Despite its diminutive dimensions, the RB-15 offered above-average sensitivity, at an estimated 90dB(B)/2.83V/m. Though this is slightly below the specified figure of 93dB, it is still very respectable, particularly when you take into consideration the fact that the Klipsch's impedance stays above 6 ohms for most of the audioband (fig.1). It drops to around 4 ohms in just two regions—around 80Hz, the port tuning frequency; and in the lower midrange—and though the electrical phase angle is quite high at times, this is always when the impedance magnitude is high,…
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Symphony orchestras once had definable national characters. When high-end audio came along, those characters became the national sounds of the gear. While most audio manufacturers, like most symphony orchestras, have tended in recent decades to homogenize into an "international" sound, most French audio gear has remained distinct.
Audio Aero, Jadis, and Metronome have all contributed to the reputation of French components on the world high-end scene, but no company has done more to vigorously fly the audio tricolor as has Focal-JMlab. Since 1993, Focal's Utopia series of speakers has…
Given the amount of time and money spent on its development and the hoopla surrounding its introduction, it seems appropriate to begin with the beryllium tweeter. And what a tweeter it is. When he first saw young Jack Nicklaus play, golfing legend Bobby Jones commented that "He plays a game with which I am not familiar." So does the new Be tweeter. After the break-in period, it quickly became evident that the beryllium dome represents a quantum advance in tweeter technology. I'd wondered if I could hear the effect of the driver's breakup point being so far beyond the audible spectrum. Not…
Sidebar 1: The French Touch
Back in February 2003, I accompanied AudioPlus Services' Daniel Jacques and some of his US sales representatives on a trip to the Focal factory in St. Etienne, a medium-sized city outside of Lyon, in southeastern France.
Focal is no boutique operation. In its 20 years it has risen to become what I was told is the second-largest manufacturer of speaker drivers and complete speaker systems in all of Europe. While CEO and founder Jacques Mahul (the "JM" in JMlab) has recently chosen to de-emphasize OEM manufacturing in favor of complete speaker systems,…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Three-way, four-driver, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" inverted beryllium-dome tweeter with ¾" voice-coil and Focus Ring magnet system; two 6½" W-cone midrange drivers with 1½" voice-coils and "Power Flower" magnet system; 13" W-cone woofer with 3" voice-coil and "Power Flower" magnet system. Crossover frequencies: 250Hz, 2.5kHz. Crossover slopes: 24dB/octave. Frequency response: 25Hz-40kHz, ±3dB, on reference axis. Low-frequency point: 20Hz, -6dB. Sensitivity: 91.5dB/2.8V/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Maximum…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Analog source: SOTA Cosmos Series III turntable, Graham 2.2 tonearm, Dynavector XV-1S cartridge.
Digital sources: Esoteric DV-50 universal player, Classé Omega SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Manley Labs Steelhead, Aesthetix Io Signature phono stages; VTL TL-7.5 Reference, BAT VK-51 SE line stages; McIntosh C200, Halcro dm10 preamplifiers.
Power amplifiers: Lamm ML1.1, VTL MB-450 Signature, Halcro dm58, McIntosh C501 monoblocks; Edge NL12, Hovland Radia.
Cables: Phono: Hovland Music Groove 2. Interconnect: Acoustic Zen Silver Reference,…
Sidebar 4: Measurements
Because of the size and bulk of the Nova Utopia Be—260 lbs apiece—it made both practical and economic sense for me to fly to Minnesota to measure the speakers in Paul Bolin's listening room rather than have them shipped to my Brooklyn lab. The upside of this was that I could spend some time listening to the speakers in Paul's system; the downside was twofold, in that a) I couldn't examine the Nova's dispersion in any direct manner, and b) the measurements were affected by reflections from the inevitable room boundaries. (In Brooklyn I do my acoustic measurements…
English manufacturer Monitor Audio has been around for just about as long as people have been putting "high-end" and "audio" together—they opened their doors in 1972. Back in the mid '80s, when I was a young and carefree (and impoverished) consumer of hi-fi reviews, I'd read about the gold-deposited metal tweeters that Mo Iqbal was concocting and think, "Man, that's some exotic, far-out stuff!"
Now '00 is almost over, and Monitor Audio is still going strong. The Silver Series is their next-to-the-top line, and the Silver 9i is that line's pinnacle. And at $1999/pair, it seems within…
Sound
Right out of the box, and before I'd even worked on their proper positioning, the Silver 9i's felt comfortable—like putting on a favorite pair of well-worn jeans or sneakers. In other words, they sounded good, in a way that kept me listening without anything—good or bad—sticking out to call attention to itself (footnote 1).
Right out of the box, and before I'd even worked on their proper positioning, the Silver 9i's felt comfortable—like putting on a favorite pair of well-worn jeans or sneakers. In other words, they sounded good, in a way that kept me listening without anything—good or bad—sticking out to call attention to itself (footnote 1).
The Silver 9i offered detail a-plenty without sounding strident. On "Mami," from Master Sessions 1 by Up, Bustle and Out (Ninja Tune CD Zen CD46), the flute of Richard Egiies ("Cuba's Number 1 Flautist," as the jacket affirms) had, especially when Egiies…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Floorstanding, reflex-loaded loudspeaker with mass-loadable cabinet and two sets of binding posts for biwiring. Drive-units: one 1" gold-colored dome tweeter, two 6.5" ceramic-coated metal-cone woofers, all shielded for use in video applications. Frequency response: 30Hz-25kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 91dB/W/m. Impedance: 8 ohms. Power handling: 150W RMS, 350W peak. Maximum SPL: 111dB.
Dimensions: 39" H by 7.5" W by 10.5" D. Weight: 52 lbs (23.6kg).
Finishes: Natural cherry, black oak, rose mahogany.
Serial number of units reviewed: 1320 (both…