Party Speakers!
Dynamics were another strong suit of the Image 4T—the aforementioned Stravinsky, Wuorinen, Peer, and Sonic Youth recordings kicked major butt at higher volume levels. In fact, the 4T's high-level dynamic performance exceeded that of any speaker I'd previously heard costing anywhere up to $1000/pair. The 4T's combination of bass and dynamic capabilities made it a great rock speaker. Unfortunately, I got a bit carried away demonstrating these strengths: When I cranked up Hole's Celebrity Skin (Geffen DGCD-25164, CD) and King Crimson's Thrak (Virgin 8 40313 2, CD) to…
Sidebar 1: Specifications Description: Floorstanding, video-shielded, biwirable, front-ported loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" aluminum-dome, ferrofluid-cooled tweeter, two reflex-loaded 5.25" polypropylene-cone woofers with rubber surrounds. Crossover frequencies: 500Hz, 2.2kHz. Frequency response: 38Hz-21kHz ±3dB. Sensitivity (anechoic): 89dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms (minimum 4 ohms). Recommended power: 10-150W.
Dimensions: 36" H by 6.5" W by 14.25" D. Weight: 37 lbs each.
Finishes: Black ash or cherry.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 10040 007741/5.
Price: $649/…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment Analog sources: VPI TNT IV turntable, Immedia tonearm, Koetsu Urushi cartridge; Rega Planar 3 turntable, Syrinx PU-3 tonearm, Clearaudio Beta Aurum cartridge.
Digital source: California Audio Labs Icon Mk.II Power Boss CD player.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2B phono stage, Audible Illusions Modulus L1 line stage.
Power amplifier: Audio Research VT100 Mk.II.
Integrated amplifiers: Creek 4240SE and Creek 5350SE.
Cables: Interconnect: MIT MI-350 CVTwin Terminator, MI-330 Shotgun. Speaker: Acarian Systems Black Orpheus.
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Sidebar 3: Measurements The elegantly proportioned PSB Image 4T tower was surprisingly sensitive, at an estimated 89.7dB(B)/2.83V/m. Its plot of impedance magnitude and phase against frequency (fig.1) implied that it is also a relatively easy load for the partnering amplifier or receiver to drive, with a minimum value of 3.8 ohms in the lower midrange and a mostly moderate electrical phase angle. The saddle at 47Hz in the magnitude trace indicates the tuning frequency of the twin ports—not that low, given the speaker's size.
Fig.1 PSB Image 4T, electrical impedance (solid…
The overall response of the Image 4T, averaged across a 30 degrees horizontal window on the tweeter axis, is shown in fig.4. The narrow suckout between 1kHz and 2kHz can again be seen, but probably of more subjective significance is the shape of the response trend: overall it is quite flat, though with a slight lack of upper-midrange energy. Depending on the nature of the music, this might be heard as a laid-back character in the midrange or as a slight excess of presence-region energy, particularly as the lateral dispersion (fig.5) shows a slight flare in the same region (cursor position).…
I'm starting to hate computers. They take up all my time. Whether I'm writing, preparing classes to teach, toying with computer-generated music, managing finances, or (too often) upgrading hardware, I'm spending too much time in the computer chair, not enough in the listening chair.
This has always been a small problem, but the rise of the Internet has made it worse. It's too easy to listen to Radio Deutsche Welle, surf websites, or witness the strange pageantry of newsgroup flamers. It's too much fun to hunt down old, lost friends from high school and use e-mail to make their nightmares…
The high priests of this back-to-basics movement are the members of the band Stereolab. When I went back to my new-LP bin, their recent album Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Elektra 61840-1, LP) was staring right at me. With a title so similar to Atom Heart Mother, it seemed to be saying "play me next." So I did. Stereolab also has aspirations to high art. I first learned about them from an exhibit of theirs at the Walker Art Gallery in Minneapolis. You were instructed to sit on a bench before a large, goopy-looking slab of bright green plastic wired up with several pairs of headphones. You were…
"The long tradition of professional connoisseurship has resulted in the development of a bewildering universe of specialist terminology. In certain cases, it must be admitted, there was self-indulgent proliferation of words relating to some minute feature....In fact, no clear distinction can be made between one term and its closest neighbor in meaning."—from the Introduction to Kanzan Sato's The Japanese Sword, A Comprehensive Guide, translated and with an introduction by Joe Earle (New York: Kodansha America, Inc., 1983) I think Mr. Earle's point is even more valid for audio than it is…
Next comes digital word length: In a multibit system such as 16-bit/44.1kHz, word length determines how many fine gradations of dynamics can be preserved. The consensus seems to be that a word length of 16 bits is not enough, but that diminishing returns set in above 22 bits. (A resolution of 24 bits is much more frequently advertised than achieved.) Let us not forget dither: In order to optimize the performance of the least significant bit in a multibit system, low-level noise must be added. The last several years have seen the development of very sophisticated proprietary dithering…
I've been attending the annual Consumer Electronics Show for years, and usually come away with the impression that there are too many "me-too" products. I see a numbing similarity of approach of manufacturers within a chosen discipline: solid-state power amps in black and silver bristling with heatsinks, single-ended triode amps with their glow reflecting from bronze or wood panels, MCPU/DSP-centered devices with sleek, flat cases and intimidating remote controls, etc.
Blue Circle products are a throwback to the days when each product in a company's stable had a recognizable…
