Description: Three-way loudspeaker with midrange and treble horns and active, reflex-loaded woofer. Drive-units: compression-loaded 1" concave-dome tweeter, compression-loaded 5.5" Kevlar-cone midrange driver, two 7" cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 170Hz, 2kHz. Frequency range: 170Hz–20kHz (midrange/treble), 22–200Hz (woofer). Sensitivity: 101dB/2.83V/m (midrange/treble); 95dB/2.83V/1m (woofer). Nominal impedance: 8 ohms (midrange/treble). Woofer amplifier power: 100W into 4 ohms.
Dimensions: 5.6' (1.7m) H by 2.22' (670mm) W by 2.23' (680mm) D. Internal…
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Sidebar 2: System
For this review analog was sourced from a Linn LP12/Lingo turntable with Naim ARO tonearm and Koetsu Rosewood II, Linn Arkiv, and van den Hul Grasshopper GLA 1V phono cartridges. Disc equalization was by a Conrad-Johnson Premier Fifteen feeding C-J's ART control unit. Digital source was mainly a Krell KPS-20i. Cables included Siltech and Transparent.
While I had no flea-sized power amplifiers on hand, on the single-ended triode side I used a Cary CAD572 and a Bel Canto SET 40. The push-pull Conrad-Johnson CAV50 integrated amplifier also made an appearance. These…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The importance of the Avantgarde Acoustic Duo's sensitivity result puts this parameter at the top of the list of lab tests—I measured 103dB/2.83V/m, possibly the highest yet for a Stereophile review. Moreover, the impedance rating is a genuine 8 ohms, which doesn't compromise the sensitivity value.
The implications are substantial, and in no small way help define this design's engineering value. 103dB means that a loud program level of 96dBA is attainable at the listening position with input of just 0.5W. The Duo is wholly compatible with 3W-and-up SE…
AVM Audio, which has been in business since 1986 (footnote 1), chose last year to enter the turntable market with two models that reflect the company's brushed-aluminum/blue LED visual aesthetics.
It doesn't take a forensic turntable scientist to figure out who manufactures both of those turntable models. Clearly, Pro-Ject does (footnote 2)—although some audiophiles might recognize only a few key parts. Other elements, especially the two different tonearm models, may appear unique to AVM, having been built to their specs.
For me, the first hints that the AVM Rotation R 2.3 came…
The cartridge's designer, Noriyuki Miyajima, says he likes the sound produced by adding weight at the headshell, but he found that adding it to the cartridge itself produces a more effective sonic result. He suggests that the extra weight better damps "the extra sound generated by the needle point."
On the Miyajima Labs website, the designer described the sound this way: "The bass is thick and tight. Midrange is firmly insisted. A treble that has no useless resonances is realistic. Sound separation is the best ever. It is a feeling that all the performers are putting their feet on the…
Register to win a set of Grado GT220 True Wireless Earbuds (Value $259) we are giving away.
According to Grado:
The All New Grado GT220 True Wireless earbuds utilize an 8mm Dynamic Driver to deliver rich accurate bass, detailed midrange and clear precise treble, resulting in a user experience second to none. Grado wants you to hear the music as the recording engineer intended it, true and natural, nothing artificial.
The GT220 incorporates Bluetooth 5.0 as well as aptX, AAC and SBC codecs, making it possible to connect with a wide range of devices. When the…
Let me tell you how I spent the month of May 1987: I had been musing about a comment made by J. Gordon Holt following the 1986 Summer CES that it seemed that the loudspeaker High End was populated exclusively by planar models: Apogees, Acoustats, MartinLogans, Magneplanars of various kinds, the Quad ESL-63, and an assorted Infinity or two. The problem is, however, that folks as a rule buy speakers made from boxes; boxes priced a little lower than the esoteric beasts so beloved of reviewers. "OK," said Larry Archibald, "how about reviewing some moving-coil loudspeakers? Tell you what. Let's…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment & Test Procedure
THe speakers was substituted for the SL600s in my usual system of Krell KSA-50 power amplifier, Audio Research SP-10 preamp, CAL Tempest II and Meridian MCD Pro CD players, and Koetsu Red/SME V/Linn Sondek LP player mounted on a Torlyte stand. (At the end of the listening period, I substituted a 1987 Linn/Ittok combination fitted with the new composite armboard and the new Linn Troika cartridge, the whole sitting on a Sound Organization table.) Interconnect was Monster Interlink Reference A, and Monster M1 speaker cable was used for…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
I measured the frequency response in the listening window—spatially averaged to minimize room standing-wave problems—using third-octave pink noise, and measured the near-field low-frequency response with a sinewave sweep to get an idea of the true bass extension. The in-room response showed a smooth characteristic with a slightly falling trend above 80Hz, broken only by a slight excess of energy in the 3–10kHz region. The nearfield –6dB point lay at 55Hz, but, as indicated by Martin Colloms in his article elsewhere in this issue, an optimally damped small sealed-…
Sidebar 3: Specifications
Description: Two-way, sealed-box loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1.25" (32mm) aluminum-dome tweeter, 6.5" (165mm) Kobex (PVC)-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.8kHz. Frequency response: 60Hz–16kHz ±3dB. Sensitivity: 84dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Amplifier requirements: 25-120W.
Dimensions: 14.8" H × 7.9" W × 10.5" D. Internal volume: 12 liters. Weight: 18.5lb each.
Price: $900/pair (1987); no longer available (2020). Approximate number of dealers: 55.
Manufacturer: Celestion International Ltd., Ditton Works, Ipswich, Suffolk, UK (1987); Gold Peak…