Digital Sources: Apple iPod Video (60GB), iPod Nano G1, iPod Shuffle G1 & G2.
Headphone Amplifiers: HeadRoom Desktop D/A, Ray Samuels Emmeline The Hornet & Emmeline Tomahawk.
Headphones: Etymotic ER-4S, Ultimate Ears UE-10 Pro.—Wes Phillips
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As I've written before, I have no means of assessing the frequency response of headphones—Keith Howard wrote an excellent article on this subject in the October 2007 issue of the British magazine Hi-Fi News—but I did measure the electrical impedance of the Shure SE530s with the headphones inserted in my ears. The measurements will thus include the acoustic loading of my ear canals, which I assume is not too different from the typical Stereophile reader's (though yes, the diameter of my "jumbo" ear canals is larger than average). The result is shown in fig.1. The…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, sealed-box, stand-mounted, dynamic loudspeaker. Driver complement: one 8" polypropylene-cone woofer, one 1" treated textile-dome tweeter. Crossover frequency: 2.7kHz, third-order slopes. Frequency response (measured in an anechoic chamber and corrected for half-space): 70–20kHz ±2dB. Sensitivity: 90dB 1W/1m (anechoic). Recommended amplifier power: 10–100W. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms.
Dimensions: 11" W by 18" H by 9" D. Shipping weight: 52 lbs/pair.
Finishes available: matched grain, hand-sanded and -oiled pairs in oak or walnut veneers…
Sidebar 2: Review context
The Snell Type K/IIs replaced the Hales System Two Signatures in my reference system, and were auditioned on the excellent Celestion 24" spiked and lead-shot–filled stands. Each pair was driven by the VTL 225W Deluxe monoblocks, Krell KSA-250, and Threshold S/550e (the last two reviewed elsewhere in this issue) via 10" runs of AudioQuest Green Hyperlitz. The analog front end consisted of a Well-Tempered turntable, just refitted with a Lary Pederson–modified Well-Tempered Arm, and a Sumiko Boron cartridge. The moving-coil's low output was stepped up with the…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Driving the loudspeaker with a variable-frequency sinewave oscillator revealed a lively cabinet, the enclosure vibrating significantly. Many resonances were detected, the most severe of them at 100Hz and 270Hz, which produced audible cabinet contributions to the tone. Rapping the enclosure with my knuckles produced a fairly lively tone.
Looking at fig.1, the Type K/II's impedance magnitude (solid line) and phase angle (dotted line), the sealed-box tuning is evident from the single impedance peak which reaches 24.3 ohms at 63Hz. The impedance never drops…
"Sam, HELP!!!! Wife wants stereo out of the living room, converting spare bedroom for my stuff."
It was a frantic fax from Houston.
Sorry to say, I'm unable to answer most letters or faxes because I don't have the time. But this one intrigued me.
"My current speakers," the fax continued, "appear to be too large for the bedroom. Any ideas on what to audition?"
I shot back—
"This is great news, Houston! With a smaller room, you can go for quality instead of quantity. Think small!!! Smaller speakers, smaller amplifier. Aside from the bass, you may get better…
Another shortcoming (blessing?) is that the Mini References cannot play loud—if you set the volume too high, the sound congests, then distorts, during loud orchestral passages (footnote 4). There's also no fuse to protect the speakers. So these speakers are probably not right for headbangers—Corey Greenberg would probably never recommend them.
The Mini References' inability to rock is one way in which they differ from the more expensive ProAc Response 2s. While they have a similar tonal balance, the ProAcs can be driven hard. The $3000/pair ProAcs excel in soundstaging, the retrieval of…
Robert J. Reina reviewed the RA Labs BG Mini-Reference in September 1997 (Vol.20 No.9):
The Allison name is one every audiophile should recognize. For me it brings back pangs of nostalgia for the '70s, when many of my audiophile friends owned Allison Ones. That triangular, floorstanding dynamic loudspeaker was unusual for its day, in that its widest face was intended to be placed flat against the wall. At the time, this excellent-sounding speaker was much more spouse-friendly than most of the competition.
Following more than a decade of acclaimed design work for Acoustic Research…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way speaker with sealed-box woofer loading. Drive-units: 6" paper-cone woofer, 0.5" plastic-dome tweeter. Frequency response: 55Hz–20kHz, ±3dB. Crossover frequency: 3kHz. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms. Sensitivity: 90dB/2.83V/1m. Finish: black vinyl.
Dimensions: 14" H by 8.5" W by 8.25" D. Weight: 9 lbs each.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: B06496 & 97 (Reina pair); B0039 & 40 (original pair; see measurements text).
Price: $173/pair (1994); $224/pair (1997); no longer available (2007). Approximate number of dealers: factory-direct…
Sidebar 2: BJR System Context
I used the Mini-References on Celestion Si stands about 12" to 15" from the rear wall. I conducted most of my reviewing on my "affordable" reference system. Front-ends were a Thorens TD-160/SME 3009 Mk.II/Grado Signature 8MZ (analog) and a California Audio Labs Icon Mk.II HDCD with Power Boss (digital). Amplification consisted of a Creek 4240 SE integrated amplifier. Wires were MIT 330SG interconnects and Acarian Black Orpheus speaker cables.
I also assembled a second, less expensive "entry-level" system to audition the Mini-References. It consisted…