
and it is done with extreme precision.
In some ways this tweeter is outstanding.
It goes out a long way and smoothly sowith a
96kHz-based measuring system (extension to
just short of 48kHz), I found flat smooth response
to beyond 35kHz and extension even beyond
that. The response claimed by the manufacturer
(to 45kHz) is really there. And the tweeter unit
presents a very high level of resolution in audible
terms. If you are wondering on the John Eargle
Dvork New World recording on Delos (New Jersey
Symphony. Macal, cond.) just exactly how the
first violins are articulating their tremolo in the
tremolo passages, wonder no moreit is perfectly
laid bare. High percussion is similarly clear as
the proverbial crystalcymbals really sound
like cymbals. And so it goes. If high-frequency
detail and precision are your thing, prepare to be
entranced.
But the flip side of this picture is that the
NA2ES does tend to advertise its treble a bit.
In literal terms, the response dips slightly just
before where the tweeter comes in and then a
little after the tweeter does come in, the response
comes up to above the overall level lower down in
the midrange. Not a lot above, but enough to be
heard as some extra tweet-i-ness, set off by the
dip just below.
The AR1 and AR2 speakers also had a somewhat
rising top end on axis, but perhaps because of the

wider dispersion pattern of the NA2ES tweeter,
the perceived treble prominence is somewhat
more pronounced and not easily ameliorated
by listening off-axis a bit, as you can with the A
Series. Of course you can turn the top down with
a DSP EQ if so inclined. But set to on-axis flat, the
wide pattern of the tweeter makes its presence
felt a bit more than would be the case with a
25mm dome aloneor so it seemed. This effect
will be rather room dependentin a room with
acoustically soft sidewalls one will hear the offaxis energy less conspicuously.
This whole situation illustrates some basic
issues. Audiophiles like to talk about resolution
as if it were an item independent of other audio
categories, and they like to check it by listening
for whether they can hear this, that, or the other
detail in recordings. Of course, there is some
element of truth in this in that audio components,
including speakers when they are playing, make
noise and have distortion, both of which can
obscure detail. But this element of truth is only a
small part of the real picture. Perceived resolution
in this sense of hearing things otherwise inaudible
is for the most part an issue of frequency
response. More top provides more detail, various
kinds of dips further down unmask sounds that
would otherwise be masked, and so on. In short,
one can pay a price in terms of neutral balance in
order to get perceived resolution. The tweeter
of the NA2ES offers a lot of detail, but one pays
the price of having a toppier sound than is really
neutral, or so it is to my ears (and, comes to that,
my measurements).
In Summary
The NA2ES has a lot to offer: Elegant appearance,
surprising dynamic power for a speaker of
modest size, excellent if not totally extended
bass performance, clean natural midrange, and
abundant perceived resolution, but this last
comes at the price of a bit of excess perceived
treble. This is a compromise that is quite popular
in high end today. If it pleases your ears, the
NA2ES will surely please in all other directions in
my estimation.
SPECS & PRICING

Type: Three-way, six-driver, bass-reflex
floorstanding speaker
Drivers: 25mm soft-dome tweeter, two 19mm softdome tweeters (per speaker), 130mm paper-cone
woofer, two 165mm aluminum-cone woofers
Frequency response: 45Hz45kHz, -10dB
Crossover frequencies: 100Hz, 4kHz, multi-slope
network
Sensitivity: 90dB (2.83V input)
Impedance: 4 ohms (nominal)
Maximum instantaneous input power: 100 watts
Dimensions: 10" x 35.4" x 16.3"
Weight: 70.5 lbs.
Price: $10,000
Sony Electronics Inc.
16530 Via Esprillo
San Diego, CA 92127
sony.com/ar1
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German Physiks Unlimited II

King of the Bending Wave
Dick Olsher
incoln Walsh isnt exactly a household name in audiophile circles, but he literally turned driver design on its head in the
early 1960s with his revolutionary bending-wave transducer. The Walsh driver looked like a giant inverted ice cream cone,
terminated at the wide end and driven by a voice coil at the narrow one so that that sound was only radiated from its
convex side. The cone was made thin enough so that its mode of operation transitioned from being piston-like in the bass range
to bending wave in the lower midrange. Imagine vibrational waves rippling down the cone at a speed exceeding that of the speed
of sound in air. By judicious choice of materials and variation of the cones stiffness profile over its length Walsh was able to
achieve a coherent propagated wavefront perpendicular to the cone axis. Sonically the cone behaved much like a pulsating
cylinder with all frequencies in phase with the input signal. Two other important benefits ensued from this design: wide-range
operation from a single driver and an omnidirectional radiation pattern approximating that formed by an ideal pulsating sphere.
The conceptual beauty of a bending-wave transducer resides in the fact that it exploits the non-rigidity of the diaphragm
material, working with it rather than fighting it. Walsh experimented with several cone materials and obtained excellent results
using a 0.002-inch thick aluminum sheet formed to give a 6-inch diameter at the large end. Sadly, Walsh passed on in 1971
before seeing his design released by Ohm Acoustics.
In the late 1970s Peter Dicks, an inventive German engineer, took up where
Walsh had left off with the express goal of improving bending-wave driver
performance. Many of his experimental cones used thin titanium sheets
and after several years he managed to develop impressive-sounding
prototypes. Initially industry interest, however, was nonexistent, and Dicks
had to wait for nearly a decade before a loudspeaker company took up
his design. Holger Mueller was the right man to commercialize the Dicks
Dipole Driver (DDD). After all, he was not only an established conventional
speaker manufacturer but also an owner of a pair of vintage Ohm Walsh
Model F loudspeakers. He clearly understood that Dicks design surpassed
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the performance of the original Ohm Walsh driver. Mueller proceeded

to license Dicks driver and worked for two years to refine the industrial
design of a new loudspeaker while Dicks continued to perfect the driver.
Finally, in 1993 German Physiks was formed to exclusively manufacture
DDD-based designs.
Over the years the DDD design has continued to evolve and now
offers increased excursion capability, power handling, and enhanced
bandwidth to beyond 24kHz. A potential problem with the Walsh driver
is reflected energy from the non-driven end of the cone. If the time
required for the ripples to die down is substantial their impact can
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EQUIPMENT review - German Physiks Unlimited II

result in transient ringing. Ideally, vibrational waves should
only traverse the cone once. The DDD closely approaches
that objective by first minimizing the amount of energy that
reaches the termination and by internally damping the cone
and its termination. The use of a powerful ferrite magnet
designed in-house together with an edge-wound voice coil
ensures a respectable sensitivity spec. The linearity of the
magnetic circuit is excellent, partly due to the use of an underhung voice coil. According to Mueller, the current DDD design
can be reliably used as low as 150Hz, but is typically crossed
over at 170Hz. Of course such a low crossover frequency
makes it a snap to integrate the DDD with a conventional
woofer. One important point to remember about this driver
is that it is optimized in dimensions and cone profile, and
therefore cannot be effectively scaled up in size to increase
efficiency. Several drivers need to be used in parallel in order
to increase overall sensitivity. The Unlimited Mk II (U2) uses
a single carbon-fiber DDD, which first became available in
2006 alongside the classic titanium type. Although both
cone types are about equal in weight, they differ dramatically
in thickness. The titanium cone is thinner by a factor of six
than its carbon-fiber counterpart, and is tissue thin at only
0.025mm but is dampened by an equally thick synthetic
coating. These materials are fragile in their sheet form and
require great care in handling. As you can imagine, driver
assembly is a slow and exacting process that is performed by
skilled technicians. I have not auditioned the titanium DDD,
but I am told that the carbon-fiber version is tonally a touch
darker sounding and slightly less high in resolution. But on
the plus side, carbon fiber is said to be more robust (prying
fingers can damage the titanium cone) and is capable of being
driven harder. An 8" woofer takes over below about 200Hz. It
is floor-loaded in a sealed compact tower enclosure.
The Unlimited II is currently German Physiks entry-level
loudspeaker. It started life in May 2011 as the Limited IIa
limited production run of 100 pairs designed to test market
interest. It solved the problem of how to rein in the cost of
the previous entry level, the HRS-120, which was priced

circa $25k in the U.S., without compromising sound quality.
The DDD was a given as it cannot be dumbed down without
sacrificing sound quality. In fact, the U2 deploys the same
bending-wave driver found in all the other German Physiks
models, including the top-of-the-line Gaudi. Since there was
no significant cost saving possible with either the woofer or
crossover, the cabinet remained the only cost-saving option.
The switch from an octagonal to a square cabinet and from
a wood veneer to a vinyl finish yielded considerable savings.
The vinyl finish is actually a flooring vinyl that damps the
cabinet, covered by a tough aesthetic veneer. As I see it, these
were wise choices. In the bass range, where the wavelength
is considerably larger than the effective dimension of the
cabinet, an octagonal foot print has a small advantage in lower
levels of cabinet resonance (owing to the smaller and thus
stiffer panels), while standing waves in the lower midrange
can easily be attenuated acoustically. As the Limited II sold
out fairly quickly, distributors asked to have the design made
a permanent part of the range. And so the design was reintroduced and dubbed in a humorous vein as the Unlimited
Mk II. The only added touch afforded by the U2 is that it is
available in four colors: black, white, grey and brown.
The nominal impedance is correctly stated to be 4 ohms,
and the impedance magnitude does not dip below that
value. The sealed box tuning is at about 40Hz. Impedance
measurements indicate a significant peak around 9kHz, which
I am told is due to an EQ network in the crossover designed to
flatten the frequency response in this range. Ill have more to
say about this later on.
Ive been a fan of planar dipole speakers for over 30 years.
One of their attributes is the ability to generate a more
realistic soundfield in a listening room than conventional box
speakers. That omnidirectional designs possess the same
sort of magic was made crystal clear to me way back in 1987
when I reviewed the Ohm Walsh 5. I lived through the studio
monitor and mini-monitor craze of the 1970s and 80s, and
while I appreciated the imaging precision of such designs I didnt feel that
they brought me any closer to being there, to experiencing a live acoustic
space. Specifically, studio monitors are designed for narrow dispersion in
the midrange and treble in an attempt to minimize the rooms acoustic
signature. That, by itself, may be useful for a mastering engineer interested
in judging exactly what the source material is all about, but as a music lover
I would like to be immersed in the musical experience. And that can happen
most effectively by getting the room involved in the playback process.
Two-channel audio does a poor job of treating reverberant information,
since all sound, both direct and reverb, is generated in a plane suspended
between the two speakers, which grossly undermines the illusion of a
natural acoustic. In a well-designed concert hall, the listener is enveloped
in lateral reflections which convey the reverberant signature of the hall.
SPECS & PRICING

Drivers: One carbon-fiber DDD driver,
Associated Equipment:
one 8-inch woofer
Lamm Audio M1.2 Reference monob-
locks, GAS Ampzilla II modified by Mike
Bettinger of GAS Audio, Octave Audio
Sensitivity: 88dB 1W/1m
V110, and Bob Carver Cherry 180 mono-
Crossover frequency: 200Hz
block amplifiers; Apple Mac BookPro
Power handling: Nominal 110W; short-
running Sonic Studios Amarra Version
term, 170W
2.6 software, EAR DACute DAC, April
Minimum amplifier power: 90Wpc/4
Music Eximus DP1 DAC/Pre and Stello
ohms
U3 digital data converter; Kuzma Refer-
Dimensions: 9.5" x 41.3" x 9.5"
ence turntable; Kuzma Stogi Reference
Weight: 63.7 lbs.
313 VTA tonearm; Clearaudio da Vinci
Price: $13,500
V2 phono cartridge; Pass Labs XP-25

phono stage and XP-30 line stage; FMS
DDD-Manufactur-GmbH
Nexus-2, Wire World, and Kimber KCAG
Gutenbergstrasse 4
interconnects; Acoustic Zen Hologram
63477 Maintal, Germany
II speaker cable; Sound Application
(+49) 6109-5029823
power line conditioners
german-physiks.com
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EQUIPMENT review - German Physiks Unlimited II

Room reflections can immensely improve the
illusion of a live performance, with the caveat
that the reflected energy be delayed about 10
millisecond relative to the direct sound. As long
as the reflections are outside of this critical time
window, they will be perceived by the auditory
system as spaciousness. Be prepared to give the
U2 at least five feet of breathing space to the
rear and sides in order to achieve the specified
time delay, since each foot of travel yields
about a one millisecond delay. You may get by
with less than five feet if diffusers are applied
to the adjacent wall surfaces. Furthermore, any
speaker with a fairly uniform power response
will most likely perform poorly in a dead end/live
end listening environment. Sound dispersive wall
treatments should be fine but highly absorptive
wall treatments should be avoided for best
results. Most domestic listening environments
should prove to be perfectly suitable.
It only took me a few seconds to realize that
this is a superbly coherent loudspeaker whose
wavelaunch more closely mimics live music than
the disjointed presentation of a typical multiway speaker. While I dont intend to condemn
all multi-way designs, the truth is that the great
majority simply fail to coalesce into a coherent
whole. Thats a direct consequence of slicing
and dicing the music spectrum into pieces for
consumption by tweeters, mids, and woofers
arrayed on a large baffle. Such speakers may
integrate reasonably well at a few points in space
but move the measuring mike or your head a few
inches and the balance shifts significantly. Think
of multi-way speakers as flickering in and out
of coherence as the music spectrum slides up
and down in frequency. The following sanitized
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acronym, intended to rhyme with FUBAR, pretty

much captures my feelings about such speakers:
MUBAR (muddled up beyond all recognition). In
contrast, the DDD covers the entire vocal band
and beyond. Being a proponent of wide-range
driver designs, I should emphasize that the DDD
is a brilliant example of this genre. The sonic
result is an exceptionally wide sweet spot and
spectacularly solid imaging. The soundstage
is absolutely colossal in extension and creates
a palpable illusion of the recording venue,
maximizing the sensation of being there.
However, having switched to the U2 after an
extended session with the MartinLogan Summit
X, I was very much aware of the image size
differences produced by these speakers. What
you have here is a stark contrast between the
expansive presentation of a planar versus that
of a point source. For example, piano image size
was much more lifelike through the Summit X,
while the U2 squeezed the spatial real estate
down by at least a factor of two.
Midrange textures were luxuriant and pristine
sounding. In particular, the upper mids were
exceedingly smooth yet revealing of the ebb and
flow of low-level detail. And without an uppermidrange crossover to get in the way, the U2 was
most felicitous on female voice. Transients were
clearly elucidated with plenty of speed and total
control over the decay envelope. As the minutes
I spent listening stretched into hours, it became
clear that the U2 was the sort of speaker that
demands your attention and involves you in
the music. Part of its allure proved to be an
emotionally persuasive presentation capable
of unveiling the musics dynamic nuances with
a level of conviction that is unmatched at its
price point. Dynamics were explosiveat least

over the range from soft to loud. A bit of stress
occasionally crept in on very loud transients,
and when the speakers were pushed to loud
playback levels. My takeaway was that the
U2 would not be the ideal speaker for a large
listening space, but should be just fine for small
to medium-sized rooms.
I found the extreme treble to be a bit deficient
in detail and air, at least when judged against the
standard set by a fine electrostatic speaker. At
the other frequency extreme, I was surprised by
the bass definition. However, be sure to replace
the rubber feet used for shipping purposes
with the included spiked feet, as the spikes do
improve definition. And while you should not
expect killer bass slam and extension from an
8-inch woofer, the U2 did manage to produce
quite respectable in-room extension, being
nearly flat to 40Hz. Nearfield measurements
show the U2 to be light in the midbass. However,
the midbass range fills in nicely at the listening
seat due to room gain.
The U2 was quite revealing of partnering
power amp differences. I should preface this
by pointing out that some of the apparent
sonic differences were a function of amplifier
source-impedance interactions with the U2s
impedance magnitude. Solid-state amps with
a high damping factor generated a somewhat
darkish tonal balance, which corresponded to a
measured lower-treble deficiency in the range of
9 to 12kHz. The resultant balance was actually
pleasing, being relaxed in nature, and served to
somewhat civilize hot violin recordings. The U2s
large impedance peak (20 ohms) at 9kHz made
it possible to bump up the response in the lower
treble by mating it with a low-damping-factor

tube amp. For example, using the Octave Audio
V110, which has a 5-ohm source impedance, I
was able to gain +3dB at 9kHz while sacrificing
some response in the midbass. That proved a bit
too much for soprano voice, and so I mobilized
the Bob Carver Cherry 180 into action. The
Carvers source impedance is about half that of
the V110 and it turned out to be a synergistic
match for the U2. The resultant timbre fidelity
was excellent.
There are many good speakers out there that
fail somewhere on the road to greatness. Thats
not the case here. The Unlimited II scales that
elusive performance summit. In hindsight, this
review experience feels much like a coronation
of the DDD as the king of Walsh-type bendingwave transducers. The DDD technology brings
one closer to the live experience by virtue of
conveying the immediacy, drama, and coherence
of the real thing. In musical enjoyment, it
leapfrogs a host of expensive box speakers that
are forever constrained to sound like canned
music, offering a slice of sonic heaven at a fair
price.
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DALI Epicon 6
Once Heard, Never Forgotten
Robert E. Greene
bunch of the boys were whooping it up at the Malamute Saloon. All of the
claims of huge breakthroughs over the years do bring to mind this opening
line of Robert Services famous poem. But sometimes these claims of
radical improvements that change what is possible in audio and offer new vistas of
excellencesometimes one or another of these claims is actually the unvarnished
truth, not whooping it up at all, but a matter of straightforward fact.
DALI claims that its Epicon Series speakers

embody a new kind of magnetic structure
that reduces odd-order harmonic distortion
in dynamic drivers to the point of its being all
but unmeasurable. Interestingly, the even-order
harmonic distortion remains unchanged: the
Epicons have low but not unprecedentedly low
total harmonic distortion. But the odd-order
parts are, they say, all but gone.
And the Epicon 6 speaks for itself on this matter:
I do not think anyone listening to it, audiophile or
no, would fail to observe how pure and liquid is
the sound, how reminiscent indeed of the ultralow harmonic distortion of electrostatics. Once
heard, this liquidity is unmistakable and likely to
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be unforgettable as well. Lars Worre, the chief

executive of DALI, explains the new magnetic
structure in some detail (www.youtube.com/
watch?v=PTPSelj4g8M), and I shall summarize the
principles of it later. But the effect is surely heard
independently of the explanation being offered,
interesting though the explanation is. This is not
something one has to talk oneself into hearing!
There is far more to speaker design than lowdistortion drivers, of course. But driver behavior
is fundamental. I shall go later into how the
Epicon 6s perform in other aspects. But their
low distortion already makes them not only
interesting as a product but something of a
landmark in audio history.
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EQUIPMENT review - DALI Epicon 6

How the Reduction in Distortion Works
A driver consists of a magnetic structure
surrounding a voice coil, the voice coil being
attached to the part of the driver you see, the
part that moves the air. The voice coil is moved
by the magnetic force: When current goes
through the coil, force is exerted on the coil and
the coil is thus accelerated. And the force on
the voice coil is ideally exactly what it should
be as determined by the current flow in the
coil. But in practice, the magnetic structure is
usually made of metal. And the metal conducts
electricity. So the coil with its varying current
generates, via electromagnetic induction,
current in the magnetic structures metal.
This current in the magnetic structure in turn
alters the magnetic field, inducing an unwanted
and uncalled for extra force on the coil. These
induced currents, eddy currents as they are
called, are a source of distortion. The idea of the
DALI driver is to get rid of them by making the
magnetic structure effectively non-conducting
so that eddy currents are prevented. [See also
the discussion of driver eddy currents in my
review of the Magico Q7 in Issue 229.RH]
The eddy current problem occurs also in
transformers, which is why laminated structures
are used for them, the lamina being separated by
thin layers of insulation so that current is unable
to flow across lamina. A more extreme form of
the idea of a non-conducting magnetic structure
was developed by the Danish company Grundfos.
Its idea was to make a material consisting of
iron particlesso that it is magneticbut to coat
the particles with a non-conductive layer before
forming the material by pressing the particles
together. The result is in effect laminated in all
directions at once and does not conduct.

The non-conducting magnet structure and
eddy-current reduction is responsible for about
half of the lowering of odd-order harmonics.
The rest of the distortion reduction is the
result of aluminum and copper rings within
the magnetic material that create an optimally
shaped magnetic field that is more linear. The
rings also decrease inductance. Together, the
unique magnetic material and the rings produce
a magnetic linearity that remains constant
regardless of signal current, signal frequency,
or cone position.
SPECS & PRICING

Type: Floorstanding bass-reflex loudspeaker
Driver complement: Two 6" bass/mid wood fiber
cones, one 29mm soft textile dome, one 10 x 55mm
ribbon
Crossover frequencies: 700Hz, 2550Hz, 15kHz
Frequency range: 35Hz to 30kHz
Sensitivity: 88dB
Maximum SPL: 110dB
Weight: 66 lbs. each (net)
Dimensions: 9.1" x 40.3" x 17.4"
Price: $13,495$13,995 (depending on finish)
The Sound Organisation (U.S.
Distributor)
159 Leslie Street
Dallas Texas 75207
(972) 234-0182
soundorg.com
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This idea was in fact developed by Grundfos
for high-speed electric motors, not for speaker
drivers at all. But, fortuitously, Grundfos is close
to DALI in Jutland in Denmark, about ten miles
away, and after a while the subject of using the
idea for speaker magnetic structures came up
(the idea was actually suggested by Grundfos,
according to Worre in the video link). Of course,
some work was needed on how to carry this out,
but the idea has a fundamental rightness to it
that strikes one immediately. Like many really
good ideas, once this one has been brought up,
it seems entirely natural.
And what can one say but that DALI and Grundfos have made it work? In measured terms, the
odd-order harmonic distortion, which has been
widely observed to be the kind that sounds bad,
is all but gone. People tend to think of distortion
in speakers as arising from break-up of the driver
cone, and a lot of work has been done on making
cones so as to minimize distortion of this sort.
DALI has addressed that here as well, with special wood-fiber driver cones, which seem to work
admirably. But the distortion from the motor
mechanism also counts, and here in the Epicon
Series, this problem is addressed in a new way,
as noted. And it does the job in listening terms
as well as in distortion measurements. (The new
structure is also said to minimize problems from
magnetic hysteresis effects.)
The sonic effect is, as mentioned, immediately
observable and extremely pleasing. Or at least
one supposes that it is this one is hearing; that
the speaker sounds unusually pure and liquid is
definitely the case. The attribution to the new
magnetic approach is less obvious, but I am
prepared to take DALIs word for it that that is
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the cause of the unique sound heard. And the

measurements surely back DALI up.
The Sound Overall: The Frequency Extremes
So take it for grantednot that you will have
any trouble noticing!that the Epicon 6 has
an unusually low level of perceived distortion,
a kind of meltingly liquid sound that one does
not expect to hear this side of Quads. There
are, of course, other aspects of the sound to be
discussed, though the perceived low distortion
of the speaker already makes it of compelling
interest.
Let me start with the frequency extremes.
The DALI has an unusual high-frequency driver,
comprising a dome tweeter that is rather larger
than usual (29mm) surmounted by a ribbon
tweeter to fill in the top of the top octaveand
actually a long way beyond (ribbon drivers tend
to go way on out there). The result is a very high
level of perceived high-frequency clarityyou
will hear a lot of the micro-detail so beloved of
audiophiles, helped on by the ultra-low distortion
all the way down, as already noted.
This speaker has resolution and clarity in
spades. The idea of using two tweeters to cover
different parts of the treble is not newit goes
back at least as far as the Spendor BC1. But it is
surely carried out to good effect here as far as
apparent clarity and resolution are concerned.
Things like the high percussion in one of my
go-to orchestral recordings, Rachmaninoffs
Symphonic Dances (Mata, Dallas, ProArte)
sounded remarkably like real cymbal crashes,
with the requisite micro-structure that is really
there in reality and on the recording, but that
can turn into an undifferentiated blur with less
than stellar tweeters. In these terms, the highfrequency compound unit of the Epicon 6s is in
the top echelon, one of the best. If the high end
is anything like synonymous with high end for
you, you will be very happy here as far as the
intrinsic behavior of the unit is concerned.
The tweeter unit does follow the usual DALI
practice of being somewhat hot on axis with the
idea being that one listens somewhat off-axis
to the highs. This typically is done to fill in the
power response of the top endthe on-axis tipup fills in some reverberant-field high-frequency
energy, but the off-axis listening position gets a
flat direct arrival. Fair enough if you want more
highs in your reverberant field.
Here, however, you do not have to move very
far off axis in any direction before the response
really nose dives. The flattest axis is, I estimated,
around 15 degrees off the frontal position. But
get as far as 30 degrees off to the side, and there
is a quite pronounced roll-off. And the top highs
are also sensitive to vertical position, as one
expects with a vertically oriented ribbon. This
is all not as such a problemjust sit where you
should (which is fairly low down as it happens).
But less than ideally situated listeners will hear
a non-flat response in the top as direct arrival.
The pattern is somewhat complex and way offaxis, at 90 degrees (where of course no one
sits), there is an odd whistle in pink noise for
some reason, although this is not particularly
important to music listening as such in normal
positions.
Associated with the exceptional performance
of the high-frequency unit is a very high level of
perceived resolution. DALI has always believed
in the importance of being able to hear detail,
or so I have gathered (I used to live in Denmark

and I have known the DALI people for a long
time). And one certainly hears a lot of detail
here. Even on familiar recordings, one is likely to
become acutely conscious of inner details that
were barely observed before and not brought
so much to the fore. Inner parts are heard with
great clarity. And complex textures unraveled.
Of course, audio reviews say this kind of stuff all
the time. But here it is really true.
Another aspect of this resolution is that the
Epicon 6 seems to be truly free of any adverse
effects from its cabinet. In a world where some
designers feel the need to make speakers that
weigh hundreds of pounds to get sufficient
cabinet deadness, DALI seems to have done the
trick with a cabinet of modest weight (66 pounds)
and very elegant appearance, too. Admiration is
called for! The cabinet not only looks elegant in
a modernistic sort of way, it really gets out of
the way of the sound completely. Listen to any
complex music and you will be impressed at how
much of the inner structure of it you can hear.
Between the low distortion, the exceptional high
frequencies, and the lack of cabinet sound, you
will hear what there is to hear.
At the opposite extreme, the bass is extended
for a speaker this size, with a -3dB point of 35Hz
so; in room, bass goes down very far if not absolutely down to 20Hz. The bottom of the orchestra is covered with ease. There is a lot of
bass! Truth to tell, in my room of modest size
(approximately 18' x 22') there was a bit too
much. But it was well-defined and one got a real
feeling of the low end power of the orchestra or
of rock bass. A lot of the excitement of music of
all kinds is carried in the bass, and the Epicon
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6 could sound exciting, indeed. The big whomps
in the Rachmaninoff mentioned above gave the
real feeling of bass power that orchestras have
live. And the over-all warmth helped to fill in the
floor dip that tends to develop with floorstanders. The bass may be a little much technically,
but musically it was much to the good.
No wimpy sound here, no making the great
orchestral masterworks of the Romantic era
sound like recorder ensembles or making rock
sound as it sounds on a table radio. When Richard
Strauss and Dvork and Mahler and Wagneror
Pink Floyd, for that matterlet you have some
bass excitement, you really get the point here.
(The Epicon 6 is ported with two large ports in the
back). I guess you get the idea that I liked this!
The Epicon 6s present a spacious sonic image,
and they vanish convincingly into the soundfield
that they generate. Set up pointing down the room
straight ahead or only slightly toed-in, the focus of
individual images is less definite than with some
speakers that are intended to be listened to with
the speakers pointing straight at you.
If I may be permitted an aside and a suggestion
for experimenting: This spatial character is presumably in part attached to the increase in high
frequencies as one gets closer to the axis, meaning that with the un-toed (or only slightly-toed
position) sideways head movements increase
the top end slightly from the speaker that the
head moves toward. This setup is the opposite of
the idea used by Ohm and others (and originally
suggested I think by Spendor and the BBC) of
arranging that such a head movement would diminish the highs, thus creating a kind of time/energy trading that stabilizes and focuses images.
Of course, the high end has pretty much forgot-
ten about this, and in particular doing this tends

to narrow the soundstage. (There is a school
of thought that claims that the soundstage is
often in good part an artifact of a certain lack of
image focus in the classical sense, ditto dimensionality in most cases.) If you want image focus
in the classical sense, you can get it here by overtoeing the speakers, that is by bringing the flat
axis to you by toeing the speakers so that the
axes cross at a point considerably in front of you!
You might not like this, but then again you might,
and it is worth a try. And since the Epicon 6s are
apparently intended to be heard slightly off-axis,
you have the option here, either way.
In any case, whatever your spatial preference,
the Epicon 6s are set to deliver it in the right
setup. Experimentation is the key!
Overall Balance and the Midrange
As has been pointed out in TAS from the
beginning, the heart of music tends to be in the
midrange, and, to face the fact straight on, the
midrange of the Epicon 6 is somewhat pushed
back. In particular, the 1kHz to 2kHz octave
and a bit above and below sound rather down
in level. The speaker as a whole seems almost
to exhibit some version of the smiley face
EQ once so popular in the days when people
routinely manipulated recordingsand audio
systemswith analog EQ devices. This balance is
in particular contrast with what seems almost to
be a fad currently among speaker manufacturers
as a whole to push the 12kHz region forward
somewhat. Both sides of this have their points:
Bring 12kHz up and the sound comes out of
the box and certain types of vocal material
are flattered. Pull 12kHz down and there is a
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nice recession of the image, distancing overrecorded, too-forward material.
Ultimately, however, to my ears, the midrange
needs to be neutrally balanced (I am not a fan of
the fad for pushing it forward, either). Whatever
flatteries of some type or another one can get by
having a bit too much or, in the present case, too
little of the 12kHz octave, one pays at least some
price in natural timbre. In particular, broadband
music does not quite sound as it should on the
Epicon 6s. It can sound attractive but it never
comes across as completely correct in timbre.
Of course, one can EQ this region up and flatten
the whole response. The speakers then sound
better balanced. But midrange EQ of speakers
really works best when it is a matter of very small
tweaking of a balance with which one is basically
happy to begin with. Making major shifts in
balance by EQ is a tricky matter. The main point is
that when the measured response of the Epicon
6 was flattened out, the sound changed a lot.
This sort of broadband balance-change is really
fairly major, though it may look small on a graph.
It changes the sound of the music quite a bit.
The 12KHz suckout must have been a deliberate decision on the part of DALI, and I think
many people will like it. So much material in
the world is over-recorded that a bit of backing
away from it can be all to the good. But the exact
sound of instruments really is altered here. And
even the apparent volume of notes can shift. On
Moravecs Debussy collection on Vox, one could
notice in careful listening the slight droop in
volume as he ran from below on up through the
recessed range to the very top notes (which are
higher than that, being 4186Hz), with the top
notes coming back up in level.
This is not to say that the speaker is colored

in the resonant sense. Actually, it sounds very
smooth and non-resonant. What it does not
sound is exactly flat.
While you may well like this, you should
observe the effects carefully when you audition
the speaker to be sure that you do.
Summary
The DALI Epicon 6 is an extraordinary speaker.
In high-frequency performance, in perceived
resolution, and in absence of cabinet effects it
is in the top echelon and it really does make one
wonder about the heroic measures that have
come to be the most common approach to obtain
these goals. Clearly a lot of thought has gone into
this speaker, and avoirdupois has been kept under
control without giving up any of the resolving
power noted: no cabinet problems, but moderate
cabinet size and weight. And most striking of all,
the Epicon 6s really do seem to have crossed
a barrier in low distortion in dynamic-driver
speakers. This is truly historic. And I hope other
driver manufacturers will look into licensing the
patent from DALI. Once heard, never forgotten.
With all that said, you still have to listen
for yourself as with any speaker, to the exact
radiation pattern and tonal balance choices here.
The Epicon 6s involve a distinctive approach
on these matters and whether that approach
pleases you youll have to decide for yourself.
But in any case, this is a speaker that everyone
ought to hear. Things this important do not come
along very often. Congratulations on those lowdistortion drivers are very much in order. In the
words of Schumann writing about the music of
Chopin: Hats off, gentlemen. A genius.
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Rockport Technologies
Atria
Captivating
Alan Taffel
common practice in the high end is to speak of a components character. We

high-end denizens understand that term as a reference to said equipments
sonic fingerprintthe limitations, colorations, exaggerations, and emphases
it imparts to the music. But a components personality is something different.
Personality has to do with the overall feeling a product conveys to the listener. I have
heard many DACs, for example, that give the distinct impression of working very
hard to extract information. Needless to say, listening to those DACs is not the most
tranquil experience. Other components exhibit personalities that can be described as
relaxed, polite, extroverted, or anal. We have all heard products that fall into one of
these categories.
I bring up the notion of personality in the context
of Rockport Technologies new $21,500 Atria
because these speakers emit a very distinct
and distinctivepersona. Specifically, the Atrias
are happy. I know that sounds crazy, but the
Atrias give off a strong vibe of simply loving to
play music. They never complain, they never
strain, and they never hold back. They are doing
what they were born to do, and they are thrilled
about it. The way the Atrias glory in making
sound for musics sake is not only palpable, it
is also contagious. To listen is to share in their
delight. And just as this tends to be true about
people who are happy in their work, the Atrias
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are very, very good at what they do. But what

things, exactly, are they doing so wellwhat, in
other words, are the character traits that enable
them to convey such a strong sense of musical
freedom and joy? Read on.
Any summary of the Atrias must begin by
indicating that they represent the best in
modern speaker designand deliver fully on the
sonic and musical benefits that design promises.
Thanks, for instance, to extremely stiff carbonfiber sandwich composite- or beryllium-domed
drivers, equally stiff cabinetry, and point-topoint wired crossovers, they have vanishingly
low distortion. This makes them highly
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EQUIPMENT review - Rockport Technologies Atria

resolving, transparent, and easy to listen to all
at once. The drivers and crossover components
are painstakingly matched, so the Atrias are
coherent, speaking with one seamless voice
from top to bottom. And their graduated-width,
rearward-slanting front baffle, combined with
an elliptical crossover that provides excellent
phase summation, minimizes diffraction and
time incoherencies. As a result, the speakers
neatly disappear, leaving only the music.
I could end this review right there and call it
a day, but that would be unfair to the Atrias,
because these speakers do much more, some of
which you would not expect for their $20k-andchange entry fee. But before exploring those
areas, there is more to say about the Atrias
very first impression: that sublimely low noise
floor.
Even high-resolution speakers can accompany
all that detail with a side of grit, glare, or fuzz.
These artifacts may be in the background
or astride the notes themselves. The Atrias,
despite being highly resolving, are blissfully
free of any such interlopers. The result, in a
word, is purity. Youll rarely hear a piano sound
as carefreeas unfettered of having to punch
through sonic grimeas it does through a pair of
Atrias. But pick your instrumentdrums, strings,
bass, hornsthey all come through unburdened
by anything extraneous, like a boxer who has
just shed excess weight.
This purity benefits solo instruments and
voices (listen to the startling immediacy of
Norah Jones on Feels Like Home), but also
makes it easy to follow the individuals in a group.
Instruments do not step on one another;
rather, each emerges clearly. No detailsoft
breaths, a guitar pick stroking nylon or steel, the

gentle rattle of snares against a drumheadis
below the noise floor, so all are audible without
strain.
One last point about low noise is that its just
a lot easier to listen to speakers that arent
distortingno matter how subtly. With clean
electronics behind themI was fortunate to
have the superb CH Precision stack on hand
the Atrias will never tire you out. They sound as
fresh and clear in the fifth hour as they do in the
first. Of course, in this price and size range, you
generally have to give up somethingusually
several things. The beauty of the Atria is that you
really give up only two. The first, unsurprisingly,
has to do with bass. Floorstanders near the
entry point of a manufacturers line tend to be
bass compromised. Put another way, one of the
main benefits of speakers higher in the range is
more powerful, extended bass. The Atrias follow
this dictumbut only partially.
True, the Atrias cannot play the lowest bass
notes at full strength. You can hear this on the
bass line that forms the coda to Dont Give
Up from Peter Gabriels masterful album So.
The last note of the motif, which is the lowest,
is a punch slightly pulled. Mind you, the note
is clearly there, just at a reduced level. If you
want to hear it at full strength, step on up to
Rockports Avior, the Atrias larger sibling. The
uplift costs about $11,000, and only you can
decide if thats feasible and worth it.
Even with this very minor compromise in bass
extension, the Atrias need make no apologies in
this area. Thats because their bass is every bit as
tight, impactful, and informative as larger, more
expensive speakers. Indeed, other than ultimate
extension, bass is one of the Atrias greatest

strengths. There is no slop, no overhang, and
no sense of the driver overcoming initial inertia
(the ability of the bass to start and stop on a
dime explains a lot about the solid rhythms the
Atrias churn out).
Furthermoreagain, with the exception of the
very lowest tonesthis is not a quality versus
quantity situation. When it comes to bass
energy in the broad sense, these Rockports give
up very little to larger, multi-woofered designs.
Going back to the Peter Gabriel bass line, the
instrument should step forward, away from
the background, and strut its stuff. Through
the Atria, it does, while also reproducing this
particular instruments somewhat unusual
tonality. Similarly, the string bass on the
Analogue Productions SACD of Dave Brubecks
familiar Time Out never lurks in the shadows,
as it can through speakers more reticent in this
zone. Meanwhile, the Atria again conveys this
particular instruments own (very different)
harmonic structure.
The second thing you would expect the Atrias
to give up, by virtue of their charmingly modest
(impeccably-finished) stature, is soundstage
scale. It does, but only in the dimension of
height. The Atrias soundstage barely rises
above the height of the speaker itself. However,
assuming you are seated at a normal listening
level, this limitation is neither particularly
noticeable nor bothersome. But stage height
is inarguably something bigger speakersgood
ones, at leastcan do better.
On the other hand, everything else having to do
with soundstage and imaging is most certainly in
the Atrias wheelhouse. Credit its extremely low
resolution floor and low distortion that permits

it to transmit those almost subliminal spatial
cues. On a great recording, like the stupendous
ORG pressing of Mehta conducting Holsts The
Planets, the soundstage is so convincingly
deep its downright spooky. Width is similarly
impressive. The Atrias are happy (there it is
again) to be positioned well apart, and will still
completely fill the space in between. Between
this depth and width, the Atrias let you hear the
placement of every orchestral section, as on the
Holst, right down to the solo violinists position
within the firsts.
OK, so besides soundstage prowess (other
than height) and good bass (within minor
SPECS & PRICING

Type: Three-way, dynamic driver, floorstanding
loudspeaker
Driver complement: 9" carbon-fiber sandwich
composite woofer; 6" carbon-fiber sandwich
composite midrange; 1" beryllium dome tweeter
Sensitivity: 87.5dB
Dimensions: 12.5" x 43.5" x 20"
Price: $21,500
ROCKPORT TECHNOLOGIES
586 Spruce Head Rd.
South Thomaston, ME 04858
(207) 596-7151
rockporttechnologies.com
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limits), what else dont you give up that you
might expect to in a speaker of this size and
price? For one thing, dynamic range. Of course,
low-distortion speakers can usually play softly
without losing important musical details (think
Quads and Maggies); but, they cant necessarily
play loudly with the same alacrity (think Quads
and Maggies). Oh, but the Atrias can! Whether
sustained or in a burst, the Atrias are perfectly
happy to overload your ears and your room.
Rockports Andy Payor says one of the Atrias
limitations compared to the Avior is its ability to
fill a large space. I cant say I agree. My listening
room is quite large, yet the Atrias had no trouble
commanding it.
The Atrias also excel at the micro end of
dynamics. Listen to a chamber octet, as on the
Prada CD of Dvoraks Songs from Bohemia, and
the speakers will reward you with each players
most minute dynamic inflection. In this way, you
can really hear the players relating to each other,
passing the theme around through understated
dynamic emphasis and de-emphasis. In a live
classical performance, the conductor, through
gestures to a particular section, often visually
cues the audience as to where the theme
currently resides. Pay attention now to what
these players are doing, the maestro seems to
say. But in the solace of our listening rooms, we
must rely on audio alone to provide such cues.
The Atrias are fully up to this task.
There are two other traits associated with
more exotic speakers that I am happy to report
are fully embraced by the Atrias: air and speed.
Two seconds of listening to these Rockports is
sufficient to hear a top end that ascends to the
heavens. This frees music from any sensation
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of being stifled or of hitting a glass ceiling.

Equallyand as immediatelyobvious is the
Atrias speed. All those little details to which
I referred earlier would not be possible if the
Rockports couldnt field a fast transient.
Speakers this fast, resolving, and extended
in the highs tend also to be unforgiving. I dont
know how the Atrias do it, but they manage to be
both extraordinarily revealing and forgiving at
the same time. So is a case in point. Depending
on the track, Gabriels voice can stray into grate
territory. The Atrias never let it get that far.
You might think they accomplish this through
glossing and smoothing, but that is not the case.
On the contrary, these speakers not only reveal
every nuance of Gabriels vocal delivery, but they
allow me to hear more layers of this complex
recording than I ever have. This combination of
resolving power with forgiveness is rare indeed
in audio components, yet it is what live music
routinely delivers.
So far I have said nothing about the Atrias
tonal balance. Here is yet another surprise. For all
their detail retrieval and dynamic incisiveness
traits that are often associated with a lean
tonal balancethe Atrias are tonally on the

mellow side. Listen to the alto sax on Time Out.
Through the Rockports, the instrument may be
a bit more warm and golden than youre used to.
You might take that as either a compliment or a
criticism, depending on your proclivities, but it
would only be the latter if the speaker went too
far in that direction. They do not. And because
they do not, the Atrias will appeal to those
who lean toward romanticism as well as those
whose fealty is more to accuracy. I myself am
in the latter category, yet I still find the Atrias
bewitching and would gladly own a pair.
Coincidentally, near the end of my time with
the Rockports, I was in California and had the
opportunity to hear Robert Harleys reference
system. At the time, it consisted of Magico Q7s,
Constellation electronics, and a full dCS Vivaldi
stack up frontsuch are the perks of being Editor
in Chief! We listened to several SACDs that I had
brought along, taking particular pleasure in the
Analogue Productions release of Rickie Lee
Joness quirky, beautifully recorded Traffic in
Paradise. The sound was delicious. Although the
system visually confronts listeners with brutish-
looking, massive gear, the aural impression is, in

contrast, light and lithe.
Upon my return home, I was able to audition
the same SACDs through the Atrias, once again
zeroing in on the stellar Rickie Lee Jones disc.
Unsurprisingly, the album sounded better at
Roberts housebut not by as wide a margin as
you might expect. The Q7 is capable of throwing
a larger soundstage (especially height) than the
Atria, is more strictly neutral, has even more air
on top, and.and thats about it. I felt no loss of
speed, detail, ease, depth, or dynamic whomp.
Impressive, wouldnt you say?
The reason the Atrias can hold their heads
high compared to one of the best speakers in
the world is the consistency of Andy Payors
design philosophy. Never mind that this is
Rockports entry-level offering; its goals are
exactly the same as those of its bigger brothers.
Specifically, Rockport believes that resolution
and musicality need not be mutually exclusive
and wont be if informed design is executed
at a sufficiently high level. Consequently, the
Atria uses the identical components, drivers,
and production techniques as Rockports larger
speakers. With this in mind, and their sound in
your ears, their $21,500 price starts to look like
the bargain it is.
In sum, I cannot imagine anyone being anything
but captivated by a pair of Atrias. They are true
Rockports, brought to a more accessible price
and size range. They are also so revealing of
wondrous detail, so free of distracting artifacts,
so effortlessly right in their presentation, and
so darn happy to be making music, they cant
help but make you happy, too.
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Technology
In the Atria Rockport wanted to create a small-footprint loudspeaker
nearly 10 years. The material in these
that played bigger than its size. That meant robust drivers with
drivers, however, is a new type of
high excursion and excellent linearity under demanding conditions.
carbon-fiber fabric used in F1 racecars
That also meant a ground-up design of the driversthe Atria (and
that reportedly has the lowest aerial
the Avior) are the first Rockport loudspeakers to employ drivers
weight to tensile-strength ratio of any
entirely of Rockports own invention. The companys previous
woven fabric. The resulting cone is
loudspeakers, and some in their current line, are built on motor
super-stiff and super-lightweight. The
systems from Audio Technology in Denmark using Rockport-
goal was to couple a very light, stiff
designed carbon-fiber-sandwich cones.
diaphragm with a very powerful and
Rockports Andy Payor started the driver design with a clean
linear motor and very little mechanical
sheet of paper, creating the 9" woofer and 6" midrange with no
resistance and hysteresis loss in the
practical cost constraints. The resulting drivers are unlike any
supporting structure. Incidentally,
previously built. As you can see in the photo of the midrange driver,
every element of the driver was
the basket (the frame that holds all the parts together) is made
designed by Payor, including the
from thick cast metal. The basket is unusual for its robustness,
titanium voice-coil former, adhesives,
and also for the shape that allows for a large diameter spider (the
terminals, and lead-out wires. He built more than 100 prototypes
enables the speaker to have excellent transient characteristics and
round yellow structure with the accordion pleats). Although a larger
before finalizing the project.
minimum crossover-induced group delay, as well as reduced driver
spider adds slightly more mass, Payor believes that its higher
Although compact, the Atrias enclosure weighs 150 pounds owing
interaction and distortion associated with excessive overlap in the
compliance (lower resistance to movement), and lower hysteresis
to the thick baffle (more than 4" thick in places) and 2.5"-thick side
stop band of the drivers. Payor has used this type of crossover
confer greater resolution of low-level information. A drivers ability
panels. Increasing the enclosures thickness greatly stiffens the
topology since the early 90s. Each crossover is hand-measured
to reproduce the very finest and most delicate detail is, according to
structurethe stiffness increases with the cube of the ratio of the
and tuned by Payor. In addition to normal frequency response
Payor, directly related to reducing the parasitic losses in the drivers
increase in section thickness. The cabinet is made from multilayer
measurements, he also inverts the polarity of the adjacent drivers,
mechanical and magnetic structures.
MDF in a constrained-layer-damping configurationlayers of visco-
drives them with a test signal, and measures the amount of acoustic
elastic material are sandwiched between the MDF sheets. Extensive
cancellation. The greater the cancellation, the better the drivers
is capable of a whopping 13mm of excursion. These specs are
bracing is used inside the enclosure. The resulting resonances,
will sum when restored to their correct polarity. He then fine-tunes
important because the midrange driver is operated down to 150Hz,
damped by the visco-elastic material, are low in level and high in
the capacitor and inductor values until the best combination of in-
where it crosses over to the 9" woofer. The cones are made from
frequency.
phase frequency response and deepest null out of phase is achieved.
The 6" driver has a very low resonant frequency of 28Hz, and
a composite of thin (.004") carbon-fiber skins on either side of a
The crossover is a multi-stage circuit that provides varying
Typically, Payor measures 3540dB of acoustic cancellation at the
Rohacell foam core. The thickness of this Rohacell core varies to
degrees of stop-band attenuation with respect to frequency,
measurement microphone one meter away from the loudspeaker.
prevent an abrupt mechanical impedance change at the surround
meaning that the response rolls off gradually at the crossover
(You can see the measurement process and null graph at the
or voice-coil former. Payor has been using this cone technology for
frequency, after which the slope becomes increasingly steep. This
Rockport Web site.) Robert Harley
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YG Acoustics Kipod II
Signature
Full-Range Sound for Smaller Spaces
Kirk Midtskog
ave you ever wondered if it is possible to get world-class resolution, imaging, and full-range frequency extension in a
small-to-medium-sized room from a single pair of speakers? No DSP room-correction system, no large room-treatment
devices, and no subwoofers. Just keep it simple with a pair of speakers and still not have bass-overload issues?
Because my listening room is small (12' x 6' x 17'), I have accepted the fact
that its limited size precludes the use of a truly full-range speaker. The
bass from large speakers in smaller rooms overwhelms the space with
added emphases at certain frequencies, accompanied by a reduction of
output at others. This highly colored bass pattern tends to mar the entire
musical experience, not just in the bass, by announcing that something
is inconsistent with live music in a fundamental way. A larger speaker also
usually needs to be placed at a greater distance from the listener, not to
mention from the room walls, to allow its disparate drivers to produce
coherent sound at the listening positiondistances we simply dont have
in smaller rooms.
There is a solution for those of us with full-range ambitions in smaller
rooms, however. In my experience, the YG Kipod II Signature Passive is
the full-range, small/medium room champion. It has all of the performance
attributes one would look for in a state-of-the-art speaker specifically scaled
to fit in less-than-ideal-sized spaces: stunning resolution, tonal neutrality,
fantastic transparency to the upstream system, wall-defying soundstaging,
deft imaging, seamless blending into the soundscape so that it effectively
disappears as the acoustical source, and an in-room frequency response
from 20Hz to 40kHz (according to YG). Best of all, it puts everything
together in musically compelling ways. And, yes, I can confirm that it does
not overwhelm my listening room with lumpy-sounding bass.
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Any caveats to this list of fine performance attributes? By virtue of

its design brief to perform well in small-to-medium-sized rooms, the
svelte 41"-tall Kipod will not reproduce macro-dynamic swings with truly
thunderous force or pump out low bass notes with the same amplitude as
the big boyssuch as its much larger sibling, the Sonja 1.3. Though Kipod
does reproduce very low notes, at the same time it sounds as if it has
a fairly gradual roll-off in the bass and thus does not induce bloat as a
result of the speaker/room interface. The low notes in Rutters Requiem
[Reference Recordings], for instance, extend almost as low as I have heard
them sound with any large, full-range system, but do not have full power
at the very bottom of the spectrum. The Kipods bass always sounds
balanced and integrated in ways reminiscent of how bass sounds at live
orchestral concerts.
The Kipod does not have to be deployed in a smaller rooms to perform
well. Its bass output is not predicated on close boundary reinforcement;
in my room, the Kipod was placed 61" from the back wall (measured at
the tweeter). I have heard it in the cavernous YG factory demo room and
in larger rooms than mine at trade shows (like RMAF and CES), and it
delivered tuneful, extended, well-defined bass in all instances. Other
system-integration notes I can add here are that the Kipod really should
be partnered with the best electronics, sources, and cabling one can put
together to fully maximize its performance capabilities and also because
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EQUIPMENT review - YG Acoustics Kipod II

it is quite revealing of upstream system flaws. It should be given
at least 400 hours of break-in time. A fairly stout power amplifier
(say, at least 150W with a stiff power supply) should be considered
over a lower-powered one, as the Kipod seemed to be somewhat
low in sensitivity (rated at 85dB). I had to turn up the volume a
few more clicks than with any other speaker I have had in my
system to achieve similar sound pressure levels, and the speaker
just seemed to come alive when coaxed with a higher volume
setting.
While the Kipod seemed to require more power than usual, it
did not come across as difficult to control (stated impedance
is 8 ohms, nominal; 5 ohms, minimum), and its macro-dynamic
range and transients were better than any other speaker of its
size I have heard. At no time did I ever detect any strain from
the speaker itself, even during the most demanding musical
passages. Both the Gamut M250i and Pass Labs X350.5 (review
forthcoming) were well suited to powering the Kipod II Passive. I
would think twice, though, about pairing it with a tube amp, unless
its a reasonably powerful one.
The potential for the Kipod to sound astonishingly good or
merely good depends, to some extent, on its placementat
least this proved to be the case with the passive version. YGs
Dick Diamond came out to my house and assembled the speaker
by bolting the rectangular main module on top of the larger
trapezoidal bass module. The main module is, essentially, a 40
pound mini-monitor (which can be purchased separately as a
stand-mounted speaker) with a 6" YG aluminum-cone midrange
driver and a YG waveguide-mounted soft-dome tweeter. (The
waveguide aids in matching the dispersion pattern of the tweeter
to that of the midrange unit.) The bass module is, essentially, a
passive, 82-pound subwoofer with a 9" YG aluminum-cone woofer.
After assembly, Diamond spent about two hours adjusting its
placement in my rooma service all new Kipod purchasers receive
from their YG dealers. Naturally, like any audio-obsessed person
would, I later moved the Kipods around just to see if I could better
Mr. Diamonds setup. I couldnt. I returned them to where Diamond
had left them and later adjusted toe-in just a hair. The lesson: Let
the professional do the setup. Break-in time also played a larger

role than I anticipated. The Kipod sounded fantastically detailed
and dynamically alive when first set up in my system, but the
sound tended to be localized around the cabinets themselves if
too much toe-in was appliedand it didnt take muchwhich, in
turn, gave me the impression that some loss of center image focus
was sacrificed when only a little toe-in was applied. Also, before
sufficient break-in occurred, there was a bit of upper-midrange
hardness; the bass seemed overdamped and constricted; and
there just wasnt the sort of musical flow I expected. Then, right
around the 400-hour mark, everything improved, and not subtly,
either.
Fully broken-in, the Kipods overall performance is like that of
a first-rate mini-monitor with great bass and expanded dynamics
added to the package: an expansive soundscape (very deep, very
wide, and with an apparent increase of height), a peer-into-therecording resolution and transparency to upstream gear, well
fleshed-out images (without etched image boundaries), and a
corporeal solidity coupled with bass weight underpinning the
entire presentation. The Kipod recreated a soundscape that,
recording permitting, extended beyond the listening room walls.
On the LP Gershwin [Slatkin, St. Louis, Reference Recordings], I
could close my eyes, point to the outer edges of the soundscape,
open my eyes again, and find I was pointing to positions about
one foot beyond the rooms sidewalls. On the studio-created
soundscape of Di Se Re from the Bollywood soundtrack Di Se
[A. R. Rahman, Venus], the soundstage was even wider. The same
sort of performance applied to depth as well. This means the
Kipods effective soundstage extends considerably beyond the
speakers outer edges and as deep or deeper than the distance
from the speaker to the backwall. The feeling of soundstage
constriction, which too often accompanies listening in a smaller
room, is thereby greatly reduced because the Kipod made it seem
as though I were listening in a much larger space, one that would
allow the speakers to be placed about ten feet apart instead of
seven and a halfas is the case in my room.
Images were so well fleshed out that I could easily discern the
locations and relative sizes of the various orchestral sections

in some recordingsas well as hear enough of the individual
instruments in massed string sections to avoid the perception of
a homogeneous string sound. The recent Reference Recordings
LP re-issue of Exotic Dances from the Opera [Oue, Minnesota
Orchestra] was captivating with its realistic spatial portrayal
SPECS & PRICING

Driver complement: 1" YG soft-
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT
dome tweeter, 6" YG BilletCore
Analog Source: Basis Debut V
midrange (main module); 9" YG
turntable with Vector 4 tonearm,
BilletCore woofer (bass module)
Benz-Micro LP-S cartridge
Woofer loading: Sealed
Digital Sources: Ayre C-5xeMP
Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 5
universal disc player, Sony VAIO
ohms minimum
VGN-FZ-490 running J River MC
Sensitivity: 85dB
17, Hegel HD2 and HD20 DACs
Cabinet: Aircraft-grade aluminum;
Phonostage preamp: Ayre P-5xe
ballistic-grade-aluminum tweeter
Linestage preamp: Ayre K-1xe
waveguide
Integrated amplifier: Hegel H200
Dimension: 7" x 16" x 13" (main
Power amplifiers: Gamut M250i,
module); 12" x 41" x 17" (bass
Pass Labs X350.5
module)
Speakers: Dynaudio Confidence C1
Weight: 122 lbs.
Signature, Aerial 7T
Price: $38,800 per pair, available
Cables: Shunyata Anaconda
in silver or black
ZiTron signal cables, Audioquest

Coffee USB and Hawk Eye S/PDIF,
YG Acoustics LLC
Shunyata Anaconda and Cobra
4941 Allison, St., Unit 10
ZiTron power cables
Arvada, CO 80002
A/C Power: Two 20-amp dedicated
(801) 726-3887
lines, Shunyata SR-Z1 receptacles,
yg-acoustics.com
Shunyata Triton and Typhon

power conditioners
Room Treatments: PrimeAcoustic
Z-foam panels and DIY panels
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of a full orchestra arrayed in a large hall. The
Kipod made this recording sound so engaging
and present that I stopped listening for
reviewing purposes and simply listened more
as I would at a live concertalways a good sign.
Apparent listener perspective was generally
neither forward nor recessed, but would change
somewhat depending on how some recordings
were madean example of the Kipods
transparency to sources. Resolution? The
Kipod has it in spades, and it doesnt hype up a
particular aspect of audio reproduction to give
you the impression of heightened resolution
or make you suffer through poorly-made
recordings as a price for all its resolving power.
Its resolution comes across as pure, direct, and
low in coloration. Somehow, the Kipod sounds
neutral and accurate without sounding clinical
or as though it is leaching out the human giveand-take of music-making in order to deliver its
accuracy. This is one of those high-performing
audio products that gives you the audiophile
goods while still letting you enjoy a good deal
of your music collection. You will hear recording
flawsand brilliant engineering, too, of course
but your less-than-stellar recordings wont
necessarily be rendered unlistenable by the
Kipods even-handed resolution.
Sometimes, three-way floorstanding speakers
with the sort of bass extension and dynamic
range of the Kipods cant quite deliver minimonitor-like delicacy on small, intimate music.
The subtleties in a piece like the title track
from the Bobo Stenson Trios Indicum [ECM]
can escape lesser speakers and thereby sound
lackluster or just plain uninteresting. The Kipod
(especially together with the fabulous Gamut
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M250 monoblocks) dug deeply into this slow,

moody, mysterious work and brought to life
its subtle yet compelling sense of yearning
and resolve. The percussion work of Jon Flt
can sometimes sound a little too free form
and detached from the other players on some
systems. Here, the kind of detailed and coherent
reproduction the Kipod brought to the equation
seemed to imbue everything with musical
intent, with human meaningincluding Flts
slightly elusive percussion style. I could also
clearly hear bassist Anders Jormin tap the
body of his upright bass with his fingers (using
it as a percussion instrument) at the beginning
of Indikon, adding an interesting resonant
quality to Flts percussion intro.
The whole reason YGs founder Yoav Geva
got into the speaker business, in 2002, was to
make speakers that simultaneously had good
frequency vs. amplitude behavior and interdriver phase (time) behavior. Geva found that
most speakers at that time optimized either
one or the other but usually not both. Through
Gevas background in digital signal processing,
he was able to develop an algorithm which he
applied in the analog domain, specifically to
crossover design and speaker-system modeling.
Geva entered a speaker prototype, based on his
algorithm, in the Israeli Ministry of Industrys
annual Tnufa competition. (Geva is half-German
and half-Israeli and split his time between
the two countries before incorporating YG in
Colorado in 2004.) He won a Tnufa grant, which
he then used to pursue his basic technology,
called DualCoherent, into a commercially viable
product line. Based on his extensive modeling
of his concept, Geva knew he needed to build
speaker cabinets from a more precise material

than wood, or he would not be able to achieve
the very close tolerances involved.
Thus began YGs extensive use of machined
parts made from high-quality aluminum billet.
Machined aluminum provides several advantages
as a cabinet and cone-membrane material:
good strength-to-weight ratio, relatively high
resistance to environmental factors such as
corrosion and high temperature (helpful when
machining friction heats the stock), and the
ability to be machined into a wide variety of
custom shapes to very precise tolerances. It
also has relatively good resonance damping
characteristics when properly constructed. YG
uses mostly aircraft grade 6061-T651 billet and
some ballistic-grade aluminum for key parts like
the tweeter waveguide. I have visited the YG
factory outside of Denver in Arvada. Everyone
at YG is very focused on delivering high-quality
products, and the CNC machines at work are
truly impressive. Each BilletCore driver cone
takes hours to mill on a five-axis CNC milling
and turning machine from Germany called
Gildemeister CTX Beta 1250 TC. Many parts
are machined to within 0.0008" tolerances (20
microns). Which brings me to the subject of the
Kipods price: $38,800. Given the engineering,
parts-quality (capacitors and inductors are topdrawer Mundorf), raw material costs, the nearly
obsessive lengths YG goes to manufacture and
deliver a high-performing product, and the high
level of its overall performance, the asking price
is justified.
The current Kipod II Passive incorporates
many advances over the model previously
reviewed in TAS by Robert Harley in Issue 199.
First, the Kipod Studio Robert reviewed had an

adjustable, on-board Class-D bass amplifier to
power the woofer in the bass module, making
the speaker system semi-active. The model in
this review is fully passive. (YG is moving toward
all-passive configurations, although customers
can still get semi-active versions in all models
except the Carmel.) Second, the former model
used Scan-Speak midrange and woofer drivers
with standard cones. The current Kipod uses YGmachined aluminum cones integrated with some
Scan-Speak supplied parts. Third, the previous
Kipod used a Scan-Speak ring-radiator tweeter.
The current tweeter is a YG ForgeCore unit
with an in-house-machined motor assembly and
a proprietary YG soft-dome membrane. (Some of
the more standard tweeter parts, like the back
lid, are from Scan-Speak.) Fourth, the Kipod
reviewed in Issue 199 did not have a high-pass
filter on the midrange unit so some bass content
below the midrange drivers bandwidth could
apparently cause the speaker to sound stressed
at higher volume levels. The current Passive
model has a Signature crossover package
that applies not only a high-pass filter on the
midrange driver (expanding the loudspeakers
dynamic range) but also includes some
components to improve the out-of-passband
phase-matching between the midrange and
woofer. This now brings YGs DualCoherent
technology to both crossover regions, which was
not possible in the semi-active configuration.
Fifth, the earlier model had high-quality OEM
inductors. The current model uses in-house
wound ToroAir toroidal inductors, which YG
says reduce distortion and, more notably, crosstalk between drivers. Sixth, the two sealed (airwww.theabsolutesound.com
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suspension) cabinet modules have been further
optimized to reduce resonances; the tweeter
waveguide has been improved; and the external
cabinet screws have been replaced by internal
joiners. The two modules of the earlier version
of the Kipod weighed a combined 104 pounds;
the current Kipod II Passive weighs 122 pounds.
The only other speaker I had available that
came close to overlapping the Kipods frequency
and dynamic range was the very nice sounding
Aerial 7T [$9850, Issue 218], a ported, bassreflex design. The Aerial 7T seemed much easier
to drive, had fuller bass in its low register, but
did not extend quite as low in the bass as the
Kipod. The 7T also made some recordings sound
slightly harsh in the 24kHz range if careful
attention was not paid to speaker placement,
particularly toe-in. Very careful placement
was also needed with the 7T to mitigate bass
overload in my room; in a larger room, the
7Ts bass output was just right without much
placement optimization. The Kipods bass was
more defined in pitch and better integrated with
the midrange. The Kipod also imparted a good
deal more resolution of fine detail and of timbre,
and came across as generally more revealing and
airy. It also sounded more tonally neutral and
threw a larger soundstage. Of course, the price
difference makes the comparison completely
unfair to the 7T, but it is all I had on hand for
direct comparison. I have heard quite a few
systems with speakers costing more than the
Kipod in peoples homes and at consumer shows.
While I hesitate to make definitive judgments
based solely on those experiences, there is no
question that the Kipod II Signature Passive is a
truly accomplished speaker in its own right.
I have no significant sonic gotchas to

report. Even though the main module is only
7" wide, I heard no power-range-robbing bafflestep issue, which can crop up on narrow-baffle
designs, so I cant fault the Kipod there. Its
treble was clear and extended, and had no
harshness or graininessstill no glaring fault. All
kinds of music were well served by the Kipod,
from hard-driving rock to solo classical guitar
to full orchestral works, so I cant call it a small
ensemble or rock n roll specialist. The Kipods
price puts it out of reach of a lot of music
lovers, and it should be mated with high-quality
associated gear and a fairly powerful amplifier,
further raising the price of realizing its full
potential. On the other hand, its build- and
parts-quality and, indeed, its sound quality are
in keeping with its price. Its low bass may sound
just a bit reserved to listeners who are used to
the more heavy-handed bass-reflex designs.
A minor ergonomic note: The oval-shaped (YG
logo) binding-post tightening nuts are spaced
too closely together to fit your fingers around
the nuts to tighten them, at least if one of the
oval knobs is in a horizontal position.
The Kipod II Signature Passive is an impressive
speaker all around. It is a detailed and musically
engaging vehicle through which listeners can
traverse their collections, no matter what
kind of music they favor. With state-of-the-art
mini-monitor-like resolution and soundstaging,
coupled with a dynamic and frequency envelope
a mini would envy, the Kipod II Signature Passive
offers something I had all but given up on: a high
performance, full-range speaker in a package
skillfully scaled to fit in smaller rooms. Bravo.
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NEXT page
Wilson Alexia
Sometimes Reality Surpasses Expectations
Anthony H. Cordesman
eing an audiophile means living in a constant state of hope. Hope about improvements in the
quality of musical performances, in the quality of recordings, and in the media used to provide
them. Hope for improvements in every active and passive component. And, lets be frank, a
particular hope that somehow the next speaker will have that special magic. The speaker certainly
isnt the most important componenteverything in the audio chain countsbut it is inevitably the
most colored one, the most demanding in interaction with another component (the power amplifier)
and in its interaction with the room and listening position.
Ive been lucky enough as a reviewer to have had access
to some great speakers over the years, although the need
to rotate them in my reference system to hear different
products has also forced me to say goodbye to some great
speakers as well. This is a moment in audio, however, when
speakers reach levels of performance that actually do turn
hope into reality, and where advances like room correction
may soon allow the audiophile to break out of the limitations
imposed by the listening room.
It is really hard to make choices today. So, for a long
time Ive compromised by making two choices of long-term
referencesplus keeping some older speakers around as
references. The Legacy Aeris that I reviewed in Issue 235 is
one of my current choices. The Legacy is great value for the
money, but some of its strengths for the audiophile present
problems for a reviewer.
The Legacy Aeris has powered subwoofers. This means
it is not possible for a reviewer to review power amplifiers,
as there is no clear way to know how they are affecting the
bass. The Legacy also has room correction and the ability
to electronically adjust its performance to the listeners
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taste. This makes the Legacy Aeris an excellent choice for

the individual audiophile, but not a neutral reference for
reviewing purposes.
I choose the Wilson Alexia as my partner to the Legacy
for a number of reasons. Ive heard and admired Wilson
speakers for years, and I was impressed with Jacob
Heilbrunns review of the Wilson XLF in Issue 225. But
more important, Ive always wanted a full-range cone
speaker with the coherence and detail of the best planar
electrostatic and ribbon speakers. Wilsons larger speakers
provide this through a careful mix of cabinet rigidity, driver
choice, and fully adjustable time alignment, but the Alexia
is the first relatively compact Wilson speaker that can be
fully time-aligned for a specific listening position. It brings
one of Wilsons greatest strengths into a more compact
and affordable package than the Alexandria XLF and
Alexandria 2. (Wilson notes that the MAXX 3s alignment is
far less accurate than the Alexias, and does not have the
Aspherical Propagation Delay feature of the Alexandria
series. Aspherical Propagation Delay allows the installer or
customer to move the individual driver modules forward and
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EQUIPMENT review - Wilson Alexia

backward for time alignment, and to rotate those modules axes for
the best tonal balance.)
Id also heard Peter McGrath of Wilson give some outstanding
demonstrations of Wilson speakers at shows and at a local dealer.
In the process, he demonstrated that Wilson speakers have steadily broadened the listening area in which its Aspherical Propagation
Delay performs at its best. I also got enough audio scuttlebutt to be
aware that the Alexias new tweeter had probably corrected my one
concern about the timbre and dynamics of Wilson speakersa slight
hardening in the upper-midrange and treble. Moreover, the midrange
driver used in Alexia is nearly identical to the midrange found in the
far more expensive Alexandria XLF
Just like every other audiophile, however, I could not be sure how
the Alexia would actually perform in my system and in my room
until it actually was put in place. If there is any iron law in audio, it
is that no speaker ever sounds exactly the same in two different
rooms. No matter how much you audition, question, and prepare,
hope may spring eternal but reality can still snap back in your face.
This time, however, the listening experience both met and actually
exceeded my hopes. The speakers came one morningall 770
pounds worthin large crates with a total of six modules (three per
channel), hardware, and with more than a few special set-up tools
and instructions. Fortunately, I had the same help that every other
buyer will get. JS Audio (Wilson Audios dealer in the Washington,
D.C., area) uncrated the Alexia, moved them in, and provided expert
installation. In my case, I also worked with Peter McGrath, Wilson
Audios Sales Manager, who provided some additional setup.
The Alexia system was uncrated, assembled, and more or less
in place within two hours. The result was stunningly close, in my
experience, to listening to Wilsons far more expensive models.
The first thing I noticed was a soundstage width with good
centerfill and depth. This came as a bit of shock since I really didnt
believe Peter McGraths initial setup would work. It seemed too
wide to really lock in and provide a coherent stage. As it turned
out, however, it was immediately apparent that the centerfill was
solid in spite of the space between the two speakers, and that the
soundstage was exceptionally detailed in imagery and depth.
This performance tracks closely with Wilsons claims about the

merits of precise time alignment and Aspherical Propagation Delay.
Wilson Audio describes this technology as follows:
Independent research has demonstrated people are easily
able to detect the sonic effects that result when the leading edge
of transients from multiple drivers are misaligned in the time
domain. In fact, listening trials have shown that timing errors on
the order of 20 millionths of a second are readily discernable to
the ear. In musical terms, this translates into loss of focus, speed,
transparency, and timbral accuracy. In other words, music sounds
discernibly less real. Surprisingly, few loudspeaker designers are
concerned with precise time alignment, and even those who are
can, because of their cabinet designs, only align the drivers for
one fixed listening distance and ear height. Wilson Audio has long
recognized the only way to build a loudspeaker capable of accurate
time alignment in any number of listening environments is to offer
both midrange and tweeter adjustability relative to the woofers.
Furthermore, by allowing rotational adjustment on the polar axis,
the dispersion of tweeter and midrange can be optimized for a wide
range of listening positions and room types. Prior to Alexia, this
ability (which we call Aspherical Propagation Delay) has only been
available on our largest loudspeakers, namely, the Alexandrias.
Anyone familiar with MAXX will recognize the unique brass stair
step now duplicated on the Alexia, an integral part of its Aspherical
Propagation Delay system. And with its compact profile, Alexia now
makes the most precise and adaptable time alignment a reality for
even the most intimate listening spaces.
Aspherical Propagation Delay may be a bit of a mouthful, but it
is one audio coinage that really pays off in sound quality. Id heard
Wilson loudspeakers do an exceptional job of imaging and provide
exceptional coherence and transparency before, and my experience
made me give these claims enough credence to chose the Alexia
over Wilsons lower-priced speakers and a wide range of competing
brands. However, it is one thing to hear a great demonstration from
a top-of-the-line speaker in a large demonstration room and quite
another to hear it from a moderately-sized speaker at home in a
room with a system you live with.
In practice, hope turned into a reality almost instantly. It took only

a couple of minutes of listening to hear that Wilson has come a long
way from the early days when the benefits of its time alignment were
only apparent in a relatively narrow listening area. This is nothing
like a one person, head-in-a-clamp speaker. The best listening area
is about a seat-and-a-half wide and deep, but the overall area for
good listening is exceptionally wide and surprisingly deep. This is a
speaker for audiophiles who have spouses, partners, families, and/or
friends (or competitors).
After several days of intense listening, the Alexias merits became
even clearer. You get stable timbre and good imaging on any form
of music from solo piano and violin to complex chamber music and
acoustic jazz recordings. The Alexia unravels the most demanding
orchestral music, revealing both clear imaging and hall ambience
characteristics. The drivers are exceptionally well integrated at
almost any meaningful listening angle. The new tweeter is both
sweeter and more musically accurate than what I have heard from
earlier Wilson tweeters. It also seems to have smoother and better
dispersion. Add to this an equally good midrange.
SPECS & PRICING

Driver complement: 10" woofer, 8"
Wilson Audio Specialties
mid/woofer, 7" midrange, 1" dome
2233 Mountain Vista Lane
tweeter
Provo, UT 84606
Loading: Rear-ported
801) 377-2233
wilsonaudio.com
+/-3dB
Sensitivity: 90dB/1W/1m
Transparent Audio, Inc.
Nominal impedance: 4 ohms (2
47 Industrial Park Road
ohms at 80Hz)
Saco, ME 04072
Minimum amplifier power: 20Wpc
(207) 284-1100
Overall dimensions: 53" x 15" x 21"
transparentcable.com

Price: $47,500 per pair
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Peter McGrath of Wilson also showed me
during the setup of the Alexia that Wilsons
emphasis on precise time alignment is not hype.
Once he fully adjusted each driver section of the
speaker, he then showed me what happened to
the sound when the tweeter was altered by even
one small adjustable step. I could hear the sound
focus change, and go slightly soft. The ability to
alter the time alignment of both the midrange
and tweeter made a major difference.
The second discovery I made was that the
Alexia provided both extraordinary detail and
exceptional dynamic range. Dont get me wrong,
the Legacy Aerisand my previous Vandersteen
5 Carbonsare no slouches in this regard, but the
Alexia doesnt simply play loud. This loudspeaker
can reproduce the details of full-range dynamic
contrasts to a degree I never before heard from
any speaker this size and they dont compress or
distort at really high listening levels.
Moreover, the Alexia is just as good with lowlevel details. This exceptional ability to handle
the loudest and most complex musical material
is matched by equally extraordinary low-level
musical realism. If you love solo instruments
guitar, piano, violin, whateveryou are going to
find that the Alexia provides a level of clarity that
matches the best planar and electrostatic drivers
from the highest frequencies through the lower
midrange to the midbass.
If you get the chance to audition them, just
bring in the most musically detailed and dynamic
recording you own. Listen for a combination of
detail, dynamics, and transparency without any
trace of hardness as you increase the volume. Try
this with your best solo piano, violin, or acoustic
guitar recording. The resulting transparency and
previous page
realism are immediately exceptional.

Moreover, in terms of practical listening, the
Alexia does not push you to pick and choose
between given types of good recordings or fail
to be musical when the performance is far better
than the recording. I now have more than 9000
albums on my Sooloos, plus a substantial number
of direct digital recordings on my computer. I
also have many SACDs, and a substantial LP
collection. Some speakers have trouble resolving
the latest and most detailed digital recordings
and in coping with their dynamic ranges. Others
seem to demand the best recordings to give them
life. The Alexia performed well with every type of
recording, and you do not need to trade Rubinstein
for the latest young pianist or vice versa.
As for the lower bass, this was an area where
I do have some caveats. Cabinet size and sheer
speaker radiating area still matter when it comes
to moving air, providing really deep bass at high
volumes, and producing bass detail. My Legacy
Aeries has two subwoofers with individual 500watt amps in each loudspeaker. They do go lower,
and deep bass really matters. It not only matters
when you feel a desperate desire for escape into
hearing deep bass move the room during sonic
spectaculars, but in also establishing ambiencea
true sense of the hall when that data are on
the recordingand in framing your music in
a realistic context through the reproduction of
subtle low-level sounds in the deep bass.
The sacrifice in ultimate deep bass energy,
however, proved to be much less important than
I anticipated. I was lucky enough to have two
really superb high power amps in for review
the AVM SA8 and the Pass Labs Xs300sat the
time the Alexia came in, along with my reference
Pass Labs XA160s. I also had a set of the latest

Transparent Audio Reference MM2 interconnects
and speaker cables that were specifically adjusted
to the impedance and other characteristics of my
electronics as well as to the load of the Alexia.
This setup showed the Alexias are not as
extended in the deep bass region as the Legacy
Aeris or Wilsons larger speakers, but they
come damn close both in musical listening and
measurement using a wide variety of bass test
tones and two different sets of FFT and RTA
measurement systems and mikes. Moreover, the
Alexias are a speaker for real-world listening
rooms. They worked beautifully when placed well
away from the sidewalls and near the rear walls
in my listening room. They have a surprisingly
flat response down to around 3437Hz, going
much deeper with a slow roll-off, with audible and
measured power to below 30Hz.
With the right setup and listening position,
they proved to be far flatter in the deep bass
throughout my entire listening room than all but
a small handful of the speakers that have come
and gone over the years. Nothing is ever free
of room coloration in the bass, but the Alexias
not only measured very well, but had minimal
standing-wave interactions and their enclosures
were nearly inert at test-tone volumes and were
doing just a fine job of locating every area of
resonance in very solid plaster and lath walls.
I should also note that I found that the Alexias
did an excellent job of preserving low-frequency
output at high volumes. I ran through my usual
organ spectaculars, Saint-Sans, low bass
drum in Mahler, Telarc bass drum spectaculars,
synthesizer, and bass guitar, and the Alexias
consistently were exceptional for any speaker
their size in both power and detail. There are a

lot of speakers that have extended frequency
range into the deep bass at limited power and
with limited output. The Alexias are not actively
amplified in the subwoofer region like the Legacy
speakers, but they do move a lot of deep bass
air and they move it cleanly below 35Hz even at
really high volumes.
Do I have any caveats beyond the deepest
bass? No, not really. I cant tell you the Alexias will
perform as well in your room as they did in mine.
I am also a bit dubious about Wilson saying they
can be used with amplifiers with a minimum of
20W of output power. That is a bit too optimistic.
They are high in sensitivity, and a friends lowpower tube amp was very musical, but even a
borrowed McIntosh MC-275 with 75 watts per
channel could not provide the same deep bass
energy and control as really high-powered, highcurrent solid-state amps.
This doesnt mean that moderate to highpowered tube amps wont work with the
Alexias or wont have their own merits. I had
my usual reaction to the best tube amps and
felt the McIntosh amplifiers offset any deep
bass problems with their performance in the
rest of the audio spectrum. Nevertheless, Id
recommend that you use the Alexias with highpower, high-current amplifiers if you want the
most magic they can provide in the deep bass
and with truly loud, dynamic passages of music.
They present a moderately difficult load at low
frequencies, where their impedance drops to 2
ohms at around 80Hz.
I also would recommend you experiment with
different cables. It had been a while since I had
heard the Transparent Audio interconnects and
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speaker cables, and as the sidebar attached
to this review shows, I also had never tried
cables tailored to my specific system. They did,
however, perform superbly, and better in this
particular system than my reference AudioQuest
and Kimber.
The audible differences between really good
interconnects and speaker cables are relatively
subtle compared to the differences between
most active components. And yet, a combination
of the EMM Labs XDS1 DAC and SACD player, Pass
Labs XP-30 preamp, Pass Labs Xs300 amps, and
the tailored Transparent Audio reference MM2
interconnects did have a special magic my other
interconnects could not provide in this system.
Put more simply, the Alexias are extremely
revealing, and you will hear the differences
between speaker cables.
Finally, I do have one criticism of the Alexias.
Like all of the top speakers Ive used and reviewed,
I really wish their sound and technology could be
available at much lower prices. Ive had more fun
with the Wilson Alexias and Legacy Aerisand in
exploring their radically different characteristics
and meritsthan Ive had with audio in a long
time.
The Alexias are also superbly styled and
finished and get around the dcor issue better
than the vast majority of speakers with anything
like their performance. I can see how difficult they
are to manufacture and how much sheer work
goes into providing the capability to make such
precise time alignments. But I do hope Wilson
Audio will find some way to make most of their
performance available at a lower price. These are
great speakers and a musical adventure I wish
that everyone could share.
previous page
The Transparent Audio Reference Series Interconnects and Speaker Cables

Let me stress that my experience with the
the network calibration. Our networks take into
better perception of low-level information in the
Transparent Audio cables and the Wilson Alexia
account the output and input impedances of
music, such as recorded reflections of sound in
is not the result of some cable comparison or
the components they are connecting to achieve
an acoustic space which allow us to imagine that
shootout. My Kimber Kables are not Kimbers
ideal filter characteristics. Our Reference Series
space in our listening room.
latest product, and my AudioQuests were
cables are calibrated to a very close tolerance
balanced around a different system using the
and are individually adjusted to achieve the same
frequencies more efficiently than the lower audio
Vandersteen Carbon loudspeakers. As any
Reference Standard filter characteristics with
frequencies. Cables are naturally more capacitive
experienced audiophile knows, the differences
any combination of components regardless of
below about 2.5kHz, which causes them to
between great cables are usually subtle and
their impedances. This provides an added edge
slightly restrict the frequencies below this point.
their merits vary by component, system, and the
of performance as compared with our Premium
We correct this problem by carefully adjusting
listeners taste. Moreover, there is no credible
and High Performance Series cables below
the levels of capacitance and inductance in
way that a reviewer who does not actually make
the Reference level that are less accurately
the cable with our network. This allows for an
and test the sonic results of different cables can
calibrated so they will work with a wide range
unrestricted transfer of the critical midrange
validate the technical claims manufacturers make
of impedances.When a customer changes
and bass frequencies, where nearly all musical
about the merits of given materials and designs.
components we will adjust and recalibrate his
instruments produce their fundamental tones,
Reference Series cables at no charge.
keeping them in proper proportion with the upper
At the same time, I was impressed enough

with the Transparent Audio cables to ask what
The network modules on our audio cables
Second, audio cables transmit the upper audio
audio frequencies where the harmonics of these
was involved in the tuning of the cables to
contain a passive electronic network that
fundamental tones occur. Audio cables without
the system to get a clearer idea of why they
addresses three fundamental problems in audio
networks tend to skew the tonal balance upward
performed so well. Josh Clark, Transparent
cables:
and to our ears overemphasize the harmonics of
Audios Lead Product Designer and Operations
First, audio cables have excessive ultra-high-
musical instruments.
Manager didnt give away any proprietary data,
frequency bandwidth which makes them act as
but he did provide the following background.
antennas for radio frequency noise. A typical
change with length.Inductance, capacitance, and
Third, the electrical properties of a cable
Our Reference Series cables are custom built
non-networked audio cable in a typical length has
resistance all increase as the length of the cable
to perfectly match the customers system. We ask
a bandwidth of over a billion cycles. Our network
increases. We can compensate for these changes
what components the cables will be connecting
provides a low-pass filter function, which rejects
with our network to achieve the first two goals
so we can insure that the terminations will fit
the RF noise frequencies above one million cycles
above and make any standard length of cable
properly. For example, on the Reference MM2
to keep this noise out of the audio signal path.
achieve essentially equal sonic performance.
speaker cables we sent to you we specified bent
Some sonic results of the reduced noise levels are
Every length of Transparent audio cable has a
spades with the positive spade on the left side to
less glare or grain in the upper audio frequencies,
network that is tailored to that particular cable at
match the binding posts on the Wilson Alexia.
where the effects of RF noise are particularly
that particular length.
Another aspect of custom specification is
noticeable, an increase in dynamic range, and a
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our top
picks
Floorstanding Loudspeakers over $10,000
German Physics Unlimited Mk. II
Legacy Aeris
Acoustic Zen Crescendo 2
A hybrid electrostatic and a technological triumph. A

Curvilinear Line Source is coupled to an active bass
system, which includes a pair of 10" aluminum cone
woofers and two 200W Class D amplifiers. Expect
bass extension to 20Hz with plenty of slam and no
discontinuity at the crossover. Exceptional soundstage
transparency is also on tap with traditional ESL
transient speed and detail resolution. Tonal balance
is slightly on the lean side. Its capacitive impedance
mandates a solid-state amplifier with a high damping
factor for accurate treble reproduction.
Though technically the single bending-wave-driver

Unlimited Mk. II is German Physiks entry-level
speaker, theres nothing entry-level about this king of
the bending wave. With superb midrange resolution,
the Unlimited II easily reveals the ebb and flow of
low-level detail. Having no upper-midrange crossover
to get in the way, the U2 is also most felicitous with
female voice, while transients are clearly elucidated
with plenty of speed. And with in-room bass
extension down to a respectable 40Hz, the U2s will do
power music plenty of justice, too.
This superb three-way, five-driver, transmissionline speaker is wonderfully well designed, remaining
tonally balanced and neutral from the bass through
the midrange. Its quasi-ribbon tweeter is also a winner,
singing sweetly and with convincing textural purity.
High sensitivity and a flat impedance curve make
the Crescendo 2 very friendly to low-powered tubed
amplifiers, including SETs. Reviewer Dick Olshers
favorite box speakers under $30k.
www.martinlogan.com (209)
www.german-physiks.com (240)
The Legacy Aeris sports an extraordinary blend of drivers

and cabinet design matched to advanced electronics that
provide room compensation and the ability to add a wide
range of equalization settings for given types of recordings.
It has outstanding performance at every frequency to the
limits of hearing and beyond. Add in excellent definition,
dynamics, and a visual image that might win it an entry in
New Yorks Museum of Modern Art. It has built-in 500W
subwoofer amplifiers that provide powerful, room-filling
bass deep with a crossover low enough so that you can still
get the best sound out of your regular power amplifier.
The mix of other drivers provides a coherent and naturally
detailed soundstage, as well as enough dipole radiation to
widen the stage and give more natural ambience. The electronics and software allow its response to be adjusted to be
as musically realistic as possible in any real-world listening
room. There are up to 30 settings to adjust its response
to given types of recordings and partly correct for the
response problems in older recordings, over-bright closemiked recordings, and evenif you are fanatic enough
the different equalization curves in LPs.
$14,995
$13,500
$18,500
$18,500
www.acousticzen.com (229)
www.legacyaudio.com (235)
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our top
picks
Sony SS-AR1
Rockport Atria
Von Schweikert Audio VR-44 Aktive
TAD Evolution One
This slightly smaller brother of the AR1 shares the

same extraordinary craftsmanship and attention to
details of the AR1, in materials, with different woods
used for the front (exceptionally hard Hokaido
maple) and sides (more flexible birch to give life
to the sound)a cabinet more reminiscent of a
musical instrument than an industrial product. This
is combined with drivers of the highest qualityand
high technology, the whole being a blend of artistic
creativity and technological sophistication. The speaker
has a slightly midrange-oriented, presence-rangerecessed balance apparently intended by designer
Yoshiyuki Kaku to sound as natural as possible on the
human voice, rather than pursuing resolutely any kind
of numerically perfect flatness. The SS-AR2, while
smaller and less extended in the bass than the AR1,
even so remains satisfying on large-scaled music. And
it has surprising dynamic capability for a speaker of
moderate size. Its a work of art in speaker design, if
not quite the equal of the highly remarkable AR1.
The Atria is another one of those entry-level speakers

with nothing entry-level about it. Incorporating some
of the best qualities of master speaker designer
Andy Payors flagship models, the Atrias rival many
of the high ends finest speakers, without the sixfigure price tag. Fast, resolving, and extended, yet
somehow simultaneously forgiving, the Atrias are just
plain happy to make music. One of the best speakers
reviewer Alan Taffel has heard.
The new VSA VR-44 Aktive (90dB/8-ohm) is a highperformance speaker made for tube-lovers. A four-way,
single-cabinet design with a chamfered front baffle, the
VR-44 uses a quasi-transmission-line that incorporates
new VSA technology in cabinet-wall construction
and OEM Scandinavian drivers. It also features selfpowered woofers. GH found the approach inventive
and the sonic results completely elegant. The VR-44
Aktive produces a bold, expressive beauty along with
the capacity for delicate nuances within an impressive
soundstage. Highly resolving with fantastic extension
at the extremes, the speaker achieves wondrously
saturated yet natural tones on instruments ranging
from orchestral strings to jazz saxophones and vibes. It
works equally well with both vintage and contemporary
tube amps of 40W100Wpc.
The Evolution One is the first model of a new

loudspeaker series descended from TADs Reference
line. But in spite of some modest economizing,
the Evo One carries over the same exemplary
performance and sacrifices little to its more expensive
siblings. Thanks to the brilliance of the CST
coincident midrange/beryllium tweeter, sonics remain
incisive and transparent, aligning and stabilizing
musical images in space in the same way a Leica crisply
freezes an instant in time. Its a veritable showcase
for full-spectrum dynamics with a particular appetite
for orchestral and big band music. Bass response
is propulsive, extended yet precisely measured with
virtually no drop-offs or flat spots in the power range.
NG has heard the E1 in many venues since his original
review and it still makes every moment a special
occasion.
$20,000
$21,500
www.rockporttechnologies.com (241)
$25,000
www.vonschweikertaudio.com (230)
$29,800
www.tad-labs.com (229)
www.sony.com/ar1 (229)
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our top
picks
KEF Blade
YG Acoustics Kipod II Signature Passive
Wilson Alexia
Vandersteen Model 7
KEFs Blade is a sonic, technological, and industrial

tour de force. KEF strove to prove that a true fullrange point-source speaker was not only possible, but
that such a design would deliver on its theoretically
predicted benefits, including coherence akin to a
single-driver speaker, uniform room dispersion at all
frequencies, and low coloration. The Blade realizes
these idealsand then somewith steadfast imaging,
balanced tonality regardless of listening position,
astounding detail and dynamic resolution, and
vanishingly low distortion in both the frequency and
time domains. Musically, the Blade is glory itself. Its
rhythms sweep you along, its dynamics can by turns
move and stun you, its resolution informs you, its
timbres transport you, and its clarity makes delineating
musical lines childs play. Though advanced in every
respect, the Blade is an instant classic destined to
influence many speakers to come.
Reviewer KM found this revised version of the

WATT/Puppy-like, three-way Kipod (now with a
passive, as opposed to integrally amplified, woofer
module) to be an exceptionally impressive performer.
Detailed and musically engaging it allows him to
traverse his music collection with unrestricted pleasure,
no matter what kind of music he played. With state-ofthe-art mini-monitor-like resolution and soundstaging,
coupled with a dynamic and frequency envelope a
mini would envy, the Kipod II Signature Passive offers
something KM had all but given up hope of finding:
a high performance, full-range speaker in a package
skillfully scaled to fit in smaller rooms.
Named The Absolute Sounds Ultra-High-End

Loudspeaker of the Year, the Wilson Alexia only adds
to Dave Wilsons reputation for making some of the
very best transducers on the market. The smallest and
most affordable Wilson loudspeaker to incorporate the
companys Aspherical Propagation Delay, the Alexia
is by no means diminutive in size or sound quality,
reminding reviewer Jacob Heilbrunn of Wilsons
mighty $200k flagship, the XLF, which JH owns.
For three decades Vandersteen Audio has built

affordable, no-nonsense loudspeakers. Pushing the
edge of the art was not in its playbookuntil the Model
7. This is a world-class component competitive with
any loudspeaker regardless of price. Using innovative
carbon-fiber-clad balsa-wood drivers, the time-andphase-coherent Model 7 exhibits breathtaking clarity
and resolution. The midrange and treble are seamless,
devoid of tonal colorations and free from grain. Musics
spatial aspects are beautifully rendered, with correct
image size. Bass is deep and powerful, courtesy of a
powered 12" woofer, with extensive adjustments to
integrate it in-room. The low 84dB sensitivity mandates
a substantial power amplifier, and, even then, the Model
7 wont play at really loud levels the way other flagship
loudspeakers do.
$30,000
$38,500
www.yg-acoustics.com (236)
$48,500
www.wilsonaudio.com (238)
$52,000
www.vandersteen.com (206)
www.kef.com (222)
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This epic book is a must-have for all

audio enthusiasts! robert Harley
here's What Industry

Icons are Saying
The Illustrated History of High-End Audio is a wonderful concept that is
The
executed with brilliance and quality. I think its a landmark publication.
David Wilson, Founder, Wilson Audio Specialties
All who see and peruse this fascinating volume will be immediately
impressed by its beauty and massive content, which has never been
organized so brilliantly before. It is a magnicent legacy to all of us who
had the unagging desire to improve current speaker design in the service
of music by tirelessly attacking the existing state of the art.
Arnie Nudell, Founder, Infinity Systems
"This spectacular book is truly a agship project, and highly recommended
for anyone who wishes to understand how today's speakers evolved from
the inspiration of the industry's pioneers. It's something that I'll be proud
to show future generations."
Yoav Geva, Founder, YG Acoustics
This landmark book on loudspeakersthe first in a planned three-volume series

on the history of high-end audiotakes you behind the scenes to the creation of the highends most iconic loudspeaker companies and their legendary products.
Lavish 12 x 12 coffee-table format with more than 300 riveting pages!
The most significant loudspeaker designs of
the last five decades
Richly illustrated timelines and commentary

on landmark speakers & technologies
Profiles of 47 of the high-ends most

influential loudspeaker manufacturers
Lavish photos of the most beautiful, stateof-the-art loudspeakers
Exclusive new interviews with the founding

fathers of the high-end loudspeaker industry
Classic and new TAS insights on the worlds

most iconic loudspeakers
Never-before-seen archival photos, many

from the founders personal photo collections
142 May/June 2014 the absolute sound
And much, much more!
The entire high-end audio world owes a debt of gratitude to The Absolute
Sound for their extraordinary Illustrated History of High-End Audio. This
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of the development of high-end audio, as well as a celebration of the hobby
we love. It is a must-have for any real audiophile.
Kevin Voecks, Revel
Order yours today at tasbook.com

or call 888.732.1625
Get your limited edition, numbered copy while supplies last!
the absolute sound May/June 2014 143

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STEREO MUSIC

2 Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers 2014

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6 Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers 2014

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15 Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers 2014

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This lavishly produced large-format

16 Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers 2014

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17 Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers 2014

Audioengine A2+ Desktop

The first thing I noticed when I opened the box

products will use. I definitely ran the gamut of

EQUIPMENT review - Audioengine A2+ Desktop Speakers and D3 DAC

for $189 youll have something with the power to

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20 Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers 2014

KEF X300A Digital Hi-Fi

The speaker may only be eleven inches tall,

Koincident and Klever

EQUIPMENT review - KEF X300A Digital Hi-Fi Speaker System

and a sensation of weight and impact unusual

and stable, that its like observing an impeccably

offers a larger, warmer canvas. It also creates

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22 Guide to High-Performance Loudspeakers 2014

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