Description: Three-way, tri-amped floorstanding dynamic loudspeaker. Drive-units: one 1" (25mm) silk-dome tweeter, one 6" (150mm) vacuum-formed TPX-cone midrange with vented pole-piece phase plug, two reflex-loaded, 12", treated paper-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 325Hz, 1850Hz. Frequency response: 27Hz–20kHz ±1dB. Sensitivity: 91.5–94dB/2.83V/1m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms, tweeter and midrange sections; 4 ohms, woofer section. External electronic crossover: fully balanced (inputs and outputs), stereo, three-way, with three level controls and a mute…
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Sidebar 2: Reference system
Listening tests were carried out in my main listening area—a spacious, 5500ft3 room with an effective length of 51', a width of 13', and a height of 12', in a wood-frame house with only moderate masonry infill. The room has only one area rug, making it a live listening environment, while its generous length supports low bass, with reinforcement from the side and back walls. Previous reviews describe this large room's construction, exact dimensions, contents, listening positions, rugs, windows, reverberant character, and bass modes (see March 1992, Vol.15 No.3…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Waveform Mach 17 is indeed very sensitive, with 2.83V of noise raising a sound-pressure level of 93.5dB/W/m at 1m. Figs.1–3 show the electrical impedance curves for the woofers, midrange, and tweeter respectively. Note that these are wideband curves, but in fact the partnering amplifiers will only see that portion of each drive-unit's impedance in its passband. The woofer curve, for example, shows some cabinet resonance-related spikes in the upper midrange, but these will not be excited in normal use. While the midrange is basically an 8 ohm device, the…
As it did for so many other designers and manufacturers of specialty audio gear, the current occupation of Basis owner/designer A.J. Conti began as a hobby and personal quest. A longtime audiophile and home-based dealer of brands like Krell and Quicksilver, Conti decided to build his own "killer" turntable using a fluid-damped suspension.
Armed with a background in mechanical engineering studies at both RPI and Northeastern, and work experience that included high-energy laser and aerospace (missile and helicopter) R&D, Conti set about designing his dream 'table. Once he was…
Playing off-center records on the Cosmos resulted in arm displacement sufficient to set the suspended plinth swaying like a porch glider, though the movement was barely perceptible. When I mentioned this phenomenon to Conti, he countered that platter-pulley eccentricities in 'tables machined to lower tolerances than the Debut would cause greater speed problems—even if the physical distance between the motor pulley and platter remained fixed. I convinced him to measure the deviation from true round of the Simon Yorke's platter and pulley, and though the numbers were impressively low in…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Belt-drive turntable with fluid-damped spring suspension. Speeds: 331/3rpm, 45rpm. Rumble, wow & flutter: not specified.
Dimensions: 22½" W by 7¼" H by 16" D. Weight: 90 lbs.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 991708.
Price: $8200, $10,600 with vacuum holddown platter (2000). Basis record clamp: $250. Approximate number of dealers: 60.
Manufacturer: Basis Audio, 26 Clinton Drive, Unit 116, Hollis, NH 03049. Tel: (603) 889 4776. Fax: (603) 889-5402. Web: www.basisaudio.com.
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Simon Yorke turntable; Graham 2.0, Immedia RPM tonearms; Crown Jewel SE, EMT TU-2, Grado Statement, Lyra Parnassus D.C.t, Transfiguration Temper Supreme cartridges.
Preamplification: Ayre K-1 preamplifier, Audio Research Reference phono section.
Power amplifiers: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300, KR Enterprise VT8000 MK monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Audio Physic Virgo, Sonus Faber Amati Homage.
Cables: Interconnects: Yamamura Millennium 6000, Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista, Electra Glide. Speaker cables: Yamamura Millennium 6000, QED Silver…
It seems these days that everybody and his brother is doing something about room equalization. Sure, we had the old-time graphic and parametric EQs—now we're seeing much more sophisticated and dedicated devices, from the TacT and Z-Systems standalone products to the auto-setup and EQ systems found in many A/V receivers. I was impressed with the Audyssey MultEQxt in the Denon AV-4806 receiver—see my "Music in the Round" column in March, p.50—and a standalone AudysseyPro unit was demonstrated at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show.
Why has EQ become such a hot topic? No doubt it's…
These results were enlightening but curious. MRC indicates the current and target RT60s but not the degree of change. I couldn't help noticing that, of the 60 DSP filters available for the three modes, the system only used 10 (Music), 9 (2-Channel Movie), and 4 (Multichannel Movie). Most of the filters were in the 80–200Hz range, with the sub/LFE getting filters at 36Hz, 72Hz for music, and 69Hz for movies. The left front speaker was filtered at 87Hz and 109Hz, and the right front speaker, which is next to an open doorway, was filtered at 44, 79, and 90Hz in music and stereo modes. The rear…
Sidebar: Recordings in the Round
WIDOR: Mass, Op. 36
Daniel Roth, Mark Dwyer, Stephen Tharp, organ; Choeur Darius Milhaud, Camille Haedt-Goussu, dir.; Ensemble Dodecamen, Christopher Hyde, dir.
JAV Recordings JAV158 (SACD)
JAV Recordings is Joe Vitacco, and it is apparent from all aspects of this production, as well as from the liner notes, that it is a labor of love. Recorded at Paris's St. Sulpice, where Widor was "temporary" organist for 64 years (!), it is a re-creation of a work Widor wrote specifically for the double chorus and two organs available to him there. One…