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Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 2: Measurements

The Guarneri's reflex-port tuning was set at 52Hz—a region where the power handling was enhanced for heavy midbass inputs on typical program material. Deep bass was beyond the compass of this system, and the -6dB bass rolloff point was at 49Hz, giving the potential for satisfactory in-room bass reproduction down to 42Hz—the lowest note of both the orchestral double-bass and 4-string Fender bass.

Fig.1 shows the overall low-frequency output in the nearfield (upper trace); to achieve the moderate bass extension, there is no need for the low-frequency…

Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage loudspeaker Measurements part 2

Examining the transient responses, the Guarneri's impulse response (fig.7) indicates a quick signature, the minor ringing due mainly to the grille. The infinite step response calculated from the impulse data reveals an out-of-phase relationship between high- and mid-frequency drivers, chosen by the designer to provide a well-integrated output over the designed listening window. The high-pass nature of the speaker's low-frequency response causes the step to decay to the zero line after several milliseconds—this is normal. The step's appearance was changed very little by the grille [presumably…

Fine Tunes #19

Good Lord, it's 2000. Happy New Year, everyone!

And what's the hot audiophile topic of the new millennium? Looks like e-commerce to me. To what extent can a specialty audio manufacturer, whose business model has traditionally depended on bricks-and-mortar retailing, define and protect its market? It's a dilemma, all right. Companies such as Equity (B&W and Rotel) are rabidly against e-commerce. They take great pains to track down unauthorized online sales and the offending dealers shipping product out the back door to these sites. VTL's Luke Manley points out that his company's…

Aerial Acoustics Model 8 loudspeaker

Got a garage, a router, and a band saw? Poof! You're a speaker designer. How many audiophiles dream of buying some raw drivers, some MDF and veneer, building a baffle, soldering up a computer-designed crossover, and assembling the Shmendrick Audio 2001? Plenty.

The rest of the fantasy goes like this: You book a room at the Consumer Electronics Show and, driving the new speakers with your home stereo system, you wow the journalists, the dealers, and the foreign distributors. Your speaker is the talk of the show. You head home with a half-million dollars in orders and quit your day job.…

Aerial Acoustics Model 8 loudspeaker Page 2

The large midrange driver, which Kelly chose so it can be crossed over at a relatively low frequency, is a 7.1" multi-fiber coated paper-cone unit, made by VIFA. It incorporates a 40mm voice-coil and a long, large magnet set in a cast magnesium frame. According to Kelly, it's a very smooth-measuring driver.

The tweeter, sourced from the German MB Quart company, is a custom-built 1" titanium-dome design. It features a flared pole vent and five surrounding vents opening into a deep rear chamber that diffuses the driver's backwave. It is, says Kelly, "the most neutral, delicate, and…

Aerial Acoustics Model 8 loudspeaker Page 3

Kelly left worried. I don't blame him: A manufacturer wants a product to work well under review conditions. He doesn't want to have to rely on the reviewer's ability to extrapolate from a less than ideal listening situation. Part of what makes speaker reviews crap shoots is the room interaction, but that holds true for you too: When you listen to a speaker in a showroom, how much does that really tell you about how it will sound in your room? Kelly left troubled by the bass overload and what he felt was my overly damped room. "We voiced this speaker for a more 'lively' room," he told me.…

Aerial Acoustics Model 8 loudspeaker Page 4

Now that's in my room, driven by big-transformered tube amplifiers. What happens (aside from getting a hernia) when you haul the 8s into a much bigger room, drive them with big Rowland solid-state amps, sit farther away, and crank them up even louder?

Greg's dedicated listening room
What a difference tripling or quadrupling your listening space can make! Greg's room is gigantic compared to mine—over 28' wide and about 20' deep to the listening position, which has another 8 to 10' behind it filled with fiberglass batting. The 8s looked and sounded cramped in my room. In his, they…

Aerial Acoustics Model 8 loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Three-way, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" titanium-dome tweeter, 7.1" paper/composite-cone midrange, 10.7" woofer. Crossover points: 250Hz and 2.5kHz. Frequency response: 28Hz-22kHz, ±2dB, -6dB at 23Hz. Impedance: 6 ohms nominal, 3.5 ohms minimum. Sensitivity: 86dB/2.83V/m on-axis. Power requirements: 50W minimum, >100W recommended. Dimensions: 45" H by 9" W by 20" D. Weight: 120 lbs each.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 080105/106.
Prices: $4500/pair in black ash, $5000/pair in walnut, $5200/pair in cherry or maple, $5500/…

Aerial Acoustics Model 8 loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Source: Lyra Parnassus DC and Grado Reference phono cartridges, Graham 2.0 tonearm, VPI TNT Mk.3 turntable.
Digital Sources: Audio Alchemy DDS•Pro transport, DTI•Pro 32 enhancer/jitter reducer, Enlightened Audio DSP-9000 III HDCD processor, Rega Planet CD player.
Preamplification: Audible Illusions Modulus 3A preamplifier, Plinius 14 and Sutherland PH 2000 phono sections.
Power Amplifier: Vacuum Tube Logic MB-450 monoblocks.
Cables: Yamamura Millennium 6000 throughout, Yamamura Quantum AC cords.
Accessories: Yamamura Ciabatta AC…

Aerial Acoustics Model 8 loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

With an estimated B-weighted sensitivity of 85dB/2.83V/m, the Aerial 8 will need a reasonably high-powered amplifier to sing at lifelike levels. However, its impedance plot (fig.1) reveals that it only drops below 5 ohms in the upper bass and lower midrange and that the electrical phase angle, other than in the mid-bass, is relatively benign. Other than the small wrinkle in the traces at 25kHz, due to the tweeter's primary dome resonance, this graph is free from cabinet-induced problems. The "saddle" in the magnitude trace at 20Hz indicates the tuning of the large…