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Am I incorrect in saying that the woofer appears to behave like a slot-loaded subwoofer with an underdamped resonance peak at 60Hz? Reminds me of the Janus SW10 subwoofer I used to own.
Description: Three-way, four-driver floorstanding loudspeaker in a sealed, "thermoformed composite" enclosure. Drive units: 1" (26mm) Scan-Speak textile-dome "Illuminator" tweeter, two 5" (130mm) "Satori" Egyptian Papyrus-cone midwoofers, one 10" (250mm) "Faital" hard-pressed paper-cone woofer. Kubala-Sosna internal wiring. Frequency range: 35Hz25kHz. Impedance: 4 ohms (minimum 2 ohms at 58Hz). Sensitivity: 90dB/2.83V/1m. Minimum amplifier power: 30W. Recommended room size: 160645ft2.
Dimensions: 53.7" (1366mm) H × 15.1" (384mm) W × 14.4" (367mm) D including base. Net weight: 75lb (34kg) each. Shipping weight: 240lb (109kg) for the pair.
Finishes: Black, White.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: F35204A/B. Manufactured in Estonia.
Price: $19,900/pair. Approximate number of US dealers: 15. Warranty: 5 years.
Manufacturer: Alfred & Partners OÜ, Kukermiidi 6, Tallinn 11216, Estonia. Email: info@estelon.com. Web: estelon.com. US sales agent: Aldo Filippelli. Tel: (630) 484-7577. Email: aldo@estelon.com.
Am I incorrect in saying that the woofer appears to behave like a slot-loaded subwoofer with an underdamped resonance peak at 60Hz? Reminds me of the Janus SW10 subwoofer I used to own.
Kal and John,
Thank you both again for another interesting review, measurements, analysis and assessment, all of it.
Something that remains a little unclear to me is in the details of the moving dolly utilized during the measurements. Was it utilized in the nearfield measurements of the woofer? If so, was the top surface of the dolly providing a flat continuous non-leaky boundary, extending well beyond the perimiter of the loudspeaker's plinth, providing good simulation of the floor?
I ask because loudspeaker's plinth has a large hole through the center, with the plinth providing venting geometry, and with the floor serving as the lower boundary in that semi-enclosed vented air cavity below the woofer. So, raising the loudspeaker onto a moving dolly of a type with an open top framework would increase the volume of that semi-enclosed air cavity and would greatly increase venting in the region of the dolly casters. A leaky top dolly (spaced decking) would change the venting. If the dolly did not have a continuous flat surface extending well beyond the perimeter of the plinth, then that would affect venting. Any of those changes in the woofer loading and alignment would have some significant effects in the electro-acoustic response of the woofer. However, if the dolly had a flat, continuous, air-tight top extending well beyond the perimeter of the plinth, then I would expect its use would not have any significant effects in the nearfield measurements of the woofer relative to measuring same with the loudspeaker placed on the floor.
While some of the engineering appears decent, the absurdly low impedance and laughably bad woofer alignment are complete deal breakers. I'm surprised Kal liked these as much as he did.