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While the bass performance of the '25s did reach deeper and tighten up during break-in, it nonetheless remained mildly loose. The midrange, while always musical, remained polite-sounding. In part, the brilliant clarity of the tweeter threw the bass looseness and midrange politeness into relief. Even great tube amplification (eg, the Conrad-Johnson Premier Eight monoblocks) did little to alleviate these nagging, albeit mild, problems. But good solid-state amplification provided a much more synergistic match. With a single Classé One Thousand, the bass was noticeably tighter and midrange…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Floorstanding, three-way, reflex-loaded dynamic loudspeaker. Drive-units: 8" (200mm) Cobex-coned woofer, 6.5" (165mm) polypropylene-cone midrange unit, 1" (25mm) aluminum-dome tweeter. Connections: three separate inputs for tri-wiring; jumper included for single wiring. Frequency response: 25Hz–22kHz, ±3dB. Impedance: 6 ohms nominal. Sensitivity: 88dB/1W/1m. Power handling: 200W.
Dimensions: 35.5" (900mm) H by 9.2" (233mm) W by 13.5" (343mm) D. Weight: 66 lbs (30kg).
Finishes available: dark cherry or walnut.
Serial numbers of review…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
I calculated the ES25's sensitivity to be a little lower than specified, at 86.5dB/2.83V/1m (B-weighted). Its impedance (fig.1) is also moderately demanding, dropping to 5 ohms throughout the midrange, with a relatively severe electrical phase angle in the upper bass. The tuning of the large port is revealed by the impedance "saddle" at 33Hz, while the wrinkle in the fig.1 traces between 600Hz and 700Hz indicates some kind of resonant behavior. Indeed, the cabinet did prove to be very lively in this region, but it appears to be high enough in frequency to not have…
Stereophile editor John Atkinson said one evening in 1995, "What I find fascinating is that, in an industry as mature as audio cables, a new company can appear out of the blue and upset everything." He was gently poking fun at my admission that I found cable design fascinating, in particular the practice of combining different conductor materials.
JA's comment was understandable. After all, in 1995 we already had round, flat, and tubular conductors made of silver, gold, and copper, as well as various alloys and combinations of different core and plating materials. There were…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Silver-conductor interconnects and speaker cables. Interconnects available in single-ended and balanced configurations, terminated with Xhadow Reference RCA connectors or XLR connectors. Speaker cables terminated with Xhadow banana plugs; snap-on spade-lug adapters available.
Prices: Interconnect, either configuration: $1500/1m pair. Speaker cable: $2500/2m pair. Custom lengths: $1000/1m pair plus $500 for termination. Approximate number of dealers: 10. Warranty: lifetime.
Manufacturer: Signals-SuperFi, LLC, 828 Ralph McGill Blvd., Studio W-3…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Source: VPI HR-X turntable & tonearm, Lyra Titan cartridge.
Digital Sources: Simaudio Andromeda, Primare 31 CD players.
Preamplification: Sutherland PhD phono preamp; VTL TL-7.5, Placette Active, Sutherland Direct line stages; Halcro dm10 preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: VTL Ichiban, Halcro dm58 & dm88.
Loudspeakers: Thiel CS6, Wilson Audio Sophia & Sophia 2.
Cables: Nordost Valhalla, Nirvana SX-Ltd, Audience Au24, Silversmith Silver. AC: Audience PowerChord, Shunyata Research.
Accessories: Finite Elemente Reference…
What's 1/16" narrower, over 1/2" shallower, and 3/16" higher than the Mirage M-3 loudspeaker? The new Mirage M-3si, that's what. Though the published dimensions for the old and new speakers are the same, my eyes told me there was a difference between them when I had them side-by-side in my listening room in Santa Fe. Being the compulsive type, I got out my trusty tape measure. No, my eyes had not deceived me—the M-3si is skinnier and taller. As I waltzed them into position, I sensed they weighed about the same as their predecessors; close enough that setting them on Arcici Super Spikes is a…
The M-3sis were also extremely revealing of program material. With these loudspeakers in your system, you'll probably hear things on your favorite recordings you haven't heard before. For better or worse, they can and will expose warts on less-than-ideal recordings.
On the other hand, well-recorded material assumes a degree of richness, grace, and grandeur which is totally involving and remarkably satisfying. Also, unlike some other large speakers, which often make everything played through them sound grandiose, the M-3sis seemed chameleon-like in their ability to change "colors"…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Floor-standing, three-way, vented-box dynamic loudspeaker with one 10" carbon-filled polypropylene-cone woofer, two 5" carbon fiber/polypropylene-cone midrange drivers, and two 1" titanium-dome tweeters. Crossover frequencies: 350Hz and 2kHz. Frequency response: 30Hz–3kHz, ±2dB. Impedance: 6 ohms nominal, 4 ohms minimum. Sensitivity: 83dB at 2.83V (anechoic chamber at 1m).
Dimensions: 52.5" H by 18.1" W by 8.3" D. Weight: 135 lbs.
Serial number of pair auditioned: 003208.
Price: $2800/pair (1992); no longer available (2007). Approximate…
Sidebar 2: System Context
You've read in my past reviews about the system used in evaluating the new Mirages: at the analog source-end, I used either a VPI HW-19 Mk.IV with an upgraded Eminent Technology ET 2 tonearm/Wisa/Airtech setup, or a stock Well-Tempered Turntable. The cartridge used with both turntables is one about which I'll have more to say in an upcoming review—the Roksan Shiraz moving-coil. For my primary digital source, I used a Meridian 602 transport into a Meridian 606 processor. Other processors on hand (and listened to briefly) were the Enlightened Audio Designs DSP-…