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At these levels, the Prodigy's bass response sounded detailed and taut, and showed the advantages of the ForceForward design. Solid, clean bass extended down to 31.5Hz in my room when playing a 1/3-octave warble tone at -20dB (Test CD, Stereophile STPH 002-2). The bass drum in Owen Reed's La Fiesta Mexicana was tuneful, solid, and powerful (Fiesta, Reference Recordings RR-38CD). The final organ chords of Part 1 of Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius (Test CD 2, Stereophile STPH 004-2) and the repetitive bass-drum beat in "Cosmos Old Friend," from the Sneakers soundtrack (Columbia CK 53146), were…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Hybrid electrostatic/sealed-box moving-coil loudspeaker. Drive-units: 48" by 16" curvilinear electrostatic HF/midrange panel; 10" long-excursion, aluminum-cone woofer; 10" high-rigidity, high-excursion fiber-cone woofer with cast basket. Bass-control switch: +3dB at 50Hz. Crossover frequency: 250Hz. Crossover type: quasi-second-order, 12dB/octave. Frequency response: 28Hz-22kHz, ±3dB. Dispersion: horizontal, 30 degrees; vertical, 4' line source. Sensitivity: 91dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Minimal impedance: 1 ohm at 20kHz. Recommended…
Sidebar 1: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Ittok tonearm, Spectral moving-coil cartridge.
Digital sources: Krell MD-1 CD transport, Adcom GDA-700 D/A processor, Sony SCD-C555ES SACD player.
FM tuners: Day-Sequerra FM Reference Classic, Rotel RH-10, Magnum Dynalab MD-102 and MD-205 Sleuth RF amplifier.
Preamplification: Krell KBL preamplifier, Mark Levinson ML-7A preamplifier with L-2 phono section, Margulis and Duntech MX-10 moving-coil preamplifiers.
Power amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.334, Bryston 7B-ST monoblocks.
…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As is my current practice, the MartinLogan Prodigy was measured out of doors, in my enclosed backyard. I usually raise the speaker being measured on a high stand so it is well away from the ground. In the case of the Prodigy, though, its 133-lb weight and awkward bulk meant that I couldn't get it off the ground. (Apparently, it is impossible to acquire suitable skyhooks in my neck of the Brooklyn woods.) I indicate in the text where this practical difficulty impacted specific measurements.
The Prodigy's voltage sensitivity was a little below specification…
In fig.5, you can easily see the ground reflection in the Prodigy's impulse response after the 5ms mark. But the impulse response itself, just before the 4ms line, has a good, time-coherent shape marred only by some low-level high-frequency ringing.
Fig.5 MartinLogan Prodigy, impulse response at 50" (5ms time window, 30kHz bandwidth).
The ground reflection can also be seen in the step response (fig.6), but note what a perfect right-triangular shape the panel's initial step has. The setback of the bass cabinet results in the positive-going step of the summed woofer…
MartinLogan Prodigy: Manufacturer's Comment
Editor: Greetings and thanks for the comprehensive review.
In the late 1970s, when Ron Logan Sutherland and I began electrostatic transducer research, it seemed impossible to resolve the myriad problems associated with this fascinating technology. Since that day, innovation after innovation has been required to accomplish the dream and create a reliable state-of-the-art electrostatic system. Today, our entire team is very proud of the Prodigy, and we thank Mr. Greenhill for telling it like it is—in an ultimate design, electrostats not…
Kathleen (K-10) and I first met Jack Renner—Telarc's Chairman, CEO, and Chief Recording Engineer—at Iridium, a tony jazz club here in New York. He was recording Benny Golson and the Jazz Messengers doing a rousing a tribute to Art Blakey. Now what would you think a guy who's won 31 Grammys over 21 years would be doing, exactly? Maybe feet up, a cigar languidly tracing curlicues in the air while directing his minions?
Ah, no. Jack Renner was a veritable blur of activity. He checked the mikes and did sound checks while scurrying back and forth to a small office cum recording…
Scull: I suppose that background in musicianship had an effect on the Telarc sound?
Renner: Sure. I know what it's like to stand in front of a performing group. I know what it feels like. I know what it sounds like, the mix of direct and reverberant sound, for example.
Scull: Ah, that neatly leads me to The Question. What do you think is the purpose of a high-end system? What are we looking for when we pop a Telarc CD into the player? Is it the re-creation of acoustic instruments in real space, or a faithful re-creation of the master tape?
Renner: Well, there shouldn't…
Scull: Is the mixer tweaked in any way?
Renner: We have used hot-rodded consoles. We had one that was internally wired with Monster Cable that we used for a long time. In fact, a number of years ago we were recording the Cincinnati Pops and the Monster Cable console went down—nothing to do with the fact that it was wired with Monster Cable, of course.
Scull: Of course...
Renner: We actually use a combination of Monster Cables and MIT. We're good friends with both Noel Lee and Bruce Brisson.
Scull: Imagine...
Renner: So a component failed in the middle of…
HILDEGARD VON BINGEN: 11,000 Virgins
Anonymous 4
Harmonia Mundi HM 907200 (CD). 1997. Robina G. Young, prod.; Brad Michel, eng. DDD. TT: 72:07
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
Anonymous 4
Harmonia Mundi HM 907200 (CD). 1997. Robina G. Young, prod.; Brad Michel, eng. DDD. TT: 72:07
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
Hildegard von Bingen was born 900 years ago, when the shadow of Imperial Rome still lay long over Europe. She first saw the light, literally and figuratively, in an age of absolutes. Troubled by visions as a child (she called it "the living light"; the modern diagnosis is migraine with severe visual disturbance), she was given at the age of eight to a Church venial and simoniacal, whose absolutes were…