search

Epos ES12 loudspeaker System Context

Sidebar 2: System Context

The Epos ES12s were positioned some 3' from the rear wall of my room (which is faced with books and LPs) and approximately 5' from the side walls (which also have bookshelves covering some of their surfaces). The ES12s sat on 24" Celestion Si stands filled with a mixture of lead shot and sand and spiked to the concrete floor beneath the rug/pad.

The amplifier used was primarily a solid-state Pass Labs Aleph 3, with a Mark Levinson No.333, a tube Mesa Boogie Baron, a tube Cary Audio Design CAD-300SEI integrated, and a tube Audio Research VT100 also seeing…

Epos ES12 loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

My estimate of the ES12's B-weighted sensitivity was 85dB/2.83V/m—slightly lower than specified, but the difference is inconsequential. Its impedance (fig.1) doesn't drop below 7 ohms, meaning that it's basically an easy load for an amplifier to drive. The tuning of the reflex port is revealed by the "saddle" in the impedance magnitude plot at 58Hz, implying only moderate bass extension.

Fig.1 Epos ES12, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed) (2 ohms/vertical div.).

Two discontinuities can be seen in the impedance traces: a slight…

Wilson Benesch Full Circle turntable, ACT 0.5 tonearm, & Ply MC cartridge

"Hello, I'd like to apply for a Federal Grant? For what? Oh, to design and build a new, high-tech, very expensive turntable. What's that? It plays records. Yes, that kind of turntable. Of course they still make records. Why? How much time do you have? Oh, I forgot—you're a federal employee, you have all day! Well, I didn't mean to insult you. It was a joke....No, I'm serious about the turntable. You do? What kind of music? When are they from? RCA Record Club? Classical Music? 1950s and '60s? Yes. I'll give you $5 each. I know it's generous, but... How much money do I want for the grant?…

Wilson Benesch Full Circle turntable, ACT 0.5 tonearm, & Ply MC cartridge Page 2

Apart from some cosmetic differences, all of the metal components—including the bearing assembly, the VTA adjustment post, arm rest, antiskating mechanism, counterweight assembly, and shaft—are identical to what's supplied on the ACT 2, and machined to the same high tolerances. Speaking of cosmetics, the tapered armtube, with its crossweave of carbon fiber under a smooth, glossy finish, looks cool! Regardless of the ACT 0.5's looks, W-B claims that it's far stiffer and better damped in the audio band than any other arm. Unfortunately, I have no measurable way of verifying these claims.

W…

Wilson Benesch Full Circle turntable, ACT 0.5 tonearm, & Ply MC cartridge Page 3

The Full Circle dug out most of the thunderous, subterranean bass on "Take Me to the Pilot" on the British Dick James Music pressing of Elton John's debut album. (There's no bass on the American Uni pressing, so don't even bother.)

Why take the music apart? The Full Circle didn't. It was impressively coherent from top to bottom, with an overall tonal neutrality and rhythmic certainty that made listening long into the night both easy and pleasurable. The presentation offered not a hint of grain or brightness, and the critical midband was rich, airy, and lush. Speed accuracy was dead on…

Wilson Benesch Full Circle turntable, ACT 0.5 tonearm, & Ply MC cartridge Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Full Circle: Belt-driven, two-speed, acrylic turntable with carbon-fiber-composite, "Kinematic-bearing" ACT 0.5 tonearm. Effective tonearm length: 233mm. Overhang: 18mm.
Dimensions: 12" diameter, plus cantilevered arm-mounting platform.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 0175.
Price: $2995 with ACT 0.5 tonearm, $1995 with Rega RB300 tonearm. The ACT 0.5 by itself costs $1495.

Ply: Medium-output (1.58mV) moving-coil phono cartridge. Nude elliptical (7.6µm by 17.7µ;m) stylus, solid boron pipe cantilever. Copper coil over iron former. Tracking…

Wilson Benesch Full Circle turntable, ACT 0.5 tonearm, & Ply MC cartridge Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog playback: Graham 2.0, Immedia RPM2, and Simon Yorke tonearms; Simon Yorke turntable.
Preamplification: Ayre K-1 and Jadis JP 80 Mk.2 remote-control preamps, Audio Research PH-3SE and Pass Aleph Ono phono sections.
Power amplifiers: Conrad-Johnson Premier Twelve, VTL MB 450 monoblocks (both tubed).
Loudspeakers: Audio Physic Virgo, Audio Physic Rhea subwoofer.
Cables: Yamamura Millennium 6000, Cardas Golden Cross, Electra-Glide interconnects; Yamamura speaker cables; Yamamura Quantum, Electra-Glide AC cords.
Accessories: Ringmat,…

Recording of August 2006: <I>Gram Parsons: The Complete Reprise Sessions</I>

GRAM PARSONS: The Complete Reprise Sessions
Rhino/Reprise RS 74669 (3 CDs). 1972–73/2006. Emmylou Harris, James Austin, reissue prods.; Hugh Davies, Ed Barton, orig. engs.; Dan Hersch, Bill Inglot, remastering engs. AAD? TT: 2:01:26
Performance *****
Sonics **1/2 to ****1/2

In the past five years, the Gram-Is-God train has gained an extraordinary amount of momentum. In 2004, Gram's daughter, Polly, and her Sin City production company (named for the Burrito Brothers' best-known tune), staged two all-star Gram tribute concerts, in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, which have been…

You Heard <I>What?!?!?!</I>

It seemed a bit like the game of Telephone: Someone at the head of a long line of people whispers a sentence or two into the ear of the next in line, who in turn passes it along. By the time the last person in line repeats aloud what they think they've heard, the message is often barely recognizable to the first person.

In this case, however, the 30 audiophiles trying to figure out what they'd just heard were seated in four three-person rows, the overflow scattered about the space. The location was a major high-end emporium that sells many products that have deservedly graced the covers…

The Waveform Loudspeaker

John Ötvös, the father of Waveform Research Inc. and The Waveform Loudspeaker, hesitates not at inviting ultracritical examination: "The Waveform is the most accurate, the best, forward-firing loudspeaker in the world." Period. Reviewers, of course, welcome such statements, and I'll be examining that one, but I'll also try to answer the inherent reviewing question of whether the Waveform is a good place for you to park $9800 on your way to "the highest of high-end sound" (that was our slogan for the first Santa Monica High End Hi-Fi Show).

The company
Without a doubt, one of the…