Description: Two-way, stand-, wall-, or bookshelf-mounted sealed-box loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" dome tweeter, 4.5" long-throw, pulp-cone woofer with butyl surround (6.5" specified in literature due to inclusion of mounting plate in this measurement). Crossover frequency: 1.8kHz. Crossover slopes: second-order high- and low-pass. Frequency response: not specified. Sensitivity: 83dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Amplifier requirements: 15–100W.
Dimensions: 10.88" H by 7.1" W by 5.5" D. Weight: 8 lbs each.
Finishes available: gray Nextel, solid oak, or…
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Sidebar 3: Specifications
I believe Ken Kantor said it first: a couple of years ago, in his September 1990 interview with Robert Harley (Vol.13 No.9), he remarked that "there's no reason why a two-way 6" loudspeaker can't be the equal of almost the best speaker out there from a certain frequency point upward, with the possible exception of dynamic range." When I read those words, they rang true. If you put to one side the need to reproduce low bass frequencies and can accept less-than-live playback levels, a small speaker can be as good as the best, and allow its owner to enjoy the benefits of its size—visual appeal,…
The speaker also lacked definition in the lower midrange, which was generally rather warm-sounding once the speaker had broken in. This was somewhat recording-specific; I noticed it only when playing John Gorka's Jack's Crows (High Street 72902 10309-2). Gorka has both a delightful way with lyrics—"There are girls from New Jersey / Who have that great big hair (foonote 2) / They're found in shopping malls / I will take you there."—and a rich baritone voice that reminds me of the late, great Stan Rogers. Some notes acquired a slight lower-midrange cloud that obscured the voice's distinctive…
Sidebar 1: Reference system
I used four amplifiers with these speakers: the $995 Acurus DA1, Audio Research's Classic 60 stereo amp and Classic 120 monoblocks, and a pair of Mark Levinson No.20.6 monoblocks. Preamp was either the Melos headphone amp or the McCormack Line Drive Deluxe, each coupled with the McCormack Phono Drive. Front-end components consisted of a fully loaded Linn Lingo LP player, a ReVox PR99 open-reel recorder, VTL Reference and PS Audio UltraLink DACs driven by Meridian 602 and Wadia WT-3200 CD transports (connected with Mod Squad Wonderlink or AudioQuest Digital/…
Sidebar 2: Measurements
The Celestion 100's plot of impedance amplitude and phase (fig.1) reveals a relatively easy speaker for an amplifier to drive, with a minimum value of 6.3 ohms around 150Hz. The sealed box is tuned to 60Hz, the frequency of the amplitude peak in the bass, while a slight wrinkle in the trace at 400Hz implies a cabinet or drive-unit resonance at this frequency.
Fig.1 Celestion 100, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed). (2 ohms/vertical div.)
Looking at the individual quasi-anechoic responses of the drive-units (fig.2) reveals the…
Sidebar 2: Specifications
Description: Two-way, sealed-box, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1.25" (32mm) aluminum-dome tweeter, 6.5" (165mm) polyolefin-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.2kHz. Crossover slopes: 3rd-order Butterworth, 18dB/octave, high- and low-pass. Frequency response: not specified. Low-frequency extension: –3dB at 65.6Hz, –6dB at 53Hz (both free-space measurements). Sensitivity: 84dB/W/m (2.83V, free space). Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Amplifier requirements: up to 120W program.
Dimensions: 16.7" (425mm) H by 8.3" W (210mm) by 10.1" (256mm) D. Internal…
The Dalhquist DQ-10 loudspeaker has not as yet been formally submitted for review. (The designer tells us he is still working on the low end.) We auditioned a pair at the one local dealer we could find who had the DQ-10s on demo, and were immensely impressed. Obviously, Jon Dahlquist is on to something that other speaker designers have been overlooking, for, despite the multiplicity of driver speakers in the system, the DQ-10 sounds like one big speaker. There is no awareness of crossovers or separate drivers (except at the low end, about which more subsequently), and the overall sound has a…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Five-way, floor-standing loudspeaker with four dynamic drive-units and a piezo-electric supertweeter.
Price: $395/pair (1974); no longer available (2008).
Manufacturer: Dahlquist, Inc., Freeport, NY 11520 (1974); Dahlquist Corporation, 30 Riviera Drive, Unit 1, Markham ON, Canada L3R 5M1. Tel: (905) 470-2649. Fax (905) 470-2237. Web: www.dahlquistcorporation.com (2008).
These speakers inadvertently managed to put me in a good mood even before I listened to them, because of a dumb little gaffe committed by Thiel's packing department. Each speaker came with an Owner's Information sheet, which is nice. Each sheet included Unpacking (and Repacking) Instructions, which is nicer. But each sheet came packed inside the carton, underneath the speaker, where it was not accessible until after the speaker was dumped out of the box, which is pretty silly!
The Thiel Model 04 is unusual in appearance, as are most systems where time alignment has been attempted. The…
Sidebar 1: Larry Archibald on Loudspeaker Time Alignment:
We at Stereophile are not given to open dissension, but I must profoundly disagree with J. GOrdon Holt's dismissal of time alignment as a significant factor in loudspeaker design. Granted, the earliest attempts at time alignment were not far from marketing gimmicks, although some of the speakers on which it was tried have remained favorites of the public (the Dahlquist DQ-10 comes to mind) and not merely because of successful marketing.
One of the problems with early designs was that the effect of crossover time delays and…