search

Meridian F80 CD Receiver System John Marks, October 2008

John Marks wrote about the F80 in October 2008 (Vol.31 No.10):

Wes Phillips reviewed this $3000 Ferrari-branded complete home entertainment system in April 2008. I don't disagree with any of his specific observations—I requested a review sample only on the off chance that it might turn out to be a silver-bullet solution to the problem of a music lover seeking the best way to spend no more than $2500–$3500 for music playback in the home.

The positive aspects first: absolutely world-class packaging, presentation, design, build quality, and owner's manual. Open the box and take out…

Silverline Audio Minuet loudspeaker

I always look forward to Stereophile's Home Entertainment Shows, where I scout out interesting new models of affordable loudspeakers. At HE2007 in New York City, I was struck by the Silverline Audio room—not only by the sound I heard there, but by the way Showgoers reacted to that sound.

In his fairly large and acoustically favorable room, Silverline's Alan Yun was getting impressive sound from the diminutive Minuet bookshelf speakers ($600/pair). Alongside the Minuets stood a pair of Silverline's larger, floorstanding Preludes ($1200/pair, reviewed by Robert Deutsch in the March 2007…

Silverline Audio Minuet loudspeaker Page 2

It was at the upper end of the dynamic spectrum where the Minuet most impressed me. No matter what type of difficult program material I spun, and no matter at what volume level, the Silverline never sounded like a small bookshelf speaker. Speaking of "A Night in Tunisia"—in the Brooklyn Sax Quartet's iconoclastic reading of this tune, on A Far Side of Here (CD, Omnitone 12206), the saxes cover their entire ranges of frequency and dynamics. This track's wide dynamic swings were reproduced by the Silverlines without a hint of attenuation: they breathed BIG. When I took a spin with Timothy…

Silverline Audio Minuet loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Two-way, bass-reflex stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" silk-dome tweeter, 3.25" paper-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 3.5kHz. Frequency range: 60Hz–28kHz. Sensitivity: 88dB/W/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Recommended amplification: 10–300W RMS.
Dimensions: 9" (230mm) H by 5.5" (140mm) W by 7.25" (185mm) D. Shipping weight: 15 lbs (6.8kg)/pair.
Finishes: Cherry, Dark Rosewood (both vinyl).
Serial Numbers Of Units Reviewed: 2237 A/B.
Price: $600/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 31.
Manufacturer: Silverline Audio, 936…

Silverline Audio Minuet loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV turntable, Immedia RPM tonearm, Koetsu Urushi cartridge; Rega Planar 3 turntable, Syrinx PU-3 tonearm, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood & Aurum Beta S cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, Creek Destiny CD players; Pioneer DV-333 DVD player.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage, Audio Valve Eklipse line stage.
Power Amplifier: Audio Research Reference 110 II.
Integrated Amplifiers: Creek Destiny & Creek 5350SE.
Loudspeakers: Epos M5, Nola Mini.
Cables: Interconnect, all MIT: Magnum M3, MI…

Silverline Audio Minuet loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

As is to be expected from its small size, the Silverline Minuet offered lower-than-average voltage sensitivity, at an estimated 85dB(B)/2.83V/m. This is significantly lower than the specified 88dB. However, its impedance magnitude (fig.1) remained above 6 ohms over the entire audioband, dropping only briefly below 5 ohms in the mid-treble. The electrical phase angle is overall a bit higher than normal, but given the fairly high magnitude, the speaker will be fairly easy for the partnering amplifier to drive.

The traces in fig.1 are free from the small…

Triangle Esprit Comete Ex loudspeaker

The first reference I saw to the Count of Saint Germain was in Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco's dense novel about a man whose paranoid delusions become so overpoweringly real that, by the end of the book, the reader is left wondering whether the protagonist's enemies actually exist. That their number should include Saint Germain was a nice touch: Part cabalist, part confidence man, the real-life Count was thought by some to be immortal (in Pendulum he's pushing 300), and while Casanova wrote vividly of meeting Saint Germain at a dinner party in 1757, so did the English writer and pederast C…

Triangle Esprit Comete Ex loudspeaker Page 2

And scale: The Cometes sounded big and easy, not tiny and fussy in the manner of other small boxes. Likewise, Drake's steel-string guitar had realistic body and scale, and just as much beautiful richness of tone as I could have hoped for. The sound of the guitar appears to have been equalized during the making of the original recording, to give more prominence to its lower strings—an untrue sound, maybe, but one that was reproduced truly by the Cometes.

This wasn't a curse at all!
Then I listened to Mendelssohn's Symphony 3, with Peter Maag and the London Symphony Orchestra (LP,…

Triangle Esprit Comete Ex loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded loudspeaker for use with stands 20–30" H (not included). Drive-units: 1" titanium-dome tweeter in molded horn enclosure, 6.3" coated pulp-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 2.5kHz. Frequency response: 50Hz–20kHz, ±3dB. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 4.4 ohms minimum. Sensitivity: 90dB/W/m.
Dimensions: 16.5" (420mm) H by 7.9" (200mm) W by 13.2" (335mm) D. Shipping weight: 41 lbs (18.7kg).
Finishes: Bordeaux, Champagne, Cognac.
Serial Numbers Of Units Reviewed: 07TEB14 0463, 07TEB14 0464.
Price: $1295/pair. Approximate…

Triangle Esprit Comete Ex loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Linn LP12 (with Linn Basik power supply), Thorens TD-124 Mk.II turntables; Naim Aro, Rega RB300 tonearms; EMT JSD 5, Denon DL-103 cartridges.
Digital Source: Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard, K&K Audio step-up transformers; Shindo Masseto preamplifier.
Power Amplifiers: Quad II monoblocks, Shindo Cortese.
Loudspeakers: Audio Note AN-E/SPe HE.
Cables: Interconnect: Audio Note AN-Vx, Shindo silver. Speaker: Auditorium 23. AC: JPS Labs The Digital (Sony SACD/CD player).
Accessories…