Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

This will fascinating to read.

I just had access to a pair of Pro-Ac Tabletts & a pair of old Magnapan MG2s. I discovered both are still superb and exciting.

How much driver improvement is a darn good question for some brave soul to tackle, I give you full marks for suggesting it. I'll buy a second year's print subscription if you can answer it using your typically engineering based methods. Who else "could" handle this conundrum?

By the way, I was stunned by you calling-out the 21bit DAC design as being obsolete. Once again, I applaud you!

Tony in Michigan

ps. I'm about to go European and embrace all music delivery systems by buying a Linn DS server. I might even invest in a LP12 ( for old time's sake ) which I'll probably display in a sealed, nitrogen filled glass case. I'm hunting for an Ittok and Rosewood Red Koetsu ( not, but maybe a cute red nosed Asak that doesn't have to work ).

I keep reading about discontinuities in John Atkinson's (extremely good) articles. What is shown in Fig. 1 is not a discontinuity, the function appears to be continuous. Rather, the kink at 900 Hz could be a discontinuity in the 1st derivative of the impedance function wrt frequency. It is an important difference.

Would it have made a difference with the treble issues if the speaker cables were bi-wired?

Would it have made a difference if the amplification was Classe Audio?

I am looking forward for the review of the 805 D4...
Seriously I have been an avid reader of Stereophile for many years and I think there is enough diversity on the speaker marker to not review the same speaker forever.

Which stereo can reproduce the sound of the piano? The Fidelity Acoustics RFM-1 Bookshelf Loudspeaker ($4000.00 / pair), a notable speaker employing the ScanSpeak Revelator Ring Radiator Tweeter (same as a Magico M5) tweeter was not able to do so.

Is there even one stereo system which can do the job properly? The Steinway Lyingdorf Model D, by virtue of Steinway heritage may be able to. The Bösendorfer VC 7 may be one as well.

We've listened to quite a number of good loudspeakers. The composing is mind-absorbing.

The Bösendorfer VC7 Loudspeaker ($25,000.00 USD) uses resonant plates ("Acoustic Sound-Boards"), mimicking a piano's sound board. The use of two tweeters is an interesting feature. It's almost proto-Genesis (the speaker, not the band), so to say. Sony uses two tweeters too (surrounding) on it's Sony SA-NA2ES ($5,000.00 USD), and coincident models, although not on their Sony SA-AR-1 and Sony SA-AR-2 ($20,000.00 USD) Loudspeakers, too.

Reproducing the piano is a glorious extremity. The frequencies on the keys themselves (on a non-Bösendorfer Imperial Piano ($200,000.00 USD), which has lower) go from 27.5 Hz (A0) to 4,186.01 Hz (C8), standard (equal temperament) tuning. This is ignoring the over-tones, and the sound of the organ stops. An organ will go lower, to 16 Hz. There is ignoring foot-pedal work, also - the thuds and jumps. Now in terms of latant response, 60 - 100 dB.

There can be reproduction with some over-play.

The Steinway Lyngdorf Model D goes for $208,000.00 USD today (and was introduced for $150,000.00 USD in 2007).

Most pianists will prefer the Steinway Model D, which is tuned at 442 Hz, standard, although some will go for a Fazzioli F308.

We'd prefer the Bösendorpher Imperial Grand, in gold leaf, though are settling with two bottles of 311 Helles Lager by Coal Harbour Brewing Company, CHBC, with which to write this review.

There was a Fazzioli, the Brunei, which mimicked the sound of the Bosendorpher IG by presenting a darker sound, though we have not heard it. We would like one, however. Perhaps with less in-lay. :)

How you make your piano is up to you.

Steinway

I have listened to all of the iterations of this 805 speaker over the years and it never disappoints. A true staple in the B&W catalog. Match it w/ a REL subwoofer and you will be musically rewarded.

the 805d3 officially reaches down to 42Hz at +/-3dB, while the LS50 officially reaches only to 79Hz +/-3dB, BUT comparing in-room response traces and focussing on frequencies below 80Hz the LS50 seems approx. 2-5dB louder than the 805.
While this might be confirmed by listeners to some extent, perhaps in-room responce curves are not exactly levelled to same percieved volume for all 3 speakers?

Wow, subscribing to Stereophile just for the measurements... That's quite depressingly mind-blowing.

I went back and compared Fig 3 from the measurements related to the Stereophile review of the 802 D3 to Fig 4 from the measurements related to the review of the Stereophile 805 D3. Not wildly different as both have elevated values in the upper treble.

Yet no mention of elevated / exaggerated treble in Kal's listening comments for the 802 D3. Also no mention of this in other professional reviews of the 805 D3.

Kal used bi-wired cables for the 802 D3 review.

Since the Nautilus range, all 800 series are a bit hot on axis, but that's partly because the designed listening axis is about 20 degrees off the H axis (and just below tweeter height).

Additionally, when seated 3-4 metres away and in a typical room with drapes, carpet, and a sofa, the treble is brought into balance.

That said, with room correction software and dsp tools etc so commonly used these days I can understand why B&W haven't bothered to include a tweeter level adjustment to compensate for the environment.

Interesting that except for the narrow 2db peak around 1KHz, the LS3/5a is significantly smoother from 500-20Khz than either the KEF or B&W in JA's room.

Dear Mr. Atkinson:

Did you ever proceed with the comparison of the John Bowers Silver Signature to the 805 D3? As a Silver Sig owner myself, this potential comparison sure piqued my interest!

Many thanks,
Ryan

Clearly measurements need to be interpreted carefully. How much does the elevated treble contribute to the perception of "astonishing" mid-range/treble clarity and dynamics? True resolution or psycho-acoustic trick? Ultimately, does it even matter how the subjective performance is achieved?

My opinion is that a component should measure well and sound good to be ranked highly. I suspect that we are still struggling to decide exactly what "measure well" means.