Many letters we receive express bewilderment and irritation with some of our terminology. This seems to imply that our equipment reports don't…
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As you may have noticed, Stereophile's approach to equipment testing is quite different from that of "mainstream" audio publications. Instead of throwing a bunch of measurements at you, and telling you how we think components ought to sound because of those measurements, we test them as you would: by listening. But we have an extra problem: we have to convey to someone else—you—a feeling for what we hear from that component. It ain't always easy.
Most speakers don't come in heavy wooden crates—they come in cardboard cartons, two per box, light enough to be tucked under one arm and carried out to the car. Not so in HighEndLand, where the smallest minimonitor can test a healthy man's strength. There are plenty of good reasons for this cult of robustness, foremost among them structural stability and the suppression of resonances.
At 4½' tall and 154 lbs (70kg) each, PBN Audio's Montana EPS exemplifies extremism in the pursuit of solidity. Rap as hard as you will anywhere on the hexagonal cabinet—go ahead, bust your knuckles—…
But I'm too cautious to try something like this without setting it up on the test bench first—if you've ever accidentally smoked an amplifier by misconnecting its output, you'll know why. In biamping with two unlike amplifiers, you can't be sure that their outputs are in phase with each other, or if they "track" in a similar fashion—that is, produce equal output voltages for equal inputs. My test procedure was to put the AudioPrism and the Parasound HCA-1000A I intended to use side by side and feed them the same frequencies (from a Leader sinewave generator) while monitoring their outputs…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units (all ScanSpeak): one 1" fabric-dome tweeter, two 4" Kevlar midrange cones, two 8" woofers. Crossover points: 300Hz, 3kHz. Crossover slopes: 24dB/octave. Frequency response: Not specified. Sensitivity: 92dB/2.83V/m. Impedance: 4 ohms (3–11 ohms).
Dimensions: 53.75" H by 14.25" W by 15" D. Weight: 154 lbs. (70kg) each.
Finishes: approximately 20 natural wood veneers; lacquer on special request.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 97357, 97358, 970326, 970327.
Price: $7995/pair…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Well Tempered Reference turntable with Sumiko SHO cartridge.
Digital sources: Melior by Museatex and PS Audio Lambda 2 CD transports; Randy Tomlinson–modified JVC XLZ-1010, Marantz CC-48, and Marantz CC-65SE CD players; Parasound D/AC-2000 and Theta DS Pro Basic III DACs; Genesis Digital Lens.
Preamplifiers: Threshold T-3i, Cary SLP 94P, Audio Research SP14, Parasound P/LD-2000, Creek OBH-12.
Power amplifiers: Threshold T-100 (as monoblocks), Parasound HCA-1000A, AudioPrism Debut Mk.II, Cary Audio 805c.
Cables: Nordost SPM,…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The big Montana was among the more sensitive speakers I have measured, at an estimated 92.5dB(B)/2.83V/m. As BW found, it won't need many amplifier watts to play loud. However, the partnering amplifier needs to have good current capability, as the impedance (fig.1) drops to 3 ohms or below for much of the bass and midrange regions. Thankfully, the phase angle is low over most the audioband.
Fig.1 PBN Montana EPS, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed). (2 ohms/vertical div.)
Despite its large panels, the well-braced cabinet is…
No doubt about it—Linn's top-of-the-line Komri loudspeaker is a queer-lookin' duck. It's a large, boxy thing, fairly deep, and weighing a hefty 176 lbs, including the base. Whew. I'll put it this way: rap your knuckles, break your hand.
The Komri's most obvious feature is Linn's "4k Acoustic Array Mid-Treble Section." The supertweeter, tweeter, and midrange unit, with protective screens covering their domes, are mounted in a narrow, sealed, bridge-like assembly of polymer, in front of the polymer-cone upper-bass driver. This "pod" is designed, tooled, and molded by Linn in what…
With four sets of binding posts, the possibility exists for one connection plus the supplied jumpers, or quadwiring, which I used. You can also biamp/biwire with one amp driving the upper base and midrange units, the other the tweeter and supertweeter. And last, you could run a quad-amped setup with one amp for each driver. Ah, da life o' Reilly!
After plugging the Komris in and turning them on, then lighting up the Klimax amps on their cut-to-size and amazingly effective Silent Running stands, Morris tweaked the speakers' positions with music. They wound up about a foot farther back…
I was a little wrung out from that listening session. I'd not heard vinyl offer so much speed and energy, so much get-up'n'go, while retaining the resonating beauty of a lightly stroked cello playing Boccherini on Virtuoses Cello to the synth riffs on Autobahn.
Time for a little CD. How about upsampling The Timekeepers: Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson (JVC JVCXR-0206-2)? When I play this disc, I automatically head for track 3, "Rent Party." I love to listen to it so much I can't stand it! Akira Taguchi and Alan Yoshida have been doing wonders with their XRCDs, but I've never heard this…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Five-way, sealed-box, floorstanding loudspeaker with "Active Bass Servo" powered woofers. Drive-units: ¾" polymer-dome supertweeter, 1" polymer-dome tweeter, 5" polymer-dome midrange unit, 4" polymer-cone upper-bass driver, two 10" polypropylene-cone woofers powered by dedicated 1500W amplifiers. Frequency response: 20Hz-28kHz, ±3dB, 10Hz-40kHz, -6dB. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Sensitivity: 87dB/m.
Dimensions: 45.8" (1163.5mm) H by 16.5" (420mm) W by 20.5" (520mm) D. Weight: 176 lbs (80kg) each.
Finishes: maple, black, cherry.
Serial…