search

Lumen White Whiteflame loudspeaker Page 3

Problems
While the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300 power amp worked brilliantly with the Rockport Antares and most other speakers I've used with it, the Lumen White/Nu-Vista 300 combo was less satisfactory. The mid/high frequency range was too sharply drawn for my (and, I bet, most listeners') taste, and, as the importer quickly noted, for some reason the powerful Nu-Vista didn't seem capable of driving the 91dB-efficient Whiteflames successfully at low listening levels. The sound went sort of soft and limp. Don't ask me why.

On the other hand, at higher, more realistic SPLs with the…

Lumen White Whiteflame loudspeaker Page 4

With the Rockport Antareses still fresh in my mind's ear, I gravitated toward some of the recordings used for that review, including Jascha Heifetz's Scottish Fantasy (LP, RCA/Classic LSC-2603), and Beethoven's Symphony 3 with René Leibowitz and the Royal Philharmonic (RCA/Reader's Digest boxed set). Whatever reservations I might have had when listening with the Nu-Vista 300 were quickly dispelled when I listened to these recordings through the Music Reference RM-200. With the tube amp driving the Whiteflames, strings had detail, delicacy, body, and warmth, and orchestral colors were rich…

Lumen White Whiteflame loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Three-way floorstanding moving-coil loudspeaker. Drive-units (all concave, inverted ceramic-dome units): 1" tweeter, 3.5" midrange, three 5" woofers. Crossover frequencies: 180Hz, 4kHz. Frequency range (no limits specified): 30Hz-35kHz (30Hz-100kHz with pure diamond tweeter). Nominal impedance: 6 ohms. Sensitivity: 91dB. Power rating: not specified.
Dimensions: 41" (1050mm) H by 10 1/8" (260mm) W by 19 7/8" (510mm) D. Weight: 70 lbs (32kg).
Finish: blonde maple.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 02003a/b.
Price: $24,000/pair; pure…

Lumen White Whiteflame loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog sources: Simon Yorke turntable; Graham 2.2, Immedia RPM2 tonearms; Lyra Helikon SL, Lyra Helikon mono, Lyra Titan prototype, Transfiguration Temper Supreme phono cartridges.
Digital sources: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 3D CD player, Accuphase DP-85 SACD player.
Preamplification: Hovland HP-100 preamplifier, Connoisseur Definitions 4.0 line & phono stages; Boulder 2008, Manley Steelhead, The Groove, Lamm LP2 phono preamplifiers.
Power amplifiers: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300, Music Reference RM-200.
Cables: Phono: Hovland Music Groove…

Lumen White Whiteflame loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

Although my 89dB(B)/2.83V/m estimate of the Lumen White Whiteflame's sensitivity was a couple of dB below the specified figure, this is still higher than average. Its impedance magnitude (fig.1) drops below 4 ohms only in the upper bass and the mid-treble, though the combination of 5 ohms impedance and -45 degrees phase angle at 78Hz might give inadequate amplifiers conniptions. The saddle at around 40Hz in the impedance-magnitude trace gives a clue to the tuning frequency of the vertical slot-shaped port on the speaker's rear, implying only moderate bass…

Lumen White Whiteflame loudspeaker Measurements part 2

Could the plateau above 1kHz be associated with MF's dislike of the Whiteflame's "sharply drawn" balance when the speaker was driven by a solid-state amplifier? It sounds plausible, but comparing figs. 4 and 1, it looks as if the higher output impedance of a tube amplifier will actually pull down the level slightly in the octaves above this region. Therefore, I suspect that what MF heard as a welcome improvement in the Lumen White's balance was the tube amp's slight boost of the region between 300Hz and 1kHz, which will reduce the perception that the entire treble region is too high in level…

The Search for Musical Ecstasy

Every once in a while, some mainstream journalist discovers the audiophile underground.

It happened again this past summer, when Washington Post writer David Segal introduced his readers to some Washington, DC audiophiles and the stores that stoke their mania ("Sound Crazy?"). The theme that unites all such journalistic forays into audioland is an unwavering astonishment that grown adults can lavish such time, attention, and money on the experience of recorded music. The bemusement evokes a favorite bumper sticker: "Pray for me: my husband collects baseball cards."

In "Sound…

Rockport Technologies Merak II loudspeaker & Sheritan II subwoofer

No one has ever accused Rockport Technologies' Andy Payor of under-engineering a product, and this set of gleaming black beauties is no exception. The system is available in two configurations: as the two-way Merak II for $19,500/pair, including sturdy custom cradle-stands with integrated crossover; and as the Merak II/Sheritan II, a three-way, two-box floorstander that, to afford them at $29,500, will reduce some to living in the speakers' shipping crates. You could do worse for housing than checking into the Sheritan Rockport: The wooden crates are almost exquisitely finished.

While…

Rockport Technologies Merak II loudspeaker & Sheritan II subwoofer Page 2

The two-way experience: Rockport Merak II
In many ways, though not all, the relatively small Merak IIs repeated the Antares' stunning performance. Their sonic picture was startlingly big, seamless, and well-proportioned, the inert cabinets "hiding" the locations of the speakers better than any other design (the Antares excepted) I've auditioned—though the WATT/Puppy 7s come close. The front baffles were simply not in the equation, the three-dimensional soundfield never landing on or hovering near those two black boxes.

My listening sessions with Rockport Antares were my first…

Rockport Technologies Merak II loudspeaker & Sheritan II subwoofer Page 3

There was so much bass that I called Andy Payor for an explanation. He just thought it was a function of my room's preference for side-firing woofers, and suggested positioning options that might yield a better balance. (Payor knows my room well.) I found spots that minimized the bass output, but still there was too much. I wrote a first draft of the review, which originally ended with my calling the Merak II/Sheritan II "kind of the Dockers of fine, full-range loudspeakers: an ample cut and a comfortable fit."

A few days later I got a slightly panicked call from Payor, who asked me if…