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…
search
I once got a call from a reader looking for advice on purchasing loudspeakers. He told me that he wanted the treble to be "like little needles coming at me." The Aerial 5s aren't for him. You get no etch, hyped detail, or sonic fireworks with the 5; just an honest smoothness that sounds more like live music than any other loudspeaker I've heard near the 5's price range.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
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:…
Sidebar 2: System & Setup
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…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
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…
One audio maintenance chore I dislike is getting down on all fours and cleaning the system's connectors—interconnects, speaker cables, and power cords. It's tedious, but the results can be spectacular. If you live in a relatively clean, dry environment, you might consider doing it every six months or so.
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…
A Letter in response appeared in the April 1999 issue:
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…
"Never explain, never apologize." But in this month's "As We See It," I intend to do both. First, the apology:
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…
A grainy film is said to exist that proves the viability of a mechanical antigravity device. The inventor, a native of Syracuse, New York named Harry W. Bull (footnote 1) placed his so-called "bootstrap machine" on a bathroom scale, focused a borrowed home movie camera on the dial, powered up the machine, and watched as the numbers spun backward. This event, and the development work that led to it, were the basis for a series of articles—and a subsequent exchange of heated letters—in Popular Science magazine. The year was 1935.
Here's another one: A Venetian scientist named Gianni Dotto…
Scientific Test No.3
Eventually, perhaps even understandably, I said to hell with all that (footnote 4) and just listened.
Eventually, perhaps even understandably, I said to hell with all that (footnote 4) and just listened.
In fact, in a roundabout way, I began listening two years ago, when David Blair brought a prototype Collimator to my house. He didn't tell me what it was: The thing looked like a 2'-square ceiling tile. David and I listened to some music together, then he shooed me out of the room while he brought in and fussed with the ceiling tile. Then he had me come back in and listen again. For all I know, the tweak and its position and alignment were completely irrelevant…
Life used to be simple. A preamp was a phono stage, a line stage, and the controls necessary to manage a system. Sure, there were exceptions, but for the most part you could say "preamp" and everyone knew what you meant. With the rise of the Compact Disc, however, phono stages became standalone components or optional extras, and most manufacturers concentrated on the line stage and controls, pursuing the ideal of "a straight wire with gain."
Because "gain" seemed to be the tricky part, and most CD players could drive an amplifier directly, some designers simplified even further…