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Recording of February 2011: Markus Schwartz & Lakou Brooklyn: <I>Equinox</I>

Markus Schwartz & Lakou Brooklyn: Equinox
Markus Schwartz, Haitian Rada & Petwo drums, miscellaneous percussion, loop sampler, conch, vocals; Jean Caze, trumpet, flugelhorn, conch, vocals; Monvelyno Alexis, electric guitar, percussion, vocals; Paul Beaudry, double bass, percussion
Soundkeeper SR1002 (CD). 2010. Barry Diament, prod., eng. DDD. TT: 43:16
Performance ****
Sonics *****

Think of flat, one-dimensional downloads of soulless, AutoTuned music that sounds more manufactured than played. Then feast on this.

"A live performance, whether in front of an…

Wilson Audio Sophia Series 3 loudspeaker

Two years ago, I was drawn to the Wilson Audio Sophia Series 2—then as now, the company's entry-level floorstander—by its good reputation among lovers of low-power tube amplifiers. "Forget the specs," they said. "Sophia is the one to hear." In fact, with its 89dB sensitivity (slightly lower than most of Wilson's other domestic loudspeakers) and mildly challenging impedance curve (less daunting than those of its stablemates, but not by a lot), the Sophia seemed, on paper, no better than average for use with flea-watt amps. But when I tried a pair at home with my 25W Shindo Corton-Charlemagne…

Wilson Audio Sophia Series 3 loudspeaker Page 2

Installation and setup
Also like every other Wilson Audio speaker I've had in my home, the Sophia Series 3 was delivered in a well-made wooden crate and installed by a Trained Professional—in this case Wilson's sales manager, the well-known recordist Peter McGrath. In fine-tuning the Sophias' exact locations in my 12' by 19' room, McGrath followed to a T Dave Wilson's systematic, listening-based setup approach, with the added benefit of knowing—and I do mean knowing—the recordings he used. (I don't think it's a coincidence that since McGrath joined Wilson Audio at the turn of the new…

Wilson Audio Sophia Series 3 loudspeaker Page 3

All well and good. But, to paraphrase Mickey Dolenz, I can teach a Sophia 2 to do that. I wouldn't expect a Sophia 3 to sound exactly the same, given the technical changes on tap—and indeed it didn't. In particular, the new speaker had a more open sound, especially noticeable through its lowest octaves (though over time I heard improvements of that sort virtually throughout its frequency range), with bass notes also taking on more realistic detail and natural texture, while sounding appreciably cleaner.

The Sophia 3's greater openness and greater resolution of detail proved blessings…

Wilson Audio Sophia Series 3 loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Three-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" inverted titanium-dome tweeter, 7"-cone pulp/composite midrange unit, 10" aluminum-cone woofer. Woofer loading: 3"-diameter round reflex port, 8" L. Sensitivity: 87dB/W/m. Impedance: 4 ohms nominal, 3.1 ohms minimum.
Dimensions: 41" (1045mm) H by 13.5" (346mm) W by 18.8" (481mm) D. Weight: 165 lbs (74.8kg).
Finishes: Black, Mercedes Silver, Desert Silver, Dark Titanium; custom finishes, including paint-matching, available at extra cost.
Serial Numbers Of Units Reviewed…

Wilson Audio Sophia Series 3 loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 & TD 124 Mk.II turntables; EMT 997, Schick tonearms; Shindo SPU, EMT OFD 25 & OFD 65, Ortofon 90th Anniversary SPU & Classic A SPU cartridges.
Digital Sources: Ayre Acoustics QB-9, Wavelength Cosecant, HRT Music Streamer II & Music Streamer II+, Peachtree iDecco (digital input to line output only) USB D/A converters; Stello U2 USB transceiver; iMac G5 (with Apple iTunes) computer; Sony SCD-777 SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Hommage T1, Silvercore Professional step-up…

Wilson Audio Sophia Series 3 loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Wilson Sophia Series 3's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and in-room responses. My estimate of the Sophia's sensitivity was 88.3dB(B)/2.83V/m—the same as the original Sophia, which I reviewed in July 2002. (See that speaker's measurements.) Though a little higher than the specified 87dB/W/m, this can be explained by the fact that the Sophia 3's impedance (fig.1) remains below 7 ohms for the entire midrange and much of the bass. It…

Acoustat 2+2 loudspeaker

While I refuse to admit publicly how long I have been sitting on these loudspeakers before doing the report on them, I must say that it is probably a good thing I wasn't in all that of a hurry to get around to it. They did not sound very good in the room where I had initially installed them, and had I written the report on that basis, it would have been lukewarm, to say the least.

I have now had the opportunity to live with the Acoustat 2+2s in my usual listening room, which is more like a typical listening environment (19' by 24' by 9' and moderately padded), and I am more than a little…

Acoustat 2+2 loudspeaker Page 2

The user can, however, exercise some control over this problem by judicious orientation of the speakers. The suckout is minimized by toeing-in the speakers so their axes converge right at the listening seat, but this may add a slightly hard, steely edge to the sound. Somewhere between this toed-in position and that with the speakers parallel to the back wall, you'll find the optimal combination on tonal correctness and imaging specificity.

The only real caveat about this speaker is one that applies to all systems with an electrostatic high end: it is shamelessly revealing of its source…

Acoustat 2+2 loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar: Specifications

Description: Full-range electrostatic loudspeaker. Frequency response: 28Hz–20kHz ±2dB. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Power capability: 500W. Maximum output: 115dB at 20' in a 16'x24' room. Minimum power requirement: 50Wpc. AC power consumption: 5W.
Dimensions: 94" H by 20"W by 3.5" D.
Price: $2100/pair (1984); no longer available (2012).
Manufacturer: Acoustat Corp., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315 (1984); Rockford Fosgate, 600 South Rockford Drive, Tempe, AZ 85281 (1990s); company no longer in existence (2012) but see www.audiocircuit.com/Home-Audio/Acoustat…