Digital sources: Mark Levinson No.31.5 CD transport & No.30.6 D/A processor; dCS 972 upsampler; Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD player; Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player; Mark Levinson No.390S"> CD player.
Preamplification: Mark Levinson No.380S.
Power amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.33H and Musical Fidelity kW monoblocks (the latter using dual power supplies)
Cables: Datalinks: Kimber Illuminations Orchid AES/EBU, AudioQuest SVD-4 S/PDIF. Interconnect: Madrigal CZ Gel-1 (No.390S, balanced), Ayre Signature Series (Levinson, balanced), DiMarzio (Musical…
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Sidebar 2: System
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The 705's sensitivity was to specification, at an estimated 89.2dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is a little above average. Its impedance (fig.1) remained above 5 ohms throughout the audioband, dropping to 4.2 ohms only above 15kHz and staying above 6 ohms for almost the entire midrange and treble. The small blip at 31kHz implies that the tweeter's fundamental dome resonance lies much higher than usual. The saddle at 40Hz in the magnitude trace indicates the tuning frequency of the big-mouthed port. Blocking this with the supplied foam plug produced a classic sealed-box…
While large, floorstanding speakers appear to offer the most material for the buck, I feel that small stand-mounted speakers both offer the best value in sound quality, as well as standing the best chance of sounding good in moderate-sized listening rooms. In recent months Stereophile has reviewed a varied group of such speakers. In order of descending price, these include the Acoustic Energy AE2 Signature ($5495/pair, November '95); Dzurko Acoustics Jaguar ($4500/pair, reviewed elsewhere in this issue); Totem Mani-2 ($3995/pair, February '96); Platinum Audio Solo ($2498/pair, November '95…
Sound
The original PSB Stratus Mini was a soundstaging champ, throwing well-defined, stable, accurate stereo images with depth a-plenty. The New Mini built on its predecessor's performance in this area. While its soundstaging didn't quite have the palpability of the JMlab Micron Carat, it was the equal of the B&W Compact Domestic Monitor 1. The orchestra on Stereophile's Festival CD (STPH007-2) was arranged in a deep but narrow configuration live. The piano on Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring, for example, should sound as if it were at the left rear of the stage. This was the case…
The original PSB Stratus Mini was a soundstaging champ, throwing well-defined, stable, accurate stereo images with depth a-plenty. The New Mini built on its predecessor's performance in this area. While its soundstaging didn't quite have the palpability of the JMlab Micron Carat, it was the equal of the B&W Compact Domestic Monitor 1. The orchestra on Stereophile's Festival CD (STPH007-2) was arranged in a deep but narrow configuration live. The piano on Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring, for example, should sound as if it were at the left rear of the stage. This was the case…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: two-way, reflex-loaded, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 0.75" (19mm), ferrofluid-cooled, aluminum-dome tweeter, 6.5" (162.5mm) polypropylene-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.2kHz. Crossover slopes: 24dB/octave Linkwitz-Riley. Frequency response: 55Hz-20kHz ±1.5dB, 50Hz-21kHz ±3dB. Sensitivity: 86dB/W/m anechoic (2.83V). Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Amplifier requirements: 15-200W.
Dimensions: 16.5" (412.5mm) H by 9" (225mm) W by 12.5" (341mm) D. Weight: 27 lbs (12.3kg) each. Shipping weight: 23 lbs/pair (10.5kg/pair).
Finishes…
Sidebar 2: Review Context
My relatively small room measures around 19' by 16.5' with a 9' ceiling. Each of the loudspeakers was positioned for the best sound (with only one pair of loudspeakers in the listening room at a time), generally some 3' from the rear wall (which is faced with books and LPs) and approximately 5' from the side walls (which also have bookshelves covering some of their surfaces). Each pair of speakers sat on 24" Celestion Si stands, these filled with lead shot and spiked to the concrete floor beneath the rug/pad. Although none of the speakers had major cabinet…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The New Stratus Mini's B-weighted sensitivity weighed in at a calculated 85dB/2.83V/m, an inconsequential 1dB below the specification (probably due to differences in measurement technique). The impedance plot (fig.1) indicated the New Mini to be a moderately demanding load, with an amplitude dipping below 4 ohms in the lower midrange. The variation of impedance with frequency is mild, however.
Fig.1 indicates that the New Mini's port appears to be tuned to 39Hz or so, this confirmed by the nearfield response plots (fig.2), which show the port's maximum…
The Stratus Mini's spatially averaged response in my listening room (fig.7) correlated quite well with my listening impressions. A small excess of mid-treble energy, presumably due to the flare in the speaker's dispersion at the bottom of the tweeter's passband, compensates somewhat for the slight lack of on-axis energy in the same region. The bass peaks up a little due to the residual 63Hz room mode that's never quite absent from this measurement, with usable low frequencies present down to the 31.5Hz band.
Fig.7 PSB New Stratus Mini, spatially averaged 1/3-octave response in…
Firms that specialize in architectural acoustics usually concentrate on the big jobs—churches, schools, and auditoriums. Rives Audio is unusual in that they specialize in "small-room" acoustics, for residential listening rooms and home theaters. Rives is unusual in another way: they consult on a nationwide and even international basis.
In addition to offering consulting and room-design services, Rives Audio sells the PARC, a three-band parametric analog equalizer specifically designed to address problematic bass modes in home environments, and which received a Stereophile "…
JM: What is the most common acoustical sin of commission that audiophiles commit?
RRB: Well, I don't know if this is the most common, but we have received a few calls that went something like: "I've changed every cable in my system a dozen times, and none of it has fixed my acoustical problems." It's funny, in a way, because it clearly dawned on the person that the cable was not the problem, but they didn't know that when they started swapping out cables. It's also sad, because although good cables can make a difference, getting on the cable merry-go-round can be pretty pricey these…