Editor: Congratulations on selecting the Nagra-D as Stereophile's 1996 Product of the Year. We use the Nagra-D at Gateway Mastering Studios to play back tapes made by Jerry Bruck and Peter McGrath (and others), and to store the output of our dCS 88.2/96kHz A/D converter, as well as other 24-bit digital signals....This machine has the most accurate clock reference frequency and lowest jitter of any digital gear we have measured. The Nagra-D is also one of the safest ways we have of archiving digital material. It is a…
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English loudspeaker manufacturer Monitor Audio has mined a rich vein with their exclusive 6½" metal-cone driver, which covers a range from the bass to the midrange. MA designs using this drive-unit have fared well in these pages, ranging from the Monitor Audio Studio 6 minimonitor (reviewed by JA in February '94, Vol.17 No.2) to the floorstanding Studio 20 (reviewed by RH in December '91, Vol.14 No.12, and by ST in April '92, Vol.15 No.4).
The company's 1" magnesium-alloy dome tweeter was well-established. The decision to go for a 6½"-cone unit to partner it was an astute decision,…
I could tune the subjective LF weight quite easily, by adjusting for the distance to the rear wall while making relative shifts to the sidewall distance to maintain smoothness in the bass region together with the optimum midrange tonality. As for toe-in, with the grille detached, a placement where the inside walls of the cabinet could just be seen was appropriate in my room acoustics.
As supplied, the driver-mounting screws had slackened a little, as is common; judicious retightening brought rewards in definition and midrange dynamics. I also preferred the sound with the grilles…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, four-way, floorstanding, sealed-box dynamic loudspeaker. Drive-units: two 6½" (165mm) woofers; 6½" (165mm) midrange unit, all with cast-aluminum chassis, ceramic-coated alloy cones, high-temperature voice-coils, and vented magnet systems; 1" tweeter with a gold-anodized alloy dome and ferrofluid cooling. Crossover frequencies: 100Hz, 3.2kHz. Frequency response: 25Hz–28kHz ±3dB. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 90dB/W/m. Amplifier requirements: 35–300 watts.
Dimensions: 41" (1033mm) H by 8" (201mm) D by 12" (301mm) W. Weight: 66…
Sidebar 2: Review System
Initial tests suggested that tubed amplifiers were not well-suited to the Studio 50. Despite sounding good, they clearly couldn't deliver the degree of low-end grunt of which the speaker is actually capable. (Presumably, the speaker's low impedance below 50Hz was responsible). Despite the promising 90dB specified sensitivity, tubed SE amplifiers need not apply.
I had a range of amplifiers on hand. The Audio Research VT150SE did the '50 justice, working from its 4 ohm matching connection, but at a reduced peak output level. Krell's KAS-2 really took hold…
Sidebar 3: Heavy Metal
While discussion continues on the pros and cons of metal-cone drivers, the number of designers using them does seem to be on the increase, including several from the US (Platinum, NEAR, Thiel, Hartke). In addition to Monitor Audio, there's the pioneer of the craft in the UK, namely Acoustic Energy, as well as JPW, Studio Power, B&W, (the Nautilus), and Musical Technology. In Norway, the popular driver maker SEAS is producing a range of aluminium-and-magnesium-alloy units, while the metal-dome tweeter is currently used in many speakers and is produced by a…
Sidebar 4: Measurements
Scoring very close to the target sensitivity, the Studio 50 achieved 89.5dB/W/m based on a median drawn through the central five octaves (89dB/W/m B-weighted). This is above-average sensitivity, implying that a wide range of amplifiers will drive this speaker successfully. Choose solid-state if that last ounce of slam and extension is to be wrung from the deep bass. I had wondered whether the '50s impedance would compromise the usefully high sensitivity, but the impedance trace (fig.1) revealed a good result, typically 5–10 ohms over the bulk of the power-…
Stereophile is finally collectible. Either that, or I'm the biggest audiophile sucker out there. A few weeks back, I finally caved into temptation and signed up for an account on eBay, the website via which millions of folks buy and sell stuff in an online auction, and on which someone once tried to sell a human kidney. (It was not allowed.)
I was looking for mint copies of original Liberty Records pressings of Martin Denny LPs from the late 1950s (a long story for another time). But eBay is addictive: I began entering all kinds of words into the search engine to see how much people…
DAVE ALVIN: Blackjack David
Hightone HCD 8091 (CD). 1998. Greg Leisz, prod.; Paul duGre, Dave Ahlert, engs. ADD? TT: 50:24
Performance ****?
Sonics ****
Hightone HCD 8091 (CD). 1998. Greg Leisz, prod.; Paul duGre, Dave Ahlert, engs. ADD? TT: 50:24
Performance ****?
Sonics ****
As unfair as they might be, comparisons between Dave Alvin and Bruce Springsteen are inevitable. Formerly the star of a working-class roots band (sound familiar?), Alvin, to a much lesser degree than Springsteen, set a certain standard and helped launch (or, more accurately, relaunch) a genre. And now, just as Bruce has turned to a folkier, more intimate form of musical expression, so too has Dave, albeit later in his career…
As we all know, it's the sound that counts. However, good looks enhance pride of ownership, and Theta Digital's class-AB, 400W Citadel is as handsome a monoblock as these jaded eyes have laid eyes on.
The Citadel fairly screams "buy me!" Your first enthusiastic glance will take in the bright aluminum case, standing almost a dizzying 20" high. The aluminum (a black finish is also available) clads a steel chassis and back panel. A thick, curved aluminum endcap faces the listener, with a nicely styled control panel set out slightly from the cap. Viewed from the front, it looks like an…