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I had an epiphany the other night. (Hope Rabbi Lichtenstein won't be too upset.) Kathleen and I were watching the Antiques Road Show on PBS, and, during a break, I started channel-surfing. I know, it's obnoxious—but I feel compelled to hop around and keep up the sense- and info-pounding barrage we've come to take for granted and, in fact, rely on. In a way, channel-surfing is a perfect symptom of our information-overload society: click Geraldo, click Robin Byrd, click Jazz Channel, click Weather Channel. We're bombarded, we're inundated, we're . . . let's face it, we're overwhelmed. The…
Paul Hales has been a busy guy lately. In little over a year, he has designed and brought to production four new speakers in his Revelation series (footnote 1); his cost-no-object flagship, the Alexandra, which had been seen but not heard at a number of shows, was finally demonstrated at the 1999 CES; and he has introduced the new Transcendence series, which replaces the Concept series. (He's also produced a brand-new baby girl during this period, although I believe his wife made a significant contribution to that project.)
In creating the Revelation series, Hales admits to having been…
Transient quickness proved to be another of the Transcendence Five's strong suits. Plucked instruments like guitars, and percussion with a lot of upper-treble energy, had a lot of "surprisingness," with no apparent smearing of their transient onset.
If there's an area where the Transcendence Five's performance was at all disappointing, it was the bass. This was a surprise for me, because the Transcendence Five uses the same woofer as the Revelation Three, and I thought the Revelation Three's bass response was one of its strengths. The Transcendence Five's bass extension was about the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way dynamic loudspeaker. Sealed-box system tuned to 29Hz. Drive-units: 1" aluminum-dome tweeter, 5" magnesium-cone midrange, 10" polypropylene-cone woofer. Crossover: 24dB/octave. In-room bandwidth: 23Hz–26kHz (no limits specified). Sensitivity: 87dB. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Linearity: ±1dB.
Dimensions: 40" H by 11" W by 19" D. Weight: 106 lbs.
Finishes: black, sapele, light oak, natural cherry, stained cherry, pau farro.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 381049 A/B.
Price: $5990/pair (1999); no longer available (2005).…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: fully updated Linn LP12, Ittok tonearm, AudioQuest AQ-7000nsx cartridge.
Digital source: PS Audio Lambda II transport, Audio Alchemy DTI•Pro32 anti-jitter/resolution-enhancement device, Sonic Frontiers Processor 3 D/A processor.
Preamplifier: Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Signature Mk.III.
Power amplifiers: Bryston 7B-ST (2), Sonic Frontiers Power 2, Cary CAD-572SE (2).
Cables: Illuminati D-60/Orchid digital links, TARA Labs The Two interconnects, Decade speaker cables and power cables.
Accessories: Chang CLS-9600 ISO…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
The Hales' sensitivity was only moderate, at an estimated 85dB(B)/2.83V/m. However, its impedance plot (fig.1) indicates it to be a demanding load, especially in the middle of the midrange. There the magnitude dips below 2 ohms between 440Hz and 680Hz, and the phase angle is also extreme—it reaches –49º at 385Hz, a frequency where the magnitude is only 3.5 ohms. I'm not surprised that RD found he needed the beefy Bryston amplifier to drive these speakers.
Fig.1 Hales Transcendence Five, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed). (2 ohms/…
The ongoing reissues of Mercury Living Presence and RCA Living Stereo recordings, have been the signal successes of the SACD format. Despite having been recorded in only (!) three channels, these releases have given us very good justifications for going beyond two-channel stereo to get as unrestricted a hearing as possible of live performances.
The first batch of Living Stereos were more of an ear-opener for me than were the first Living Presences—with the possible exception of Stravinsky's The Firebird, as performed by Antal Dorati and the London Symphony Orchestra. There are two…
What does this have to do with multichannel sound? Lots. First, if you have a source with a real center-channel signal, listening to it with a "phantom" center speaker (ie, none at all) means that the left and right speakers share that signal, and that anything that is different in the two sides will prevent those electrically divided signals from summing acoustically, to the detriment of the fidelity in that center signal. In fact, it is a theoretical impossibility that the two main speakers, despite Herculean efforts in placement, room treatment, and even DSP, can be equally represented…
Sidebar: Recordings In The Round
L'ARPEGGIATA: La Tarantella Christina Pluhars, L'Arpeggiata Alpha SA 503 (SACD)
This collection of vocal and instrumental arrangements of Italian music from as far back as the 17th century was inspired by the behavior of victims of spider bites (tarantella comes from tarantola, which means tarantula). For all that, it comes off not as scholastic but as delightful. The range and color of plucked, strummed, and struck instruments is fascinating, the rhythms varied and exciting. The sound is outstandingly detailed and deep, although the use of the 5.…
To the great surprise of not that many people at all, at Home Entertainment 2003, as at the two immediately previous shows, the room featuring loudspeakers by Joseph Audio was voted by showgoer ballot "Best Sound of Show" (see September 2003, p.62). I'm not going to pick a fight over that. Not only was the sound very, very good; the entire vibe was confidently relaxed, while at the same time being purposeful in a manner businesslike yet friendly.
Some other manufacturers and exhibitors could learn a few things from Jeff Joseph and his co-exhibitor colleagues. Not everyone, of course, is…