To perform measurements on the Lamm M1.2 Reference, I used Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com and the January 2008 "As We See It"). Before testing one of the monoblocks, I ran it at 1/3 its rated power into 8 ohms for 60 minutes, which thermally is the worst case for an amplifier with a class-A/B output stage. The output-stage bias switch was set to "1–6 ohms," which was how I had found the amplifier to sound best. At the end of that period the chassis was hot, with a temperature of 109.6°F (43.1°C), and…
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Take a casual look at the Mk.II edition of MBL's Reference 101E Radialstrahler loudspeaker, and you won't immediately see what's new compared with the original version, which I reviewed in October 2004. But the Mk.II has a shorter, sleeker bass cabinet, designed to, among other things, slightly lower the stack of omnidirectional drivers it supports. While the many other major revisions to this familiar and fascinating loudspeaker can't be seen, it's fair to say that, from the ground up, the Reference 101E Mk.II is a new loudspeaker in design, if not in concept.
Since reviewing the…
All of which is to say that, tonally at least, and other than the bottom octaves, the 101E Mk.II is a blank slate on which, with your choices of associated gear (including cables), you can impose whatever sonic modifications you wish.
Cables
Anyone who's spent a lot of money assembling a system but who gets casual about cabling is missing the point. At the level of performance of the MBLs and my system, cables will spell the difference between supreme satisfaction and disappointment. MBL internally wires the 101E Mk.II with Wireworld cable. Jeremy Bryan had supplied me with a…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Four-way floorstanding loudspeaker. Three omnidirectional bending-mode drive-units: 24-segment carbon-fiber tweeter, 12-segment carbon-fiber upper-midrange unit, 12-segment aluminum lower-midrange unit; plus, in separate enclosure, bandpass-loaded 12", aluminum-cone woofer. Crossover frequencies: 105Hz, 600Hz, 3.5kHz (Linkwitz-Riley, fourth-order). Acoustic center: 45" (1140mm) from floor. Frequency range: 24Hz–40kHz. Sensitivity: 81dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Power handling: 320–500W continuous, 2.2kW peak.
Dimensions: 67" (1720mm) H…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable & Cobra tonearm & Castellon stand; Graham Phantom II tonearm; Miyajima Labs Premium BE (mono), Ortofon A90, Soundsmith Sussurro cartridges.
Digital Sources: Simaudio Moon Evolution 650D DAC & CD transport, BPT-modified Alesis Masterlink hard-disk recorder, Meridian Sooloos music server, Pure Music software.
Preamplification: Ypsilon VPS-100 phono preamplifier; darTZeel NHB-18ns, MBL 6010D, Ypsilon PST-100 Mk.II preamplifiers.
Power Amplifiers: MBL Reference 9011 monoblocks,…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the MBL Radialstrahler 101E Mk.II's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and spatially averaged room responses. Because of its bulk, I measured the speaker (serial no.233831) in Michael Fremer's driveway; though we raised it as far as practicable, the inevitable reflection of the speaker's sound from the ground affects the resolution of the measured response in the midrange. The axis chosen for the farfield measurements was level with the center…
"New York, New York, It's an Audio Town!" After far too many years without a large-scale audio show, New York City is about to get a taste of what regularly enriches the lives of audiophiles in other major centers around the world. The first, hopefully annual New York Audio and AV Show, brought to you by the same Chester Group that mounts audio shows in the UK, Australia, and Sweden, and by T.H.E. Show USA, takes place in Park Avenue's grand Waldorf=Astoria Hotel at 301 Park Avenue on Friday April 13–Sunday, April 15.
The New York Audio and AV Show expects to showcase more than 100 brands…
Because I am an audiophile, I want to hear that music through the best possible source component. Lately, I've been enjoying CDs through the Emotiva ERC-2 CD player ($449).
The Emotiva ERC-2 measures 17" (435mm) wide by 4.25" (110mm) high by 14" (360mm) deep and, at 17.5 lbs (8kg), is the heaviest component to enter my listening room since the 25-lb Simaudio Moon i3.3 integrated amplifier ($3300, discontinued). The player's distinct appearance was developed by Emotiva's president and CEO, Dan Laufman, and VP of engineering, Lonnie Vaughn. In building the ERC-2, their goal was to "keep it…
The Emotiva ERC-2 CD player conveyed "By This River" with stunning impact and a very good sense of momentum and flow. Starts and stops were clean and precise, giving way to staggering silences and making the voluminous deep-bass blasts even more impressive. Hitting 82dB peaks, those blasts coursed through my listening room and sent fluttering the curtains 5' from my speakers' rear ports. Most satisfying, this bass was never bloated or loose, but always taut and well controlled. The ERC-2 quickly distinguished itself as a punchy, authoritative, muscular performer able to produce very quiet…
Follow-Up, from January 2012 (VOl.35 No.1):
One gray and rainy day, just weeks before I sat down to write last month's column, DeVore Fidelity's John DeVore zipped across Brooklyn, through the Holland Tunnel, and into downtown Jersey City, where I sat waiting for him at a gas station on the side of the highway. He slowed down just enough that I could jump into the car through the passenger-side window. We traveled west along Route 78, through dairy farms and deep woods, to the home of Michael Lavorgna, editor of AudioStream, Source Interlink Media's exciting new website devoted to…