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I've been wrestling with my elders about new ways to measure loudspeakers, lobbying for methods that might correlate more directly with a listener's experience. And wouldn't you know? Right in the middle of this Socratic dialogue, I put the fresh-from-UPS, $1000/pair, Tannoy Revolution XT 6s into my reference system, plunking them down on my 24" Sound Anchor Reference stands in the same spot my Harbeth P3ESRs had been sitting. And I freaked! I was using the Rogue RP-7 preamp and the Rogue Stereo 100 (100Wpc) amplifier, and I could never adequately describe how bad the shiny white Tannoys…
During my second cup of coffee, while listening to Ito Ema play Bach's Goldberg Variations (CD, MA recordings MO24A), I heard a dip around 120Hz and some boosted energy just above the 1.8kHz crossover point. The 120Hz dip made the left side of Ito's piano seem less corporeal than I prefer. The 2kHz boost made the upper registers sound lively and direct.
With both the Rogue Stereo 100 and now the Schiit Aegir, I would have to describe the Revolution XT 6's sound as pure and focused but slightly soft. Orchestral soundstages were accurately mapped. There were multitudes of fine detail, but…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Bottom-ported, reflex-loaded, standmount loudspeaker. Drive-units: One 6" dual-concentric multifiber-cone woofer with coaxially mounted, waveguide-loaded 1" PEI dome tweeter. Crossover frequency: 1.8kHz. Crossover type: 2nd order low pass, 1st order high pass. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 89dB/2.83V/m. Recommended amplifier power: 25–120Wpc. Peak power handling: 240W.
Dimensions: 15.8" (400mm) H × 8.7" (221mm) W × 11.9" (302mm) D. Weight: 16.4lb (7.5kg). Cabinet volume: 0.38 cu. ft. (10.8 liters).
Finish: Piano white, piano black…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird turntable with Jelco TK-850L tonearm and Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum and My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent Ex moving-coil cartridges; J.Sikora Initial turntable with TK-750M arm and Grado Labs Aeon3 moving-iron cartridge.
Digital sources: MacBook Air laptop, Mac mini running Audirvana Plus;
Mytek HiFi Brooklyn+, Chord Qutest D/A processors; Integra DPS-7.2 (used as CD transport).
Preamplification: Musical Surroundings Phonomena II+ and Parasound Halo JC 3+ phono preamplifiers; Rogue RP-7 line…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Tannoy Revolution XT 6's farfield behavior with DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the speaker's nearfield responses. Tannoy specifies the Revolution XT 6's sensitivity as "89dB," which I assume is for 1W at 1m. My estimate was 88.8dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is both within the margin of error and a little higher than average. Props to Tannoy for an honest sensitivity specification.
Although the Revolution XT 6's nominal impedance is specified as 8 ohms, the magnitude (fig.1, solid…
During the four years that I've reviewed for Stereophile, I've had the privilege of evaluating products from some of the world's best-known audiophile companies: Audio Research, Bel Canto, CH Precision, dCS, D'Agostino, Dynaudio, EMM Labs, Jadis, Krell, Nordost, and Wilson, among others. But one long-standing manufacturer whose exhibits at audio shows invariably inspire ecstatic reports, Germany's MBL, has remained outside my purview.
It thus came as a delightful surprise when MBL North America's Jeremy Bryan informed Jim Austin and me that the MBL N11 solid-state line preamplifier ($14,…
Because my two reference DACs, dCS's Rossini DAC/Clock combo and EMM Labs' DV2 integrated DAC, have very different sonic presentations that evoke different emotional responses, I used both in this review. For the Rossini, I chose Map 1, 2V output, and the recommended filters for each resolution; for the DV2, output was set to high. Both DACs' volume controls were turned all the way up to get them out of the way. A Nordost Valhalla 2 USB cable carried signal from the Roon Nucleus+ to the DACs; from there, I went balanced Odin 2 to the N11, then balanced out to my D'Agostino Progression…
Sidebar 1: MBL Chief Engineer Jürgen Reis
Jürgen Reis, 59, whom John Atkinson respectfully describes as "an engineer's engineer," joined MBL in 1982, when the company was three years old. After improving the original MBL preamp, he designed MBL's first three-way speaker system, the MBL 101, in 1986.
As Reis's work continued, he found time to sing baritone/bass in the award-winning Hanover Choir, play guitar in a rock band, and serve as a recording engineer. With time for only one serious recording project per year, he currently records the superb ensemble Concerto Köln for…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, stereo line preamplifier with "MBL Unity Gain," remote control, and MBL SmartLink connectivity. Inputs: 5 pairs single-ended (RCA), 2 pairs balanced (XLR), and option for either phono MC (RCA) or 3rd pair balanced (XLR). Outputs: 5 pairs variable outputs in two groups—(Group 1) 2 single-ended (RCA) + 1 balanced (XLR), (Group 2) 1 single-ended (RCA) + 1 balanced (XLR)—and 2 pairs fixed outputs, 1 single-ended (RCA) and 1 balanced (XLR). Input impedance: 2.3k ohms (CD-In), 10k ohms (XLR-In), 50k ohms (Aux-In), 100 ohms (optional MC-In/…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Rossini Clock; EMM Labs DV2 DAC; Roon Nucleus+ music server with linear power supply; Linksys routers (2), Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModules (2), TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters plus multi-mode duplex fiber optic cable (2); Small Green Computer/ HDPlex four-component 200W linear power supply (3); external hard drives, SSD USB sticks, iPad Pro.
Power amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Master Systems Progression monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia…