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The System 6000 was previously reviewed in Stereophile, by Martin Colloms in Vol.10 No.2 (February 1987). What follows is simply meant as a quickie followup to that in-depth review.

Someone was bound to ask how Celestion's dipole subwoofer system ($2699/pair complete with electronic crossover) compared with the products surveyed herein, especially in view of the liberal use I've made of the Celestion SL600. So I endeavored to obtain a sample, which arrived just in time for a couple days' listening.

Here…

Bass extension works against good sound quality in small rooms or rooms with poor dimensional ratios. Any volume of air in an enclosed space will reinforce certain frequencies when that air is excited (such as by a woofer cone…

Although the 5s can be used without the stands, they're essential to getting…

By contrast, the Tukans had more life and vibrancy in the midrange and treble, but a less clean and ultimately more fatiguing presentation. The 5s were far more polite, refined, and laid-back.

The 5s' soundstaging…

Description: Two-way, sealed-box loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" titanium-dome tweeter, 7" damped polypropylene-cone woofer with cast magnesium frame. Crossover frequency: 2.5kHz. Frequency response: 70Hz-20kHz, ±3dB (-8dB at 50Hz). Impedance: 4 ohms nominal, 3 ohms minimum (specified as "low reactance"). Sensitivity: 85dB/2.83V/m on-axis. Power requirements: 50W minimum. Optional stands: 25.75" high, 80 lbs/pair, sand-filled.
Dimensions: 8.125" W by 13" H by 10.25" D. Weight: 48 lbs/pair net.
Serial numbers of units tested: 050431 & 32.
Finishes:…

I drove the Aerial 5s with a wide range of amplifiers and source components over the past five months. They saw action with five integrated amplifiers: the Audio Note OTO SE, Linn Majik, Sonic Frontiers Anthem Integrated One, Rotel RA-970BX, and NAD 317. Source components included the Well Tempered Turntable and Lary Pederson-modified Well Tempered Arm, fitted with an AudioQuest AQ7000nsx phono cartridge; all the budget and midpriced CD players I've reviewed recently (particularly the Rotel RCD-990); and that long-term favorite, the Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1. I…

The Aerial 5 is a moderately difficult load to drive. Although the impedance magnitude (fig.1) shows an impedance minimum of 4.3 ohms and a value above 8 ohms over most of the band, the Aerial 5's lowish 84.5dB B-weighted sensitivity suggests the loudspeaker should be used with a well-powered amplifier. Fig.1 is notable for the lack of any wrinkles in the impedance magnitude curve, indicating that the enclosure is quite rigid. The sealed-box tuning at 65Hz is accompanied by the impedance peak at that frequency. This usually corresponds to the loudspeaker's -6dB…

Here in New York, despite Kathleen's best efforts, there's a certain amount of effluvia in the air, some of it quite toxic. (Take our next-door neighbor . . . .) So in major urban areas, every three months might be better, especially if you live with a smoker. I always practice good…

Thank you, Jonathan Scull
Editor: Thanks to Jonathan Scull's "Fine Tunes" column in December, my Thiel CS6es have a new lease on life. I finally broke down and cleaned my interconnects and speaker cables—boy, what a difference! The sad fact is that because of Stereophile's review of the CS6, I thought the grunge in the midrange was normal. Now, with clean cables, the grunge is gone.

Obviously, not trying to isolate the grunge earlier was a rookie mistake—one that I hope other readers avoid. By the way, keep up the great…

To all those who ordered our Concert double-CD set and had to wait a long time to receive it: we're sorry about the delay. This project was described in the November 1994 issue of Stereophile; at the time of writing, I didn't imagine that we would have problems after the digital masters had been edited and sent off to the CD-pressing plant. Little did I know!

When I transferred the original analog tapes to digital, I used the Manley 20-bit ADC to feed our Sonic Solutions…