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The 1/3-octave bass-warble tones on Editor's Choice sounded powerful down to the 50Hz band, with the 40Hz warble a little lower in level than the bands above them, and the 32Hz warble exaggerated by the lowest mode in my room. The 25 and 20Hz warbles weren't audible at normal listening levels. The half-step–spaced tonebursts on Editor's Choice spoke cleanly above 63Hz; Dynaudio claims that the Special Forty's woofer offers low levels of distortion and, given the lack of audible "doubling" with this track, I'm inclined to believe them. However, some slight emphasis was audible between 200 and…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1.1" (28mm) Esotar Forty soft-dome tweeter, 6.7" (170mm) MSP (magnesium-silicate-polymer) cone woofer. Crossover: first-order, at 2kHz. Frequency response: 41Hz–23kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 86dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms. Maximum amplification: 200Wpc.
Dimensions: 14.2" (360mm) H by 7.8" (198mm) W by 12.1" (307mm) D. Weight: 17.9 lb (8.1kg).
Finish: Grey Birch High Gloss, Red Birch High Gloss.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 03988517 & '18, "Made in Denmark."…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Source: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B cartridge.
Digital Sources: Roon Nucleus+ file server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A converter; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 USB A/D converter.
Preamplification: Channel D Seta L phono preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Constellation Centaur II 500, Lamm Industries M1.2 Reference monoblocks.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), Canare (15', AES/EBU), DH Labs (1m, AES/EBU), Esperanto Audio (S/PDIF…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Dynaudio Special Forty's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield and spatially averaged room responses.
The Special Forty's voltage sensitivity is specified as 86dB(B)/2.83V/m; my estimate was a little lower, at 84.4dB/2.83V/m. Specified as a nominal 6 ohm load, the Special Forty's impedance drops below 6 ohms between 125 and 320Hz, with a minimum magnitude of 4.9 ohms at 178Hz (fig.1). However, the impedance remains above 8 ohms for…
No violinist is more equipped to perform the music of Krzysztof Penderecki than Anne-Sophie Mutter. The composer dedicated his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No.2, Metamorphosen (1992–1996), to her after hearing her perform at a young age and then conducting her in Prokoviev's First Violin Concerto in 1988. Mutter subsequently recorded Metamorphosen with Penderecki conducting the London Symphony Orchestra in 1997, and she has commissioned three works from him. He, in turn, dedicated each of them to her. If anyone can be said to have Penderecki's music in their blood, it is Anne-Sophie…
Sunday, September 30, 8:30am–8:00pm, the Burning Amp Festival 2018 takes place at San Francisco's Fort Mason Center. Held annually in the fall since 2007, BAF celebrates DIY audio technology both new and old, tube and solid-state, analog and digital. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own gear—DIY amps, speakers, turntables, DACs, servers, etc—and there will be free admission to anyone bringing a DIY project.
There will be displays, demos, auction and raffle items, and freebies, plus lectures at the Firehouse, given by three prominent figures in audio engineering design: Nelson Pass…
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
London Symphony Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski, cond., Erich Gruenberg , solo violin.
London Phase 4 SPC-21005 (LP). Recorded September 22, 1964. Kingsway Hall, London. Marty Wargo, prod., Tony D'Amato, recording dir., Arthur Lilley, eng.
London Symphony Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski, cond., Erich Gruenberg , solo violin.
London Phase 4 SPC-21005 (LP). Recorded September 22, 1964. Kingsway Hall, London. Marty Wargo, prod., Tony D'Amato, recording dir., Arthur Lilley, eng.
This is infuriating. Along comes the performance of Scheherazade that we've been waiting for, and the powers that be at London Records decide, God knows why, to bestow upon it the dubious blessing of Phase 4 recording. The sound is positively vast and cavernous, the bass booms, the highs scream, the harp sounds like…
There are the Grammys, and then there's the supermarket. Both are marks of achievement and permanence in popular recorded music. Having just begun writing this piece, I walked into the Price Chopper Supermarket in Cooperstown, New York, and what do I hear? Rita Coolidge, and the refrain from her 1977 recording of "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher." Now that's a hook—a high mark on the tree of pop.
Coolidge recorded her first single under her own name in 1969, when she was 24; this year sees the release of her latest album, Safe in the Arms of Time (Blue Elan BER1074). Do the…
"Its a dessert topping!"
"No, its a floor wax!"
"Dessert topping!"
"Floor wax!"
"Kids, don't argue—it's a dessert topping and a floor wax!"
"No, its a floor wax!"
"Dessert topping!"
"Floor wax!"
"Kids, don't argue—it's a dessert topping and a floor wax!"
Twenty years later, this Saturday Night Live routine still rings true. Experience has taught me that very few products can do two things equally well. Remember those jaunty amphibicars that sported propellers on their rear decks, letting you drive them straight into the lake after a bracing spin along the back roads? Unfortunately, they could neither corner well nor handle even the slightest chop. As for Swiss Army Knives, well, I…
Other than this relaxed presentation, the other attribute I noticed immediately was the extent to which the center-channel speaker simply nailed the dialog and sound effects to the video screen. The Aerial CC3 and M&K S-150AC represent the finest center channels I've auditioned to date, and the SCS2 is easily as good, if not better, especially because using five of the Thiels guarantees a uniform sound throughout the system.
In theory, the surrounds don't have to be equal to the front three channels—although this will probably change when five discrete digital channels become more…