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Audible Illusions Modulus 3A preamplifier Follow-Up, September 1996

Sidebar 4: Follow-Up from Stereophile September 1996, Vol.19 No.9

MF compares the Audio Research PH3 and Audible Illusions Modulus 3A

When you audition a component for the first time, usually what you hear are the gross differences between it and your reference. You may hear new things in favorite recordings, but such changes are meaningless. It's like cranking up the treble, hearing previously buried information, and calling it an improvement. Over time, however, I was able to develop a predictable "difference profile" between the two phono sections, which I would apply to…

Audible Illusions Modulus 3A preamplifier Follow-Up part 2

The Audible wins the battle in terms of high-frequency resolution, purity, and detail. Cymbal hits were rendered with somewhat greater delicacy, and reverberant trails seemed to go on forever and were convincingly focused in space. The PH-3 seemed more willing to let that go in favor of the lush midrange. But with its midrange energy and its superior bass dynamics and focus, the PH-3 wins the space race, projecting a more convincing three-dimensional, fully focused images front-to-back and side-to-side on the soundstage.

On Palace Music's Viva Last Blues (Palace/Drag City Records PR4/…

Fine Tunes #15

Pssst. Hey you. Yeah, you . . . we know you're a tweaker. It's nothing to be ashamed of. You just wanna make it better, right? Even as everyone around you wants to know when enough's enough already.

While I've gotten less tweaky in my reviews, I still hew to the tenets of resonance tuning. Given that tubes, capacitors, and even integrated circuits are microphonic, placement and support of audio gear is of paramount concern. I covered the basics of this two "Fine Tunes" ago, in July, but this month's column is for tweakers who'd like to understand more about the how and why of it.

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ProAc Response 2.5 loudspeaker

ProAc's designer Stuart Tyler sounded casual—almost bemused—when I spoke with him recently about the new 2.5, a floorstanding, two-way ported box in the middle price slot ($4500/pair) of his Response series. While answering my pressing queries about the crossover point, driver materials, cabinet construction, and other reviewer obsessions, his body language said, "Does any of that really matter with these speakers? You know what the real story is here."

Tyler's a successful veteran of this game. His designs are well accepted in both the audiophile and professional sound worlds (a major…

ProAc Response 2.5 loudspeaker Page 2

Did I need a meter to tell me I wuz getting bass? No! The 2.5 kicks sirloin. This is a speaker with serious visceral impact: tight, deep bass with a graceful, smooth transition into the midbass and above that keeps the 2.5 from sounding thick and heavy. There may be wool stuffed inside, but there's nothing "woolly" about the bass.

Nor is there a sense that you're getting the bottom octaves at the expense of midrange clarity, or that you're being tricked by a midbass bump. Nosiree: you put on a Joe Williams or Johnny Hartman album and you'll hear them with chests attached, but not…

ProAc Response 2.5 loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: ¾" fabric-dome tweeter, 7" carbon-fiber–impregnated paper-cone midrange/woofer. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal. Sensitivity: 86dB/W/m.
Dimensions: 42" H by 83/4" W by 10" D.
Serial numbers of pair reviewed: P 07563.
Price: $4500/pair (1996); no longer available (2005). Approximate number of dealers: 35.
Manufacturer: ProAc, Highpoint House, Riding Road, Buckingham Road Industrial Estate, Brackley, Northamptonshire NN13 7BE, UK. Tel: (44) 1280-700147. Fax: (44) 1280-700148. US…

ProAc Response 2.5 loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 2: Measurements

You don't get something for nothing, and the price to be paid for the Response 2.5's impressive bass extension is a low sensitivity: I calculated 2.83V to raise just 83dB (B-weighted) at 1m, which is hardly more sensitive than an LS3/5a! The speaker is easy on the partnering amplifier, however, as its impedance (fig.1) only drops below 8 ohms in the lower midrange, and then not by much. The tuning of the 2.5's reflex port is revealed by the impedance "saddle" at 38Hz in this graph.

Fig.1 ProAc Response 2.5, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (…

Listening #16

Consider the fate of Giordano Bruno, a 16th-century astronomer who challenged Ptolemy's notion of Earth being the center of a finite universe—and in doing so went head to head with the church of Rome. Bruno's scholarly diligence and fearlessness were rewarded not with fame, riches, or accolades from his colleagues, but with a hot-lead enema, after which he was burned at the stake. Next heretic in line, step right up, please.

English audio designer Denis Morecroft hasn't fared quite so poorly, although he has yet to become famous or rich from his work. But it's never too late for accolades…

Listening #16 Page 2

Then there are DNM's signature acrylic enclosures, which Morecroft began using in 1984. Prior to that, the very first DNM electronics were housed in steel enclosures—"strikingly beautiful things," he says, "which were made for us by some very nice people in Rayleigh, Essex." But when Morecroft applied himself to banishing nonessential conductors from his products, the move to a plastic case was inevitable.

Having the acrylic pieces manufactured in England with the degree of precision he required proved impossible, and Morecroft wound up having the work done in Switzerland. (In 1991, all…

2005 Records To Die For

Last year, during a particularly painful moving experience, I had the opportunity to reflect in a very personal way on the virtues of our annual "Records To Die For" feature.

More than once in my life, records, be they LPs or CDs, have nearly killed me. Carrying those dense, heavy objects in a Bataan death march up three flights of stairs in August, when New York City is climatically akin to Manila, had my life flashing before my eyes. I envied such folks as homeowner Michael Fremer, who has a bunker full of vinyl he'll presumably never have to move, and wondered what in God's earth keeps…