Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, floor-standing, dynamic loudspeaker. Drivers: two 6.5" bass/midranges, one 1" aluminum-dome tweeter. Crossover frequency: 1kHz. Frequency response: 32Hz–35kHz ±3dB. Sensitivity: 88dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms.
Dimensions: 49" H by 8" W by 13" D. Weight: 52 lbs each.
Serial numbers of review samples: 00377, 00378.
Price: $1990/pair (1992); no longer available (2006). Approximate number of dealers: 45.
Manufacturer: Scientific Fidelity, 6301 Riggs Place, Los Angeles, CA 90045 (1991). No longer trading (2006…
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Sidebar 2: Specifications
Manufacturer's Comment
Editor:
"Any magazine which publishes reviews has a primary responsibility to the truth."—John Atkinson, "As We See It," Stereophile, Vol.14 No.12
Borrowing a few lines from Stereophile seems to be the best way to make a point. All we at Scientific Fidelity want is the same thing from this review: the truth.
"Cuz Oi Di'I' Moiiiiiii Whyyyyyyyyyy!"—Corey Greenberg, Stereophile, this issue
Now, I must admit I have never heard Sid Vicious do "My Way," and I'm not sure I want to. My personal tastes lean more toward the Sinatra version, for…
Vifa & Scientific Fidelity, from June 1992 (Vol.15 No.6):
Editor: It is not Vifa's assignment to comment on tests of loudspeakers [that use Vifa drive-units], as Vifa cannot take on the responsibility of the use and the sound of its speakers in the final product. As is known, we are involved in the design of neither cabinets nor crossovers.
Meanwhile, it is Vifa's assignment to deliver faultless, high-quality products which fulfill the high acoustical demands our customers are making today.
Mike Maloney [of Scientific Fidelity] was never promised a letter from Vifa…
I've been a little remiss in writing about one of the best tools for travel I've experienced recently: Ray Samuels Audio's Emmeline The Hornet ($350), a tiny (3" L by 2" W by 1" H) rechargeable portable headphone amplifier. I tend to travel with my iPod packed with hi-rez music files and a pair of low-impedance headphones. That's not a marriage made in heaven, so I also need a headphone amplifier. Over the years, portable headphone amps have gotten better and better while getting smaller and smaller. The Hornet is the smallest I've discovered so far and is my current favorite.
It…
Sam Tellig wrote about the Hornet in September 2006 (Vol.29 No.9):
I haven't met Ray Samuels, except by phone, but I have one of his products in my hands right now. Well, actually, I have it in the palm of one hand: the incredibly tiny Emmeline The Hornet portable headphone amp, which I heard about from Wes Phillips via the Stereophile e-newsletter of June 1, 2006.
As soon as I read what Wes said, I knew I had to have a Hornet. Not because I own an iPod—I don't and probably, just to be contrarian, never will—but because I take my Sony D-EJ100 portable CD player to the library,…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Rechargeable, battery-powered, portable headphone amplifier with three gain settings, one 1.8" stereo input jack, one 1/8" stereo output jack. No other specifications listed.
Dimensions: 3" L by 2" W by 1" H.
Price: $350. Approximate number of dealers: 1 (sold direct).
Manufacturer: Ray Samuels Audio, 8005 Keeler, Skokie, IL 60076. Tel: (847) 673-8739. Web: www.raysamuelsaudio.com.
Sidebar 2: Measurements
Wes Phillips enthused over Ray Samuels Audio's Emmeline The Hornet portable headphone amplifier ($350) in our early-June eNewsletter, as did Sam Tellig in "Sam's Space" in September, and again in this issue. I thought it worthwhile, therefore, to complement those positive impressions with some measurements. (I remembered to fully charge the Hornet's internal 9V battery before starting the testing.)
The Hornet's maximum voltage gains, with its volume control set to its maximum, were 5.6dB, 12.7dB, and 20.8dB with the rear-panel switch set to its Low, Medium…
ONE FOR ALL: The Lineup
Eric Alexander, tenor sax; Jim Rotondi, trumpet, flugelhorn; Steve Davis, trombone; David Hazeltine, piano, Fender Rhodes; John Webber, bass; Joe Farnsworth, drums
Sharp Nine CD 1037-2 (CD). 2006. Marc Edelman, prod.; Katherine Miller, eng. DDD. TT: 57:42
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
Eric Alexander, tenor sax; Jim Rotondi, trumpet, flugelhorn; Steve Davis, trombone; David Hazeltine, piano, Fender Rhodes; John Webber, bass; Joe Farnsworth, drums
Sharp Nine CD 1037-2 (CD). 2006. Marc Edelman, prod.; Katherine Miller, eng. DDD. TT: 57:42
Performance ****½
Sonics ****
There is an apparent contradiction at the heart of the jazz aesthetic. On the one hand, the jazz art form demands constant innovation. The worst putdown a jazz musician can hear is not that he or she can't play, but that she or he sounds like someone else. On the…
The single most enduring controversy in audio is: What method or methods should we use to evaluate the performance of audio equipment?
That I used the word evaluate and avoided measure sums up the controversy: Are we better served by measuring audio performance by objective physical standards, or by judging audio performance by subjective personal reactions?
At first blush, the objectivists would seem to have the better argument. The proposition that a component that "measures better" therefore "is better" seems hard to argue with.
But what I would like to explore are two…
The P-8 ($11,000) is the second of Simaudio's Moon Evolution series that has passed through my system, following on the heels of the Moon Evolution W-8 power amplifier, which I reviewed in March 2006. Fortunately, the P-8's arrival preceded the W-8's departure, so I was able to use them together as well as with other components.
The Evolution bodywork, first seen in the W-8, is a major aesthetic step up for Simaudio, and it's even more appealing in the P-8, which adds a remarkably legible and useful display, a large volume-control knob, and other effective controls. As with the…