SIDEBAR 3: A Matter of Interpretation
While I don't disagree with J. Gordon Holt's feeling that many "audiophile" loudspeakers are designed to have a degree of response shaping---though I can think of as many that tilt up as tilt down---it's only fair to point out that, by his own admission, JGH has never actually auditioned either the Westlake or the Acoustic Energy loudspeakers he uses as examples in developing his hypothesis. He does imply that predicting a loudspeaker's sound quality from its on-axis frequency response is not a trivial matter. I agree, so here are my…
To illustrate this point, figs.3 and 4 show the spatially averaged responses for each of the two loudspeakers taken in my listening room (footnote 2). Though this measurement will only be valid for my listening environment---which is why I generally include it in my own speaker reviews---it has proved to be a relatively good indicator of perceived balance, if not soundstaging. Again, the Acoustic Energy's exaggerated bass balance (fig.3) makes its presence known, while the Westlake's entire bass region (fig.4) is shelved down, as I noted during my auditioning. (The 63Hz peak and the suckout…
Letters in response appeared in Vol.17 Nos.6 & 7, June & July 1994 Appalled by Gordon
Editor:
I was appalled by J. Gordon Holt's "Space...the Final Frontier" in March. As an audio manufacturer, I disagree that there is no room for more than incremental improvements in two-channel stereo. Components are breaking new ground at a rapid pace; this is no time to give up the ship. Besides, are you guys ready to change your title from Stereophile to Surroundophile? Doesn't that just roll right off your tongue?
Gordon complained in his "Space" article about designers…
Setup is the key
Editor:
I agree with JGH that surround systems can have the potential to outperform most high-end stereo systems. (Interestingly, JA, perhaps unintentionally, almost succeeded in ruining JGH's objectives.) Like many audiophiles, I enjoy stereo sound, especially when it is carefully set up using recordings such as Chesky JD37 and JD68, and QSound CDs. However, when surround-sound components are judiciously put together, [the sound] is frequently more realistic and superior to stereo.
The trick here is to apply the same attention as you would on a stereo…
Reflections
Editor:
While I must agree with JGH on surround-sound ("Space...the Final Frontier," Vol.17 No.3, p.60), I must side with the editor regarding the relationship between the distance of the speaker from the rear wall and apparent image depth. I have used a Yamaha DSP-1 Digital Sound Field Processor for about two years, and now find the image unbearably flat without the Yamaha's added ambience. This is despite the great image depth afforded by the bipolar speakers I built: my three-way revision of the Delac S10 ("one of the weirdest speakers I have ever laid eyes on," said JA…
Stereophile Vol.17 No.8, August 1994 Bravo, JGH
Editor:
Bravo for J. Gordon Holt's review of the Fosgate/Audionics surround-sound system (April 1994, p.155). Since 1971, when I first experimented with David Hafler's Dynaco 4 Dimensional Sound System, I have been enjoying some of the benefits of surround-sound, depending, unfortunately, on the way the disc was recorded.
But since the advent of Nimbus Records, I have been enjoying surround-sound much, much more. Nimbus and the Dynaco/Hafler system go together like peaches and cream! All this without the pumping, breathing,…
"Tonearm?" muttered John Crabbe, my erstwhile editor at Hi-Fi News & Record Review, as he bent over my shoulder some 12 years ago to see what I was writing about. "A tonearm belongs on an acoustic gramophone—you should use the term 'pickup arm,' which doesn't suggest that the arm has a sound of its own."
John is correct in so many things hi-fidelical that I didn't then have the courage to point out that, yes, in theory modern arms add nothing to the sound of the cartridges that they carry. In practice, however, not all the mechanical energy imparted the stylus by the…
The SME doesn't work optimally on the Linn, giving a lazy, fat-bassed sound, though the beauty of its midrange still shines through. Christopher Breunig has found the WTA to sound stunningly natural on the Linn, but it has insufficient low-frequency extension, in my opinion. (The rear of the armtube also sticks out far enough that the turntable lid can no longer be used, something that would irritate me to the point that I couldn't live with it.) The Breuer is unobtainable. The Sumiko is discontinued, and in any case was too massive for the LP12's suspension. Using the Rega on the Linn is…
First, what groove noise there was seemed quieter than with the Ittok. You might remember from my review of the Nitty Gritty Hybrid record-cleaning machine in March that I noted that a noticeable effect of vacuum cleaning was to reduce the granularity of the background noise. The difference between the two arms was similar, the Ekos's cleaner background allowing instruments to stand forward from the silence just that little bit more three-dimensionally. With a naturally miked recording of a single instrument—the new recording of violinist Arturo Delmoni made by Kavi Alexander for loudspeaker…
Sidebar 1: Specifications Description: Fixed-pivot, medium-mass tonearm.
Price: $1995 (1989), $2695 (2001). Approximate number of dealers: 85.
Manufacturer: Linn Products Ltd., Floors Road, Waterfoot, Glasgow G76 0EP, Scotland, UK. US Distributor: Linn Inc., 4540 Southside Boulevard, Suite 402, Jacksonville, FL 32216. Tel: (904) 645-5242. Fax: (904) 645-7275. Web: www.linn.co.uk.
