Description: Floorstanding, 3.5-way, loudspeaker with bandpass woofer loading. Drive-units: 1" soft-dome tweeter, three 4" paper-cone midrange drivers; two 9", long-excursion, paper-cone woofers. Bass alignment uses symmetrical double bandpass, eighth-order, high-pass-filtered (18Hz), single-vented system. Crossover frequencies: 140Hz, 3.4kHz, with Bessel filter characteristics. Frequency response: 40Hz-20kHz, ±3dB (36Hz -3dB resonant frequency). Sensitivity: 86.5dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms. Recommended amplification: 300W continuous, 560W peak.
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Linn Sondek-Lingo turntable, Linn Ittok tonearm, Spectral moving-coil cartridge.
Digital sources: Krell KRC-28 CD player, Sony SCD-C555ES SACD/CD multichannel 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 & No.334, Krell FPB 600c.
Loudspeakers: Quad ESL-989, Velodyne DD-18 subwoofer.
Cables…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Europa II is of average voltage sensitivity, at an estimated 86.5dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is to specification. Its plot of impedance magnitude and phase against frequency (fig.1) reveals it to be a relatively easy load for the partnering amplifier to drive, its impedance resembling a 6 ohm resistor above 200Hz. This graph is more complex in the bass, which is to be expected from the bandpass woofer topology, with a minimum value of 3.4 ohms at 25Hz. The electrical phase angle gets extremely capacitive at subsonic frequencies, due to the presence of a series…
I was just about to wrap up my British Invasion Tour of affordable speakers when I got a call from Fearless Leader John Atkinson.
"I have this very interesting speaker from English company Monitor Audio I'd like you to audition."
Sounds good, JA. At Stereophile's Home Entertainment shows, I've been favorably impressed every time I've heard a Monitor Audio speaker, whether expensive, affordable, two-channel, or home theater.
Nor are Monitor speakers all that expensive. In addition to a number of home-theater speaker models, the company currently makes 19 different two-…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, ported, bass-reflex loudspeaker. Drive-units: 25mm Gold Dome C-CAM tweeter, 6" C-CAM-cone bass/midrange unit, 6" C-CAM-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 3kHz. Frequency range: 38Hz–30kHz. Sensitivity: 91dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 6 ohms. Power handling: 120W RMS.
Dimensions: 33½" (850mm) H by 7¼" (185mm) W by 97/8" (250mm) D. Weight: 40 lbs (18.2kg) shipping.
Finishes: Cherry, Black Oak, Rosenut, Walnut real-wood veneers (all with black grille).
Serial Numbers Of Units Reviewed: 101261 & 2.
Price: $999/pair. Approximate…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV turntable, Immedia RPM tonearm, Koetsu Urushi cartridge; Rega Planar 3 turntable, Syrinx PU-3 tonearm, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood & Aurum Beta S cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, California Audio Labs Icon Mk.II Power Boss, Creek CD53 Mk.II CD players; Pioneer DV-333 DVD player.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage, Audio Valve Eklipse line stage.
Integrated Amplifier: Creek 5350SE.
Power Amplifier: Audio Research VT100 Mk.II.
Loudspeakers: NHT SB3, Epos M5, Amphion Helium2.
Cables…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Monitor Audio Silver RS6's estimated voltage sensitivity was 89.5dB(B)/2.83V/m, which, if slightly below the specified 91dB, is still higher than average. Its impedance (fig.1) remains above 6 ohms for almost the entire audioband, with a minimum value of 4.5 ohms at 165Hz. As well as being usefully sensitive, the RS6 is also an easy load for the amplifier to drive: textbook requirements for a speaker that will be used with inexpensive amplification. The small glitch at 20kHz in the impedance plots indicates that the metal-dome tweeter's "oil-can" resonance is…
"Subwoofers are boring," whined John Atkinson when we were dickering about column inches for my review of the Thiel CS2.4 loudspeaker in this issue. "I know they're important, but I just don't get excited reading about them."
I knew what he meant. The typical subwoofer has a beefed-up driver(s) and a run-of-the-mill amp-crossover module all too frequently purchased off the shelf at www.subwoofermodulesrus.com. Oh, you do get flavor variations: forward-firing vs downfiring, class-D vs linear amp, and the ever-popular trio of ported vs sealed vs isobaric enclosure. Yawn.
But the…
Description: Powered subwoofer with external passive (PX02) crossover or active S1 Integrator-crossover. Drive-unit: 10" (254mm), long-throw anodized aluminum-cone woofer. Power amplifier: 500W linear class-A/B. LFE Input response: 16–300Hz, ±3dB. Normal input response: 10–300Hz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 1V for 120dB @ 1m. Maximum output: 99dB at 20Hz, up to 106dB at 30Hz.
Dimensions: 20" H x 11" W x 15.5 " D, Weight: 55lbs.
Finishes: Walnut, black ash, black laminate, natural cherry, white oak, amberwood, morado; other finishes available at additional charge.
Serial number of unit…
Dimensions: 20" H x 11" W x 15.5 " D, Weight: 55lbs.
Finishes: Walnut, black ash, black laminate, natural cherry, white oak, amberwood, morado; other finishes available at additional charge.
Serial number of unit…
Well into dCS managing director Mike Story's attempted explanation of upsampling, there came an epic moment when the ever-expanding universe of his thoughts—which we had been following to new heights of digital enlightenment—broke free of our collective grip, snapped back on itself, and caused a conceptual implosion of nearly cataclysmic proportions. The blank, spent expressions on the faces of the journalists gathered in the small attic-like meeting room at dCS's Great Chesterford (UK) facility all seemed to say, "What the hell was that? Was it just me, or did you feel that too?"
We'd…