Tannoy Ltd. UK, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire ML5 4TF, Scotland, UK. Tel: (44) (0)1236-420199. Fax: (44) (0)1236-428230. Web: www.tannoy.com. North American Distributor: TC Group Americas, 335 Gage Avenue, Suite 1, Kitchener, Ontario N2M 5E1, Canada. Tel: (519) 745-1158. Fax: (519) 745-2364
search
When I was seven years old, my father brought home an air-conditioner: a flimsy, hulking thing that sat in an open window just as a frame of X-ray film sits in an open mouth. It worked by consuming a steady diet of ice cubes and water, then blowing a fan across the slurry and into our grateful living room. It was loud and it stank and it wasn't very cold at all.
Air-conditioners have improved since 1962. So have automobiles and contact lenses and light bulbs and copiers and television sets. So have lots of other consumer goods.
It's reasonable for the average person to assume…
The Line Magnetic driver appears perfect: like a time-machine Western Electric 755a in virtually every respect. From its beautifully formed 7.25" pulp-and-fabric cone to the coating that gives the integral surround its characteristically low compliance to the lustrous hammertone finish of its metalwork, every detail looks and feels right. One can't help being impressed with the knowledge, effort, and sheer love that have apparently gone into this product.
The 755 I's aperiodic enclosure is constructed entirely of plywood, the heaviest panel being a central baffle that's rigidly fastened…
Sidebar 1: List of the Month
The 10 most well-deserved Grammys of the past quarter-century, in no particular order:
1) Del McCoury Band, Bluegrass Album of the Year, 2005: The Company We Keep
2) Motörhead, Best Metal Performance, 2004: "Whiplash"
3) Ralph Stanley, Best Male Country Vocal Performance, 2001: "O Death"
4) Rage Against the Machine, Best Hard Rock Performance, 2000: Guerrilla Radio
5) The Beatles, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or a Group, 1996: "Free as a Bird"
6) Tom Petty, Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, 1995: "You Don't Know How It Feels"
…
Sidebar 2: Contacts
Line Magnetic Audio Co. Ltd., 4th Floor, Building No.2, Ping Xi Road No.6, Nanping Industry Park, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China. Tel: (86) 0756-3911927. Fax: (86) 0756-3911933 US distributor: Tone Imports: Web: www.toneimports.com
Oswalds Mill Audio. Web: www.oswaldsmillaudio.com.
As I mention in last month’s “Entry Level,” September 5th would have been John Cage’s 100th birthday, and celebrations of all shapes and sizes are taking place around the world. Fans of Cage’s music are especially lucky: several exciting new releases are now available.
Here are just a few:
Australian sound artist, Room40 curator, and all-around sweet dude, Lawrence English, has recorded For/Not for John Cage as “an homage to the aspects of his life and work that have inspired me over the past two decades (ironically, those in which he has been physically absent, but…
When a reviewer specializes in seeking out innovation and value in affordable loudspeakers, certain manufacturers warrant revisiting again and again—companies that consistently deliver high-value products, but also steadily revamp their lines to trickle down design innovations to ever more affordable models.
Polk Audio is such a company. During my years at Stereophile I've covered their RT25i (September 2001), which I bought and still own; the LSi7 (March 2003); and the RTiA1 (September 2008). Each model, when reviewed, exemplified great value and competed well with all other designs at…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, bass-reflex bookshelf loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) ring-radiator tweeter, 3.25" (83mm) polypropylene-cone midrange, 6.5" (165mm) polypropylene-cone woofer. Crossover frequency (midrange–tweeter): 2.8kHz. Frequency range: 36Hz–40kHz. Frequency response: 50Hz–30kHz, –3dB. Nominal impedance: compatible with 8 ohm outputs. Sensitivity: 88dB. Recommended amplification: 20–200Wpc.
Dimensions: 16¾" (426mm) H by 8" (203mm) W by 14½" (370mm) D. Weight: 29.6 lbs (13.4kg).
Finishes: Mount Vernon Cherry, Midnight Mahogany.
Serial…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV, Rega Research Planar 3 turntables; Immedia, Syrinx PU-3 tonearms; Koetsu Urushi, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, Creek Destiny CD players.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D, Creek Destiny phono stages; Audio Valve Eclipse line stage.
Power Amplifier: Audio Research Reference 110.
Integrated Amplifier: Creek Destiny.
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Excite X12, Epos M16i, Monitor Audio RX6 Silver.
Cables: Interconnect (all MIT): Magnum M3, MI-350 CVTwin Terminator, MI-…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Polk LSiM703's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and spatially averaged room responses. With its ¼" capsule, the Earthworks mike is small enough to not significantly affect the tuning of the port when used to take a nearfield measurement.
I estimated the LSiM703's B-weighted voltage sensitivity as 87dB/2.83V/m, 1dB lower than the specification. The electrical impedance (fig.1, solid trace) remained between 4 and 7 ohms over most of…