Tuneable Tower
As David Smith completed the design of the crossover network, he discovered that a handful of crossover component values, if varied, could control the XA Reference's balance across the acoustic spectrum. For example, the primary tweeter input capacitor, if varied, modified the output between 1500Hz and 7kHz. By using five switches on the XA Reference's back panel, the owner can vary the response of the entire system ±1.5-2dB in four frequency bands, from 100Hz up, in order to tune the speaker to be truly neutral despite room effects and associated equipment. The lower-mid…
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Pink noise did not change in tonality when I stood up in the near- or farfield, or moved around during the "sit down, stand up, walk around" test. At 42", the XA Reference's tweeter center was 4 1/2" higher than my seated ear height. In most loudspeaker systems, the tweeter is lower; I'd wager that JA's tests will prove that the XA Reference has superb vertical dispersion.
Smith made minor adjustments during his visit, increasing the Lower Midbass by 2dB with the toggle switch. Later, I used pink noise to learn more about the XA's crossover adjustment switches. They produced only subtle…
Cassidy and other vocalists maintained good vocal timbre and image size when played over the Snells. Despite the Towers' height, the voices were rendered life-size and three-dimensional, with none of the Wizard-of-Oz image inflation I'd heard from other flagship speakers, such as the now-unavailable Mark Levinson HQD system. Blues singer Chris Smither's warm, soothing voice and liquid guitar playing remained intimate on his Live As I'll Ever Be (CD, Hightone HCD8120-2).
Male vocalists were conveyed with exceptional emotional power. Take The Blind Boys of Alabama (Real World 8 50918 2)…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Four-way floorstanding loudspeaker with 7-element "eXpanding Array" line source and rear-firing tweeter. Drive-units: two 1" (25mm) titanium-dome tweeters (one front, one rear), two 4.5" (112mm) midrange drivers, four 8" (205mm) reflex-loaded, black-anodized aluminum-cone woofers. (Alternate ports and port blanking plates are supplied.) Crossover frequencies: 300Hz, 2.4kHz (9kHz for rear tweeter). Crossover slopes: second-order electrical, fourth-order acoustical. Controls: 3-position switches for Lower Mids, Upper Mids, Lower Treble, Upper Treble,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ittok tonearm, Spectral moving-coil cartridge.
Digital sources: Krell KRC-28 CD transport, Sony SCD-C555ES multichannel SACD player.
FM tuners: Day-Sequerra FM Reference Classic, Rotel RH-10, Magnum Dynalab MD-102, Fanfare FT-1A, Model 205 Sleuth RF amplifier.
Preamplification: Krell KCT, Sony TA-P9000ES, Mark Levinson ML-7A with L-2 phono section; Conrad-Johnson Premier 18LS, Duntech MX-10 phono preamplifiers.
Power amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.334, Krell FPB 600c, Bryston…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The sheer bulk of the Snell XA Reference—a box more than 6' tall weighing 210 lbs—proved to be an obstacle in obtaining a complete set of measurements. I could not lift it off the ground for the frequency-response measurements, or even onto my Outline speaker turntable to do a set of horizontal off-axis measurements. So bear those omissions in mind as you read on. Note also that I measured it only with the long reflex ports, as used by Larry Greenhill in his auditioning.
With all the tone-control switches set to their central positions, the XA Reference's…
Sidebar 4: Manufacturer's Comment
Editor: Wow! Thanks to Larry Greenhill for such a glowing review of our XA Reference Tower. As you can imagine, a lot of hard work goes into the designing and manufacturing of such a flagship, and it's very gratifying when that effort is acknowledged. Especially gratifying are the comments on the system's neutrality and balance of strengths. We feel it is easy to design a system that focuses on and excels at a single attribute. It is much harder to achieve a balance across all performance areas, although we believe it is the only way that a speaker can…
For better or for worse, appearances can make a profound first impression. Think of the bold, muscular curves of an Audi TT coupe, the planes and facets of a Lamborghini Murcielago, the sleek lines of a Gulfstream jet. In these vehicles, function and art are combined with smooth facility and perfect aesthetic balance.
The Hovland Radia power amplifier, introduced at the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show, makes exactly the kind of vivid visual impression as a fine sports car or an Ermenegildo Zegna suit—to see it is to want it, even if all you know about it is how it looks. To…
Round 2
My system had changed somewhat by the time I received the second sample. The second round of listening and the direct comparisons were done with the Focal-JMlab Nova Utopia Be loudspeakers, the Halcro dm10 and BAT VK-51SE line stages, and the Aesthetix Io Signature phono stage (reviews of the JMlab and Halcro in the works). Cabling was a mix of Acoustic Zen Silver Reference and Siltech's new Classic interconnects and speaker cables.
My system had changed somewhat by the time I received the second sample. The second round of listening and the direct comparisons were done with the Focal-JMlab Nova Utopia Be loudspeakers, the Halcro dm10 and BAT VK-51SE line stages, and the Aesthetix Io Signature phono stage (reviews of the JMlab and Halcro in the works). Cabling was a mix of Acoustic Zen Silver Reference and Siltech's new Classic interconnects and speaker cables.
It was shocking how much difference such a small change made in the Radia's sound. In direct comparisons, the first Radia sounded distant, very…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state stereo power amplifier: Power output: 125Wpc into 8 ohms (21dBW), 200Wpc into 4 ohms (20dBW). Input impedance: 50k ohms, unbalanced. Voltage gain: 26dB, noninverting, into 8 or 4 ohms. Frequency response: 5Hz-20kHz, +0/-0.25dB. THD at 1kHz, both channels driven: <0.1% at 8W, <0.15% at 4W. S/N Ratio: 92dB ref. 125W into 8 ohms, A-weighted.
Dimensions: 18.25" (464mm) W by 7.20" (183mm) H (including feet) by 16.65" (423mm) D. Weight: 73 lbs (33.2kg).
Finish: Brushed aluminum and internally illuminated acrylic.
Serial numbers…