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For me, the first criterion in judging an audio component's performance is reproduction of the human voice. I listen to a lot of vocal music; if voices don't sound quite right (ie, like what I remember from live performances), I really don't care if bass extends to 7Hz or if the speaker will play loud enough for a rock concert. The Revelation Three was simply superb in the vocal department, neutral in tonality and free of artificial "hi-fi" overlay. I found this to be true with my usual vocal test pieces, like Sylvia McNair's Jerome Kern CD (Sure Thing: The Jerome Kern Songbook, Philips 442…
Getting real
Many HI-FI '97 showgoers admired the sound of the Revelation Threes, but some raised eyebrows at the choice of associated equipment: Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Signature Mk.II preamp and JL-1 power amps, Resolution Audio transport and D/A processor, Cardas Golden Cross cables. How reasonable is it to combine a $2195 pair of speakers with cables and electronics costing about $40k? While expensive electronics allow us to explore the speakers' optimal performance, the fact remains that most people buying speakers in this price range use much more modestly priced…
Many HI-FI '97 showgoers admired the sound of the Revelation Threes, but some raised eyebrows at the choice of associated equipment: Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Signature Mk.II preamp and JL-1 power amps, Resolution Audio transport and D/A processor, Cardas Golden Cross cables. How reasonable is it to combine a $2195 pair of speakers with cables and electronics costing about $40k? While expensive electronics allow us to explore the speakers' optimal performance, the fact remains that most people buying speakers in this price range use much more modestly priced…
Specifications
Description: Three-way, sealed-box, dynamic loudspeaker tuned to 29Hz. Drive-units: 1" aluminum-dome tweeter, 4.5" polypropylene-cone midrange driver, 10" polypropylene-cone woofer. Crossover: 24dB/octave. Frequency response: 33Hz-26kHz (-3dB). In-room bandwidth: 23Hz-26kHz. Linearity: ±0.75dB. Sensitivity: 86.5dB (2.83V/1m). Nominal impedance: 4 ohms.
Description: Three-way, sealed-box, dynamic loudspeaker tuned to 29Hz. Drive-units: 1" aluminum-dome tweeter, 4.5" polypropylene-cone midrange driver, 10" polypropylene-cone woofer. Crossover: 24dB/octave. Frequency response: 33Hz-26kHz (-3dB). In-room bandwidth: 23Hz-26kHz. Linearity: ±0.75dB. Sensitivity: 86.5dB (2.83V/1m). Nominal impedance: 4 ohms.
Dimensions: 40" H by 11" W by 14" D. Weight: 96 lbs.
Finishes: sapele, light oak, black.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: R30YB281033A/B.
Price: $2195/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 27.…
Measurements
The Hales Revelation Three was measured with a DRA Labs MLSSA system in the Stereophile listening room, mounted on an Italian Outline speaker turntable.1 Its B-weighted sensitivity was calculated to be a hair under 87dB/2.83V/m, while its impedance (fig.1) dropped below 4 ohms between 50Hz and 600Hz. Couple this with a high phase angle in the bass and a good amplifier is called for. Tube amplifiers should definitely be used from their 4 ohm taps. The single peak in the bass, at 28Hz, indicates the sealed-box tuning, and in turn implies respectable low-frequency extension.…
The Hales Revelation Three was measured with a DRA Labs MLSSA system in the Stereophile listening room, mounted on an Italian Outline speaker turntable.1 Its B-weighted sensitivity was calculated to be a hair under 87dB/2.83V/m, while its impedance (fig.1) dropped below 4 ohms between 50Hz and 600Hz. Couple this with a high phase angle in the bass and a good amplifier is called for. Tube amplifiers should definitely be used from their 4 ohm taps. The single peak in the bass, at 28Hz, indicates the sealed-box tuning, and in turn implies respectable low-frequency extension.…
The tweeter axis is 35" from the floor, which is typical for a seated listener. Fig.3 shows how the response changes as the listener moves above and below that axis. A standing listener will perceive a suckout at the upper crossover frequency of 3kHz, but as long as the person sits with his or her ears between the top of the enclosure and the midrange unit the speaker will sound neutrally balanced.
Fig.3 Hales Revelation Three, vertical response family at 50", normalized to response on tweeter axis, from back to front: differences in response 15 degrees-5 degrees above-axis;…
In the time domain, the Revelation Three's step response (fig.5) indicates that all three drive-units are connected with the same positive acoustic polarity, but as expected from the use of high-order filters and a flat baffle, the speaker is not time-coherent. As RD noted, this does not appear to have had any negative effect on the speaker's soundstaging. The associated cumulative spectral-decay plot (fig.6) reveals a superbly clean decay, marred only by a residual mode at the cursor position in this plot at 3250Hz. This is low enough in level that it probably doesn't have any serious…
I must admit, right from the outset, that I find reviewing electronic components harder than reviewing loudspeakers; the faults are less immediately obvious. No preamplifier, for example, suffers from the frequency-response problems endemic to even good loudspeakers. And power amplifiers? If you were to believe the older generation of engineers—which includes some quite young people!—then we reached a plateau of perfection in amplifier design some time after the Scopes Monkey Trial but well before embarking on the rich and exciting lifestyles afforded us by Reaganomics. (In the UK, it is…
On the left are the two tape-loop controls, one switching between tape loop 1 and tape loop 2, the monitor switch also offering a third "defeat" position where the tape loops are completely out of circuit. An even smaller switch offers the choice between inversion and non-inversion of absolute signal polarity. The "soundstage" controls are to the right, the stereo/mono switch and balance controls, the individual level-adjust controls for each channel offering a maximum swing of ±5dB in detented 1dB steps.
On the rear panel, all inputs and outputs are implemented with unbalanced Camac…
Those familiar with earlier Mark Levinson electronics, where elaborate heatsinking was used on the various modules to ensure that the transistors accurately tracked one another thermally, will find the No.26's interior a surprise. The circuits have been designed not to need the mechanical thermal coupling previously used, resulting in a cleaner-looking layout. Despite the pcb commonality, construction is totally dual-mono, the regulated power supplies being separate for each channel, the board layout also keeping the channels separate—LH channel to the front, RH to the rear. High-quality…
Rather than the ubiquitous 5-way binding post, Madrigal chose to use gold-plated Fischer sockets to connect the loudspeaker. These are rated at 50A continuous, 80A peak, and provide a gas-tight connection. (There is a satisfying "pop" when the plug is removed.) A color-coded pair of plugs is included with each No.20; your ML dealer should be willing to fit these to the cables of your choice, though Madrigal's own CPC cable can come prefitted. To aid changing cables, I used 5-way-to-Fischer adaptors for my tests, but I wouldn't recommend this for a permanent installation.
A matter of…