When I've tested other "breakthrough" subwoofers, I've been disappointed. All the convenient fine-tuning in the world won't matter if I end up with the same nasty old room modes and woofer bloat. But I'd been impressed when I'd…
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It's common to read ads for new audio hardware that crow about "revolutionary" breakthroughs in sound performance, and that's how Velodyne crowed about their new Digital Drive DD-18, servo-controlled, powered 18" subwoofer. The ads suggested that the DD-18 can be digitally equalized to one's room with a resultant in-room frequency response of 20-200Hz, ±3dB.
Setup
I unpacked and shoved the DD-18 across the living room to a spot along the rear wall, between the Quads. These speakers were positioned 5' from the rear wall, 8' apart, 3' from the side walls, and toed-in slightly. My listening chair faced this short wall of my lightly damped, rectangular, 4056-cubic-foot listening room. (The room is 26' long, 13' wide, and 12' high. Behind the listening chair, the other end of the room opens into a 25' by 15' by 8' kitchen.) I set up the calibration microphone on the back of my listening chair at my seated ear height of 37".
I unpacked and shoved the DD-18 across the living room to a spot along the rear wall, between the Quads. These speakers were positioned 5' from the rear wall, 8' apart, 3' from the side walls, and toed-in slightly. My listening chair faced this short wall of my lightly damped, rectangular, 4056-cubic-foot listening room. (The room is 26' long, 13' wide, and 12' high. Behind the listening chair, the other end of the room opens into a 25' by 15' by 8' kitchen.) I set up the calibration microphone on the back of my listening chair at my seated ear height of 37".
Wiring the DD-18…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Servo-driven, remote-controlled, sealed-box, powered subwoofer with digitally controlled room equalization electronics and graphical user interface. Drive-unit: long-excursion, carbon-fiber-reinforced 18" paper-cone woofer and tandem, push-pull 3" voice-coil and 24-lb magnet. Inputs: 2 line-level (RCA), 1 balanced (XLR), 2 speaker-level (bare wire, banana plugs, or spade lugs); two XLR balanced microphone inputs, one each on rear & front panels. Outputs: 2 line-level (RCA), 1 line-level (RCA) output for test signal L/R & video. Rear-panel…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Linn Sondek LP12-Lingo turntable, Linn Ittok tonearm, Spectral moving-coil cartridge.
Digital sources: Krell KPS-28 CD player, Sony SCD-C555ES multichannel SACD player.
FM tuners: Day-Sequerra Classic, McIntosh MR-78, Sony ST-5000.
Preamplification: Mark Levinson ML-7 preamplifier with L3A moving-coil phono cards, Duntech MX-10 head amplifier, Margulis phono section, Krell KCT preamplifier.
Power amplifiers: Mark Levinson ML-2 monoblocks, Krell FPB600c, Mark Levinson No.334.
Loudspeakers: Quad ESL-989.
Cables: Interconnect…
The possible approaches to any technical problem range from trial and error to first-principles physics. Then there's the "purist" approach—the simplest, most direct way to meet the challenge. Often, the purist approach doesn't pan out because of such phrases as "we need 60 tons of molten gold" or "can we cool the entire building to absolute zero?" But in the world of high-end cables, the purist approach is viable, and is exactly where you find Jeffrey Smith.
After digesting Malcolm Omar Hawksford's papers on signal transmission,1 Smith concluded that the answer was obvious: He…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Interconnect and loudspeaker cables. Interconnects available in single-ended and balanced configurations, terminated with Eichmann Bullet Plug RCA connectors or Neutrik XLR connectors, respectively. Speaker cables supplied in one-wire-per-conductor (+ or –) configuration, terminated with spade-type cutout in end of silver ribbon conductor, cutout sized to match speaker binding-post diameters.
Prices: Interconnect: $1400/3' unbalanced pair, $1450/3' balanced pair. Loudspeaker cable: $2950/8' pair. Approximate number of dealers: 10. Warranty: 30-…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Source: VPI HR-X turntable & tonearm, Lyra Titan cartridge.
Digital Sources: Burmester 001, Ensemble Dirondo CD players.
Preamplification: Ensemble Fonobrio phono stage; Placette Remote Volume Control; VTL TL-12.5, Burmester 011 preamplifiers.
Power Amplifiers: Simaudio Moon Rock, VTL S-400.
Loudspeakers: Thiel CS6.
Accessories: Finite Elemente Reference equipment stand, SSC equipment feet; Nordost ECO3, Disk Doctor, Disksolution, Auric Illuminator CD-cleaning/treatment systems; MIT ZCenter power-conditioning and delivery system…
TAJ MAHAL & TOUMANI DIABATE: Kulanjan
Hannibal HNCD 1444 (CD). 1999. Joe Boyd, prod.; Jerry Boys, eng. AAD TT: 59:02
Performance *****
Sonics *****
Hannibal HNCD 1444 (CD). 1999. Joe Boyd, prod.; Jerry Boys, eng. AAD TT: 59:02
Performance *****
Sonics *****
The Rising Sons became legendary for their historic influence on 1960s blues-rock, inspiring many a player besides Duane Allman to pick up the slide and call down the blues like sweet showers of rain. It would have been quite a stretch, though, to predict that the Sons would become a touchstone of world music via the solo careers of its two best-known members, Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder.
Few of the rock-era…
We're not really sure who coined the term—it is usually attributed to Alistair Cooke, former host of the "Omnibus" TV program—but "audible wallpaper" is an apt term for something that is of more than passing concern for the serious music listener.
Audible wallpaper is broadly defined as background music—any music that is introduced into any place for the purpose of setting a mood or preventing lapses into silence. Most people like to hear music when they shop or dine or stroll on the mall, so why not give it to them at every opportunity? Simply because the enjoyment of music, like the…
Letters in response appeared in December 1968 (Vol.2 No.6/7):
Wallpaper & fidelity
Editor: About your editorial in the last issue, I've never before seen the particular phrase "audible wallpaper," which may well have been coined by Alistair Cooke, but when? I had thought that I was the first to think of, and use in print, the terms "musical" or "tonal wallpaper" and "wallpaper music," in my book Good Listening, published in 1953 and written 1951-1952. And I'm almost sure that I had used one form or another of the term earlier than that in some record review or article or,…