ORCHESTRE NATIONAL DE BARBÈS: Orchestre National de Barbès
Larbi Dida, vocals; Youcef Boukella, vocals, bass; Aziz Sahmaqui, vocals, percussion; Fateh Benlala, vocals, mandolin; Fathilla Ghoggal, Olivier Louvel, guitar; Alain Debiossat, soprano sax; Toufik Mimouni, Jean Baptiste Ferr, keyboards; Ahmed Bensidhoune, bendir, darbouka; Kamel Tenfiche, vocals, percussion; Karim Ziad, karkabous; Michel Petry, drums
Tinder 42853192 (CD). 1998. Tajmaat, Djilali Aichioune, prods.; Luis Saldanha, Antoine Illouz, Delphine Presle, engs. AAD? TT: 78:33
Performance *****
Sonics **** …
On the occasion of a recent major birthday, my significant other, Bonnie, gave herself a "mid-life crisis" present—a beautifully restored, bright yellow Porsche 911. She'd spent the previous several weeks wading through reference books to figure out exactly which year and model she wanted, and each night we'd discuss the pros and cons of various models, options, and points in the 911's +30-year evolution. Bonnie explained to me that, throughout its production run, the 911 maintained the same basic design and a consistent set of engineering goals, but was continually updated and refined. In…
A faithful and observant reader, however, might draw a slightly different picture as a result of following—and extrapolating from—the evolution described in years of Stereophile Thiel reviews. JA's discussion of the CS6 earlier this year is a good example. The basic Thiel attributes are there: "excellent low-bass response . . . definition, coupled with tremendous punch," "pinpoint imaging," and "superb retrieval of recorded detail." Clear evidence of evolution and refinement appears as well, in JA's comments that the new Thiels "presented a wealth of detail without sounding too vivid or…
The Thiels worked reasonably well in any obvious configuration, but careful positioning paid off in terms of their ability to re-create a realistic soundstage. I ended up with them firing down the long dimension of my room, just under 5' from the front wall and 5' 6" from the side walls. The speakers were toed-in slightly, their axes crossing at about the back wall. My listening chair was about 7' from the rear wall, placing me about 10' from a line connecting the speakers; my earline was at about 40", 8" above the axis of the midrange/tweeter. Sound
If you're someone who's followed…
The CS2.3's handling of low-level and inner detail was, in any case, excellent. I kept going back to Scheherazade, and each time found myself taking notes about new details and subtleties: violin bow strokes, delicate woodwind lines way back on the stage and way under swelling strings, subtle trills inside of massed violins, the interplay between loud solos and oh-so-soft countermelodies—even previously unheard/unnoticed instrumental parts that suddenly seemed obvious and integral to the music. I hate to use an old cliché, but with the CS2.3s, I was hearing things—musically significant…
Comparisons
The Thiel CS2.3 and Magneplanar MG1.6/QR are both outstanding speakers, and I'd unhesitatingly recommend either one. Both show how far and how successfully their designs have evolved. They have refined their inherent strengths, and their traditional weaknesses have been largely ameliorated—so much so that the tradeoffs between their performances aren't as clear as might once have been the case with two comparable designs from these companies. Each offers a different set of attributes, both outstanding. The Maggies, for example, now offer the more vivid, dynamic…
Sidebar 1: Specifications Thiel CS2.3: Three-way, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units (all anodized aluminum): 1" (25mm) dome tweeter, coincident with 4.5" (114mm) cone midrange; 8" (204mm) cone woofer; 9" (230mm) passive radiator. Crossover frequencies: 900Hz, 3kHz. Crossover slopes: Acoustic first-order, 6dB/octave. Frequency response: 37Hz-20kHz, ±2dB. Phase response: minimum phase ±5 degrees. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms (3 ohms minimum). Sensitivity: 87dB/2.83V/1m. Recommended power: 100-400W.
Dimensions: 41.5" (1055mm) H by 11" (280mm) W by 15" (380mm) D. Weight: 70 lbs (154kg)…
Sidebar 2: Associated Components Analog playback: VPI TNT Mk.IV turntable, JMW Memorial tonearm, Benz-Micro LO4 cartridge.
Digital playback: Ultech UCD-100, CAL CL-15 CD players.
Preamplifiers: Sonic Frontiers Phono 1 and Line 3, VAC CPA1 Mk.II.
Power amplifiers: VAC Renaissance 70/70 (Thiels), VTL Ichiban.
Cables: Nirvana S-L (Thiels); MITerminator 2, 5; Kimber KCAG, KCTG; Bi-Focal XL; Synergistic Research Resolution and Designer's Reference; Nordost SPM.
Accessories: Bright Star isolation systems, Tiptoes, Standesign, Bright Star, and Merrill equipment stands; PAC Super…
Sidebar 3: Measurements The Thiel featured above-average sensitivity, at an estimated 90.5dB(B)/2.83V/m. However, like all Jim Thiel designs, it is quite a demanding load for an amplifier to drive. Its plot of impedance magnitude and phase (fig.1) reveals it to remain below 5 ohms throughout the midrange and treble, with a dip to 2 ohms at 450Hz. Note also the combination of low impedance and high capacitive phase angle in the upper bass—wimpy amplifiers stay home. The twin peaks in the bass reveal the ABR to be tuned to a low 34Hz, which implies good bass extension.
Fig.1…
In his excellent Testing Loudspeakers book, Joe D'Appolito examines the effects of measuring microphone distance on drive-unit integration with multiway speakers (p.72). One conclusion he draws is that at close microphone distances, speakers with odd-order crossovers—first-order, third-order—can appear to have notches in their on-axis response due to the 90 degree phase shift from the crossover filters. As the microphone distance is increased, these notches disappear. Of course, as I point out in the concluding article of my three-part "Measuring Loudspeakers" series elsewhere in this issue…
