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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…
These are two of Electro-Voice's "middle-ground" speaker systems, filling the quality (and price) range between the huge Patrician 800 and the diminutive Coronet system.
The Model 6 is a rather large four-way system employing an 18" woofer with a ½"-thick cone of light, rigid foam plastic (See "Farewell to the Paper Cone," in Vol.1 No.1 of The Stereophile), an 8" paper-cone driver for the lower-middle range, and compression-type horn units for the upper ranges. Crossovers are at 250, 800 and 3500Hz (footnote 1). A five-position rotary switch provides treble adjustments in steps of about…
Sidebar: Specifications
Model 6: Four-way system with 18" woofer, 8" cone-type midrange unit, and horn-loaded compression tweeter and supertweeter. Frequency range: 30Hz–20kHz. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Power capacity: 35W program, 70W peak.
Dimensions: 30" H × 32" W × 17½" D.
Price: $300 (1964); no longer available (2020).
Model 2: Two-way system with 12" woofer and horn-loaded compression tweeter. Frequency range: 30Hz–15kHz. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Power capacity: 30W program, 60W peak.
Dimensions: 14" H × 25 W × 13½" D.
Price: $120 (1964); no longer…
Judging by VPI's new HW-40 direct-drive turntable (footnote 1), middle age well suits the company that Harry and Sheila Weisfeld started 40 years ago in their Howard Beach, Long Island, basement.
Harry Weisfeld began his career as an audio manufacturer with the HW-9, an isolation base for Denon's DP-80 direct-drive turntable. (You could say the introduction of a VPI direct-drive 'table completes a circle.) Next came the DB-5 "Magic Brick," a wood-encased block of laminated ferrous metal said to act as a "sink" for stray electromagnetic radiation. Audiophiles around the world bought these…
One other major and unique change: Instead of the exposed tonearm wire with LIMO connector termination used exclusively for decades on VPI arms, whether unipivot or gimbaled, the wire on this Fatboy exits more traditionally at the base of the arm, routes into the plinth, and terminates with RCA jacks. The arm retains the previously used smooth-dialing–counterweight VTF-adjustment system. And yes, there's an antiskating mechanism that you are free to use (as I do) or ignore (as HW does).
One more thing: This arm is the first in my experience with VPI where the armrest lock actually locks…
Originally published May 1, 1966
One of the best pickups we've heard to date, the Grado A was introduced with some fanfare in the fall of 1964 (footnote 1) and then, for no apparent reason, was withdrawn just one year later. It is probably still available, though, either used or, discounted, as new stock at some dealers.
This is (was?) the cleanest-tracking pickup we have tested to date, by a small but perceptible margin, and unlike most ellipticals, its high end is extremely smooth, with no audible rise at all. A slight, broad response dip centered around 5kHz gives it a somewhat…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Low-output, moving-coil phono cartridge. No specifications available.
Price: $50 (1964); no longer available (2020).
Manufacturer: Grado Labs, 4614 7th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11220. Tel: (718) 435-5340. Web: gradolabs.com.