During the break-in period, I listened…
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Bass definition could have been better, especially from positions other than the primary listening spot. The only reason I heard this effect was because I spent a reasonable amount of time listening off-axis. The speaker was otherwise a fine performer from multiple listening positions. The Excalibur II is not a head-in-a-vise design. I was unsure of the source of the bass shortcomings off-axis because I could not rule out the amps I was using (Jadis Defy-7s), or my room (which remains problematic below 65Hz despite all my efforts to improve things).
This caused me to put together a few more pieces of a possible puzzle. The Merlins sounded best when aimed straight ahead, which keeps the listener off the direct axis of the tweeter. Merlin recommends using the speakers in a live (as opposed to dead) room. In a live room, the treble level is more prominent without resorting to increasing the tweeters' output. Has Merlin pushed the Elac aluminum-dome tweeter to its upper operational limit? Have they purposely designed the speaker to restrict the attention that the tweeter draws to itself? While all of this is purely speculative, the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, five-driver, ported, dynamic loudspeaker. Drive-units: two 8" Peerless woofers, two 4.5" Vifa midranges, one 1" Elac aluminum-dome tweeter. Crossover points: 500Hz & 3kHz. Frequency response: 30Hz–20kHz ±3dB. Impedance: 8 ohms (4 ohms minimum). Sensitivity: 90dB/W/m.
Dimensions: 64.5" H by 14" W by 17" D. Weight: 210 lbs each.
Price: $8400/pair (light oak finish); $9100/pair (black lacquer finish), 1993; no longer available, 2008. Approximate number of dealers: 10. Warranty: 5 years parts and labor.
Manufacturer: Merlin Music…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
With its tone controls set to maximum, the Excalibur's impedance magnitude (fig.1) stays above 4 ohms apart from the low treble, where it briefly dips to 3.3 ohms. It is actually a moderately demanding load for the amplifier driving it, the 8 ohm specification being a little optimistic. The sensitivity, assessed with B-weighted noise, is high, however, at a calculated 91dB/2.83V/m, which will reduce the demand on the partnering amplifier.
Fig.1 Merlin Excalibur, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed) with tone controls set to maximum and…
The SOTA Sapphire was the first, and the most successful in terms of sales, of the new generation of high-end American turntables. As such, the SOTA can be viewed as leading this country's resurge ence of interest in high-quality turntable production. At the time of the SOTA's introduction in 1981, it was the only high-end turntable manufactured in the US. Since then American-made turntables have appeared from the likes of AR, Mapleknoll, Sonographe, and VPI.
In retrospect, the reasons for the SOTA's success seem obvious. The turntable is visually and constructionally ime…
J. Gordon Holt wrote about the SOTA in August 1985 (Vol.8 No.4):
The SOTA Star Sapphire turntable and the Technics EPA100 tonearm, both Class A Recommended Components, are mutually incompatible. Because of its very large base skirt, its right-angle cable plug, and the SOTA's cylindrical arm-mounting well, the Technics arm cannot be mounted on the SOTA's recessed tonearm board. This is a real shame. I discovered the wonders of the Technics arm/cartridge combination, then the wonders of the SOTA 'table, then the fact that I couldn't use them together!—J. Gordon Holt
Anthony H. Cordesman wrote about the Star Sapphire in May 1986 (Vol.9 No.4):
The Improved SOTA Star Sapphire ($1600) may well be the last turntable you will ever buy?
The competition at the top has been pretty stiff in recent years. The Entec Granite ($6000), Goldmund Studio ($2900), Goldmund Reference ($14,900), Micro Seiki SX-5000 II ($5000), Oracle Delphi Mk.II ($1250), and VPI HW-19 Mark II ($885) are all superb turntables. Any of them would grace any system to the point where even the most demanding audiophile (though not divinity) could live happily with the result for…
J. Gordon Holt reviewed the SOTA Star Sapphire in August 1987 (Vol.10 No.5):
Over these many years of audio testing, I have come to recognize in myself a strong conservative streak. One less-than-admirable manifestation of this is that, when I find a product I really like, I tend to resist thinking about the possibility that another might be better.
A reason for this, I suspect, is that if I cannot actually hear anything the matter with the product, I do not wish to learn that my idea of absolute perfection is flawed. Sure, it's easy enough to say "Go to a concert and compare what…
J. Gordon Holt offered final thoughts in January 1988 (Vol.11 No.1):
This expensive vacuum-holddown turntable and its "electronic flywheel" have never ceased to amaze me since I put them into my system about six months ago. (It has been temporarily replaced in my system by the Versa Dynamics 2.0.) The sound from the SOTA is so solid and utterly tidy that it is all too easy to take for granted what a triumphant achievement it is: a turntable which, for the first time (in my experience), can be completely ignored. Like the ground you stand on, it's just there.
The Versa Dynamics…
Sidebar: Specifications
Description: Belt-driye, two-speed, four-point suspended-subchassis turntable, with vacuum hoiddown. Wow & flutter: 0.03% (D1N45-507). Rumble:
–84.5dB (DIN45-539B). Speed accuracy: ±0.02%.
Dimensions: 20.25" W by 7.5" H by 16.25" D (3" extra depth required when lid open).
Price: $1450 with oak finish, $1600 in koa wood (1984); basic Sapphire turntable with Supermat $1075, Star Vacuum Upgrade $695; Star Sapphire $1600 (oak), $1750 (African Rosewood), $2000 (black lacquer); The Electronic Flywheel $300; Reflex Clamp $95; spare aluminum armboards cut for…