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DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/96 loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/96's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and spatially averaged room responses.

The Orangutan O/96 has a very high specified voltage sensitivity of 96dB/w/m. This is both unusual and means that the speaker will play very loudly with very low-powered amplifiers. My estimate of the DeVore's sensitivity was somewhat lower, at 91dB(B)/2.83V/m, though this is still usefully high. Concerned that I had…

Manufacturers' Comment

Editor: I would like to thank Art Dudley and John Atkinson for taking the time to get to know our Orangutan O/96 speakers. Art, you made me blush, calling my babies "classically beautiful" with a "lovely backside." I'm one proud papa.

These really were a clean-slate design for me, and it's heartening to know that this freshness came through in the listening. The goal was to bring a truly easy-to-drive, high-sensitivity speaker into a home without the tonal or aesthetic challenges that normally come with such a design. A nod to mid-century style with better-than-mid-century imaging. And I…

Dave Brubeck, R.I.P.

Dave Brubeck died today, just short of 92 years old. He was a plodding pianist and a less inventive composer than many obits are suggesting. (It was his alto saxophonist Paul Desmond who wrote the biggest hit "Take Five" in 5/4 time, and while Brubeck wrote many pieces in more exotic times still, they didn't swing or flow like Desmond's.) Still, Brubeck was a colossal figure of modern jazz in many ways.

First, he was the most tireless ambassador in the State Department's program to bring jazz to the rest of the world. The idea, dreamed up by Harlem Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.,…

Bowers & Wilkins CM5 loudspeaker

With all the affordable loudspeakers I've written about in recent years, I couldn't remember the last time I reviewed one from the revered British firm Bowers & Wilkins. When I searched www.stereophile.com, I learned that the last time a B&W speaker had graced my listening room's carpet was more than seven years ago: the DM603 S3, reviewed in the August 2005 issue. I thought it was time to revisit the brand, and as the DM603 S3 was a floorstanding speaker, this time a bookshelf model seemed in order. But despite B&W's prowess in that most-affordable speaker size, I was in the mood…

Bowers & Wilkins CM5 loudspeaker Page 2

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the late Donald "Duck" Dunn's thumping bass-guitar line in "Hip Hug-Her," from The Best of Booker T. & the MG's (LP, Atlantic SD 8202), had a clarity and solidity that reminded me of when I heard Dunn perform with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in New York, earlier in this century. The bassist's unique phrasing was very apparent through the CM5s.

However, I occasionally noticed a slight thickening in the upper bass that called attention to that range. This raised its head rarely, but when it did, it was a noticeable deviation from the speaker's…

Bowers & Wilkins CM5 loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Two-way, stand-mounted, reflex-loaded loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) aluminum-dome tweeter, 6.5" (165mm) woven-Kevlar woofer. Frequency range: 45Hz–50kHz, –6dB. Frequency response on reference axis: 52Hz–22kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 88dB/2.83V/m. Harmonic distortion: second and third harmonics (90dB/m): <1%, 100Hz–22kHz; 0.5%, 150Hz–20kHz. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 3.7 ohms minimum. Crossover frequency: 4kHz.
Dimensions: 13.4" (340mm) H by 7.8" (200mm) W by 11" (280mm) D; including grille and terminals, 11.9" (301mm) D. Weight: 19.6 lbs (8…

Bowers & Wilkins CM5 loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV, Rega Research Planar 3 turntables; Immedia, Syrinx PU-3 tonearms; Koetsu Urushi, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, Creek Destiny CD players.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D, Creek Destiny phono stages; Audio Valve Eclipse line stage.
Power Amplifier: Audio Research Reference 110.
Integrated Amplifier: Creek Destiny.
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Excite X12, Epos M16i, Monitor Audio RX6 Silver.
Cables: Interconnect (all MIT): Magnum M3, MI-350 CVTwin Terminator, MI-…

Bowers & Wilkins CM5 loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Bowers & Wilkins CM5's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and spatially averaged room responses.

My estimate of the CM5's voltage sensitivity was 87.5dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is within experimental error of the specified 88dB. The CM5 is specified as having a nominal impedance of 8 ohms with a minimum value of 3.7 ohms; fig.1 confirms the specification, and reveals that the minimum impedance occurs at the top of the audioband, where…

The Entry Level #24

There are two things that don't have to mean anything; one is music and the other is laughter.—Immanuel Kant

We can dance until we die.—Katy Perry

I'd always figured I'd wind up with a girl who loved the Mets, hated cats, and had grown up on Sonic Youth and the Pixies—a female version of me, more or less. What could be better?

Was my vision misguided? Maybe. Narcissistic? Probably. A symptom of low self-esteem?

Hmm . . .

But over the last few hours I've grown smarter, less self-centered, more forgiving of myself and others. I've made an important discovery…

The Entry Level #24 Page 2

Once home, I unwrap my new possession, place the record on the VPI Traveler, and anxiously, expectantly, sit down to listen.

More beeps, bangs, and drones—gah!—almost as terrifying as the crap coming from Ms. Little's apartment. Ten seconds in, I'm scolding myself: Why did I buy this? (footnote 1) I get up, pull the record from the platter, return it to its sleeve, place the album on a stack of countless others like it, and soon forget it ever existed.

Where did I put that Drake record?

Ms. Little snapped me out of my reverie. "And what do you mean by 'Hmm'?"

"…