Radialstrahler
The 111 is a serious attempt at producing a true omnidirectional speaker, radiating the same sound balance in every lateral direction. This has significant…
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The speaker review in the July 1996 issue of the German audio magazine Stereoplay didn't hold back the praise. "Absolut Spitzenklasse III Referenz" was their overall rating, which I guess translates to "You'd better hear this, buddy," in American English. So when MBL of America's Marc Lawrence called to find out if I wanted to review the subject of that review, the MBL 111, I didn't need to be asked twice.
When you hear this work live, the spatial presentation reinforces the enveloping tonal ambiguity. The spatial smearing of lesser speakers would interfere with the effectiveness of Holst's almost fetishistic scoring. By contrast, the combination of superb tonal accuracy and secure spatial accuracy offered by the MBLs allows the listener to appreciate the experience in a manner similar to the live event: Themes and accompanying figures restlessly shift in space as they move from one choir of instruments to another, but the listener can clearly hear what is happening and, more important, why.…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Four-way, omnidirectional, floorstanding loudspeaker with bandpass-loaded woofer. Drive-units: 24-segment carbon-fiber omnidirectional bending-mode tweeter; 12-segment carbon-fiber omnidirectional bending-mode upper-midrange unit; 5" (130mm) plastic-cone lower-midrange unit with conical diffusor; 12" (300mm) woofer in a separate bandpass enclosure. Crossover frequencies: 130Hz, 670Hz, 3.5kHz. Frequency range: 20Hz–40kHz. Sensitivity: 80dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Maximum power handling: 300W. Maximum spl: 106dB (conditions not specified).
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Sidebar 2: System Context
My dedicated listening room measures around 19' by 16.5', with a 9' 3" ceiling broken up by 9" pine logs. The room is carpeted, and there are patches of Sonex foam on the ceiling to damp primary reflections of the sound. The other wall has RPG Abffusors behind the listening seat to absorb and diffuse what would otherwise be early rear-wall reflections of the sound that might blur the stereo imaging precision. Tube Traps are used in the room corners to even out the room's bass resonances, the result being a relatively uniform reverberation time of around 200ms…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The MBL's impedance measurement (fig.1) was made with an Audio Precision System One. Although it reaches a minimum value of 4 ohms at 12kHz, the magnitude stays above 6 ohms for most of the upper midrange and treble. It does drop to 5 ohms or below in the upper- and midbass, which means using a good amplifier capable of sourcing current. Note the combination of lowish impedance (around 5 ohms) and large, capacitive phase angle (45° or so) in a narrow region around 36Hz. This will tax the partnering amplifier and might explain why the speaker's low-frequency…
The Rega Couple interconnect ($150/1m pair) comes in a plastic pouch rather like a Ziploc veggie bag—just the pouch and a printed card. How much could the packaging cost? Ten cents?
This, in a nutshell, is why I like Rega: They spend the money on the product, not the packaging. No hype. Rega products have no frills or frivolous features. There's no over-designing in order to overcharge. Simpler is better—better sound, greater reliability.
I like Rega for another reason. While some British companies—Meridian, Linn, Naim—have marched steadily upmarket, Rega has remained…
Jim Austin wrote about the Mira 3 in September 2006 (Vol.29 No.9):
I despise Harley-Davidson motorcycles. I know that some audio types love them, but not me. It's not the noise per se but the aesthetic: they're obvious, in your face, loud. A Harley is the vehicular equivalent of a loud belch or a smelly fart. With apologies to those who like them, there's something, well, incontinent about a Harley.
So what's that got to do with an affordable British integrated amplifier? Not much. What I don't like about Harleys is pretty much what I do like about the Mira 3, Rega's top-of-the-…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state integrated amplifier. Maximum output power: 61Wpc into 8 ohms, 91Wpc into 4 ohms. CD/Tuner/Line 1/Line 2/Tape input sensitivity: 220mV for full power. Line input impedance: 10k ohms. Phono input sensitivity (moving-magnet): 2.1mV. Load 47k ohms (in parallel with 100pF). Power amplifier input sensitivity = 818mV. load 24k ohms. Preamp output level (with rated input levels): 818mV @ 470 ohms. Power amplifier gain: 28.8dB. Power Consumption 225W.
Dimensions: Not listed.
Price: $995.
Manufacturer: Rega Research Ltd., 119 Park…
Sidebar 2: Jim Austin's Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Rega P7 turntable, Rega RB-700 tonearm, Rega Bias 2, Elys 2, Exact (old & new versions) cartridges.
Digital Sources: Marantz SA-8260 SACD player, Benchmark DAC 1 D/A converter.
Preamplification: Whest, Rega Fono moving-magnet phono stages.
Integrated Amplifiers: Arcam A75 Plus, Exposure 2010S, NAD C 372.
Loudspeakers: Vandersteen 2Ce Signature.
Cables: Interconnect: Chord Chameleon Silver Plus, Chord Chorus, Monster Cable M550i. Speaker: Chord Odyssey 2 & 4, Monster Cable M1.2.Accessories: PS Audio High-…
KEITH JARRETT: Tokyo Solo & The Carnegie Hall Concert
Tokyo Solo
Keith Jarrett, piano
ECM DVD 5501 (DVD). 2006. Kaname Kawachi, dir.; Martin Pearson, eng. 16:9. Dolby Digital Stereo & 5.1, DTS 5.1. TT: 110:48
The Carnegie Hall Concert
Keith Jarrett, piano
ECM 1989/90 (2 CDs). 2006. Keith Jarrett, Manfred Eicher, prods.; Martin Pearson, eng. DDD. TT: 110:23
With last year's Radiance, Keith Jarrett returned to the epic solo-piano improvisations for which he's been famous for 33 years. But with a difference—instead of continuous improvisations lasting…