Description: Full-range, single-driver, electrostatic loudspeaker. Frequency response: 45Hz-22kHz ±2dB. Dispersion: 30 degrees horizontal, 4' vertical line source. Sensitivity: 86dB/1W/1m. Power Handling: 200W, 60V peak maximum. Recommended amplifier power: 80-200Wpc. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms (1986), 4 ohms (1987-1994). Minimum impedance: 1 ohm (1986), 1.6 ohms (1987-1992).
Dimensions: 28" W x 57.5" H x 14.5" D. Weight: 67 lbs each.
Price: $2490/pair (1986); $3500/pair light or dark oak, $3700/pair black oak or walnut, $3750/pair mahogany, $4030/pair teak…
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Sidebar 2: Specifications
"Crossovers? We don't need no stinkin' crossovers!" Most Stereophile readers probably feel this way when it comes to third-party electronic crossovers. In this day of proprietary "soup-to-nuts" speaker systems, nearly all manufacturers supply complete systems. Nevertheless, some brave (or foolish) souls still choose to sail in uncharted crossover waters. Most do so because they're insanely in love with their current speakers, and have an irrational desire for that last bottom octave. Others have "orphaned" speakers that are not readily upgradeable to the next level of performance. I fall…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Active line-level crossover. Features: stereo two-way, monaural two-way, monaural three-way, balanced or unbalanced, independent high- and low-pass frequency selection, ±5dB of gain on high-pass section. Crossover frequencies: 70Hz, 100Hz, 140Hz, 200Hz, 300Hz, 450Hz, 700Hz, 1kHz, 1.4kHz, 2kHz, 3kHz, 4.5kHz. Custom frequencies available upon request. Filter slopes: 6/12/18dB/octave via front-panel settings. S/N ratio: 90dB. Distortion: 0.005%. Normal input level: 1V. Input impedance: 20k ohms.
Dimensions: 19" W by 17/8" H by 10" D. Weight: 12 lbs…
Sidebar 2: System
Analog Sources: VPI HW-19 Mk.V with a Bright Star TNT base, Souther Tri-Quartz arm mounted with a Denon DL103/van den Hul, and van den Hul MC-1 cartridges.
Digital Sources: SOTA Vanguard CD player, Magnavox 582 with Boulder SoundWorks analog circuit mod, and EAD 7000 D/A driven by a PS Audio Lambda CD transport.
Preamps: Denneson JC-80 Mk.2 gold, Atma-Sphere MP-1, Quicksilver, Encore Electronics 102.2, and Vendetta SCP-2A phono preamp.
Power amps: Parasound HCA-2200 II, Boulder 250AE, and Atma-Sphere MA-1.1.
Loudspeakers: Apogee Full-Range Loudspeakers.
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Sidebar 3: High'n'Low Pass
Just what is all this terminology being tossed around when we discuss various kinds of crossovers? I'm certain there are readers to whom all this talk of "high-pass" and "low-pass" merely sounds like alternate methods of eliminating stones. In reality, it's simply filter-speak.
Crossovers are nothing more than combinations of filters of various degrees of complexity, whether active (powered), as in the case of the Bryston 10B, or passive (unpowered), as is more common in conventional loudspeakers. A two-way crossover consists of two "legs": the high-…
Sidebar 4: Measurements
All of the measurements, unless otherwise noted, were made at the 0dB gain setting of the filters. The actual measured gain for this balanced input/output configuration, however, was just under 6dB on both crossover legs. The input impedance of the Bryston 10B measured 33k ohms (within less than ±1k ohm) in both channels. Its output impedance measured 200 ohms (+3, –0 ohms) in either channel of the high- and low-pass legs.
Fig.1 shows the frequency responses of the two crossover legs with a 400Hz crossover frequency—the same used by Steven Stone—with…
Larry Greenhill wrote about the Bryston 10B in November 2005 (Vol.28 No.11):
The Bryston 10B ($2395) is an active line-level electronic crossover that features three balanced configurations: stereo two-way, monophonic two-way, and monophonic three-way. It comes in a slim black enclosure and is available in three versions. First is the 10B-SUB, which incorporates frequencies suitable to subwoofer applications (40Hz, 500Hz), and which I used for this review. Second is the 10B-Standard, more applicable for use with full-range speakers requiring frequency control in the midband and tweeter…
As I sit down to write a year's-end musical retrospective, I feel that the old column-writing joke between Stereophile editor John Atkinson and myself about first needing a subject and, second, needing it to make sense, will not be a problem this time out. For me, the music and almost everything else about 2001 have been dwarfed in importance by the mayhem wreaked on New York on September 11.
Why those buildings full of people were attacked by hijacked planes loaded with people, and whether or not America's past and present sins were the cause, are arguments for another day. I'll even…
After establishing a reputation for building small, magnificent-looking, very expensive, stand-mounted loudspeakers, the Italian manufacturer Sonus Faber has hit the ground running. First came the moderately priced ($3500/pair) floorstanding Concerto Grand Pianos, and now the company's "statement" loudspeaker, the Amati Homage--a $20,000/pair visual stunner that earns its keep almost by looks and touch alone.
The Amati Homage is Sonus Faber designer Franco Serblin's moment of truth: a fairly large, floorstanding, almost-full-range speaker (the low-frequency response is rated to 24Hz)…
What's inside
Serblin's goal was to design a high-efficiency, low-compression loudspeaker that would be fast and detailed yet dynamic and full-bodied. The high-compliance, low-compression drivers, custom-built to Sonus Faber's specs by Scan-Speak, consist of two extra-rigid, lightweight, 8" paper/carbon-fiber cone woofers, with the cone material "hand-thrown" to randomize the fibers (and break up resonances) and individually damped; a high-compliance, 7" multiple-coated paper/carbon-fiber midrange cone with a hyperbolic titanium phase plug (to break up high-frequency beaming); and a…
Serblin's goal was to design a high-efficiency, low-compression loudspeaker that would be fast and detailed yet dynamic and full-bodied. The high-compliance, low-compression drivers, custom-built to Sonus Faber's specs by Scan-Speak, consist of two extra-rigid, lightweight, 8" paper/carbon-fiber cone woofers, with the cone material "hand-thrown" to randomize the fibers (and break up resonances) and individually damped; a high-compliance, 7" multiple-coated paper/carbon-fiber midrange cone with a hyperbolic titanium phase plug (to break up high-frequency beaming); and a…