In the 1980s, London-born Sherwood cast a wide net with his On-U Sound Records label. He has produced, mixed, or remixed artists as diverse as KMFDM, Depeche Mode, Garbage, and Nine Inch Nails. But if you ask him, he'll cite records with dub innovator Lee "Scratch" Perry—Time Boom X…
search
Following in the lineage of such iconic dub music masters as Osbourne "King Tubby" Ruddock and Lee "Scratch" Perry, producer Adrian Sherwood is the UK's contemporary pioneer of dub: the reverb-filled, beats-rattling, bass-thick music that erupted from "sound system" parties in Kingston, Jamaica in the 1960s.
Everyone who reads my loudspeaker reviews knows: I wish box speakers did not sound like box speakers. Plus! I wish all speakers sounded focused and transparent like LS3/5a's or vintage Quads. I also want them to be uncompressed and play large, with window-shattering power and floor-shaking bass. And while I'm wishing . . . I'll take a little glow and sparkle and voodoo magic as well.
Unfortunately, few loudspeakers do all that. And the ones that can cost crazy cash.
But there might be hope.
I have discovered a radically engineered floorstanding speaker that maybe, just…
My initial listening with the Manger p1s suggested they might be able to reproduce the enormous scale and antibourgeoise zeitgeist of one of my favorite cosmic bands, KMFDM (which stands for Kein Mitleid für die Mehrheit, or No Pity for the Majority). KMFDM's signature song, "Salvation," always sounded pretty good on the DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93s, which got the tones and texture right. And it always sounded a little better on the Zu Audio Soul Supremes, which played at the necessary loudness levels. But neither speaker delivered the penetrating high resolution this composition requires…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: Flat Manger Sound Transducer (MST), 8" (200mm) carbon-fiber/paper sandwich-cone woofer in sealed enclosure. Crossover frequency: 360Hz. Frequency range: 40Hz–40kHz. Impedance: 4 ohms. Sensitivity: 89dB/W/m. Max SPL: 106dB peak. Recommended power: 50–200W.
Dimensions: 44.8" (1139mm) H × 10.6" (270mm) W × 8.4" (214mm) D. Weight: 61.7lb (28kg).
Finishes: Satin, wood veneer, or high gloss.
Serial numbers of samples tested: 16149/16150.
Price: $14,995/pair for satin finishes, $17,495/pair…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird turntable with Jelco KT-850L tonearm, Etsuro Urushi Cobalt Blue cartridge or My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent Ex MC cartridge; AMG Giro G9 turntable & 9W Turbo tonearm, Hana ML MC cartridge.
Digital sources: Apple Mac mini computer running Audirvana Plus 3.2; HoloAudio Spring "Kitsune Tuned Edition" Level 3, Chord Qutest, Denafrips Ares DACs.
Preamplification: Excel Sound ET-U50, EMIA Phono step-up transformer; Tavish Design Adagio phono preamplifier; PrimaLuna EVO 400 line preamplifier.
Power…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Manger p1's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses. When I picked up the Manger speakers from Herb Reichert, he told me that he suspected that the p1's sensitivity was lower than the specified 89dB/W/m. My estimate was indeed lower, at 85.6dB/2.83V/m. Manger specifies the impedance as 4 ohms, which would mean that the p1 is actually drawing 2W from the amplifier with a 2.83V signal. The solid trace in fig.1 shows that the…
Manufacturer's Comment
I would like to thank Stereophile for this well-written and excellent review.
As a designer and manufacturer of a unique loudspeaker technology, it is satisfying to know that a magazine exists with a well-intentioned and competent editorial staff. In the case of our review, Herb Reichert perfectly describes his perception of the particular sound reproduction abilities of the Manger sound transducer, which is at the heart of all Manger loudspeakers. The research that led to the invention of the Manger sound transducer was all about a better transient…
I was less than thrilled by Editor-in-Chief Jim Austin's suggestion to review the solid-state Krell K-300i integrated amplifier ($7000, plus an additional $1000 for the optional DAC). I had recently reviewed another $7000 integrated amplifier, the quite different hybrid Aesthetix Mimas, and while I ended up liking the Mimas a whole lot, I felt decidedly lukewarm about having to recalibrate expectations for another integrated, especially one that costs far less than my reference Dan D'Agostino Progression monoblocks ($38,000/pair) and whose DAC option is a fraction of the price of my…
I began with Muddy Waters's "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" from his 1964 album Folk Singer (24/192 MQA, Chess/Tidal). Timbres were virtually neutral with just a touch of inviting warmth, dimensionality was impressive, and the guitar's cleanly articulated dynamic nuances drew me in. The Krell K-300i sounded great.
I was equally enamored of the reproduction of mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa's rendition, with pianist Fazil Say, of Debussy's "La mer est plus belle ques les cathedrals," from their album Secrets (24/96 WAV/Erato 564483). The sound was smooth and inviting—I loved the warm…
Sidebar 1: Krell Designer Dave Goodman on iBias and Other Features
The K-300i uses modern techniques that we've implemented in the recent designs and upgrades we've issued since the split. First, it has a differential current-mode input stage that drives a fairly conventional output stage. Though we've done such designs before, I discovered that by fine-tuning parts of the gain stage I could significantly reduce distortion—specifically the second-harmonic component. The predominant characteristic is now the third harmonic, which we've found makes the K-300i sound much better.
In…