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In searching for new discs that I can both enjoy and use to distinguish among components, I stumbled on Rory Block's Last Fair Deal (SACD, Telarc SACD-63593). The more I listen to it, the more I feel a genuine blues spirit at work. In this solo disc, Block and her guitar are front and center; she communicates with a swingy country edge and an unvarnished directness that came right through the Fosgate. Bigger music, such as De Falla's The Three-Cornered Hat, with Josep Pons and the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada (CD, Harmonia Mundi HMC 801606), was powerful and dynamic, with wonderful percussive…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: 7.1-channel, tubed analog preamplifier with Dolby ProLogic II surround processor. Tube complement: nine 6N1P, one 5AR4. Inputs: eight line-level pairs (RCA) (two-channel); one 7.1-channel analog bypass (RCA). Outputs: 7.1-channel (RCA) and two-channel tape. Input impedance: 200k ohms. Nominal voltage gain: 6dB. Channel gain trim range: -6.5dB to +7.5dB. Absolute polarity: inverting. Nominal output level: 2V RMS (15V maximum). Output impedance: 750 ohms. THD+noise (at 1V RMS input): <0.03% at 1kHz, 0.2%, 20Hz-20kHz (stereo); <0.3%, 20Hz-20kHz (…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Sony SCD-XA777ES and SCD-XA9000ES SACD players, Technics DVD-A10 DVD player.
Preamplifiers: Bel Canto Pre6, McCormack MAP-1.
Power amplifiers: Bel Canto eVo6, Bryston 9B-SST.
Loudspeakers: Paradigm Studio CC, Reference Studio/60, Reference Studio/20 (or Magnepan MGMC1); Paradigm Servo-15 subwoofer.
Cables: Interconnect: Harmonic Technology, RS Audio Cables multichannel; Alpha-Core Goertz Micro-Purl copper. Speaker: Goertz MI 2 Veracity.—Kalman Rubinson
Loudspeaker lore has it that a "good big'un will always beat a good small'un." But my experience has been that the traditional wisdom is often wrong. Price for price, large speakers often have larger errors compared with minimonitors, the smaller speakers offering more rigid cabinets, better-defined stereo imaging, and, because the owner can experiment with stand height, a better chance of being optimally sited in a room. So while I was as impressed as Stereophile reviewer Kalman Rubinson with what I heard from the floorstanding, $3500/pair Revel Performa F30 (footnote 1) when we visited the…
Per my usual practice, I coupled the speakers to the stands' top plates with small pads of Blu-Tack. I measured and auditioned the M20s with their U-shaped speaker grilles off—the speakers looked striking, their black baffles and aluminum woofer cones standing in contrast to the rosewood veneer. However, as the grilles are quite minimal in their design, they shouldn't affect the sound much, if at all.
Before setting up the M20s, I spent some time with the Revel Ultima Studios, one of Stereophile's two 2001 "Loudspeakers of the Year." At $10,995/pair and up, the Studio offers full-range…
The M20's top treble octaves were as character-free as its midrange, but if I had a criticism to make, it would be of the transition region between the drive-units. Some high piano notes were presented a little more forward in the soundstage, and the overall balance was on the slightly bright side. This was fine with the smooth-balanced Meridian 800 player, but dictated a lower playback level with the somewhat coarser-sounding (in absolute terms) Perpetual Technologies DAC.
I experimented with the M20s' HF level controls, finding that the "-0.5dB" setting wasn't quite sufficient to…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, stand-mounted, reflex-loaded loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25.4mm) aluminum-alloy dome tweeter, 6.5" (165mm) magnesium-alloy inverted-dome woofer; both units magnetically shielded. Crossover frequency: 2.2kHz, "high-order" filter slopes. Frequency response: 46Hz-16kHz, ±1dB (in-room). LF extension: -3dB at 44Hz, -6dB at 38Hz, -10dB at 33Hz. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms (4.4 ohms minimum). Sensitivity: 87dB/2.83V/m (4pi anechoic).
Dimensions: 15.5" (394mm) H by 10" (254mm) W by 12.25" (311mm) D, without grille or feet. Weight: 45 lbs (20.4kg…
Sidebar 2: A Little Silhouetto
Digital sources: Linn Knekt Kivor hard-disk music server; Mark Levinson No.31.5 CD transport; Mark Levinson No.30.6, Perpetual Technologies P-3A, Linn Oktal, and Chord DAC64 D/A processors; Meridian 800 DVD-V/CD/CD-R player; Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player; Accuphase DP-100 SACD transport and DC-101 D/A processor; Apple Macintosh 8100, 80MHz, fitted with two Sonic Solutions SSP3 digital audio workstation NuBus cards; Dell 866MHz Pentium III computer fitted with Digital Audio Labs CardDeluxe and RME Digi96/8 Pro soundcards, running Windows Me, WinAmp 2.5,…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
All the acoustic measurements of the Performa M20 were made using DRA Labs' MLSSA system and calibrated B&K and Mitey Mike II microphones. My estimate of the Revels' voltage sensitivity was a little lower than specified, at 84.5dB(B)/2.83V/m. Given the sophistication of Revel's measurement facilities and the agreement I had obtained between my figure and their figure for the Performa F30, I was surprised by this disparity. I rechecked my figures; no change.
The speaker's impedance was assessed using an Audio Precision System One; the results are shown…
Figs.5 and 6 show the Performa M20's horizontal dispersion, as actual responses (fig.5) or normalized to the tweeter-axis response (fig.6). A slight flare at the bottom of the tweeter's passband can be seen in the latter graph, but the evenness of the radiation pattern's contour lines is commendable, and gives the lie to the doubts I expressed in this review's introduction. It is also something that correlates with the stable, well-defined stereo imaging I heard. The tweeter gets very directional above 16kHz, but this is a) not important subjectively, and b) an unusually high frequency for a…