Levinson: The Rosebud is a $3000 speaker, the Classic is an $8000 speaker, and the Revelation is a $50,000 speaker. The amplifiers generally associated with the Rosebud are the Rosette, a $2000, 35Wpc unit, and the Passion, a 100Wpc unit for $3000. The Rosette is very compact—it's only 4 ½" wide and can sit on a shelf. It's extremely simple and unobtrusive. The Passion is for somebody who wants to go further. For an…
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Lander: The meat and potatoes of the Red Rose line consists of just a couple of systems with a few possible permutations to them. Can you specify the basics for our readers?
While it is not quite accurate to say that $500/pair loudspeakers are a dime a dozen, they are by no means unusual. And since this is a price area where major design compromises are mandatory (footnote 1), the sound of such loudspeakers tends to vary all over the map, from pretty good to godawful—depending on what performance areas the designer chose to compromise and by how much.
I approached this latest half-grander with little enthusiasm, despite Siefert's persuasive literature, I have, after all, been reading such self-congratulatory hype abiout new products for longer than most…
Thomas J. Norton wrote about the Maxim IID in June 1987 (Vol.10 No.4):
Preface: We originally weren't going to publish this review, as we were led to believe that the IIID would be obsolete by the time this issue of Stereophile appeared. However, as we were going to press, we were informed that this would not be the case. In addition, contrary to what we reported in the most recent "Recommended Components" (Vol.10 No.3), the original III will also remain in production. The fact that the IIID was modified to correct its flawed high-frequency balance, however, will be of interest: Siefert…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded stand-mounted loudspeaker system. Drive-units: 1" (III) 0.8" (IIID) dome tweeter and 6.5" woofer. Frequency response: 42Hz–24kHz ±3dB (III), 46Hz–32kHz ±2dB (IIID). Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 86dB/W/m. Minimum amplifier power: 25W.
Dimensions: 13" H by 9" W by 11" D. Weight: 36 lbs/pair.
Price: $499/pair (1985); $599/pair (1987); no longer available (2012). Approximate number of dealers: Sold direct
Manufacturer: Siefert Research, Malibu, CA 90265 (1987); company no longer in…
First, let’s talk about that voice. Never great to begin with, it’s nevertheless always been a magical match to the material. Say what you want about the ten million covers of “All Along the Watchtower,” “Masters of War” and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” or the many other Dylan classics, that have been recorded over the years by much greater voices than his, but in the end, no one’s ever sung Bob Dylan as perceptively, as impassionedly, as urgently as…Bob Dylan. It surprises me when people gnash their teeth and complain about his singing today because to my knowledge (and ears) his vocals…
Larry listens to the Usher S-520s with the tweeters on the inside first.
After an exhausting but educational day at NYC’s In Living Stereo setting up my new Rega RB101 tonearm with the Audio Technica AT95E phono cartridge, I hailed a taxi while balancing the turntable on one hand. Thirty minutes later, the yellow cab stopped at the doorstep of my quaint Brooklyn duplex, which I share with three other roommates, a Chartreux cat named Larry, and three friendly Pakistani families.
Upon my return home with the P1, the roommates were ecstatic. Jared analyzed, “I dig its minimalist…
I’m sort of a jerk (stubborn, old-fashioned, anti-social, fiercely independent) and have managed, for my entire adult life, to survive without the Internet in my home. I realize that that will someday have to change—probably sooner than later—as I relinquish my autonomous life for one shared with another person. (And her two cats.)
For many people, the Internet means access to email, social networking sites, weblogs, forums, countless apps and other crap. For me, the Internet will inevitably mean Computer Audio.
And when the time comes for me to dive into Computer…
I can't think of two products at further ends of the audio spectrum than a single-ended triode tubed amplifier and a mass-market Home Theater loudspeaker. Single-ended tubed amplifiers are about reproducing subtlety, delicacy, nuance, and communicating the music's inner essence. Conversely, a Home Theater loudspeaker system—particularly one made by a mass-market manufacturer—would appear to put the emphasis on booming bass and reproducing shotgun blasts, with little regard for musical refinement.
What a bizarre marriage it was, then, to pair the new Infinity Composition Prelude P-FR…
Sidebar 1: System
I auditioned the Composition system as an entire Home Theater package (with the matching center-channel and surround loudspeakers) with three A/V receivers and one A/V amplifier: the Onkyo TX-SV919THX, Yamaha RX-V590, Pioneer VSX-D704S, and the Arcam Xeta One, respectively. For pure music-listening, I drove the Preludes in my music room with Audio Research VT150 tubed monoblock power amplifiers and an Audio Research LS5 Mk.II preamp.
The digital front-end was a Mark Levinson No.31 Reference CD transport feeding the Spectral SDR-2000 Pro processor (HDCD-equipped…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
JA performed the measurements, supplying me with the results after I had finished my auditioning. The Prelude's B-weighted sensitivity measured 95.5dB—slightly lower than the claimed 96dB figure. Still, 95.5dB is an amazingly high sensitivity, particularly for a loudspeaker as flat in response as the Prelude (as we'll see later). Looking at the impedance-magnitude and phase-angle plots (fig.1), we can see that the Prelude's impedance is closer to 5 ohms nominal than the specified 6 ohms nominal. The impedance dips to 4 ohms (at 1.2kHz) and is less than 6 ohms…