Building such ambitious loudspeakers as the Genesis products is a risky proposition. Big loudspeakers often fail miserably—any flaw seems to be magnified by the loudspeaker's lofty aspirations—the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Moreover, the criteria for what…
Three tweeters are used in a vertical array to approximate the midrange ribbon's line-source radiation pattern. The top two tweeters roll off at 8kHz, with the bottom tweeter run out past 20kHz. The rear tweeter is wired out of phase (…
The wide dynamic window in which the music could express itself was greatly enhanced by the II.5's bass performance. Until you've heard…
Description: Three-way floorstanding loudspeaker with woofer amplifier. Driver complement: Two servo-driven 12" woofers, one 4' ribbon midrange, four 1" planar tweeters. Impedance: 4 ohms. Sensitivity: 90dB/1W/1m. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz ±3dB.
Dimensions: 28½" W by 6' H by 2½" D. Weight: 1250 lbs/pair shipping, 1000 lbs/pair net.
Finish: Brazilian rosewood.
Serial numbers of speakers reviewed: 251006/7.
Woofer amplifier power output: 400W RMS/channel (into 2 ohm load presented by the II.5 woofers).
Amplifier dimensions: 19" W by 41/2" H by…
At the time of writing, I've been using II.5s for the past five months, auditioning them with a variety of equipment. Without question, the best amplifiers for the II.5s were the superb Audio Research VT150 tubed monoblocks (reviewed in Vol.17 No.8). When relieved of driving the woofers, the VT150s could really sing. It was almost as if these products were made for each other: the II.5s were particularly adept at resolving things the VT150s do so well—eg, depth, space, truth in timbre, and layering. After trying solid-state amplifiers, I recommend tubes for the II.5.…
John Atkinson measured the II.5s in my new listening room—a much easier proposition, given the system's weight, than trucking it to the test lab in Santa Fe—and was therefore only able to perform a limited set of measurements. The II.5's impedance magnitude and phase angle are shown in fig.1. Note that this plot is of the midrange and tweeter section only—not the woofers. The minimum impedance is 3 ohms through the top octave, with a slightly higher 3.8 ohms or greater through the rest of the band. The combination of the phase-angle and the impedance magnitude in…
That's how my long, peculiar relationship with J. Gordon Holt began, back in 1978. Born on April 19, 1930, Gordon died Monday July 20, 2009 after a long struggle with emphysema. He leaves behind his son Charles and daughter Alicia, both featured in old issues of Stereophile, his great Colorado friends Bob O'Neill and Steven Stone, both former Stereophile contributors, and legions of grieving audiophiles. We are all struck down by his passing.
Gordon had moved to Santa Fe that year and was yearning for audiophile companionship (…
J. Gordon Holt
Editor: My father passed away July 20, shortly after noon Colorado time. He had suffered a long fight with COPD-emphysema, and he died in his home with his family around him. If you are so inclined, you can pay him your respects by having a good martini and complaining about the weather.—J. Charles Holt, Boulder, CO
Cheers, Gordon
Editor: To the man who discovered, defined, and truly verbalized audiophilia—cheers! Thank you, J. Gordon Holt, for the many years of enjoyment, and—oh, it's hot, humid, and sunny today—darn!
Be with God,…
Sounding adorable and singing in a little-girl voice while aspiring to be taken seriously as a confident, capricious pop artist is a singular blend in the vast expanse of popular music, one that singer-pianist-songwriter Regina Spektor has nearly perfected on her third album, Far.
Nowhere is the range of Spektor's woman-child vision more apparent than in Far's best…