Description: Floorstanding three-way dynamic loudspeaker system with external passive crossover. Driver complement: 1" aluminum-dome tweeter mounted on open baffle, 5.5" pulp/plastic-cone midrange on open baffle, 10" pulp-cone woofer in sealed enclosure. Crossover frequencies: 400Hz, 3500Hz. Frequency range: 20Hz-25kHz. Sensitivity: 87dB/W/m. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 4 ohms minimum.
Dimensions: 52.5" H by 12.75" W by 15" D. Weight: 65 lbs each.
Serial number of units reviewed: 101/102.
Finish: Cherry with black cloth.
Price: $12,000/pair.…
search
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
LP playback: Linn LP12/Lingo/Cirkus/Ekos/Arkiv.
CD playback: Audio Research CD2/DAC3, Linn Sondek CD12, Sonic Frontiers Transport 3/Processor 3.
DDVD player: Denon DVD-3000.
Preamplification: Audio Research Reference One, Conrad-Johnson ART, Mark Levinson No.380S; Linn Linto phono section.
Power amplifiers: Accuphase M2000, Audio Research VT200, Cary CAD-805C, Mark Levinson No.332.
Cables: AudioQuest Lapis, Madrigal CZ-Gel 1, Siltech SQ-80B G3.
Accessories: API Power Wedge Ultra, Cinemedia PowerPRO 20 AC line balancer, OSAR equipment and…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The big Alón's sensitivity was to specification at an estimated 87dB(B)/2.83V/m. Its impedance plot of magnitude and phase against frequency (fig.1) dropped below 6 ohms only in the upper bass and upper midrange, with a moderate phase angle across most of the band other than in the bass. The Circe will be relatively easy to drive, which presumably explains why listeners have had success using the speaker with SE triode amplifiers. But note the very high impedance peak at 39Hz: 24 ohms. This will exaggerate the midbass with such amplifiers. It also indicates that…
Fig.4 Alón Circe, response at 50" of woofer without crossover (top) and with (bottom), both curves corrected for microphone response.
Fig.5 Alón Circe, response at 50" of midrange unit without crossover (top) and with (bottom), both curves corrected for microphone response.
Fig.6 Alón Circe, response at 50" of tweeter without crossover (top) and with (bottom), both curves corrected for microphone response.
A similar effect can be seen in both the equalized and raw responses of the tweeter (fig.6). Note that the HF unit is still putting out significant…
But the speaker's perceived in-room balance will also be influenced by the way it behaves off-axis. Fig.9 shows the Circe's response plotted from 90 degrees on one side of the tweeter axis to 90 degrees on the other. This graph is hard to interpret, so I have also shown these same curves with the on-axis response subtracted from each (fig.10). Between 300Hz and 1kHz, the speaker's dipole nature can be clearly seen, but from 1kHz to 6kHz the Circe has wide, even dispersion. In effect, the lack of upper-midrange energy seen on-axis fills in to quite an extent to the speaker's sides. The larger…
Sidebar 4: Follow-up from April 2000, Vol.23 No.4
Every now and again, there's an anomaly in Stereophile's "Recommended Components." Take Acarian Systems' Alón Circe. Originally reviewed by Wes Phillips in May 1999 (Vol.22 No.5), the Circe proved controversial, to say the least. As noted in last October's "Recommended Components" Wes praised its "midrange and high-frequency purity," which, in his review, he'd called "nothing short of magical." Wes also liked the bass, finding it deep, well tuned, and a "trifle warm"—perfect if you're a "tube-using music-lover with a yen for '60s jazz…
A Follow-Up appeared in Stereophile October 2001, Vol.24 No.10
When Acarian Systems announced an upgrade for my reference Alón Circe loudspeaker (reviewed by Wes Phillips and Jonathan Scull in the May 1999 and April 2000 issues, respectively), I couldn't wait to have the pair I had purchased updated to the latest spec. The Circe upgrade actually incorporates three distinct modifications:
• A new woofer, which, via an improved voice-coil, is designed to provide lower electrical distortion as well as higher power-handling capabilities. (Designer Carl Marchisotto pointed out to me…
Robert J. Reina wrote about the Circe Mk.III in September 2004 (Vol.27 No.9):
I was very impressed with the Mk.II update of my reference Alón by Acarian Systems Circe loudspeaker (Stereophile, October 2001, Vol.24 No.10). Compared with the original Circe, reviewed by Wes Phillips in Vol.22 No.5 and Jonathan Scull in Vol.23 No.4, the Mk.II ($12,000/pair) featured a more rigid cabinet and a lower-distortion woofer. Although I have not been a fan of all of Carl Marchisotto's designs over the years, the Circe Mk.II gave me everything I was looking for in a reference speaker: overall low…
While walking home from the office the other day I passed a gleaming, perfectly detailed Harley-Davidson, lightly customized, as many are these days. I didn't stop and drool, but I couldn't unsnap my eyes from it. As I drew parallel to that hawg, a Ricky Martin look-alike threw his leg over the saddle and thumbed the starter. No, you don't have to be a tattooed, beer-gutted redneck anymore to rear up and slam down on a kick-starter of one of those beasts. These days, it's all done with the push of a button. Dude.
Whirr...whirr...whirr...ka-BLAM! The bike didn't so much start as explode…
'Round back, just like the McIntosh MC2000 tube amp (which I reviewed last March), multiple "Autoformer" output taps offer 2, 4, and 8 ohm connections on heavy WBT five-way binding posts with multiple neutral taps so you don't have to make your cables say "ahhh." There's not much clearance between the back panel and the binding posts, so getting a grip on the WBTs can be a little stressful for pudgy audiophile fingers and bad Boomer knees. But the big WBTs, just as are found on the rear of the JMlab Utopias, are large, beautifully made connectors with integral locking mechanisms. Their use,…