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I should begin this review by confessing that I've never been a fan of subwoofers. Most subwoofer systems I've heard have been plagued by a familiar litany of sonic horrors: poor integration between subwoofer and main speakers, boom, bloat, tubbiness, slowness, excessive LF output, and an overall presentation that constantly reminds the listener he is hearing a big cone moving. To me, subwoofers often sound detached from the music, providing an accompanying thump that bears little relationship to the sound from the main speakers. Rather than revealing the music's harmonic underpinnings,…
Sidebar 1: RH's Review System
Associated electronics were the VTL 225W Deluxe monoblock power amplifiers and an Audio Research SP-11 Mk.II preamplifier. Analog source was a Well-Tempered Turntable and tonearm, fitted with the superb AudioQuest AQ 7000 cartridge, stepped up with the Expressive Technologies SU-1 transformer and connected with Expressive's IC-1 interconnects. The turntable and most of the electronics were supported by the excellent Merrill Stable Table.
The digital front end varied over the auditioning, including at one time or another the Wadia WT-3200 and Esoteric…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
Starting with the high-pass electronics, I measured the crossover slopes with different personality cards. Fig.1 shows the slopes with the Hales System Two Signature (52Hz rated) and the Rush Monument 2 (100Hz rated) cards. Interchannel crosstalk in the high-pass electronics, shown in fig.2, was fairly good, measuring about 60dB up to 10kHz, decreasing slightly to 55dB at 20kHz. I repeated the crosstalk measurements without a personality card (and its ribbon connecting cable) in the circuit. The card and ribbon cable didn't degrade the channel isolation.
…
Corey Greenberg wrote about the Muse 18 in August 1991 (Vol.14 No.8):
Alright—you: up against the wall!
No, I'm not Daryl Gates. I was just telling the Muse Model 18 active subwoofer that its services weren't going to be needed for this review; I can't very well judge an amp from 75Hz up only, can I?
Aw, c'mon! It was sitting right there; I had to try it! As I said in my July turntable roundup, the Muse Model 18 subwoofer has been absolutely killer in my system, giving the Spica Angeluses bass and dynamic capability across the board they never dreamed of. Inside this…
Larry Greenhill wrote about the Muse 18 in March 1993 (Vol.16 No.3):
Both Robert Harley and Corey Greenberg had raved about the Muse Model 18, a slot-loaded mono active subwoofer. Small plug-in circuit boards ("Personality Cards") allow the Muse to be customized to different satellite loudspeakers. This customization, and the Muse's very restricted frequency response (17Hz–100Hz), allow it to play with dynamic agility and a lack of plodding slowness. The Muse has become one of this magazine's top-rated subwoofers at a price competitive with the Velodyne ULD-18 and somewhat less imposing…
Thomas J. Norton wrote about the Muse 18 in May 1993 (Vol.16 No.5):
The subwoofer to beat, of course, would appear to be the Muse Model 18. My experience with this woofer had been limited to shows and the occasional visit to Robert Harley's listening room, where the Muses are a regular fixture. Since Bob was occupied reviewing two large, full-range loudspeakers and not currently using the Muse, I took the opportunity to snatch (footnote 1) his sample away for a listen in my own system. Muse was kind enough to send along several personality cards for the Model 18. I inserted the card for…
Sidebar 3: Specifications
Description: Powered monophonic slot-loaded subwoofer. Drivers: two 10" long-throw woofers. Alignment: 6th-order. Internal amplifier power: 225W. High-pass filter type: 4th-order passive with active buffers. High-pass gain: unity, with 100 ohm output impedance. Maximum high-pass output level: 10V RMS. High-pass –3dB point: default at 50Hz, selectable with different "personality cards." Low-pass –3dB point: default of 50Hz, selectable with different "personality cards." Controls: 3: level, damping, and delay. System –3dB point: 18–25Hz depending on damping…
On Friday, October 21, Stereophile editor John Atkinson presented the Richard Heyser Memorial Lecture at the 131st Audio Engineering Society Convention, held at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. A couple of days later, JA spoke with Home Theater’s Scott Wilkinson about some of the points he made during the event.
From the safety of your own home or office (without the threat of JA throwing a baseball at you or pouring a glass of water on your laptop), you can tune in to Scott’s podcast and enjoy much of what JA covered in his fascinating lecture, titled “Where Did the Negative…
Photo: Dino Perrucci/Blue Note Jazz Club
Chick Corea is at the Blue Note in New York City all for the entire month, celebrating his 70th birthday by riffling through all the chapters of his wildly eclectic career, playing different music with different bands, shifting casts and moods each week, sometimes from night to night.
I caught the early set Thursday, a trio with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Brian Blade, and it was a thorough delight. Last time Corea played the club, in May of last year, with Eddie Gomez and Paul Motian, in a set he titled “Further Explorations of Bill…
Tomorrow night, from 7 to 8pm, in the Rare Book Room of Manhattan’s wonderful Strand Bookstore (828 Broadway), author Kevin Avery will sign copies of his new book, Everything is An Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson.
Who was Paul Nelson?
From the Strand:
In the '60s, he pioneered rock & roll criticism with a first-person style of writing that would later be popularized by the likes of Tom Wolfe and Norman Mailer as "New Journalism." During a five-year detour at Mercury Records in the early 1970s, Nelson signed the New York Dolls to their…