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The lower woofer hands over to the upper at 90Hz, which in turn hands over to the midrange unit at 220Hz. The midrange/tweeter crossover is at 2.2kHz, but no details are provided for the crossover topology, other than that it uses what Focal terms Optimum Phase Crossover Plus (OPC+). This includes the three sets of jumpers mentioned above, one each for the subbass, midrange, and tweeter. Each set offers three choices of position, labeled "1," "2," and "3," to allow the speaker's balance to be optimized for specific room acoustics. The middle "2" jumper positions are for nominal flat response…
A CD that has been in heavy rotation since I returned from the 2010 Salon Son et Image at the end of March is an EP from the Montreal show's featured artist, the band Give. Recorded at Studio Reference in St. Caliste, Quebec, the four songs on this CD, titled SSi, epitomize what can be produced with a modern rock recording without having to resort to massive amounts of make-it-loud compression or in your-face equalization. The bass player uses a five-string instrument on the final song, "Mouths," and while every note was reproduced with impressive clarity and good weight, this recording did…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-and-a-half-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1.1" (27mm) inverted beryllium-dome tweeter, 6.5" (165mm) W-cone midrange, 11" (270mm) W-cone woofer, 11" (270mm) W-cone subwoofer with Damping Control System. Crossover frequencies: 90Hz, 220Hz, 2.2kHz. Frequency response: 25Hz–40kHz, ±3dB. Impedance: 4 ohms nominal, 3 ohms minimum. Sensitivity: 93dB/2.83V/m. Recommended amplifier power: 80–600W.
Dimensions: 57.9" (1470mm) H by 17.9" (455mm) W by 30.3" (770mm) D. Weight: 255.7 lbs (116kg).
Finishes: Gloss Black, Red…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Ayre C-5xeMP universal player; Simaudio Moon Evolution 750D CD player; dCS Puccini SACD player & USB-input D/A converter with Apple Mac mini for media storage.
Preamplifier: Simaudio Moon Evolution P-8.
Power Amplifiers: Classé CTM-600 monoblocks, Simaudio Moon Evolution W-7.
Loudspeakers: Aerial Acoustics 20T V2.
Cables: Digital: Kimber Illuminations Orchid AES/EBU, Stereovox CV2 electrical S/PDIF, Belkin USB. Interconnect (balanced): AudioQuest Wild, Ayre Signature. Speaker: AudioQuest Wild. AC: PS Audio Lab,…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Measuring the behavior of a speaker as large and heavy as the Focal Maestro Utopia III is problematic. Ultimately, I had to perform the acoustic measurements with the speaker in my listening room. Even though I maneuvered one of the Maestros as far as I could from the sidewalls and fired it along one of the room's diagonals, in order to push back room reflections as far as possible in time after the arrival of the speaker's direct sound at the microphone, the results don't have as much resolution in the midrange as I would have liked, or as I routinely achieve…
YSAE KREISLER BACH
J.S. Bach: Partita No.2, BWV 1004, Kreisler: Recitativo & Scherzo, Op.6, Ysaÿe: Sonata, Op.27 No.2
Arturo Delmoni, violin
Water Lily Acoustics WLA-WS-07 (LP), WLA-WS-07-CD (CD). Kavichandran Alexander, eng., prod. AAA/AAD. Subsequently released on CD as John Marks Records CD JMR 14G (footnote 1). TT: 48:03
J.S. Bach: Partita No.2, BWV 1004, Kreisler: Recitativo & Scherzo, Op.6, Ysaÿe: Sonata, Op.27 No.2
Arturo Delmoni, violin
Water Lily Acoustics WLA-WS-07 (LP), WLA-WS-07-CD (CD). Kavichandran Alexander, eng., prod. AAA/AAD. Subsequently released on CD as John Marks Records CD JMR 14G (footnote 1). TT: 48:03
This recording ought to come with a pedigree. In fact, the first spread of the CD booklet practically is a pedigree. This is blueblood audiophilia all the way. People listed as being involved, one way or another, include Tim de Paravicini, Jason…
Snickering was heard from the major consumer electronics purveyors when California Audio Labs came out with the original Tempest, their first CD player using tube output stages. But not from the audiophile community. It was, all things considered, an inevitable product; I'm certainly not the only one who wondered—before the emergence of California Audio Labs—who would be the first to build such a unit. The obvious candidates were Audio Research or Conrad-Johnson. But those companies apparently read the audio tea-leaves and, perhaps perceiving the early high-end hostility toward the new…
My initial sample of the Tempest emitted a loud mechanical buzz, which turned out to originate in one of the transformers on the main chassis. It also sounded off with a loud thumping noise when playing a disc. A return to CAL resulted in a quick fix to the transformer; they never could find what caused the transport noise. In any event, elves must have repaired it en route; the noise has not recurred.
Sound Quality
If a CD player can be said to define the standard in any particular area, the Tempest II certainly does that through the vital midrange. This is the heart of the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-chassis CD player with tubed output stage. Tube complement: 6 6DJ8s. D/A conversion: 16-bit 4x oversampling. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz –0.05dB. S/N ratio: 105dB. THD: 0.03% (at 1kHz).
Dimensions: Player, 19" W by 5.5" H by 12.25" D. Power supply, same. Weight: 22 lbs (player), 22 lbs (power supply).
Price: $2995 (1988); no longer available (2010). Approximate number of dealers: 70 (1988).
Manufacturer: California Audio Labs, Garden Grove, CA 92641 (1988); Sensory Science Corporation, a division of SONICblue Inc., Santa Clara, CA (…
Sidebar 2: Review System
My auditions of the Tempest II were conducted hard on the heels of the Marantz CD-94 review and used the same system: Klyne SK-5A preamp, Motif MS100 power amp, B&W 801 Matrix loudspeakers on Sound Anchor stands with Monster Cable M-1000 interconnects and M-1 loudspeaker cable.—Thomas J. Norton