But when the phono cartridge of choice is a moving-coil (MC) type, which generates even less voltage than its moving-magnet (MM) and moving-iron (MI) friends, even more gain is required. This presents the user with an additional choice: he or she can…
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In contrast with such line-level source components as DACs and CD players, record players generate a lower-voltage signal that requires extra gain (footnote 1) from either a standalone phono preamplifier or the phono stage of another, more comprehensive component in one's system—typically, a full-function preamplifier or an integrated amp.
Arguably more important, the Sky 40 delivered as much impact, drama, and overall involvement as the more expensive Hommage, so much so that I felt compelled to listen to the album all over again, beginning to end. By the end of "Love You To," I caught myself playing air tabla on my desktop (it seems the Sky 40 also allowed the music its fullest sense of drive), and I enjoyed, among other delights, the enhanced realism of the sound of Ringo's drum entrance—a ride-tom beat followed by a floor-tom beat—in "Here, There and Everywhere." (And, yes, as my dog could probably tell you, it was one of…
Long-lived loudspeaker models are rare. So it's surprising that the two-way, stand-mounted Model 5, the smallest speaker made by Massachusetts-based Aerial Acoustics, was revised just once between 2015 and April 1997, when Robert Harley favorably reviewed it and it cost $1800/pair. The revised 5B was equally favorably reviewed by John Marks in July 2009. This kept the original's 1" titanium-dome tweeter and sealed-box woofer loading but replaced the 7" polypropylene-cone woofer with a 7.1" laminated-fiber–cone woofer. Despite more than a decade's worth of inflation, the price rose only…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, stand-mounted, port-loaded loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25.4mm) ring-radiator tweeter, 6.7" papyrus-blend–cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.7kHz. Frequency response: 48Hz–25kHz, ±2dB. Sensitivity: 87dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Minimum impedance: 3 ohms. Recommended amplification: 25–200W.
Dimensions: 15" (380mm) H by 7.9" (200mm) W by 12.6" (323mm) D. Weight: 23 lbs (10.45kg) each, 56 lbs/pair (25.45kg/pair) shipping.
Finishes: High-gloss Rosenut or Ebony, Nero metallic black.
Serial numbers of units reviewed:…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Source: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B cartridge.
Digital Sources: Aurender N10 music server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; dCS Rossini CD player & Rossini Clock; PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A converter with Bridge II network adaptor; Meridian UltraDAC; AudioQuest JitterBug, UpTone Audio ReGen USB cleaner-uppers; Mac mini running Pure Music 3, Audirvana, Twonky server; iPad Mini running PlugPlay, Aurender apps; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D converter.
Phono Preamplifier…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Aerial 5T's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and in-room responses. The 5T's voltage sensitivity is specified as 87dB/2.83V/m; my estimate was somewhat lower, at 85.2dB(B). The Aerial's nominal impedance is specified as 4 ohms, with a minimum magnitude of 3 ohms. My measurement was significantly different, with a magnitude (fig.1, solid trace) that dipped below 6 ohms in just two regions—between 29 and 54Hz and between 110 and 310Hz—and a…
Thursday, February 23, 4:30–8:30pm, F1 Audio (311 E Dundee Road, Palatine IL 60074) will be hosting an event featuring the new Dynaudio Contour 60 loudspeakers (above), Nordost cables, Octave tube electronics, and music from MoFi. Factory representatives will be on hand performing demonstrations and answering questions.
Guests will be able to register for a chance to win music from MoFi records, and F1 will offer special pricing during the event. Refreshments will be served. Please call (847 772-3140) or email to register for the event.
Saturday February 25, 12–5pm, Audible Images (161 Pineapple Avenue, Melbourne, FL 32935) is presenting Wilson Audio’s Alexx speaker. Guests will include Bill Peugh from Wilson Audio, Bill McKiegan from Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems, and Bob McConnell from Transparent Audio.
Wine & hors d'oeuvres will be served. Michael Fremer's review of the Wilson Alexx is scheduled to be published in the May issue of Stereophile.
I wouldn't normally begin a review of an imported product with generalities about the culture from which it sprang, but this isn't just any imported product. It's a Scandinavian loudspeaker, and Scandinavian speakers are subject to a different and altogether more liberal set of rules.
For one thing, because they tend to be healthy and well educated, and because their governments are at peace and, for the most part, economically and politically sound, Scandinavians can take a joke. For another, Scandinavians are famous for not only having a loudspeaker industry—something that has thus…
I also confirmed the merit of Larsen HiFi's advice to sit a bit farther from the speakers than the distance between them: too close, and the soundfield between the speakers lacked solidity and presence. That said, when I listened for sheer musical rather than aural pleasure—concentrating on pitches and dynamics and tone rather than spatial cues—the Larsen 8s were, in my experience, unique in their ability to be enjoyed from a seat literally anywhere in the room. Wherever I parked myself, sitting or standing, I never heard any colorations or changes in bottom-to-top tonal balance. It was…