Description: Three-way, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: Scan-Speak 1" silk ring-radiator tweeter, Audio Technology 6" pulp-cone midrange unit, two SEAS 12" aluminum/magnesium-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 300Hz, 4kHz. Frequency range: 22Hz–40kHz. Sensitivity: 92dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms.
Dimensions: 53.5" (1360mm) H by 25.6" (650mm) W by 19.7" (500mm) D. Weight: 165 lbs (75kg).
Finishes: violin red, slate gray.
Serial number of units reviewed: 003.
Price: $40,000/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 12.
Manufacturer: Sonus…
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Sidebar 1: Specifications
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Simon Yorke S7, T+A G10 turntables; Immedia RPM-2, Graham 2.2, SME M2 tonearms; Graham Nightingale II, Lyra Titan, Lyra Helikon SL, Shelter 301, T+A C 10 cartridges.
Digital sources: Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista, Krell Standard SACD/CD players, Alesis Masterlink CD-R recorder.
Preamplification: Manley Steelhead, BAT VK-10SE phono preamplifiers; Musical Fidelity kWp preamplifier.
Power amplifier: Musical Fidelity kW.
Cables: Interconnect: AudioQuest Cheetah, Sky; Harmonic Technology LAM. Speaker: Harmonic Technology Magic Woofer.…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
The drop-dead gorgeous Stradivari Homage is specified as having a very high 92dB voltage sensitivity; to Sonus Faber's credit, my estimated figure was even higher, at 93dB(B)/2.83V/m. However, the speaker asks the partnering amplifier for a lot of current capability, its impedance (fig.1) dropping to 3 ohms and below for much of the upper bass and midrange. And the combination of 4.4 ohms impedance magnitude and –48 capacitive phase angle at 55Hz will give lesser amplifiers conniptions.
Fig.1 Sonus Faber Stradivari Homage, electrical impedance (…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, 5-channel digital surround A/V receiver.
Inputs: 7.1-channel analog: 1 set for use with external processor. Line-level: 10 sets Analog Input (Phono, CD, DVD, VDP, TV/DBS, V-AUX, VCR-1, VCR-2, MD/Tape-1, Tape-2. Audio only: 4 sets, 2 with tape loops. Digital: 8 sets: 5 optical, 3 coaxial. Composite Video: 6 sets, all with S-video connectors: DVD, VDP, TV/DBS, V-AUX, VCR-1, VCR-2. Component Video (2 sets): DVD, TV/DBS.
Outputs: 1 optical digital audio. Audio line-level: 1 set 8-channel preamplifier (Front L/R, Center, Surround L/R,…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Linn Sondek LP12/Lingo turntable and Ittok tonearm, Spectral moving-coil cartridge.
Digital source: Krell MD-1 CD transport, Theta Carmen DVD and Denon DVM-3700 DVD players, Lexicon MC-1 Controller.
FM tuners: Day-Sequerra FM Reference Classic, Rotel RH-10, Magnum Dynalab MD-102, Model 205 Sleuth RF amplifier.
Preamplification: Krell KBL, Mark Levinson ML-7A with L-2 phono section, Duntech MX-10 moving-coil preamplifiers.
Power amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.334, Denon POA-5200, Bryston 9B-ST.
Loudspeakers: Mirage HDT-FCH-1, HDT…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
Measuring the Denon AVR-4800 took rather longer than I had anticipated, due to the sheer number of options it offers its owner. I ended up looking at the receiver's amplifier performance using either its CD inputs or its External discrete-surround inputs. But first, using a two-channel TosLink datastream, I examined the receiver internal D/A conversion. The power amplifiers clipped with the volume control set to "–07" with a full-scale digital signal, by the way.
The receiver locked on to an incoming datastream with a 96kHz sample rate. Fig.1 shows the…
THE TIERNEY SUTTON BAND: On the Other Side
Tierney Sutton, vocals; Christian Jacob, piano; Trey Henry, Kevin Axt, bass; Ray Brinker, drums; with Jack Sheldon, trumpet, vocal
Telarc SACD-63650 (hybrid multichannel SACD/CD). 2007. Elaine Martone, prod.; Robert Friedrich, eng. DDD. TT: 60:03
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
Tierney Sutton, vocals; Christian Jacob, piano; Trey Henry, Kevin Axt, bass; Ray Brinker, drums; with Jack Sheldon, trumpet, vocal
Telarc SACD-63650 (hybrid multichannel SACD/CD). 2007. Elaine Martone, prod.; Robert Friedrich, eng. DDD. TT: 60:03
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
It begins with Ray Brinker's bass drum, as ominous as an uncertain heartbeat, three dark chords from pianist Christian Jacob, and Tierney Sutton's haunted, wordless, floating voice, which finally breathes "Forget your troubles, c'mon get happy..." Harold…
"The whole band was in the hot tub. As water frothed over my bare breasts in the moonlight..."
Any book in which a chapter begins with words like the above gives a certain impression of where, and on what, it's going to focus. Yet once you get past the sensationalist aspects of oboist Blair Tindall's Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music (Grove Press, 2006, ISBN 0802142532)—"Tindall sleeps her way to the bottom [where] we learn more than we probably need to about the sex lives of some more or less prominent American musicians," said the New Yorker—it is actually a…
Home Entertainment 2006 in L.A. The weather is fine. The restaurants are cool. The company is très neat. I can't wait to schmooze with manufacturers, writers, dealers, and meet, for the first time, writers of letters to the editor of Stereophile. Play some jazz with John Atkinson and Immedia's Allen Perkins—one smokin' drummer since he's been studying with Peter Erskine (Joni Mitchell, Weather Report, Diana Krall). Of course, my prime objective at the Show is to seek out the best-sounding affordable loudspeakers, to keep my review hopper full for the next year.
This time, the choice is…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: 2½-way ported, magnetically shielded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) silk-dome, ferrofluid-cooled tweeter; two 5.25" (135mm) mineral-filled, polypropylene-cone woofers. Crossover slopes: 12dB/octave with 6dB/octave lower woofer low-pass rolloff. Frequency response: 70Hz–20kHz, ±3dB; 42Hz–22kHz, ±6dB. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 5–10 ohms above 100Hz. Sensitivity: 89dB/W/m. Recommended amplification: 20–200W.
Dimensions: 38.5" (985mm) H by 6.25" (160mm) W by 8" (205mm) D. Base: 9.25" (235mm) W by 10.75" (275mm) D. Weight: 38 lbs (…