search
SLAM! My left foot went numb. My fellow salesman, Danny Shapiro, had lost control of the Thiel CS5 that we'd been walking into place in Demo Room V, and it had come crashing down on my foot with unerring accuracy—all 180 lbs worth. As I stared down in horror, I remembered that we'd left the spikes on. But wait a minute—there was no pool of blood spreading out from under the CS5. How could that be? Convinced that the heavy cabinet was acting as a tourniquet, I levered it off my foot, expecting a grisly sight. I got one: my new Rockport pierced by the carpet-point—right between my big and…
The Corigliano also pointed toward another—extremely minor, I think—shortcoming of the Petite: If pushed really hard—like, say, in the range of 100dB—they lose coherence. Sure, orchestras, big bands, and rock groups do regularly reach sound-pressure levels (spls) in that area, but remember, we're talking about speakers that are designed for smaller spaces that might not accommodate deep bass. All spaces can acoustically overload, even Carnegie Hall (I've heard both the VPO and the CSO manage that trick).
When really stressed, the Petite gets a tad blurry through a broad midrange band, as…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-way, stand-mounted loudspeaker with rear-firing port. Drive-units: 1" aluminum-alloy dual-chamber dome tweeter, 5?" tri-laminate-cone cast-frame woofer. Crossover frequency: 3.5kHz. Crossover slopes: damped second-order. Frequency response: 55Hz-+20kHz, ±dB. Sensitivity: 87dB/W/m (2.83V). Nominal impedance: 8 ohms, 6 ohms minimum. Amplifier requirements: 50W.
Dimensions: 6?" W by 8?" D by 15" H. Shipping weight: 30 lbs.
Serial numbers of review samples: 0113/0114.
Price: $995/pair (walnut or black ash), $1195/pair (rosewood).…
Sidebar 2: Review context
The speakers were reviewed in my relatively small living room: 17" by 10" by 8" high in the primary dimensions, although it's part of an "open plan" living room/dining room/kitchen layout. I placed them along the long wall, which means I listened more or less near-field. They benefited greatly from rigid, nonresonant stands—I used a pair of Cliff Stone's 24" Foundation stands, which are filled with aggregate and were spiked through the carpet to the concrete subfloor. Although the Petites are quite efficient and can be driven by modestly powered amplifiers, I…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
As expected from its diminutive proportions, the Petite is not very sensitive, 2.83V raising a calculated 83dB at 1m (B-weighted). However, its impedance traces (fig.1) reveal it as an easy load for an amplifier to drive, dropping below 8 ohms only in the midrange. Though no wrinkles can be seen in the impedance traces, the cabinet was generally lively in the 350-500Hz region. No strong individual resonant modes could be found, however, which suggests an optimally constructed cabinet.
Fig.1 Alón Petite, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (…
WP also commented on the Petite's fine imaging. Fig.6 shows how the speaker's sound changes to its sides. The textbook rolloff in the top two octaves with increasing off-axis angle, coupled with an excellent match between the woofer and tweeter dispersion patterns in the crossover region to the sides, is always associated with excellent stereo imaging, in my experience.
Fig.6 Alón Petite, horizontal response family at 57", normalized to response on tweeter axis, from back to front: differences in response 90 degrees-5 degrees off-axis on tweeter side of baffle; reference…
Robert J. Reina reviewed the Alón PW-1 woofer system in February 1997 (Vol.20 No.2), and took a second listen to the Alón Petite
A good audio reviewer must approach his or her duties without bias. Over my 12 years of reviewing experience, I've prided myself on my ability to review a broad range of gear in a totally unbiased fashion. [Now that's just begging for trouble.—Ed.] I've even been able to keep my own tastes out of the picture: although I love tubes, analog, and expensive, I review solid-state, digital, and affordable.
But with this review of the Alón PW-1 passive stereo…
As you will have read in my Followup review in September (Vol.19 No.9, p.169), I'm even more excited about the Alón V Mk.II, whose design has trickled down from the $22,000 Phalanx; the V features the same drivers (albeit with less expensive magnets) as the Phalanx in a more conventional three-way enclosure. In fact, I'm more attracted to the V Mk.II than to the Phalanx, as the V features most of the magic of the Phalanx drivers in a more user-friendly speaker—ie, it can easily be driven by one amplifier. The Alón V Mk.IIs also have one major advantage over the Phalanxes for me: I can afford…
My room constraints discouraged further experimentation; the following comments should be considered in the context of what I was able to achieve in my difficult room.
Sound: woofer or dog?
The quality of the PW-1's bass response overall was excellent, its fairly uniform character blending fairly seamlessly with the Petites' own mid- and upper-bass response. The bass response of the entire system was now extended from its original lower limit of 60Hz to a solid 35Hz, with some reduced output at 32Hz. Overall, the frequency response was clean, uncolored, and smooth, with no peaks or…
The point is, even with an interconnect that cost as much as the PW-1 itself (MIT Shotgun), the bass performance did not significantly improve. I did notice, however, a slightly more relaxed quality to the Petites' high frequencies, presumably due to the A42's power supply being less stressed driving two speakers instead of four. The improvement was marginal, and the conclusion is this: If the amp is good enough, bi-amplification of the Trio system is a waste of money.
Conclusion, context, constraints, Chianti
Overall, I was quite impressed with the performance of the Trio system,…