Description: Three-way, stand-mounted, reflex-loaded loudspeaker. Drive-units: 0.75" (19mm) titanium-diaphragm compression tweeter with 90° by 60° Tractrix horn; 4.5" (114mm) aluminum-diaphragm compression mid-frequency driver with 90° by 60° Tractrix horn; 7" (178mm) aluminum-Rohacell-Kevlar cone woofer. Crossover frequencies: 600Hz, 3.4kHz. Enclosure material: constrained-layer MDF. Frequency response: 51Hz–24kHz, ±3dB. Power handling: 150W continuous, 600W peak. Sensitivity: 94dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Maximum acoustic output (2 speakers in room…
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The debate over which audio component is most important in determining the quality of a system's sound is one that has been with us for decades. Recently, it came up in a conversation I had during a visit to a Manhattan high-end shop, when I was told about a discussion on the topic by Ivor Tiefenbrun (of Linn) and David Wilson (of Wilson Audio Specialties). You don't have to be a seasoned audiophile to predict their respective positions, but when I was pressed to take a stand, I paused.
Few will argue that the preamplifier and/or amplifier is the most critical component. I take…
The rear panel has all the requisite connectors for the many functions of this universal player, including lots of outputs—7.1-channel analog audio, coaxial and optical digital audio, component/composite/S-video, and HDMI—as well as USB and Ethernet ports, an IR emitter input, and an AC power input. Considering all the connection options, and that our major concern here is sound, I concentrated on the HDMI and 7.1-channel analog outputs, and only briefly sampled the coax and optical digital outputs. I connected the analog outputs to my Parasound P7 preamplifier, as I'd done with the Oppo BDP-…
Classé Audio CT-SSP surround-sound processor
When Classé released its SSP-800 surround-sound processor, I was offered a review sample but decided to wait for the promised expansion of the DSP engine to permit decoding of the high-definition audio codecs from Dolby and DTS. Little did I suspect that that would take so long, or that the SSP-800 would then prove so popular that review samples would be scarce. So when Classé's Dave Nauber offered to send me a CT-SSP ($9000), I happily accepted. I'd waited a long time for this one. Under its skin, the CT-SSP is a sister to the SSP-800. That…
Sidebar 1: Contacts
Cambridge Audio, Audio Partnership Plc, Gallery Court, Hankey Place, London SE1 4BB, England, UK. Web: www.cambridgeaudio.com. US distributor: Audio Plus Services, 156 Lawrence Paquette Industrial Drive, Champlain, NY 12919. Tel: (800) 663-9352. Fax: (866) 656-0686. Web: www.audioplusservices.com.
Classé Audio, 5070 FranÁois Cusson, Lachine, Quebec H8T 1B3, Canada. Tel: (514) 636-6384. Fax: (514) 636-1428. Web: www.classeaudio.com.
Sidebar 2: Cambridge & Mediatek
The Azur 650BD looks very similar to the Oppo BDP-80 universal Blu-ray player ($289). Since I have not received a BDP-80 for review, I can't make detailed comparisons of the two players' appearance or performance, but I do note that the layouts of their front panels are different.
Cambridge says the Azur 650BD "is based on the Mediatek MTK8520/MTK8575 chipset," and that they "have a long relationship with Mediatek having based our DVD89/99, DV30 and 540D V1 and V2 DVD players on various Mediatek platforms. . . . In terms of what Mediatek offer…
Sidebar 3: Recordings In The Round
STRAVINSKY: Le Sacre du Printemps, The Firebird
Valery Gergiev, St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater Orchestra & Ballet
BelAir Classiques BAC441 (BD)
Finally—completely satisfying performances of two of Stravinsky's three great ballets on Blu-ray! Captured during performances at the Mariinsky Theater in dts HD Master Audio, the sound is powerful and detailed, and despite the orchestra being situated in the pit, there is more than ample shimmer and space. Gergiev is at his best here, standing toe-to-toe with the best available on SACD.…
A very popular myth among the audio unwashed—and one still perpetuated by the pop hi-fi writers—is that nothing is to be gained by paying more than $1000 for a stereo system (footnote 1). Members of the general public, including masses of people who enjoy live, unamplified music, have the impression that more money simply buys one wider and wider frequency range, and defend their $500 "compact" systems with the lame excuse that their ears aren't all that good, and who needs to hear what bats hear anyway? This is no doubt a soothing emollient for one's disinclination to invest more money in…
According to the conventional wisdom, companies selling consumer products fall into two categories: those whose sales are "marketing-led" and those whose sales are "product-led." Marketing-led companies tend to sell mature products into a mature market where there are no real differences between competing products—soap powder, mass-market beer, or cigarettes, for example—whereas product-led companies tend to sell new technologies, such as personal computers and high-end hi-fi components. In the audio separates market, conventional wisdom would have a hard time categorizing any individual…
The crossover circuitry is mainly carried on a printed circuit board attached to the rear of the terminal panel, with the exception of the series air-cored inductor in the woofer feed, which is wound on a circular molding integral with the panel. The low-pass filter for the woofer is second-order, a polarized electrolytic capacitor shunting the drivers, while the tweeter high-pass also appears to be basically second-order. However, a resistor in series with the shunt air-cored inductor and another in parallel with one of two series capacitors give a hybrid response, where the filter's…