Description: Three-way, horizontal-axis, dynamic design with Environment and Placement adjustment. Drive-units: 1" titanium-dome tweeter, 5" plastic-cone midrange unit, two 7" long-throw cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 450Hz, 4kHz. Frequency response: 55Hz–22kHz, ±2dB. Sensitivity: 87dB/W/m (2.83V). Nominal impedance: 6 ohms, 4 ohms minimum. Amplifier requirements: 50W minimum. Dispersion: –0, –3dB, 45° horizontal.
Finish: Catalyzed Satin Black.
Dimensions: 9.5" H by 24" W by 11" D. Shipping weight: 46 lbs.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 000055…
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Sidebar 2: Round up the usual suspects
I used the CC3 in a home-theater system employing the Aerial 10Ts as left and right speakers and the Aerial SR3R rear-channel speakers. Other components included the Chiro C-800 preamp/processor, Chiro C-200 and C-300 amplifiers, Marantz LV510 laserdisc player (sending the digital signal through an Assemblage DAC1 and Sonic Frontiers UltraJitterbug), and Straight Wire cables.—Wes Phillips
Sidebar 3: Of all the lousy labs in the world...
A quick check on the CC-3's B-weighted sensitivity revealed it to be within spitting distance of the 86dB/W/m 10T at 84.5dB/W/m. The 1.5dB difference is basically inconsequential. Its impedance with the tone controls set to their worst-case positions—Program = "0," Environment = "+"—drops below 4 ohms in the midrange (fig.1) but is otherwise not too demanding. The peak at 53Hz reveals the tuning of the sealed box.
Fig.1 Aerial Acoustics CC3, worst-case electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed) (Program = 0,…
PSB is a small, Toronto-based manufacturer that has been collaborating with Canada's National Research Council to try and take some of the guesswork, some would say magic, out of loudspeaker design.
The NRC, financed by the Canadian government, does basic research in many technological areas and makes its findings available to any firm wishing to use them. (Most other countries provide or encourage this kind of government/business cooperation. It is against the law in the US, to our great disadvantage.) The NRC's audio division, headed by physicist Dr. Floyd E. Toole, has devoted the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, dynamic floor-standing loudspeaker system. Drivers: one 8" long-throw woofer with 3-lb magnet; one 1" treated-textile dome, ferrofluid-cooled. Crossover frequency: 1800Hz. System Q: 0.7 at 35Hz. Frequency range: 26Hz-21kHz. Frequency response: –1.5dB, 40Hz–20kHz. Sensitivity: 86dB/W/m; 88dB in typical listening room. Maximum program input: 150W. Maximum amplifier power: 200W, clipping less than 10% of time. Impedance: 6.5 ohms rated, 6 ohms minimum.
Dimensions: 38¼" H by 11" W by 13½" D.
Price: $1400/pair.…
Sidebar 2: Review System
Equipment used for my tests included the Ortofon MC-3000 cartridge with its T-3000 stepup transformer, the Well-Tempered Arm in a SOTA Star Sapphire turntable, Sony CDP-705ESD CD player, PCM-F1 digital tape system, the Threshold FET-10 preamp and line controller, and Threshold SA-1 power amplifiers.
Audio interconnects were Monster M1000s, and speaker cables were the aforementioned Straight Wire Ribbons. My 24'x19'x9' listening room is extensively treated with ASC Tube Traps. Program material was live-performance PCM tapes, and CDs and analog discs from…
The all-FET, class-A, B2B-1 phono preamplifier ($1749), made in the US by Liberty Audio, is beautifully built inside and out, and comes in a heavy-duty aluminum chassis with a baked-on crackle finish and a 3/8"-thick, black-anodized faceplate. The overall build quality and physical appearance suggest something that costs more than $3000, which is probably what it would cost were it sold through retailers and not factory direct. It comes with a two-week return policy.
The RCA input and output jacks are chassis-mounted, as you'd expect to find in products costing far more. There are also…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state phono preamplifier with unbalanced inputs and outputs (balanced inputs optional). RIAA accuracy 0.1%. Overall voltage gain: 44dB or 64dB, depending on internal setting. Equivalent short-circuit input noise: 100nV. Maximum output voltage: 12V. Risetime: 300ns.
Dimensions: 17" W by 10.5" D by 3.25" H. Weight: 11 lbs net.
Price: $1749. Approximate number of dealers: sold direct with a two-week return policy.
Manufacturer: Liberty Audio, 380 Vernon Way, Suites I–J, El Cajon, CA 92020. Tel: (619) 579-6450. Web: www.libertyaudio.…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
I measured a second sample of the Liberty B2B-1 (serial no. 1004), using Stereophile's loan sample of the Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com). The voltage gain of the Liberty set to its moving-magnet mode with its internal jumpers was 44.5dB; set to moving-coil, it was 64.2dB—both a little higher than usual, but still appropriate. The B2B-1 preserved absolute polarity (ie, was non-inverting) in both modes. The output impedance was a low 47 ohms across the audioband; the input impedance depended on the settings of the…
Dope Body’s Drag City debut, Natural History, was released earlier this week. It kills. You’ll read (I hope) in my July, August, and September “Entry Level” columns that I use the album to evaluate the rocking capabilities of the PSB Alpha B1, Polk RTi A3, Definitive Audio SM 45, and Tannoy Mercury V1 loudspeakers—all worthwhile choices.
But back to the awesome music: I’ve grown tired of guitars, but Dope Body is the rare modern guitar-driven rock band that gets me truly excited. These guys aren’t screwing around. They’re not trying to be clever or cute. They’re just rocking…