Floor Loudspeaker Reviews

Sidebar 3: Larry Greenhill's Reference System

My associated equipment included such comparison loudspeakers as the Quad ESL-63/Gradient subwoofer system and Krell KSA-250, and the newest version of the Bryston 4B.

The Quads and the Snell A/III's midrange/tweeter section were driven by the No.27 via 15' runs of Monster Cable. The Quad/Gradient subwoofer and the A/III's woofer section were driven by the Krell KSA-250 and the Bryston 4B via HF10C Levinson speaker cables. The Quad system was used with its own Gradient crossover unit and balanced interconnects; the Type A/III Improved speakers used a Snell-manufactured outboard electronic crossover with single-ended connectors. Analog interconnects included AudioQuest LiveWire Topaz interconnect cables and Krell Cogelco balanced leads.

Vinyl discs were played on a Lingo-modified Linn LP-12 turntable with an Ittok tonearm and a Spectral Reference moving-coil cartridge, all finely tuned by Innovative Audio's Casey McKee. I played CDs on a Krell MD-1 CD turntable connected by standard interconnects to a Krell SBP-32X D/A converter. Other sources included the Day-Sequerra FM Reference, Meridian 204, Pioneer F-93 Reference, and Quad FM-4 FM Stereo tuners. Phono preamplification was provided by a Mark Levinson ML-7 preamplifier with an Duntech/Audio Standards MX-10 head amp, and by a Krell KBL preamplifier.—Larry Greenhill