I did some brief but serious listening to the Spectra 11s before this issue went to press, and have the following comments to make. The range covered by the woofer (35–200Hz) measures and sounds between 3dB and 5dB too high in my room, which is about the same size as Sam's. This disparity will be less pronounced in larger rooms, and is most likely due to the fact that the woofer radiation is effectively omnidirectional while the electrostatic panel has a bipolar, figure-eight dispersion pattern. The in-room sound of the Spectra 11s is certainly rolled-off in the…
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Thomas J. Norton reviewed the Spectra 11 in February 1990 (Vol.13 No.2):
Drat! There's just no way to do it. To let you, the readers, know all about one of the better loudspeaker deals around, without letting Acoustat (and their dealers) in on the secret. JA is bound to spill the beans just by sending the traditional prepublication draft to the manufacturer. Then Acoustat will send dealers copies, and before you know it, Bingo! Instant pressure to increase the price. Let's see now, if JA just misplaces Acoustat's zip code, then we print the published review in two-week disappearing ink…
Sidebar 1: System & Set-Up
Associated equipment used for the review included the SOTA Cosmos turntable, SME V pickup arm, Krell KC-100 cartridge, CAL Aria CD player, Klyne SK-5A preamp, Forté 1a, Classé DR-9, and Mark Levinson No.23 power amps, Monster M-1000 interconnects, and Monster M-1 and AudioQuest Green Hyperlitz speaker cables. Approximately 75% of the program material used was analog LP, the remainder CD.
Acoustat recommends that the Spectras be broken in before serious use. Accordingly, I connected them up to the video system in my den/video room for several weeks…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
Fig.1 shows the spatially averaged response of the Spectra 11s in my listening room. The overall balance can be seen to be rolled-off in the highs, with an excess of 4–5dB in the exact region covered by the woofer (35–300Hz). The apparently depressed HF, however, owes more to the limited dispersion of the Spectra 11's electrostatic panel in its top two octaves in both lateral and vertical planes. The on-axis response measures and sounds both flat and smooth to about 14kHz, with the exception of a degree of boost between 2kHz and 2.5kHz, though there is still a lack…
Sidebar 3: Specifications
Description: Three-way loudspeaker with 8" sealed-cabinet, dynamic woofer and electrostatic midrange/tweeter. Crossover frequencies: 250Hz and 2500Hz (see text). Frequency response: 45Hz–20kHz ±3dB. Minimum recommended power: 75W. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 3 ohms minimum. Sensitivity: not specified, but stated to be a minimum of 3dB more efficient than full-range Spectras.
Dimensions: 72" H by 15" W by 14" D. Weight: unspecified, but estimated 60–70 lbs each.
Price: $999/pair (1990); no longer available (2014). Approximate number of dealers: 125.
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The 5th annual California Audio Show takes place August 15–17 in the four-star Westin SFO hotel in Millbrae, CA. Easily accessible via the freeway or BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), this smaller-scaled show showcases rarely encountered big speakers from Dynaudio, Genesis, JBL, and Sound Labs.
"The uniqueness of this show is that even though it's smaller than many, it's in a hotel with a very comfortable, luxurious ambience," show organizer Constantine Soo tells Stereophile. "Attendees will be able to revisit their favorite rooms, linger, and really gain a strong impression of the sound of…
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.5 "The Emperor"
Rudolph Serkin, piano; Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond.
Telarc CD-80065 (CD). Robert Woods, prod., Jack Renner, eng.
Rudolph Serkin, piano; Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond.
Telarc CD-80065 (CD). Robert Woods, prod., Jack Renner, eng.
Vivaldi: "The Four Seasons"
Joseph Silverstein, violin; Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, cond.
Telarc CD-80070 (CD). Robert Woods, prod., Jack Renner, eng.
I have never been a fan of Seiji Ozawa, feeling that his interpretive approach is too often cold and attached. That's not true of this performance of the "Emperor" Concerto. In fact, my only criticism is that the performance seems at…
The Gale loudspeaker dates back to the early 1970s. As I understand it, the basic design resulted from a collaboration of Ira Gale (footnote 1) and Sao Win, who were college classmates at the time. Their speaker proved very popular in England and was subsequently imported to the USA during the mid-1970s by Audio Technica. Recently, Techport (the folks who import the Perreaux line) has taken over US distribution.
While the Gales have undergone same changes through the years, their distinctive appearance and, according to some, their equally distinctive sonic "flavor," have continued to…
JGH weighs in
I took a prolonged listen to the same pair of Gales auditioned by DO. While I did not fall madly in love with them, try as I might I could not get them to sound the way DO described them.
I took a prolonged listen to the same pair of Gales auditioned by DO. While I did not fall madly in love with them, try as I might I could not get them to sound the way DO described them.
That's disturbing. While I am perfectly content to see our contributors disagree from time to time about their reaction to a product—whether they like it or don't—I do not like disagreements about empirical observations, which, for a subjective review magazine; perform the same function that laboratory measurements do for a "test-bench" magazine. Either a product sounds a certain way…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Three-way loudspeaker system in sealed enclosure. Crossover frequencies: 750Hz, 5kHz. Frequency response: 55HZ–20kHz, ±5dB. Sensitivity: 88dB/2.83V/m. Recommended power: 40W minimum. Dimensions: 23.875" H by 13" W by 10.875" D. Weight: 50 lbs each. Price: $1250/pair (1985); no longer available (2014). Manufacturer: Gale Loudspeakers, England. US distributor: Techport, Westbury, NY 11590 (1985). Manufacturer and distributor no longer in existence (2014). Web: www.galeaudio.com.