Description: Three-way, five-driver, floorstanding loudspeaker with vented enclosure. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) aluminum-dome tweeter and 5" (127mm) Li-Mg-Al (LCP) hybrid-cone midrange driver in coaxial Uni-Q array, four 6.5" (165mm) aluminum-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 320Hz, 2.4kHz. Frequency response: 40Hz–35kHz, ±3dB. Frequency range: 34Hz–45kHz, –6dB. Sensitivity: 90dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Minimum impedance: 3.2 ohms. Harmonic distortion (second & third harmonics at 90dB, 1m): <0.5%, 40Hz–100kHz; <0.2%, 200Hz–10kHz. Maximum…
search
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Harbeth Super HL5plus's frequency response in the farfield; and an Earthworks QTC-40, with its small, ¼"-diameter capsule, for the nearfield responses.
The Harbeth is specified as having a sensitivity of 86dB/W/m, and my estimate of its voltage sensitivity was the same: 86dB(B)/2.83V/m. Though this is 1dB or so below average, I commend Harbeth for not inflating this specification. Although the Super HL5plus has a specified impedance of 6 ohms, my measurement (fig.1) indicates…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B cartridge.
Digital Sources: Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; Apple 2.7GHz i7 Mac mini running OS10.10.1, iTunes 11, Pure Music 2.0, Audirvana Plus 1.5.10; PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream, Ayre Acoustics QB-9 D/A processors; dCS Vivaldi upsampling D/A system; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D converter.
Preamplification: Channel D Seta L phono preamplifier; Ayre Acoustics KX-R Twenty line preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Ayre Acoustics MX-R…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the KEF Blade Two's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and spatially averaged room responses. The Blade Two's voltage sensitivity is specified as 90dB/2.83V/m; my estimate was somewhat lower than this, at 87.1dB(B)/2.83V/m. The Blade Two's nominal impedance is 4 ohms, with a minimum value of 3.2 ohms. My measurement (fig.1) revealed a minimum magnitude (including cable) of 3.4 ohms at 177Hz (solid trace). Though the impedance remained below 6…
Soul singing is essentially a young man’s game. You gotta have limber vocal chords to endure the screams, cries and soaring that is required. Although they have the pathos that young men don’t, veteran soul singers can be a challenge to record. Much as they want it, and think they can still hit the high notes, can still push their voice in passionate directions, the results are often more sad than thrilling.
Having said all that, This Time For Real, a new project by Otis Clay and Billy Price, two soul veterans,(shown above with producer Duke Robillard, far left), one from Pittsburgh and…
Sometimes a good album passes me by, unnoticed (so much music, so little time), but few turn out, upon discovery, to be as very, very good as the Jaki Byard Project's Inch By Inch, Yard Byard (on the GM Recordings label).
The album's 12 tracks were all composed by the late, great pianist Jaki Byard, played here (and, in some cases, arranged as well) by three of his former students at the New England Conservatory—flutist Jamie Baum, guitarist Jerome Harris, and drummer George Schuller—joined by Adam Kolker on reeds and Ugonna Okegwo on bass.
Tribute bands are tricky things: how to…
High-end audio is mostly about songs blaring from boxes. Occasionally, you can be sitting near some of these wailing boxes and think: Wow, these songs are sounding pretty darn good! If you’re an audiophile that means you’ve found a home. Today, on my first day in Newport Beach, California I am sitting in the lobby of the Irvine Hotel (home of The Home Entertainment Show Newport) getting myself psyched for room after room of blaring boxes and stacks of brochures, sproutin’ like cotton from every horizontal surface. I am feeling jus’ like that ol’ boo weevil a-sitten’ on the square: Just a-…
Six weeks before the start of THE Show Newport Beach, word got out that the show organizers were poised to add a last-minute "Trade and Press Day" for Thursday May 28. As it turned out, the actual announcement came later, less than a month before the show. The idea, if instituted correctly, could have been a good one. But done so last minute, it seemed, at best, half-cocked.
Which is exactly as it turned out. At least one exhibitor has already voiced his displeasure on Facebook, lamenting that he had people coming into his room while he was trying to set up. (Duh, why didn't you lock the…
From the Hotel Irvine, where the THE Show 2015 is occurring this year, you have to cross the 405 freeway to the west and keep going a ways to actually get to Newport Beach. Audio critical mass has been attained here this year, with a daunting 400+ exhibitors, spread out over nine floors, with three public days plus a press day. I flew into John Wayne Airport—which is smaller and less nasty than LAX—and the Hotel Irvine is close by. My beat for Stereophile—to attempt to share with you my brief take on equipment and systems that might be described as "Medium Budget"; not too cheap, not too…
When longtime TAD/Pioneer speaker designer Andrew Jones moved on to design new speakers for German manufacturer ELAC, we expected big things, though not quite immediately. Speaker design takes time. But Jones and ELAC made a big splash at the Newport show with the new line of Debut speakers. The first model ready for demo was the baby of the Debut family, the B5. It's shown here with proud papa Andrew, with its 5.25" aramid-fiber woofer and 1" cloth-dome tweeter, and is expected to retail for $230/pair in early fall when the entire lineup should be available.
The amp used to drive the…