It seemed like an intimidating project to me, but Danny Sandoval, Stereophile's intrepid chief of Shipping and Receiving, didn't bat an eye. But then, anyone who'd schlepped the Thiel CS-5s out to the desert in the predawn hours—to be photographed for Stereophile's June 1990 cover—wasn't likely to be defeated by a pair of measly 130-pound amplifiers.
As for me, well, I've been known to go into training at the prospect of moving loudspeakers half that weight. Still, the anticipation of…
Sound
OK, so we know that the big Thresholds are built like tanks compared with the go-cart construction of more real-world (pricewise) amplifiers. Two questions must be answered here. Are they among the best amplifiers in the world? (They better…
Description: Class-A monoblock power amplifier. Power output: 250Wpc (24dBW) continuous, 500W peak into 8 ohms (resistive or reactive) from 20Hz-20kHz at no more than 0.1% THD. Power bandwidth: DC to 100kHz. Slew rate: 50V/us. Output current capability: 70A continuous (200A peak). Input impedance: 50k ohms unbalanced, 600 ohms balanced. Noise: minimum -100dB, unweighted, against rated output.
Dimensions: 19" W by 8.72" H by 27.75" D. Weight: 130 lbs.
Price: $14,400/pair (1990); no longer available (2007). Approximate number of dealers: 75.
Manufacturer…
I used the SA/12es in a system consisting of the Oracle Delphi Mk.IV turntable with Oracle 345 arm and Dynavector XX-1L cartridge, Sony CDP-X77ES CD player used as a transport with coaxial link to an Esoteric D-2 D/A converter, Rowland Consonance preamp, and B&W 801 Matrix Series 2 loudspeakers (no LF equalizer used).
Interconnects were AudioQuest Lapis (with the exception of the coaxial CD transport to processor link, which was a garden variety but 75 ohm video cable); loudspeaker cables were AudioQuest Clear Hyperlitz (bi-wire pair). The preamp-to-power-…
I didn't really expect any surprises in our measurements of the Threshold SA/12e, and none were found. It would, in fact, be hard to imagine better objective performance at the current state of the art. Frequency response was a total non-event—that is, flat within 0.1dB from 20Hz–20kHz (fig.1). Fig.2 shows the Threshold's THD+noise. The three lowest curves indicate (respectively) the low power figures of 1W into 8 ohms, 2W into 4 ohms, and 4W into 2 ohms. The third curve from the top is the 250W into 8 ohm measurement. It edges just barely over the 0.1%…
When John Atkinson asked what I'd like to review for the September issue, I responded immediately that I had some unfinished business to attend to. When I reviewed the Threshold SA/12e monoblock (Vol.13 No.12) and Rowland Model One (Vol.14 No.4) stereo amplifiers, I left a few threads hanging. I'd promised a follow-up comparing the big Thresholds with one of that company's less pricey (though still far from cheap) stereo amplifiers, and I had yet to try a pair of Model Ones bridged as monoblocks. Hence this update.
Associated…
Voecks: The conceptual process is the part I like—by far—the most, because it's the really creative part, and comes pretty easily. You usually say that you need a speaker in a certain price range—that's usually the direction that you start in—then you start to think about what kind of things could be done for that price. For instance—at $2000 for the CIII, what can we do to make it demonstrably…
Voecks: That's right. It calculates all the room modes based on its being a rectangular room, then predicts the areas where you will activate room modes and where you won't, and gives options from best to worst for speaker placement. That will be a free service…