I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Audience ClairAudient 2+2's frequency response in the farfield. For the nearfield and room responses, I used an Earthworks QTC-40. The ClairAudient 2+2's sensitivity was average, at an estimated 88dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is less than the specified 90dB. Its impedance (fig.1) dropped below 4 ohms for most of the midrange and treble and below the passive radiator resonance, with a minimum value of 3.5 ohms between 570 and 1100Hz and 3.4 ohms below 20Hz. Fortunately, the electrical phase…
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Sometimes, the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls. Other times, their words and ideas are made manifest through a lifetime of diligent and thoughtful work. As an audio prophet, the late Jim Thiel was one of the latter type. For decades he stood in his pulpit, quietly preaching to the audio world the importance of time and phase coherence in loudspeakers. His commitment to these ideas led to speaker designs that exclusively used first-order crossover networks, and driver designs and layouts that made possible time- and phase-coherent response. The speakers…
The SCS4T is a 4 ohm load with a minimum impedance of 3 ohms. Initially, the only amps I had on hand to drive them were Rogue Audio's M180 tube monoblocks. Though the Rogues aren't shrinking-violet, milquetoast tube amps, I was concerned that they wouldn't be a good match for the Thiels' low impedance. Halfway through my listening, Plinius's powerhouse SA-103, which I raved about in the April 2011 Stereophile, returned after having been poked and prodded on JA's test bench. On its return, I immediately hooked it up to the SCS4Ts so I could hear what 50 amps of current might do for these…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Floorstanding, two-way loudspeaker. Drive-unit: 6.5" aluminum-sandwich–cone woofer with a coaxial 1" aluminum-dome tweeter. Frequency response: 47Hz–20kHz, –3dB, 48Hz–20kHz, ±2dB. Phase response: ±10° minimum. Sensitivity: 87dB/2.8V/m, true anechoic. Impedance: 4 ohms nominal, 3 ohms minimum. Recommended amplification: 30–200W.
Dimensions: 40.5" H (1027mm) by 8.4" (213mm) W by 11.7" (296mm) D. Weight: 50 lbs (22.7kg).
Finishes: Natural Cherry, Dark Cherry, Black Ash real-wood veneers.
Serial Numbers Of Units Reviewed: 41 & 42.
…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Theta Miles CD player via S/PDIF output; Benchmark DAC1 & ">DAC1 HDR D/A converters; Bel Canto DAC3.5VB D/A converter and Bel Canto CD2 CD player with Bel Canto VB-1 power supply; Sony Vaio laptop computer running J-River audio file player.
Power Amplifiers: Rogue Audio M180, Plinius SA-103.
Loudspeakers: Revel Performa F30, Atlantic Technology AT-1, Thiel SmartSub SS1 subwoofer with PX05 passive crossover.
Cables: Digital: Stereovox HDVX coaxial, Silver Sonic D-110 AES/EBU. Interconnect: Sain Line Systems Pure balanced…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Thiel SCS4T's frequency response in the farfield with DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone. For the nearfield and room responses I used an Earthworks QTC-40, which has a small enough diameter not to interfere with the flow of air in the speaker's reflex ports.
The SCS4T's sensitivity was slightly above average, at an estimated 89dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is higher than the specified 87dB. Its electrical impedance is shown in fig.1. As is typical for a Thiel design, the impedance is relatively low, ranging between 3 and 5.8…
As metaphors go, the silver bullet is somewhat ambiguous, given that it's used to represent both the reliably destructive and the reliably beneficial. (Who would have guessed that an idea from a Lon Cheney Jr. film would prove too subtle and complex for people in the 21st century?) Nevertheless, at Montreal's Salon Son et Image on April 2, those of us who comprised Stereophile's reliably responsive "Ask the Editors" panel—John Atkinson, Robert Deutsch, and I—volleyed it with the sort of sprightly, vernal abandon that is the sole province of men with gray hair. To wit: We agreed that no…
Reconnecting the review sample to my Apple iMac (OS 10.6.5 at present) was, as they say in Bristol, a doddle. And I prepared for the experience by loading up on high-resolution music files, including some of the great 24-bit/176kHz Rolling Stones offerings on HDtracks.com. But therein was the hoop through which I still needed to jump: Before changing from one music-file sampling rate to another, Mac users must exit iTunes entirely, pull up the Apple Midi utility, manually select the new rate, then launch iTunes—every time. (Good heavens: Next they'll have us flipping our records and…
Which brings us to Amarra (v.2.1.1), from the pro-audio company Sonic Studio. It's perhaps the best known of these aftermarket music players, and the one that's gained the most ground with the high-end audio industry. (At Salon Son et Image, for example, the vast majority of exhibitors who demonstrated their gear with computer-music files did so using Amarra.) Amarra is also, by far, the most expensive of the three: $695 for the full version. (Amarra Mini, a stripped-down version with a 96kHz limit, is available for $295.) A trial version of Amarra can be downloaded at no charge; it will…
Sidebar: Contacts
Amarra, Sonic Studio, 330 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Suite A, San Anselmo, CA 94960-2552. Tel: (415) 460-1201. Web: www.amarraaudio.com.
Ayre Acoustics, Inc., 2300-B Central Avenue, Boulder, CO 80301. Tel: (303) 442-7300. Fax: (303) 442-7301. Web: www.ayre.com.
Decibel, Stephen F. Booth. Web: sbooth.org.
Pure Music, Channel D. Tel: (609) 393-3600. Web: www.channld.com.