Lower-pitched male voices and cello, however, demanded greater scrutiny—speakers the size of the 804…
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Moving down the spectrum to winds and guitar, the presences, placements, and harmonic balances of those instruments were exquisite. Stefano Grondona's guitar in Francisco Tarrega's Capricho árabe, from Grondona's La Guitarra de Torres (CD, Divox CDX-29701), is intimately recorded—the touch of his fingers on the strings is easily discerned from the rich supporting resonances of the instrument's body. Each repetition of the familiar theme offers another serving of mesmerizing harmonies.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) diamond-dome tweeter, 6" (150mm) FST woven-Kevlar midrange cone, two 6.5" (165mm) Rohacell-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 350Hz, 4kHz. Frequency range: –6dB at 30Hz and 33kHz. Frequency response: 38Hz–28kHz, ±3dB, on reference axis. Dispersion: within 2dB of on-axis response over 60° arc (horizontal) and 10° arc (vertical). Sensitivity: 90dB/2.83V/m. Harmonic distortion (second and third harmonics, 90dB, 1m): 1.0%, 90Hz–100kHz; 0.5%, 120Hz–100kHz. Impedance: 8 ohms…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Sony XA-5400ES SACD/CD player, Oppo BDP-105 universal Blu-ray player, Mytek Stereo192-DSD DAC, PC-based server using JRiver Media Center 18.
Preamplification: Audio Research MP1 multichannel analog preamplifier, Meridian HD621 HDMI audio processor & 861 Reference V6 digital surround controllers.
Power Amplifiers: McIntosh MC303, Parasound A-31 (both three-channel).
Loudspeakers: Bowers and Wilkins 800 Diamond & 804S, Aerial Acoustics 7T.
Cables: Interconnect: van den Hul Flat 180, AudioQuest Vodka (HDMI); Black Cat…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Bowers & Wilkins 804 Diamond's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield responses, the latter's ¼" capsule offering no significant acoustic obstacle to the outputs of the small diaphragms. Before performing any measurements, I removed the plastic disc from the rear of the tube that loads the midrange unit, as instructed in the manual.
My estimate of the 804 Diamond's voltage sensitivity was 89.3dB(B)/2.83V/m. While this is slightly…
It was like old times. A major consumer electronics company was presenting a press conference in a high-rent venue to introduce its new audio products. These events used to be commonplace; now they are rare. But on September 4, in Manhattan's Jazz at Lincoln Center, to an audience that included record company executives from Universal, Warner, and Sony Music, HDTracks' Norman and David Chesky, Chad Kassem and Marc Sheforgen from Acoustic Sounds, whose new DSD download store was last week's big news, musician Herbie Hancock, and veteran mastering engineer Mark Wilder, Phil Molyneux, President…
Before striding into the future, John Dibb enjoyed considerable exposure to his sceptered isle's fascinating past. He was born in England's North Country, in 1948, in a model West Yorkshire village established a century earlier by an enlightened industrialist determined to provide comfortable housing and communal amenities for his employees and their families; called Saltaire, it's now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At age 11, young Dibb won a place at the nearby Bingley Grammar School, which dates back half a millennium, to the era of Henry VIII. He later studied at the University of…
Dibb: I think the Silver Signature, the Matrix 800, and the CI 800 range. It's difficult to put an exact time frame around any project, but each of the above would have been two to two-and-a-half years.
Lander: The CI series comprises speakers for custom installations, and your 800 models are at the top of the range. Did the problems/challenges of installing speakers in walls and ceilings add much development time?
Dibb: In-wall/ceiling placement was certainly a contributing factor, although we did spend a great deal of time investigating speaker-platform materials and their…
On October 1st, Poon Village will release Five American Percussion Pieces by William Winant.
Those familiar with Winant’s work may be surprised to learn that this is the first album released under the percussionist’s own name. Those unfamiliar with his name are nevertheless likely to have heard Winant’s work. Over his 40-year career, Winant has appeared on over 200 recordings, including those written specifically for him by John Cage, Terry Riley, and Lou Harrison. He has studied with James Tenney, Steve Reich, and John Bergamo. He has played music with The Kronos String Quartet, Sonic…
Ted Denney at the 2003 CES. (Photo: John Atkinson)
As I had been impressed with Ted Denney's Synergistic Research cable, I thought that asking him for 25,000 words on his thoughts on cable design and performance would be an appropriate accompaniment to my Symphonic Line Kraft 400 amplifier review.
Ted Denney: Two important things to start off with: First, no one cable can perform musically in every system; second, price is not a guarantee of performance. For example, in your system, Jonathan, I recommended our Phase 2 Mk.V—not the more expensive Resolution Reference—to run to your…
As the years pass and I turn into a crotchety old man, I'm reminded of those old TV ads for the Honda Accord: "Simplify." Even though I now have more things going on than at any other point in my life, I try to eliminate complications everywhere I can. I now can't believe that, for over 15 years, I used the Infinity RS-1B as my reference loudspeaker. Sure, I loved it—the RS-1B was the first speaker I'd owned that produced a wide, deep soundstage, the full dynamic range of an orchestra, and bass extension down to 25Hz. But it was ridiculously complex: a five-way design with three different…