A great thing about the Internet is that, in a print publication with limited space, there's no need to spend precious column inches recounting an otherwise necessary history of EgglestonWorks, which is based in Memphis, Tennessee. You can read…
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Viginti is Latin for twenty. It's also the name of a new loudspeaker from EgglestonWorks, to be produced in a limited edition of 250 pairs in celebration of the launch, 20 years ago, of the company's original Andra, on which the Viginti is based. The Viginti is a shapely and eye-pleasing 4' 2" tall, and weighs 255 lb—kind of heavy for its size.
While I always have to let my ears and brain adjust to the new, after a few days it was clear that moving the Vigintis a bit farther from the front wall might be worth trying. A friend and I moved them slightly forward. That did the trick.
With the speakers driven by my reference darTZeel NHB-458 monoblocks, the Viginti's bottom-end sound was sprung somewhat looser than the Alexx's, which gave it a richer, more visceral, more tactile bottom—an area in which the Alexx itself is not exactly shy. But it was way looser in the lower midbass, where it still sounded somewhat bloomy, even after…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Dynamic, floorstanding loudspeaker with rear slot-port loading. Drive-units: 1" beryllium-dome tweeter, two 6" carbon-dome midrange drivers, two 10" carbon-cone subwoofers. Crossover frequencies: 120Hz (low pass) and 110Hz (high pass), 2kHz. Frequency range: 20Hz-40kHz. Impedance: 6 ohms nominal, 3.5 ohms minimum at 29Hz. Sensitivity: 87dB. Recommended amplification power: N/A.
Dimensions: 50" (1270mm) H by 14" (355mm) W by 23" (585mm) D. Weight: 255 lb (116kg).
Finish: Piano Black, anodized aluminum side panels, carbon-fiber accents.
…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable & Castellon stand; Kuzma 4Point 9", Swedish Analog Technologies tonearms; Lyra Atlas, Atlas SL, Atlas SL mono, Etna, Etna SL cartridges; Miyajima Laboratory Zero (mono) & Madake, Ortofon Anna & A95 cartridges.
Digital Sources: dCS Rossini CD player; Lynx Hilo A/D-D/A converter; Meridian Sooloos Digital Media System; Pure Vinyl, Vinyl Studio software.
Preamplification: Ypsilon MC-10L & MC-16L step-up transformers; CH Precision P1 (with X1 power supply), Ypsilon VPS-100 phono…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the EgglestonWorks Viginti's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and in-room responses. Because of the Viginti's bulk and weight, I took my measurement gear to Michael Fremer's place in New Jersey, where I performed the quasi-anechoic measurements on the speaker in his driveway. (It was one of the few days in March that was not cold, the sun was shining, and there was no wind!) Mikey and I lacked the strength to lift the 255-lb speaker off the…
Ken Micallef wrote about the Heritage Heresy III in June 2018 (Vol.41 No.6):
In the November 2012 edition of his "Listening" column, Art Dudley wrote, "The coelacanthic Klipsch Heresy III . . . is among domestic audio's living fossils, the original Heresy having been introduced in 1957 as a 'center-channel' speaker for use with stereo pairs of the original Klipschorn. . . ."
A fat little floorstander measuring 23.8" high by 15.5" wide by 13.25" deep, the Klipsch Heritage Heresy III ($1998/pair) is a fossil (footnote 1). Its tweed-like grille, 12" pleated-surround woofer, and horn-…
Two of America's finest baroque musicians, flutist Stephen Schultz and harpsichordist Jory Vinikour, have teamed up to record J.S. Bach: Sonatas for Flute and Harpsichord (Music & Arts). Available in both CD and hi-rez 24/96 formats, this sparkling collection of four sonatas was recorded in Skywalker Sound's "The Scoring Stage," whose variable acoustics were adjusted for maximum reverberation by Jack Vad (recording engineer and producer of San Francisco Symphony's recordings) and Dann Thompson (one of the in-house engineers at Skywalker). Executive Producer Kit Higginson did the editing,…
Dave Wilson stands with his final design, the WAMM Master Chronosonic speaker system from 2016. (Photo: John Giolas)
Wilson Audio founder, Dave Wilson, 73, died of metastatic bone cancer on Saturday evening, May 26. Dave was receiving hospice care at his Utah home, and took his leave with his beloved wife and partner, Sheryl Lee Wilson, and other family members at his side.
Dave's exit came after he had overseen the 2006 expansion of Wilson Audio's factory in Provo, Utah by over 60%; announced, in November 2016, the succession of his son, Daryl Wilson (then 38) as CEO and…
Notoriously opinionated and obstinate Steve Albini, a guy ever vigilant and vocal about the wicked ways of the music business, showing up in Austin, Texas, at the annual South by Southwest festival? This I had to see. After a near-miss at his Austin hotel, we spoke the next morning on the phone.
"It was unspeakable on all levels, as bad as I imagined, and in some ways worse."
Any notion that he'd somehow softened, somehow accepted the music biz as it—
Wait. What the hell am I thinking?
"Bear in mind that I come from a punk-rock background where capitalism is sort…
In the March 2018 issue, Art Dudley admired the sound quality of Ayre Acoustics' KX-5 Twenty preamplifier, but didn't love some of its operational aspects (footnote 1). I've staged this Follow-Up as a putative face-off between the Ayre and my current reference preamplifier, the PS Audio BHK Signature, which I reviewed in the June 2017 issue (footnote 2).
Although the PS Audio BHK Signature and Ayre KX-5 Twenty preamplifiers have some things in common—eg, both are fully balanced and have both XLR and RCA outputs, not to mention the fact that both products are made in Boulder, Colorado—…