The Fathom f212
Finally, they offered me a pair of their newer twin…
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It's been over two years since I reviewed a pair of JL Audio's Fathom f113 subwoofers. Kalman Rubinson and I both gave the f113 top marks for delivering clean, powerful bass in a wide variety of full-range systems. At the end of the review period, JL Audio's Carl Kennedy told me that they wouldn't send me another subwoofer for review until they had developed one that outperformed the Fathom f113 (footnote 1). To this day, the Fathom f113 tops the subwoofer category in Stereophile's "Recommended Components."
To initiate the ARO procedure, the owner must plug the Fathom f212's calibration mike into a front-panel jack next to the three ARO controls. The Demo button verifies that the ARO functions are ready by running a 20-second sequence of test tones; Defeat turns off the ARO system to compare the ARO and non-ARO settings; and Calibrate initiates ARO self-calibration with test tones that measure the listening room's response, then runs the f212's automatic equalization procedure.
All set-and-forget inputs and controls are on the rear panel, which is also identical to the f113's. These…
JL Audio's ARO first tests the room, then applies single-band equalization to tune out its most prominent deviation from a linear frequency response. With the rest of the stereo system shut off, ARO automatically generates its own test signals. But before I began, I made certain to turn off my dishwasher and air-conditioner, which can generate subsonic artifacts of their own that can mislead the ARO algorithm. I plugged the ARO calibration mike's cable into the right Fathom f212's front control panel, cranked up the sub's Master level control to its maximal (4 o'clock) position, set all…
The Fathom f212s strongly benefited the quality, scale, detailing, and full power of orchestral music, enhancing the sound of my Quad ESL-989s in new ways. I heard, as never before, the powerful bass-drum strokes in the second movement of Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps, as performed by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (SACD/CD, Deutsche Grammophon 00289 477 6198-2)—each one burst into my listening room as a well-defined thud with a clean, defined leading edge and sudden, explosive power. On the same recording, wind instruments are mixed with the thunderous stomping of…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Powered, sealed-box subwoofer. Drive-units: two 12" cone woofers with 3.5"-diameter voice-coils and 3" peak–peak excursion. Magnet weight: not specified. Low-pass filter: variable, 30–130Hz, 12dB or 24dB/octave. High-pass filter: not supplied. Inputs: stereo or mono balanced (single XLR connector); stereo or mono unbalanced (single RCA connector). Input modes: Master, Slave. Outputs: single balanced (XLR) to additional subwoofer. Input impedance: 10k ohms. Input sensitivity: 166mV for 105dB SPL. Controls: Power (On, Off, Automatic Signal Sensing);…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Linn Sondek turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ittok tonearm, Spectral moving-coil cartridge; Day-Sequerra FM Reference Signature Tuner.
Digital Sources: Sony SCD-C555ES SACD/CD player, Bryston BCD-1 CD player & BDA-1 D/A converter, Bel Canto USB Link 24/96 USB-to-S/PDIF converter, ThinkPad X-61 laptop playing digital music files.
Preamplification: Bryston BP26 preamplifier & 10B SUB electronic crossover.
Power Amplifiers: Mark Levinson ML-2 (monoblocks) & No.334.
Loudspeakers: Quad ESL-989, JBL 1400 Array;…
I am not in the mood for whirling.—the Beatles, "Revolution 9"
The single-ended-triode movement of the 1990s may not have changed everyone's point of view, but its aftershocks endure. Low-power amps sell well. The market for high-efficiency loudspeakers is healthier than ever. Even vinyl's most recent renaissance can be linked, in part, to a rekindled interest in old tubes and technologies. Best of all: Some of the thinkers and designers who came for the Revolution decided to stay for the Great Leap Forward.
Though hardly a household name, Arthur Loesch is revered in SET…
The second phono gain stage uses an RCA 6GK5 tube. The 1.1's third and final phono gain stage incorporates half of a Tung-Sol 5687 dual triode—the second half of which is used to provide 18dB of line-stage gain. That tube, like the abovementioned 6GK5, is used in a fixed-bias arrangement originated by Dr. Loesch, wherein the DC for the tube's signal grid is supplied by a replaceable battery. (In a product such as this, with a comparatively low voltage rail—260VDC is the intended B+—the traditional advantages of an auto-bias circuit would be moot.) In exchange for the slight inconvenience of…
All of those changes coaxed the system further from egregious brightness toward simply sounding extended, wide-open . . . and detailed. With the Arthur Loesch 1.1, not only could I pinpoint the exact moment when organist Benmont Tench switched his Leslie rotating speaker from fast to slow toward the end of every chorus of "Echo," from the Tom Petty album of that title (CD, Warner Bros, 47294-2), I could clearly hear it decelerate. And the 1.1 was perfect for cataloging the differences between the well-known stereo mix of The Beatles (CD, 1987 remastering, Parlophone CDP 7 46443/4 2) and that…
To celebrate his 30 years with the company, Marantz threw designer Ken Ishiwata a birthday party in the form of an assignment: Design a new, limited-edition integrated amplifier and SACD/CD player bearing his initials. (Only 500 of each will be made worldwide.)
In a review of some Marantz separates a few years ago, I wrote that in Ishiwata, who works out of his offices in Eindhoven, The Netherlands (Marantz was once owned by Philips), the company has a unique "secret weapon." Ishiwata is a decidedly noncorporate soul who nonetheless thrives within that environment, and who…