Mission Cyrus Two amplifier: $599
Now some three years old as a product, the Cyrus Two is a very compact integrated amplifier, considering its 50Wpc output, as wide but a little longer than an "A4" sheet of paper. (For those unfamiliar with international standard paper sizes, A4 is the same size as the popular RadioShack/Tandy 100/102 laptop computers, if not quite as thick, of course.) The shorter sides of the paper comprise the front and rear panels of the amplifier; the front carries a volume control, a source selector marked "Listen," another selector marked "Record," and apart from…
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Mission 780 Argonaut loudspeaker: $1799/pair
As I said earlier, the classic Mission 770 was very much a BBC-influenced design, conforming to the British idea of a low-sensitivity, reflex-loaded, "monitor" speaker, though it had excellent upper-bass clarity compared with its similar-sized contemporaries, the Rogers Studio Monitor and Spendor BC1. The top of Mission's 1987 line, the 780 Argonaut has very little in common with the original 770. A tall, attractively styled, floor-standing sealed-box design, it uses two 8.5" polypropylene-coned woofers, with inverted dust caps bearing the…
As I said earlier, the classic Mission 770 was very much a BBC-influenced design, conforming to the British idea of a low-sensitivity, reflex-loaded, "monitor" speaker, though it had excellent upper-bass clarity compared with its similar-sized contemporaries, the Rogers Studio Monitor and Spendor BC1. The top of Mission's 1987 line, the 780 Argonaut has very little in common with the original 770. A tall, attractively styled, floor-standing sealed-box design, it uses two 8.5" polypropylene-coned woofers, with inverted dust caps bearing the…
The Mission System
Having completed the individual auditioning, I put together the components as a system. The speakers remained in the same position in the room, but were now connected to the amplifier via 12 feet or so of Mission speaker cable. This is a conventional figure-eight, multistrand design (651 strands!), insulated with PVC. The copper is annealed, and it is recommended that the cable be used with the "M" of the printed Mission logo nearest the amplifier connection and the "n" nearest the loudspeakers for best results. Initially I used the 780s in single-wired mode with one…
Having completed the individual auditioning, I put together the components as a system. The speakers remained in the same position in the room, but were now connected to the amplifier via 12 feet or so of Mission speaker cable. This is a conventional figure-eight, multistrand design (651 strands!), insulated with PVC. The copper is annealed, and it is recommended that the cable be used with the "M" of the printed Mission logo nearest the amplifier connection and the "n" nearest the loudspeakers for best results. Initially I used the 780s in single-wired mode with one…
Sidebar: Specifications
Mission 780 Argonaut: two-way, sealed-box loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1", impedance-transformed tweeter, two 215mm polypropylene homopolymer-cone woofers. Crossover frequency: 1.7kHz. Frequency response: 30Hz–20kHz ±3dB. Sensitivity: 95dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Amplifier requirements: 50–200W.
Dimensions: 37½" (950mm) H by 10¼" (260mm) W by 12" (320mm) D. Internal volume: 55 liters. Shipping weight: 62 lbs (28 kg) each.
Price: $1799/pair.
Mission Cyrus Two: integrated amplifier. Power output: 50Wpc into 8 ohms (17dBW), 80W into 4 ohms.…
Though the original Artemis Systems Eos has been around for a few years, it doesn't seem to have made a big impression on audiophiles. Judging by a brief but exciting audition of the new Eos Signature and its accompanying Base Module at HI-FI '96, I found it hard to understand how it could remain such a well-kept secret. A few weeks later, to my surprise, Wes Phillips asked me if I wanted to review a pair and, throwing caution to the winds, I jumped at the opportunity. Rash move.
The movers delivered three large boxes and two absolutely huge crates. Inside the boxes were the two Eos…
What about the bass? I expected nothing subterranean, but the overall frequency balance was fine at all reasonable listening levels. My favorite torture discs are my collection of recordings of Mahler's Symphony 6; with any of them, the Eos Signatures credibly reproduced the monstrous last movement. On Bernstein/DG (427 967-2) the hammer strokes lacked visceral impact, but everything else was fine in this live, multimiked, emotionally fierce performance. Switching to the better-balanced but more distant Zander/IMP CD (DMCD 93), also recorded at a concert performance, I was impressed with…
Sidebar 1: Associated Equipment
Analog Source: Heybrook TT2 turntable, Rega RB300 tonearm, Koetsu Black/Gold phono cartridge.
Digital Sources: Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1 with Straight Wire Maestro II interconnects; Audio Alchemy DDSPro/DTIPro32/DDE v3 with Audio Magic I2S cables and Cardas Golden Cross interconnects.
Preamplifiers: Klyne 6L3.3P, Sonic Frontiers Line-2.
Power Amplifiers: McCormack DNA-1 (1 or 2), Sonic Frontiers Power 2 (via Cardas Cross or Straight Wire Virtuoso interconnects).
Cables: Cardas Golden Hex 5C.—Kalman Rubinson
Digital Sources: Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1 with Straight Wire Maestro II interconnects; Audio Alchemy DDSPro/DTIPro32/DDE v3 with Audio Magic I2S cables and Cardas Golden Cross interconnects.
Preamplifiers: Klyne 6L3.3P, Sonic Frontiers Line-2.
Power Amplifiers: McCormack DNA-1 (1 or 2), Sonic Frontiers Power 2 (via Cardas Cross or Straight Wire Virtuoso interconnects).
Cables: Cardas Golden Hex 5C.—Kalman Rubinson
Sidebar 2: Measurements
The Artemis Eos Signature's plot of impedance magnitude and phase vs frequency is shown in fig.1. (Logistical difficulties with the enormous Base Module meant that I couldn't measure its impedance.) The speaker is basically easy to drive, remaining above 6 ohms over almost all the audio band. The tuning of the reflex port is indicated by the "saddle" in the magnitude trace centered on 42Hz, which implies reasonable low-frequency extension even without the bass module. Note the slight wrinkles in the traces at 230Hz and 400Hz; these suggest that there are cabinet…
Sidebar 3: Specifications
Artemis Systems Eos Signature: Two-way loudspeaker in ported enclosure with external first-order crossover (frequency not specified). Drive-units: 1" ceramic-dome tweeter, 7" three-layer Kevlar/Nomex honeycomb woofer/midrange driver. Frequency response: 50Hz–20kHz, ±2dB. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 7 ohms minimum. Sensitivity: 88.25dB/1W/1m. Recommended amplification: 35–150W.
Dimensions: 17" H by 13.5" W by 16.5" D. Crossover: 4" H by 12" W by 12" D. Weights: 70 lbs each (Eos), 10 lbs each (crossover).
Serial number of units reviewed: 1204.
Price: $…
Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell: Old Yellow Moon
Nonesuch 534285-2 (CD/HDTracks download). 2013. Brian Ahern, prod.; Donivan Cowart, eng.; John Baldwin, Noland O'Boyle, asst. engs. AAD? TT: 41:04
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
Nonesuch 534285-2 (CD/HDTracks download). 2013. Brian Ahern, prod.; Donivan Cowart, eng.; John Baldwin, Noland O'Boyle, asst. engs. AAD? TT: 41:04
Performance *****
Sonics ****½
A recent survey of my teenaged nephew and his friends turned up a number of musical trends both predictable and surprising. It sent them into paroxysms of disbelief and laughter when the old-man uncle asked whether they liked any guitar bands, like, say . . . Green Day. Guitar bands, to say the least, ain't cool. Pop-oriented hip-hop artists like Wiz…