Floor Loudspeaker Reviews

The preamplifier initially used for CD and open-reel tape replay was the Mod Squad Line Drive Deluxe AGT. As my usual Vendetta Research SCP2 phono preamp was away for updating to SCP2A status, I made use of the sample of the Conrad-Johnson Premier Seven tube preamplifier reviewed by J. Gordon Holt last November to play "real" records. Source components consisted of a 1975-vintage Revox A77 to play my own and others' 15ips master tapes, a Linn Sondek/Ekos/Troika setup sitting on a Sound Organisation table to play LPs, and the CAL Tempest SE two-box CD player. For preliminary auditioning, amplification was provided by my 1986-model Krell KSA-50 power amplifier, later replaced by a pair of Mark Levinson No.20.5s.

The speakers were bi-wired from the Krell with AudioQuest Clear speaker cable to the woofer and with Monster M1 speaker cable to the electrostatic panel. Bi-wiring with the unwieldy Clear cable was not possible, due to the limited clearance around the terminal posts, and even with this combination, the bass sensitivity switch could only be operated with difficulty using a toothpick. (I sometimes think that designers should talk more with dealers and reviewers before deciding upon the final positioning of binding posts, switches, and heatsinks.) The Levinsons were single-wired using Madrigal CPC speaker cable. Interconnect for the main system was 1m lengths of AudioQuest LiveWire Lapis, with 15' lengths of Monster M1000 used to connect the preamps to the Mark Levinson amplifiers, which could only be sited next to the speakers.—John Atkinson