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Record-business profits peaked 20 years ago, just before Napster and other file-sharing sites turned their world upside down. There have been occasional surges, but the future of the Compact Disc looks bleak, and while income from downloaded files is still climbing, the shift of profitability from à la carte music sales to unlimited streaming on demand seems inevitable. The realignment is already underway—the vast majority of today's music listeners, young and old, haven't bought a CD, file, or LP in years. It pains me to admit it, but after hearing, at the 2014 Midem music exhibition, a…
Phase Technology, a speaker-making division of MSE Audio based in Jacksonville, Florida, celebrated their 30th anniversary last September, at the 2013 CEDIA Expo, by reissuing of one of their first products, the PC-60 bookshelf loudspeaker, now updated with new drivers and crossovers. Dick Olsher reviewed the PC-60 for Stereophile in 1984 (footnote 1), and three decades later, John Atkinson thought it time to revisit this classic design, especially as the company's founder, the late Bill Hecht, was the inventor, in 1967, of the soft-dome tweeter. The PC60 CA (the CA stands for Classic…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, sealed-box bookshelf speaker. Drive-units: 1" woven-synthetic soft-dome tweeter, 6.5" RPF/glass/Kevlar-cone, solid-piston woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.0kHz. Frequency response: 60Hz–20kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 87dB/2.83V/m. Impedance: 4 ohms. Recommended amplification: 25–150W.
Dimensions: 131/4" (340mm) H by 85/8" (220mm) W by 81/4" (210mm) D. Weight: 32 lbs (14.5kg) per pair.
Finishes: Oak, Black Oak.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 60-050 & 0511.
Price: $1400/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 250.
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Rega Planar 3, VPI TNT IV turntables; Immedia, Syrinx PU-3 tonearms; Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood, Koetsu Urushi cartridges.
Digital Sources: Creek Destiny, Lector CDP-7T CD players.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage, Audio Valve Eclipse line stage.
Power Amplifier: Audio Research Reference 75.
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Excite X12, Epos Elan 10.
Cables: Interconnect (all MIT): Magnum M3, MI-330SG Terminator, MI-350 CVTwin Terminator. Speaker: Accent Speaker Technology Blue Thunder. AC: manufacturers' own.…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Phase Technology PC60 CA's frequency response in the farfield with DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield response. All measurements were performed with the grille removed.
My estimate of the PC60 CA's B-weighted voltage sensitivity was 85dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is significantly lower than the specified 87dB. The impedance is specified as 4 ohms, which I think appropriate, the PC60 CA's impedance magnitude varying between 3.3 and 6 ohms in the midrange (fig.1, solid trace),…
For exhibitors, showing off their products at audio shows is a crap shoot. The vagaries of arbitrarily assigned hotel rooms with unpredictable acoustics can play havoc with the sound of even the best-sounding systems. But over the years I've been attending shows, Joseph Audio's dems have always impressed me with how Jeff Joseph manages to set up his speakers so that they work with instead of against a hotel room's acoustics. Yes, Joseph's setup skills, going back to his days in audio retail, play an important role here. But his speakers, too, need to be of sufficiently high quality to benefit…
I began my listening with the MBL Corona C15 amplifiers, which I reviewed in June. These monoblocks had proved a synergistic match with Vivid Audio's Giya G3 speakers, which had preceded the new Josephs in my room, but the balance, though very clean and articulate, was definitely on the lean side. This was particularly so in the upper bass, though the low bass seemed boosted. I suspect that the Perspective was voiced with a softer-sounding amplifier than the C15. The foam liners were in the Perspectives' ports, but removing them wasn't the answer—the excessive low bass then got in the way…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, three-driver, floorstanding loudspeaker with vented enclosure. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) Sonatex-dome tweeter, two 5.5" (140mm) magnesium-cone woofers. Crossover frequency: 2kHz. Crossover: Asymmetrical Infinite Slope. Frequency response: 35Hz–20kHz, ±2dB (listening window). Sensitivity: not specified. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 6 ohms minimum. Power handling: not specified. Supplied accessories: cone feet and stabilizer bars.
Dimensions: 36" (915mm) H by 8.5" (216mm) W by 13" (330mm) D. Shipping weight: approximately 81 lbs (37.6kg) each…
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 OS10.7, iTunes 10, Pure Music 1.89, Audirvana Plus 1.5.10; NAD M50 media player with NAD M52 and NetGear RAID arrays; Logitech Transporter media server; NAD M51, Auralic Vega, Musical Fidelity V90-DAC D/A converters; Arcam rBlink Bluetooth DAC; dCS Vivaldi SACD/CD player–D/A system; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D converter.
Preamplification: Channel D…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Joseph Audio Perspective's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and spatially averaged room responses. All measurements were performed with the ports lined with the foam tubes, which is how I preferred the speaker in my auditioning.
My estimate of the Perspective's voltage sensitivity was 84dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is on the low side. However, as indicated by its plot of impedance magnitude and electrical phase against frequency (fig.1),…