Issue Number 4: April 2006

THE
E-ZINE
FOR
FRUGAL
AUDIO
ENTHUSIASTS
Affordable$$Audio
Issue Number 4: April 2006
Totem AcousticMITES
Full sound from a
compact monitor.
Page 3
Inside-Out: QSC
PLX-2402
Take a tour inside and
out each month
Page 9
Interview with Vince
Bruzzese of Totem
Acoustic
Page 5
Speaker Odyssey
In pursuit of the perfect speaker.
Page 12
Alegria
Audio Rosa
Speakers
Seattle area
speakers for
the home
theater market
The Jazz File
McCoy-Tyner Quartet:
New York Reunion
DIY Workbench.
Replacing the vinyl
with actual veneer!
Page 19
Page 22
Page 29
From the Pulpit
Stew’s complete
component listing.
Page 15
Supporting the Independents
About Us
Page 25
iPod Nation
By Mark Marcantonio, Publisher
One of my original goals in starting A$$A, was
to find a way to support, not only the small
manufacturers, but just as important, the independent retailers. These “mom and pop”
shops are the backbone of quality audio distribution. Sadly, their numbers are falling as big
box retailers pound low price/quality junk with
their big splashy ads. Many independents are
being drowned out by the “noise”. Those that
survive have had to branch out into home
theater application to maintain their grip on the
local retail scene.
The question for me was how best to use
A$$A to assist these fine people. After many
failed attempts to adequately discover these
shops it finally dawned on me that the answer
lay with you, the readers. Therefore, I am
asking all of you to help me in compiling a list/
directory to be put in every issue of A$$A.
Please send in the names of the independent
dealers in your area to:
[email protected]. In your
email please list city/state, website, and
whether they are audio only, audio/video, new
only, new/used, or used only.
Affordable$$Audio !
Recently, a couple of audio boards have
posted threads ranting about how the downfall
of quality audio is directly related to the rise of
iPods, etc. I have never bought into this argument because audio equipment enthusiasm
has never been mainstream. Instead, music
has always been about portability, starting with
the 8 track car players, cassette decks, Walkmans, CD portables. The iPod is just the latest in that lineage. Yes, the compressed MP3
sound is inferior to the cd player, however, not
very many owners cared about the sound
quality. It was all about portability.
In conversations with current and former students (they know I’m a Macintosh fan), we
have talked about iPod sound quality as they
showed me their player. I point out the differences in sound quality based on file size, and
challenged them to do an at home comparison. Within a few days I’d get an email or
have a direct conversation where in virtually
every case they were blown away by the difference in sound quality. Those that have
Mini/Nano and full-size iPods were now placing music from their cd collections at full or at
least, Apple Lossless file size.
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This education is one way in which audio enthusiasts
can spread the value of sound quality to the next
generation of music fans. Isn’t that how many of us
were inspired to become audio fans, by the fanatical
ramblings of a friend or relative of how wonderful a
song could really sound? In my case, it was a combination of my future brother-in-law and brother.
Of course, this is only partial solution. The
iTunes store would help things tremendously
by offering both full size and Apple Lossless
files for download. Granted, this eats up
bandwidth at a tremendous rate and would
virtually eliminate phone modem users from
purchasing. However, if iTunes sold the
songs at $1.25 for Lossless, and $1.50 for full
size, it would pay for the bandwidth.
As for me, I have finally joined the iPod revolution by purchasing a used 60 gig iPod
Photo. I’m going to use it as a music server
for both home and my classroom. You can
bet that all my music will be full files from my
cd collection.
When the Music Stopped
I spent the last nine days unable to enjoy my
main system. While moving one of my
speaker stands an interior welded nut assembly gave way. Luckily, the parent of one of my
students is a welder. Thinking he would just
do a quick weld, I set myself up for a two-day
wait. Nine long days later the ordeal was
over. The time was made more difficult as my
four-legged listening partner, Frazier, succumbed to old age/arthritic hips. No longer
will I be able to trust his ear for picking up
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harsh treble frequencies, which sent him, albeit slowly, from the room. The combination
of no furry friend, and only one speaker led
me to avoid the room at all costs.
When my stand returned, I decided to honor
Frazier’s memory by playing the one cd that
he actually enjoyed curling up between the
speaker to, Steely Dan’s Aja. I was never
able to explain why this disc gave him such
“comfort”. Then, in listening to it that evening
the pieces came together. The simple musicality, and smooth pacing of all seven songs
were very similar to the way my household
runs (my wife
and I are
empty nesters), and the
slow pace at
which he moseyed in his
final years.
So, to Walter
Becker and
Donald Fagan, thank
you for creating music that
will trigger
memories for
the rest of my
lifetime.
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Totem Acoustic MITE Speakers
By Mark Marcantonio
Specifications: Frequency Response
50 Hz - 20 kHz ± 3dB with correct positioning
Impedance: 8 ohms
Sensitivity: 87 dB/W/m.
Maximum sound pressure
102 dB before dynamic
compression
Minimum Power: 20 W
Maximum Power: 80 W
Crossover: 3.2 kHz electrical and mechanical
Woofer: 5 1/2” granulated
Tweeter: 1” soft dome
Rear ported
Dimensions: 11 x 6 x 8.5”
approx. side
270 x 152 x 227 mm
Volume: 5.6 litres (internal)
Weight: 4 kg (approx. 9 lbs)
I confess, I have an affinity for small monitors. Maybe it’s due to the
years spend lugging first, Infinity RSa’s, then
Polk Audio 10B’s back and forth to college.
Or, maybe, it’s the 15 years I spent appreciating silky, subtle sound of the Celestion
SL6si’s. Whatever the case maybe, to me
there is nothing more pleasurable in discovering great audio coming from diminutive boxes.
About six months ago, I had the pleasure of
finally hearing a pair of the original ProAc Tablettes. I was impressed by how nicely they
filled the 20-foot ceiling at Echo Audio in Portland with classical jazz. Its one limitation was
that original model didn’t produce any bass
below 60hz. Knowing that small monitors
have only improved in the past 20 years I began my quest for the best small monitor as far
under $1000 new as possible.
Several audio publications have reviewed
some of the newest models, but I decided that
many other companies have offered for several years the same model because it hit the
desired sound reproduction. Those speakers,
being “mature” have fallen off the radar, in this
day and age of “newer is better”. One such
model is the MITES, by Totem Acoustic.
Affordable$$Audio !
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The MITES have been on the market for over
ten years now. Originally, they were Totem’s
entry speaker, since the Model 1’s ran nearly
a thousand dollars more. Since then, Totem
has brought out the Dreamcatchers (reviewed
1-06), and most recently, the Rainmakers to fill
out the under $1000 lineup. The
MITES, being the oldest of this
group naturally became the “oh
yea” model. Seeing an opportunity to reawaken audio fans, I contacted Nico Bruzzese of Totem.
Being the affable soul, he offered
to send out a pair for review in
any finish I desired. Since I have
the Dreamcatchers in Mahogany, I
suggested the cherry veneer.
Nico happily complied, and a few
weeks later they arrived. All Totem speakers have approximately
30 hours of break-in before shipping. For the next two weeks I let
them play at moderate volume in my classroom overnight and all weekend. By the time I
brought them home, they had over 150 hours
of play.
The MITES are an impressively small cabinet,
measuring just 11” tall by 6” wide by 8.5”
deep, and tip the scales at just nine pounds.
Only real veneer is used on top of MDF inside
and out, with both the front and back corners
beveled. The veneer in the review pair came
in a beautiful quarter cut (almost burl). The
finish was originally a bit orange/red, but it
quickly grew on me, and it is now my favorite
stained piece of wood in our home.
The driver is a 5 ½” granulated cone that is
inset into the front of the cabinet. This is different from other Totem models where a plastic cap covers the metal rim. The tweeter is
also reset into the front face. Simple, rectangular grills are optional and attach with Velcro
tabs. In deference to my spouse, I attached
the grills, during the listening tests however,
the grills were removed to allow for optimum
listening.
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The MITES were placed on metal stands approximately 20” from the back wall, and 30”
from the sidewalls, leaving them some nine
feet apart, and slightly toed in. Different
placements led to little or no appreciable
sound difference. Thus, proving that much
like the Dreamcatchers, the MITES are quite
comfortable in any room placement. Amplification came from an Adcom GFA 535, Adcom
GTP 450 preamp, and Toshiba SKR 755 DVD
player. The interconnects were original Monster Cable products.
The first impressions I had upon the first play
of my demo disk were how effortlessly the
MITES played the variety of the music. Part of
this may come from the fact that the MITES
are an 8-Ohm speaker. Yet, unlike other 8Ohm speakers I have heard, it still carries with
it a depth that is normally the exclusive territory of 4-Ohm speakers. This was quite apparent in listening to James Taylor’s September Grass. The light rolling of the bongos
resonate with an ambience that enriches the
instruments around it. The vocals of Melissa
Etheridge, stayed in the upper tenor realm,
something most mass production speakers
tend to push into the lower echelons. The
MITES stay true to her Kansas upbringing
showing off her slight nasal intonations from
her first album.
Sound dispersion, always a big issue with me,
as I have a tendency to sit in several places in
my living room when listening, is excellent.
Vince Bruzzese mentions it as one of his
goals in his interview. This is laudable, as
very few of us actually have lives that allow for
perfect seating. Either children, spouse,
friends, or furniture interfere with optimum listening. The rising vocals of Phoebe Snow’s
chorus in Something Real I found reaches
equally to both my center position as well as
the couch, which resides along a sidewall.
Imaging (always a tricky issue in my living
room) is acceptable at very low volume,
blooms when turned up to my true listening
level (still very moderate). The rim shots in
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Cha-Cha Loco by Joe Jackson project up
about four feet and slightly in from the left
speaker. That delicious sense of elevation
when found in a song is one of the great
pleasures in audio. The extended drum roll in
Steely Dan’s Aja pings back and forth in a
sweet salute to the studio genius of everyone
involved that classic piece of recording.
What about the bass, you ask? As stated before, I hate boom-boom; thankfully the MITES
come with a pleasant deep end thump. Not
exhausting or artificial, just plain comfortable.
Much like that favorite weekend sweatshirt.
When a deep note hit, I felt a quick thump,
then just as quickly it left. This demonstrated
the rigidity of the cabinet and the ability of the
port to expel the lower tonal waves into the
room.
I did try the MITES in my family room bookcase, hooked up to my Harman/Kardon HT
receiver. Once again, they were very similar
to the Dreamcatchers in the ease of how they
handled the enclosed space. The deep base
was a bit exaggerated, but not unpleasant by
any means. If the Mites were to be placed on
a shelf with other items to weigh down the
shelf (books, etc.) I believe the bass would
tighten nicely. In other words, these would
make great bookcase speakers for the office,
bedroom, or dorm.
The MITES took on both hard rock of Led
Zeppelin and The Who, performing extremely
well, considering their diminutive size. They
will never thunder like a fine set of towers, but
the listener will feel and hear the strength of
the music. With classical recordings, the reed
instruments stand out in both clarity and soulfulness. Saxophones and clarinets find center
stage on the MITES, then ride the wave to
wherever the listener resides.
The one puzzlement with the MITES is that
they always needed a song to “stretch” to before they began to really sing. During the review process I had to be conscious of this, as
sometimes a specific song would pop into my
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head to play. I would then have to set up the
system to play something else first while I
went to another room as I didn’t want the first
song to color my impression of the how the
choice song sounded.
Conclusions
Overall, the MITES are just plain fun!! From
the ease of placement, to the simple good
looks, these little speakers flat out perform.
Their small footprint belies the big sound they
put out. In most cases, the MITES all but disappeared leaving me with the pleasure of trying to locate the spot where a particular instrument placed itself. In the end, isn’t that
the goal, to let the music be the soundstage?
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Describe what you consider the “Totem”
sound to be?
The Totem sound is one that is certainly
unique. On and off axis reproduction of music
in its entire emotional context is of utmost importance with all our speakers. This entails
great phase accuracy on all planes: that is
above the speaker , to the side or in all locations. Harmonics must be extended all the
way to sixth order and clarity and point source
imaging must be preserved in space and not
shift. Decay patterns must be heard and felt in
their greatest integrity and all this while maintaining proper pace, timbre and tone.
2. Is there a specific standard audio caveat
that Totem Acoustic tries to prove wrong?
Interview with Vince Bruzzese,
Founder of Totem Acoustic
By Mark Marcantonio
History and encyclopedias have always fascinated me, especially odd
bits of trivia. Back in the
seventies (if memory
serves) I remember a
commercial talking about
Carnegie Hall. Specifically, it dealt with the
acoustical genius of its
architect, William Burnet
Tuthill. I can still visualize a couple of the
scenes, showing Tuthill
alone, tapping the walls
and floor with his ear
cocked, listening for any
imperfections.
Currently, in the audio industry there are a few
individuals who are recognized for having
what has best been described as a “golden
ear”. One of those with this reputation is
Vince Bruzesse, founder of Totem Acoustics.
Recently, I was fortunate enough to conduct
an email interview with him.
Affordable$$Audio !
We don't try to prove anything wrong but certainly excessively try to incorporate into even
our modest designs, the absolute highest "Totem" performance that we can. Each
model has to stand on its
own with its own special
personality bringing the
highest standards at whatever the cost in time.
3. Each speaker in the Totem lineup uses unique
components. In the age of
standardization and cost
containment isn’t this a risky
business decision?
Why this is so important?
We do not try to standardize
parts throughout
because that would totally compromise what
we are trying to achieve...that is the most Totem oriented product that we can. Cost
and complexity of inventory along with a long
association with the proper sub-contractors
ensure that we have a total performance Totem unit that is unique and accomplishes all
that it can. We do not change models every
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few years as is the industry standard, but continuously refine the Totem models to remain
unique and absolute class leaders.
4. Take us thru the process of developing a
new speaker. The steps, construction, components, etc.?
We use our own mathematical tables unique
to Totem. It usually requires an intensive
search for synergistic driver componentry,
which is ear tested (tweeter and woofer) together for best assimilation. Usually a great
variety of slightly different units are specifically
built to our parameters and then if they meet
these very rigorous parameters they are subsequently further joined together in a finalized
initial product (production type enclosure) etc.
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construction process you have I don’t see this
as a battle. Can you explain?
We utilize the cabinet as a greater part of the
speaker system. Our Shallow slope crossovers have a lot of inter-harmonic interaction,
which gives the units a greater ability for a
large and non-shifting sound stage. The boxes
are made in an exact proportional configuration, which allows the box to harmonically interact with the speaker elements and add to
the soundstage instead of inhibiting it.
7. For those customers that desire a custom
veneer, what kind of lead-time does the factory need? The Mite comes in 5 finishes. No
optional finishes are available except unfinished cherry (unstained/unlaquered)(6-8 week
lead time)
Then the real work begins where these chosen elements are put to the task through a
very long, tedious procedure where coils resistors and capacitors are specifically intermeshed for the finest result. This final crossover selection of parts generally takes anywhere from 6 months to over a year. We want
to make the best that we can and the permutations that are possible run into the hundreds.
We believe we have the largest store of different specialized capacitors and other passive
elements of any speaker maker. These are put
to full use and advantage. In most occasions
we will re-order specific made elements for the
new project.
8. Computer aided speaker design seems to
rule the industry, yet from what I gather you
rely heavily on your own ear. Are there any
pitfalls you try to avoid?
5. I consider it fascinating that interior walls
are veneered. What is the Totem theory on
taking such a step?
9. In auditioning and reviewing the Mites, I find
them to be very much
like the Dreamcatchers in that they are not
very picky about placement.
Was that a design goal?
This is to control any flexing through humidity
and temperature change as well as giving a
lighter box that can effectively dissipate
quickly any resonance perturbances. It makes
for a truly better long living product.
6. Speaking of cabinetry, it seems like most
speaker manufacturers are in a battle against
the cabinet. In hearing and reading over the
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All of our speakers measure beautifully in the
very large listening window they are designed
for. We have computer software like MLLSA
etc, but it cannot come close to achieving the
sonic, emotional, sound staging results we require. Ten speakers can measure equally on
A graph but 9 could sound completely unacceptable. Ears and twenty-five
years experience in original speaker design
simplify the process. We
avoid all that is unmusical in the end.
That of course comes part and parcel of developing a Totem speaker
That works well on all planes and angles.
10. My impression of the Mites as compared
to the Dreamcatchers is that they are “factor”
greater in sound quality. Much like the RainAffordable$$Audio
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makers go up another factor from the Mites.
Is that a fair statement? If so, is the factor increase a goal for the entire Totem lineup?
I can truthfully say that certainly the Mites
might be a factor up
From the DC's and a factor down from the
RM's with a variety of equipment. But I have
heard the Mites in optimized systems built
around the speaker and they certainly outperformed some of our more expensive units in a
more random type system. We truly try to optimize each model to the max, and therefore
each model, properly integrated can do absolute marvels exceeding the expectations one
would "expect"
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are marketing goals to reach but we take all
the necessary time for proper fruition and correct completion. The TRIBE units introduced 6
months ago went through a radical evolution
over a period of 3 years until all necessary
parts , factors and correct Totem qualities
were achieved. We wish to set industry
STANDARDS in each and every product
made for sound quality, innovation, musicality
and construction yet retain a measure of
worldwide acceptance and correct affordability. We wish to keep this industry up to task.
15. With the shift into audio portability due to
the iPod, is Totem interested in developing
speakers for this market?
11. Is there a particular piece(s) of music that
you test on all new
designs?
We are obviously exploring those possibilities.
Even now some of our units can be integrated
with a variety of systems. But iPod
nomenclature units are being reviewed.
Our music tastes are extremely varied encompassing all that is available. We try a great
variety of ALL types of music before a
product is finalized It has to be comfortable
with about everything.
16. A few companies have played with the
“active speaker” concept from time to time. Is
this something that intrigues you, developing
an optimal pairing of speaker and amplifier?
12. Are the new designs tested in various
room sizes/décor?
We explore all possibilities and of course this
is one of many venues We are pursuing. If it
can be achieved to our standards it will become a reality.
We test new designs in about 15 different locations. From small to large, resonant to overdamped. Solid-wall to open, to on wall, etc.
Totems are in studios, restaurants, homes,
bars and many, many different environments.
13. Are all staff members encouraged to listen, or just a few specific team members?
All staff members listen at one point or other,
but the new product auditioning is obviously
made by myself and seconded by Lucy and
further to Nico and other people.
14. At what point do you know when it’s time
to release the speakers onto the public?
Only when it is ready and stands equal to all
the other products in the Totem line-up. There
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17. In reading over your answer to question 4,
and in reading various speaker articles, I am
continually amazed at the amount of mathematics and physics involved. When you first
started building speakers did you have
any idea that of the amount of mathematical
science involved?
The mathematics and physics can be daunting, but the portion that we utilize is actually
condensed greatly ( our experience into what
is important has made this so), hence our own
tables and formulae which we apply within our
own designs.
18. In layman's terms, what is it that allows
such a small enclosure as the MITES to pro-
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duce such a "big" sound with such natural
bass extension?
We again think that it is our "math"( box size,
driver parameters, X-over components, elements, port etc.. and most importantly the
phase tuning that we accomplish totally by
ear. It is the old physics principle that if small
and large waves meet in perfect cohesion and
"phase in", the end result is much more that
their simple addition. If however, they are even
slightly askew then the result is the opposite..... with energy and "phase" disturbances
and cancellations. That is why our speakers
breathe and enlarge an image while other
larger speakers (not ours).. do the opposite.
3. Can you tell us what your first stereo system consisted of? And, what was it that
hooked you into a lifetime of pursuing faithful
audio reproduction?
When I was a teenager(13-14 yrs old) it was a
pair of Quad II amps, Thorens TD 126 Turntable with SME 3009 arm, with a pair of home
built paper cone drivers and tweeters that I
had resurrected from other various units.
20. Finally, for the average audio enthusiast
what would you recommend for simple improvements to the sound quality of their system?
A great speaker and simple good system
Thanks,
Vince
8!
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Inside Out: QSC PLX-2402
By Michael Jarve
What weighs 21-lbs, takes up two rack
spaces, and outputs 2,400 watts? If you said
the dope I’ve been smoking, you’re off the
mark. It is the QSC PLX-2402.
The 2402 combines a high-efficiency class H
amplifier with a QSC’s “PowerLight” switching
power supply. Earlier attempts at power amplifiers with a switching power supply were
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greeted with a less than an enthusiastic response, as the power supply typically sampled
at little more than twice the audible range, or
at about
40-44kHz..
This leads
(usually) to
a kind of
muddy
bass and
harsh
highs. The
PowerLight
circuit
samples at
230kHz
providing much better bass response, and a
noted smoothing of the highs.
The output section uses a normally class AB
linear output circuit with 8 output devices per
channel. However, when needed, the power
amp circuit can switch to a higher voltage rail.
This allows the unit to maintain high-efficiency
under most conditions, while providing all the
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When bridged, the unit provides 1500 and
2400 watts into 8 and 4 ohms respectively.
It features a variable speed fan cooling
system, a soft clipping circuit, 1/4” unbalanced and TRS balanced inputs, as well as
XLR balanced inputs. A low cut filter is
also provided with a selectable 30 or 50 Hz
cut off point. The 2402 also has the best
S/N ratio of the line, with a respectable
108dB. Full bandwidth dampening factor is
given as >500 into an 8-ohm load.
power necessary when called for. The switching of voltage rails takes less than a millisecond, and is transparent to the user.
The amplifier is nominally rated for 425 watts
per channel into 8-ohms, 700 watts into 4ohms, and 1200 watts into 2-ohm stereo.
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The PLX series is meant for professional
use, but it can easily find its way into a
home hi-fi or HT setup, where a ludicrous
amount of power is needed. A perfect candidate for a passive sub power amp, or even
powering main or surround speakers. The
specifications are at least as good as any receiver or power amp in its price range.
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Now that we’ve gotten to it, the PLX-2402 is a
good bargain. With used units in good condition typically fetching only $500-$600, it is an
inexpensive road to high-power at only
$0.20-$0.25 per watt. Brand new units can be
had for little more than $250 more, when on
sale.
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Speaker Odyssey
By Steve Eddy
I wish I had a picture of it, the record changer
in the big, maple-finished Zenith console
“Cobra-Matic” stereo. This lovely unit, with a
tonearm that looked like a snake, was the centerpiece of my family’s living room and the
machine that allowed me to first start appreciating music – albeit the Three Stooges!
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pretty good. They certainly took a licking and
kept on ticking as I moved around the country
a bit.
I guess I wanted a name brand at that point,
so I stuck the GTEs in the closet and bought
some JBL L-40s, the two-way 10-inchers with
those glorious orange foam grills. Bought
Even at that tender age, I knew I wanted
more, and as I grew up, a sort of quest began.
My first marriage began with a gift for my own
home, a not-too-shabby little Sears “Silvertone” record player, with detachable speakers
– not quite a toy, but not exactly sonic nirvana,
either.
Along about 1970, I heard my first “real” stereo, a friend’s Dynaco-based rig. It was my
first exposure to some semblance of “high fidelity.” The hi-fi bug had bitten!
Speakers, of course, are the most important
part of any setup – they’re the “voice” of the
system. So, if you’ve got a few minutes, kindly
accompany me on a 25-year loudspeaker odyssey – those that I have owned, in chronological order, and why (followed, of course, by
why not):
There used to be a really nice high-end store
in Beverly Hills, Calif., near where my aunt
lived. Jonas Miller Stereo. The kind of place
where Jonas himself would appear and help
you out. I saw a newspaper ad featuring a
complete system at a bargain price (Harman
Kardon receiver, Garrard 55-B turntable) along
with single-driver Altec floor-standers. Spent a
few extra bucks to have a crossover and horn
tweeter installed. Nice. They’d play loud, but I
didn’t like the horn. Too little detail.
Jonas Miller took the Altecs in trade for a
speaker then being marketed by GTE and carrying the Sylvania brand, a bow, no doubt, to
the olden days of TV and other electronics.
These were 12-inch three-ways and sounded
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them from University Stereo, anybody remember that chain? Cool!
Grrrr. The JBLs were sweet in the high end,
but not enough oomph. (This was during a
sort of “How loud can I play rock and roll without getting thrown out of my apartment?” period.) Sold them and plunged for some thenheavyweights, the fat and very bassy (and
now semi-legendary) Realistic Mach Two’s.
When
The Child came along, it became obvious that
floor-standing speakers weren’t going to cut it.
He kept running into them, threatening to
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poke out the woofer. This was where I fell for a
novelty, unloading the Mach’s and downgrading to Bose 301’s. They would sit on the end
tables, I figured, high enough to be out of
reach
of the
babe.
Truthfully, fire your flames if you want, but these
guys didn’t sound too bad, especially in the
midrange. But I didn’t have exactly the right
room for the patented “Direct/Reflecting”
sound, and I was again faced with the lack of
bass.
Enter Circuit City’s trade-up plan. The Bose
went back, replaced by an AR satellite/
subwoofer system, the exact model number of
which I can’t recall. Two small satellites and
an 8-inch sub, and this was a really satisfying
setup for several years. Even hung the small
speakers on the wall for a time (bad idea, incidentally). Amazingly smooth response from
the tiny satellites, and just enough boom from
the sub to satisfy.
Somewhere along the line I blew out the AR
sub. Rattle, rattle, rattle. Watering the lawn
one day in the front of the duplex we’d moved
into, guess who shows up? Yes, I’ll admit it,
the dreaded White Van. Yada, yada yada, and
a hundred
or so bucks
later, I am
the “proud
owner” of a
pair of
“Acoustic”
12-inch, 3way, “white van” speaks. All I can attest to is
that they played loud, and didn’t break. And
they got me by for a time.
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Later on, I gave the “white van” speakers to a niece
to sell at her yard sale, and entered Polk Land with
the RT-800 towers. These were delightfully warm
speakers with a slender, stylish look.
But. Soundstage?
soundstage? My room
requires that speakers
tightly abut a big TV
and equipment rack,
and I wanted more
“air” around them.
The Polks were sold
on eBay, replaced by
a pair of wellregarded black beauties, the Paradigm
Mini Monitors.
Perched on the recommended Premier
stands, I definitely
enjoyed more “positioning” of instruments.
What
I’ve had several subs on and
off, but the room suffers from
standing waves. While the
Minis aren’t particularly bassshy for a small monitor, I just
couldn’t get enough low end
from my listening position,
even with a 12-inch, cornerplaced sub, or a smaller one
installed on the bottom shelf
of the equipment rack. (Never
tried bass traps or other room
treatments. Maybe I should).
So out went the Paradigms
and in came what I hoped
would be a sort of final solution: the monolithlike Polk Monitor 70s. Bass? Yes, much better,
but man those big guys are bright! All those
drivers produce an almost overwhelming, “in
your face” effect that was just too much for my
smallish room. Others like ’em, I know, but
they just weren’t to my taste, particularly since
the years have led me to more quiet, introspective listening, mostly small-group jazz and
a LOT of classical.
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What now? For years (particularly as a Polk
fan) I had ogled the company’s upscale line,
the LSi series – sort of rooting for Polk to finally overcome its “big box store” image and
penetrate the often effete and snooty audio-
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suited to strings, piano, etc. But everything
sounds good, and that’s how it’s supposed to
be. I agree wholeheartedly with the reviews
that have marveled at the bass response. I
don’t even switch on my sub 90 percent of the
time. At 4 ohms, even driven by the beefy Outlaw RR2150 receiver, they’ll
strain a bit if you crank them
too far, but this is certainly
no “party speaker.” It reproduces the subtleties of music
more faithfully than any
speaker I have ever heard.
So there. I’m content for now. I
don’t expect the upgrade bug to
bite again for a long, long time.
Maybe never!
phile community. I read review after favorable
review (including the one right here at
affordableaudio.org!) and finally trundled down
to Tweeter. I was hooked. I brought the LSi9
bookshelf speakers home. These heavy, perfectly sculptured ebony beauties now rest nobly upon the Premier stands and produce the
sweetest and
most convincing
sound I have
ever heard
from my listening chair.
It’s tempting
to call them a
“classical
music”
speaker,
since their
smoothness
and transparency are
particularly
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Alegria Audio Rosa Speakers
By John Hoffman
Specifications:
Frequency response (+/- 3db 50Hz to 20kHz)
8 ohm nominal impedance
4th order (cascaded 2nd order) crossover at 5kHz
Quality crossover parts including air core inductors
and film and
foil polypropylene capacitors
Oxygen free stranded copper internal wiring
All soldered connections
External dimensions: Upright - 17"H x 9"W x 12"D;
Horizontal - 9"H x
17"W x 12"D
100 watt peak power handling
88 db/1w sensitivity
Magnetically shielded for use near televisions or
monitors
Grade A real wood veneer inside and out to prevent
warping.
Driver 4.5" Diameter
Treated paper cone
Rubber surround
Copper phase plug
Cast frame
Patent pending XBL^2 motor design
Long throw voice coil
Tweeter
20mm diameter
Soft Dome
Nylon resin frame with vibration suppression
Low diffraction face plate
Ultra high frequency response
Pricing: $279 each or $549 per pair
Which piece of equipment in the audio chain
has the most difficult task? Is it the CD player?
Imagine the complexity of reading all the bits
off a disc and keeping them in proper order.
What about the turntable? Who must battle
the enemies of vibration, friction, and inertia?
Let us not forget about the speaker wire and
interconnects. The cables get the thankless
job of transferring the amplifier’s final output.
Quite often they have to cover long distances,
while having a minimal part of the audio
budget spent on them. My vote goes to the
loudspeaker. This component gets the daunting task of reproducing the complex nature of
an orchestra, and yet it still must be capable of
rendering the subtle nuances of the human
voice.
I am continually amazed at the ability of a
good loudspeaker. It is hard to believe that a
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speaker can reproduce the jump factor of
Count Basie’s Big Band, and yet captures the
beauty of Allison
Krause’s vocal
style. It is one
thing when a state
of the art loudspeaker can accomplish these
tasks, but is it realistic to ask a
modestly priced
loudspeaker to
accomplish the
same things?
Very few inexpensive speakers
have the ability to
convincingly recreate a musical
performance.
This is why
speakers like the
Rosa, from Alegria
Audio, are important to the audio community.
Will the Rosa trick you into believing that you
are hearing the latest flagship model from
Merlin or ProAc? Well, of course not. What
these speakers do succeed at is allowing the
listener to have an emotional connection to
the music. This is very rare characteristic in
the budget speaker niche where the Rosa’s
reside.
Residing in the rainy lands of SeaTac,
Washington is Alegria Audio. This manufacturer can be described as an “audio boutique”
company. Over the years, I have found myself
consistently drawn to the offerings of smaller
audio companies because of the innovative
products that they produce. For instance,
John Bau performed groundbreaking work in
speaker driver time alignment with Spica
Audio. Timothy Forman, who owns Alegria
Audio, may not be breaking hallowed ground,
as John once did, but he has created a
speaker that is very easy to get excited about.
When I spoke with Tim about his company, it
became evident that he has a genuine passion for designing and building loudspeakers.
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The Rosa is a two way D'Appolito design,
which features two four- inch mid bass drivers,
and a 20mm soft dome tweeter. The cabinet
design is a bass reflex with two rear facing
ports. The mid bass driver is a stellar unit that
would normally be found in far more expensive speakers than the Rosa. The WR125ST
is manufactured by Creative Sound Solutions,
although it is designed by Dan Wiggins of
Adire Audio. This speaker packs a lot of innovative technology in its diminutive frame. Upon
close examination of the WR125ST you will
find a treated paper cone, rubber surround,
copper phase plug, and cast basket. While all
these features are important to a quality driver,
the heart of this unit is the XBL^2 voice coil.
Dan Wiggins has created a design that allows
the driver to avoid compression losses over
the excursion range of the speaker. A conventional driver output level can have significant
losses as it approaches the limits of its travel.
This innovative voice coil structure minimizes
the effects of driver compression and gives a
smaller diaphragm the ability to move large
amounts of air. Not only does this translate
into deeper bass response, but also improved
midrange reproduction.
The tweeter is a 20mm textile dome developed by Fostex. It was chosen for its even
frequency response, and a distinctive faceplate that allows Tim to get the tweeter very
close to the midbass drivers. Inside the cabinet resides a very nice 4th order crossover
composed of high quality air core inductors
and polypropelene capacitors. All of these
high quality parts are housed in a classy looking cabinet constructed out of real wood veneer MDF. The cherry finish on the review pair
is quite attractive, with a conservative tone to
its appearance. The Rosa is a dual application
speaker and can be used as a main speaker
in a two-channel system, or as a center channel. The offset tweeter design allows the user
to place the Rosa at several different heights
when being employed as a center channel
speaker. For the context of this review, the
Rosa will be used as main speakers in a twochannel system.
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The final listening position for the Rosa
Speakers was 32 inches off the rear wall.
They resided on 22 inch tall Skylan stands. A
pair of Electra Print 300DRD monoblocks fulfilled the amplification duties. While the Electra
Print PVA pre amp took care of signal routing
duties, and provided that critical first level of
gain. A modified Sony 595 CD player took
care of the job of spinning those shiny silver
platters. Tara Labs Air 3 and RSC Master
speaker were used to make those critical connections between components. Finally, an
Audio Pro Avantek subwoofer was pressed
into service to determine how well the Rosa
can be turned into a full range system.
The Rosa is a lively speaker that engages the
listener is a way that makes listening to music
an active experience. I firmly believe that the
WR125ST mid bass driver is the primary reason why this speaker performs so well. The
Rosa’s ability to portray voices in a believable
manner is uncanny. Over the years I have encountered only a handful of speakers that can
perform at the same level as the Rosa in this
regard. In Ellis Paul’s “Conversation With A
Ghost” [Say Something; Black Wolf Records
9653-2] a delicate vocal performance by Ellis
and Patty Griffin is rendered in an ethereal
manner that floats over Paul’s delicate guitar
playing. The Rosa’s are capable of displaying
the sharp contrast between Ellis’s low and
breathy vocal style, and the rich vibrato in Patty’s passages. The interplay between both artists’ vocal styles can be glossed over by a less
capable speaker. But the Rosa comes through
with flying colors in this regard. Its ability to
reproduce the human voice in a believable
manner makes this speaker a real gem. I cannot think of a speaker that falls into the $500
price bracket that can come close to the quality of vocal reproduction that the Rosa is capable of.
Reproducing the scale, and the raw power of
a large ensemble is a task that is better suited
to large speakers. Floor standing speakers
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with bass drivers the size of dinner plates
have a significant advantage in the department of bass response. Speakers with larger
surface area are capable of displacing more
air, which translates into deeper bass, and
greater dynamic range. However, the XBL^2
design allows the
Rosa to achieve a
level of performance in the lower
registers that other
bookshelf speakers
are hard-pressed to
match. The lower
end of the Rosa
measures down to
50 hertz, which
means they are capable of reproducing the majority of
bass information on
a recording. I found
the Rosas bass performance to be surprisingly good. With a variety of material these speakers reproduced
bass that is articulate and extremely detailed.
For instance, Battle Royal [Duke Ellington
Meets Count Basie; SACD CS65571] is a historic recording of big band music that features
the two greatest bands of jazz music. In the
opening track the bass player Freddie Green
lays down a furious riff to anchor the piece.
The Rosa’s reproduces Green’s performance
with excellent clarity and speed. After two
short piano segments that introduce the melody, the rest of the brass instruments make
their presence known. Now the music kicks
into high gear, and the power of two full bands
is unleashed. To their credit the Rosas are unfazed by the demands placed upon them. For
instance, the trombones and trumpets have
superb tonal balance and dynamic range.
Even when the music reaches its crescendo,
the Rosa’s maintain their composure and
never sound strained or compressed. I have to
say I am pleasantly surprised at how well a
pair of four and half-inch drives are able to reproduce every facet of this historic performance.
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I have to admit to being a tweeter junkie. Any
unit that employs exotic materials, or an unusual design will grab my attention. Several of
the speakers I have owned have used metal
dome, or ribbon tweeters. However the Rosa’s
contain a soft dome from Fostex that I thoroughly enjoy. The
Fostex
FT207D,
which is a
20mmm
textile dome
with a
unique triangular
faceplate.
The faceplate design
allows for
closer
placement
to the midbass drivers. This improved driver integration
is responsible for the Rosa’s superb imaging
abilities. While soft dome tweeters can be
hard to get excited about, the Fostex is a classic example of a well-designed driver. It has a
smooth and even frequency response that is
very pleasant to listen to. While state of the art
tweeters are capable of extracting finer levels
of detail, the Fostex performs at a level that
belies its affordable price.
In an alternate arrangement of Hotel California
[Hell Freezes Over; Geffen GEFD-24725] the
Rosa’s high frequency abilities are brought to
the forefront. In this acoustic version of an Eagles classic, Don Felder creates a Flamenco
style riff to introduce the song. Also the standard drum kit is exchanged for one with a
Latin flavor. The Rosa’s reproduction of
Felder’s guitar work is very convincing. But
what is worth noting is how the notes decay in
such a realistic manner. I have encountered
very few speakers that have the ability to capture an instruments decay characteristics like
the Rosa’s can. In those opening notes to Hotel California, the individual notes appear to
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ness just before the following note is played. It
is a strikingly eerie presentation that can send
chills down your spine. Tim Stinson should be
proud of how well he has implemented this
tweeter design in the Rosa’s.
These speakers are a dual application design. Quite
often the Rosa’s will be used in a home theater set
up. This means that a subwoofer will often be mated
to them. So I took one evening to listen to them in
conjunction with an Audio Pro subwoofer. I still ran
the Rosa’s full range, but rolled the Avantek subwoofer in to fill out the lowest registers. I set the
crossover at 50 hertz, and then spent a couple of
hours adjusting it’s output level. Integrating subwoofers can be a maddening task. In this case it was very
simple to match
the Rosa’s and
Audio Pro up.
Within one evening, I had a
seamless integration between
the two units.
The addition of
the subwoofer
turned the Rosa’s into a true
full range
speaker capable
of handling the
demands of a
wide range of
music.
The Rosa’s are a value packed speaker. I am
not sure how Tim Stinson can sell these for
$549 a pair. I took a moment to look up the
cost of individual components on the net. The
WR125ST driver sells for $50 apiece, and the
Fostex FT207D for $40 each. So a pair of
Rosa speakers contain $280 worth of drivers.
Then you have to add in a real wood veneer
cabinet, and a high quality crossover network.
But creating a good speaker is just a matter of
assembling a group of high quality parts. Tim
performed extensive computer modeling in the
initial design stage of the Rosa’s. Then he put
his measurement tools away, and made final
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design adjustments by ear. While there are
trade-offs in all speaker designs, it is apparent
that Tim has made these choices wisely. The
Rosas are a speaker capable of extracting a
high level of detail from a recording without
dissecting the music. I found my time with the
Rosa’s to be very enjoyable, and can recommend them to anyone looking for a moderately
priced speaker
The Jazz File:
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McCoy Tyner Quartet – New York
Reunion
By Clarke Robinson
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session. That said, his playing is quite melodic
and sweet on this, at least compared to anything he recorded with Coltrane.
McCoy Tyner Quartet –
New York Reunion (Chesky
JD51)
Recorda Me; Miss Bea;
What is this Thing Called
Love?; My Romance; Ask
Me Now; Beautiful Love; A
Quick Sketch; Home.
(74:31)
Personnel: McCoy Tyner:
piano; Joe Henderson: tenor
saxophone; Ron Carter:
bass; Al Foster: drums.
Recorded at RCA Studio A in
New York City on April 3rd
and 4th, 1991.
McCoy Tyner rose to prominence in the early ‘60s as
the piano player in the classic John Coltrane quartet.
His bombastic approach laid
a perfect foundation for Coltrane’s explorations, but was
strong enough not to be
overwhelmed by the legendary tenor. Also an in-demand sideman, he
appeared on Joe Henderson’s first solo effort,
Page One, in 1963. Henderson returned the
favor in 1967, playing tenor on The Real
McCoy, Tyner’s first Blue Note release after
leaving Coltrane’s group.
The reunion here is between Tyner and
Henderson, who hadn’t been in a studio together since. Everyone else in the group (Ron
Carter on bass and Al Foster on drums), had
recorded together on numerous occasions.
Notable among them is The State of the
Tenor: Live at the Village Vanguard, a Joe
Henderson trio date with Carter and Foster,
recorded in 1985. Despite the similar line-up, it
sounds a bit laid-back compared to New York
Reunion, owing largely to the percussive,
powerhouse of energy that Tyner brings to any
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The album opens with the propulsive, Latintinged "Recorda Me", a Joe Henderson standard that made it's first appearance on Page
One. Tyner wrote two originals for the session,
the breezy "Miss Bea" (dedicated to his
mother) and the upbeat set closer, "Home",
but aside from the Ron Carter penned "A
Quick Sketch", everything else here are standards. Carter shows off some wildly expressive playing on the Rogers & Hart vehicle, "My
Romance" (performed with the trio), with
nicely placed double-stops and a groovy,
swinging solo. The closest Tyner every gets to
the multi-layered, fiery vamps he was known
for during his years with Coltrane come on an
uptempo take of Cole Porter's "What is this
Thing Called Love". Dropping bombs with his
left hand, he stirs his bandmates into a near
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frenzy by the time he and Henderson start
trading fours with Foster.
Things occasionally get a bit clinical sounding,
but brilliant moments are never far away.
Tyner and Henderson perform a duet version
of Thelonious Monk’s “Ask Me Now” that
somehow lacks a bit of the swing and sense of
fun in the trio version on State of the Tenor.
There is still much to like about this reading,
however, in particular Henderson’s
extensive solo on the introduction
that is so closely recorded you’ll
swear he’s in the room with you.
Probably the most unique aspect of
New York Reunion, and what makes
it stand out from the hundreds of
other sessions these players have
been a part of, is its remarkable recording quality. It accurately represents the sound of a live performance (sound staging is practically
holographic with rock-solid imaging),
but it doesn’t stop there: each instrument is captured with a level of
detail that would be impossible to
hear simultaneously in a live setting.
Much of the credit for this falls on
recordist/digital mastering engineer
Bob Katz (www.digido.com), who's
impact on the album’s sound is so
profound, it practically qualifies him
as a fifth member of the band. I
talked to Katz recently, and while it
has been 15 years since the session,
his memory of the date was surprisingly clear.
New York Reunion was recorded direct to two-track with no overdubs or
compression. The musicians were all
in the same room (RCA Studio A in
New York, which sadly closed down
just a few months later), and were
primarily recorded using a pair of
highly modified AKG C24s arranged in a
Blumlein pair*. Every piece of gear associated
with the recording (mics, cables, preamps, the
mixing console, etc.) was either built from
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scratch or custom modified to David Chesky’s
exacting specifications (the label’s co-founder
serves as artistic director and producer for all
of their recordings).
Other microphones were used around the studio to gather specific details of the performance, but the exact number and placement of
these is a closely held secret of Chesky records. According to Katz, the technique used
to record Ron Carter’s bass
is one of the most surprising of these “magic tricks”
(I’m a huge fan of the
acoustic bass, and Carter’s
rich, up front tone is probably my favorite aspect of
this recording). He assured
me that, if he could tell me
how it was done, I simply
would not believe it. "The
way the bass was recorded
goes against a lot of audiophile misconceptions. It's a
risky technique, I've used it
in other sessions with horrible results. The only reason
it worked here is because
Ron Carter is such an
amazing bass player."
Once the musicians and
microphones were in place,
recording levels set, nothing
required tweaking for the
duration of the session. The
musicians could hear
through headphones exactly what was going onto
the tape, and were thus enabled to adjust their own
dynamics on the fly. The
recording process was as
improvisational as jazz itself, and not without risks
(turn it up and you can hear
the BMG freight elevator about 1:20 into “Ask
Me Now”!) but combined with the right experience and talent, as it was here, the results
were astonishing.
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Good music always results when musicians of
this caliber play together, but great music is
somewhat less common. I don’t think there’s a
name for whatever it is that determines good
music from great, it happens somehow beyond the notes that are being played. It is referred to occasionally as “the total is greater
than the sum of the parts”, or “something
else”, etc., but whatever “it” is, I hear it on this
recording. Combining that with a “more real
than reality” recording effort makes New York
Reunion a truly outstanding unique work of
art.
* Blumlein pair – The most famous microphone technique patented by innovative electronics engineer Alan
Dower Blumlein. It is done with two identical “figure-8”
pattern microphones, placed as closely as possible to
each other (usually one above the other) and angled 90
degrees. It is widely regarded on one of the most realistic stereo microphone techniques known.
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DIY – By and for the Marginally
Competent.
By Bob Lombard
This collumn is not intended to educate experienced
audio Do-It-Yourselfers. If you are one of those, feel
free to read on and send critical letters to the editor.
(Just be aware that, for some editors, any feedback is
good feedback.) The intent is to help make the use of
vintage (i.e. affordable) equipment more practical for
the ‘common man’.
Replacing damaged veneer (vinyl) on a
“woody”
A ‘woody’, at least in the jargon we use in this
strange vintage audio hobby/compulsion/
affliction, is a piece of audio equipment either
encased in a wood (or pseudo-wood) case or
having wooden panels as part of the case. My
Pioneer TX-7800 is of the latter persuasion,
although the ‘veneer’ here is actually vinyl,
and not heavy-duty vinyl either. Here’s the before picture:
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in the sticks, so the easiest way to do the
gathering is via the Internet. During my daily
visits to the Audio Karma board I learned
about a product called ‘peel & stick’ veneer;
real wood veneer sliced very thin and with the
adhesive already on it. The poster wrote that
he had good results with it. My self-awarded
title of ‘marginally competent’ doesn’t apply to
veneering, so I went for that. Found it at
www.constantines.com. Some posters recommended the use of a hand operated veneer
saw, and I found one at
www.veneersupplies.com. There were also
references to an ‘Exacto’ knife, but I decided
to go with one of those utility knives where you
break off a piece of the blade when it dulls and
feed out a fresh edge. Those are available locally, as is duct tape.
And away we go
Four screws, two on each side, hold the case
to the chassis. With those removed, I turned
the case over.
Photo #2 – the underside
Photo #1 – Before
All of the functions work in this tuner, it pulls in
stations well, and is the pleasantest sounding
of the several tuners that share my home.
So… it seems reasonable to spend a little
money, time and effort to get it looking more
respectable.
Getting it together
The first thing to be done is gathering the necessary materials. I live in a small town well out
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Aha! Seven little woodscrews holding the side
panel to the top; well, not quite so - removing
them only revealed that there’s some pretty
powerful glue involved in the holding. After a
little ‘strength testing’, I decided to leave those
pieces joined; screws reinstalled.
Removing the vinyl turned out to be easy on
the wide surfaces, because the stuff was
really thin and not very strongly stuck to the
substrate (just like to throw in a fancy word
now and then). I was able to get one side off
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more or less intact, so it could be used as a
pattern for locating the holes for the mounting
screws. I just had to remember that the holes
aren’t located the same distance from front
and back, meaning that one of the transfers
had to be on the back side of the veneer
piece.
Photo #3 – the easy part
Getting the vinyl off the edge sides of the panels was not easy. It was a lot thicker there, either because there was no substrate or because it insisted on coming off with the vinyl.
Photo #4 shows the longest piece that came
off at once; the rest was pretty much a nibble
at a time.
Photo #4 – the hard part
OK. The vinyl is off, now I have to prepare the
surfaces for the veneer. I used an orbital finish
sander for this, which I suspect would/will
cause frowns and maybe other expressions of
disgust from any really competent ‘veneerers’
reading this; sorry. That very smooth substrate
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on the wide sides looked a little too smooth to
me (probably wrong again), so I ran the
sander on those surfaces too.
Now it’s time to cut some veneer. This Peel & Stick
veneer comes in a roll. The supplier recommends
unrolling the sheet on a flat surface and holding it
down for some hours until it has relaxed the springiness that being rolled up gave it; less chance of it
‘springing’ away from the panel later.
Photo #5 – veneer for the side panels
I used the case to guide the cuts for the side
panels. It turned out that the veneer saw isn’t
necessary for this Peel and Stick veneer; the
utility knife gets through it in three passes or
so. When this stuff is described as ‘thin’, they
mean it. The instructions that came with it say
that the wood is 1/64th to 1/75th of an inch
thick.
The top panel and the narrow pieces I measured, and used a straight-edge (yardstick) to
lay out on the veneer sheet. I also used the
yardstick as a guide when cutting the veneer.
A wooden yardstick doesn’t work perfectly for
this – I kept getting shavings off it with the
knife. The instructions say to allow an extra 1/
8th inch or so for each dimension, to be
trimmed off after the veneer is in place; that
worked out fine, with one exception – where I
done wrong.
Photo #6 – the marginal part of “marginally
competent”
The lighter colored line where the top panel
meets the side panel is where the trim cut
wanders a little. I should have used a straight
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edge to guide that cut too. Oh well, maybe
next time. Good thing I’m not going this job for
a paying customer.
The case is ready for finishing now; unfortunately the weather isn’t. I don’t want to use
tung oil or linseed oil, because they require a
lot of rubbing and I have arthritic elbows. That
leaves polyurethane, which I have used before
and like. The problem is that polyurethane
gives off noxious fumes until it’s dry, so I need
ventilation. The temperature outside is in the
low 30s Fahrenheit, so I won’t be opening any
windows soon. Can’t do the job outside because the stuff would take approximately forever to dry. So…
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Photo #7 – almost finished – waiting for
spring
If both of us are still around then, you’ll see a
photo of the glorious finished case I’ve slipped
into that month’s column – the editor probably
won’t notice. I do believe I’ll take the duct tape
off now, though; that stuff tends to shed adhesive if left on too long.
My intentions for next month’s column involve
replacing flimsy ‘spring clamp’ speaker output
terminals on an amp with so-called ‘five-way
binding posts’ (haven’t figured out what the 5
ways are), and replacing the power cord. The
connector change seems to be universally approved of, but the details of the power cord
replacement are contentious. I have done
some research and arrived at an appropriate
marginally competent conclusion.
Check back.
Bob
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From the Pulpit: The Ramblings of a (not
self) Proclaimed Audio Preacher
By Stew Nelless, resident preacher
Thus far, I’ve covered
a couple of things on
my list of primary topics: audio “truths”,
and purchasing
audio and the importance of dealers and
the service they provide.
This time around, the
sermon begins with a
discussion around
what constitutes my
“reference” system(s)
and my attempts (so
far) to put together a
group of well known
and well-respected
components that will
serve as the basis for further reviews of equipment
and comparisons to others, all of them actually purchased for the prices indicated with sources listed. I
have done a few DIY “mods” to a couple of pieces,
but nothing that even the most technically challenged
couldn’t do (including myself). But I am no tech. No
“hidden” or “special deals” are contained in any of the
list. All reviews of new equipment must be cleared
through our publisher as a matter of policy and with
the hope of unweighted objectivity (but hey this stuff
is emotional, so almost all objectivity is lost anyway).
The Primary system:
-McCormack 0.5 DNA deLuxe/Micro-line Drive amp/
pre-amp combo Cdn $1500 used for the pair including a short length (.5 metre) of Audioquest “Quartz”
interconnects (private purchase from the original
owner ,an acquaintance , at fair market value I think
–thanks Bob)
-PS Audio lll phono stage , Cdn $115 including shipping, from eBay.
-Oracle Alex Mkll turntable/SME 309 tone arm (newest series, with magnesium arm tube) /Grado Signature 8 cartridge. Stock Van den Hul D-102 hybrid interconnects, Cdn $900/ $2550/ $150, from new dealers , turntable used, others new
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-Pioneer “Elite” PD54 cd player (stable platter), Cdn
$800, new from a local retailer
-Castle Durham 900 loudspeakers, Cdn $700 new
from a local retailer
-Audioquest Ruby Interconnects/Type 4 speaker
cable/Indigo speaker cable/ XLO “green” AC cable/ Tiff”purple” AC cable (all bought used, I think
ca. Cdn $300 for it all)
-Target Delta 5 welded equipment rack and Target medium mass 24" speaker stands purchsed
new for ca Cdn $700 (from memory).
I really like this system. I don’t feel the need to
upgrade, although I know there is lots better out
there, but it seems “right” to me. Ok, maybe a
little light in the bass, but it’s in the living room, so
SOAF (the politically correct Significant Other
Acceptance Factor) rules are in affect. The cd
player is a little long in the tooth, but I still like the
sounds that come out of it. Total = Cdn $7715. At
today’s exchange rates that’s about USD $6600
The Audio Den system:
-Realistic STA 72 receiver (12 watts, early 70's) $7
Cdn at a local thrift store
-JE Labs open baffles/Oxford 12J4s musical instrument wide rangers --free, Vifa tweeters and 2 way xovers salvaged, $35 Cdn for plywood
-Sony CDP990 cd player $45 Cdn (I over-paid) at a
pawn shop
-modified Sony PS1 used as a cd player, $15 Cdn at
a pawn shop
-DIY Sugden Connoisseur BD1 turntable/$2.19 DIY
tone arm/ Grado Signature 8 (about $65 )
-Cat 5 “speaker” cable (100' for $10 Cdn at Princess
Auto–is Marine Hardware similar in the U.S.?), Monster Cable “Interlink” 201 interconnects, Cdn $10/3m
pair X’s 3 (from Princess Auto)
I enjoy this system for a lot of different reasons but
the stand out “thing” this system has going for it is
how good it sounds for so little money. It moves.
Everybody who’s heard it loves it. Complete freedom
from any “boxy” sound, UGLY, and in it’s “minimum
form” (no turntable) costs something in the order of
Cdn $100 or so (USD $85). Everything downstairs is
USD $170
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A bunch of other stuff:
Almost all of this stuff was purchased used or free.
The exceptions are the Castle speakers, the SME
-Nakamichi SR2A Stasis Receiver (late 1980's), bet- tone arm, one of the Grado cartridges and the Pioter than I remember them being, $50 USD off of ebay, neer cd player.
just a few weeks ago (I sold ‘em when they were
new)
-Yamaha B2 120 watt V-FET power amp with potted
Alps attenuators (so line inputs can be “direct conThe ultra-cool-Friday-night-Blues Party system:
nected”), a great “accidental find” at $43 USD from a
local pawn shop
SE 6BM8 based (3 watt) Philips console. Philips full
-QED PCC Alps “BLUE” 50k attenuator based pasrange Alnico drivers, turn table, am/fm stereo resive (control centre) pre-amp (bought for less than
ceiver, all in a beautiful cherry console– Cdn $17 at a
$8.50 USD new from a store that had it in their “junk
yard sale (with an Everly Brothers album in good
bin”)
condition). Great to listen to CKUA’s “Friday Night
-Dynaco A25 loudspeakers (2 pairs) ,average price
Blues Party”. If you don’t know about CKUA, check
$8.50 USD a pair from a local thrift store
them out, a great station available on the web but
-Musical Fidelity MC 2 loudspeakers, free , 1 bad
available here via a local repeater. (www.ckua.org)
woofer was replaced with an OEM Mission one I had
salvaged
-various tuners (5 of them, mostly $8 USD buys from Regarding a “reference” system, it really is what you
use as your reference. Not some contrived, “this is
local pawn shops)
-Sansui Z9000X (120 wpc, rms) early 1980's receiver what I listen to regularly and you can’t afford it” group
(can you say lights per square inch?), free from a lo- of components.
Whether live music, long play records, cd or radio
cal shop that was closing. It needed an alignment. I
-based listening, you be the judge. Trust yourself. If
got the factory service manual and did it myself–no
at all critical, you’ll find your own language and despecial equipment required for this one
scriptors, and identify your listening biases (hopefully
-Technics M26 cassette deck USD $5 from a thrift
w/o too many expensive mistakes). That’s why restore
views and pages such as those found here at Afford-Yamaha K600 cassette deck USD $11 from a thrift
able$$Audio are important. They can provide you
store
with a short list to audition.
-Sony KC51 cassette deck USD $6.50 from a thrift
store
-ecc82 (6MB8) tube-based Spartan Radio of Canada Not everybody is Harry Pearson (publisher extraordi“console” receiver (trying to get it up and running or
naire of The Absolute Sound). He and others such
modify it into a super triode connection 3 watter),
as J Gordon Holt ( Stereophile), Ernie Dudley (now
free
of Stereophile) and the late, great, Wilmer Furman,
of Listener Magazine (has it really been nearly 5
total for this stuff USD $140
years? Will there ever be a return of the bunnies?),
Robert Hartley (TAS, and Stereophile), Dick Olsher
stuff on the back burner (not dead, just no rush):
(Stereophile and ), Steven R.Rochlin ( Doug
Schneider ( ) and of course Dr. Harvey “Gizmo” Ro-DIY Garrard Lab 80- based turntable
senberg himself (formerly of Listener and who unfor-Gainclone “chip”amp
tunately has left the planet way too soon) have
-digital “T” amp (not sure if I start w/ a commercial
helped to create an awareness of good and possibly
product or start with a kit)
the best components available, and comparisons to
-Headphone amp project (see www.headwize.org
each of their references. An invaluable resource and
and www.headfi.org ) phono stage project
Without these people we would all be poorer intellecRCA #59 table top radio, 1941-52 (?). Thanks Kathy. tually regarding equipment and system interactions,
and, and . . . but not everybody has access or can
afford many of the components reviewed. (How
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many are actually purchased “anonymously” by the
reviewer, prior to a review? This is not condemnation of any reviewers out there. Just an openended question I leave to hang out there.). The
list could go on forever. Sorry to all who I haven’t included, it’s not that you haven’t contributed, but I gotta stop somewhere (and these are
“off the top of my head”). No disrespect intended
And manufacturers from today and the past that
have done things fundamentally right and
moved us a long way down the path of reproduction of the arts in our homes: Paul Klipsch,
Henry Kloss, Edgar Vilchur, James B. Lansing,
HH Scott, Avery Fisher, and Paul Walker, to
name but a few (Mark Levinson, Nelson Pass,
John Curl, Dennis Had, David Manley, Richard Vandersteen, Paul S. Barton, Floyd Toole, Steve
McCormack. George Merrill, Julian Vereker (RIP),
Peter Qvortrup, Roy Gandy and Jim Winey are a few
of the more modern ones). Again, sorry to those not
mentioned. Without creative, passionate people in
this industry we’d all be listening to (bad) transistor
pocket radios, or worse yet ipods :-(
Oh yea, here’s a sketch of my living room. The
I’ve begun to put together a few systems so that I
can better test a component insitu with components of similar quality and age, and certainly not
because I have a bunch of money lying around.
Look at the list. No “secret back room deals” or
“pppsssst, hey buddy” deals. All have been purchased either new from a dealer, used from a
dealer , free because they’re junk or no one
wanted to bother with them, gifted items (thanks
Dan for the Oxfords and Amanda for the Hitachi
tuner), from local thrift stores, pawn shops or eBay. It
can be done. All of this has been purchased over a
10 to 15 year time span. Please comment if you
wish, but this is the truth. There is no gain to be had
by “faking” these purchases. This is REAL :-). Add it
all up, and I’ve got about USD $6930 into everything.
Remember, $6600 of that is in the living room. And
it's been about a 15 year event to get here (and a
really patient wife, thanks Laura).
“archways in it, and is concrete with 18” high windows
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“Audio Den” is exactly the same except:
The back wall (behind the chair) has three 2.5 ft
Until next time, go listen to whatever you use as
your reference and enjoy (‘cause that’s what this
hobby is about anyway). Have good music on just
doing your normal everyday stuff, go listen to some
live music. Spend some time with your kids, SO, pets
friends and family, (because this is what is REALLY
important). Remember that we mark our lives by the
music we listen to, not the equipment.
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About Affordable$$Audio:
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time with his lovely wife, Michelle, three kids, two dogs,
and one cat. Anybody need an extra cat?
Is a privately held venture, published via the Internet,
the content is delivered free of charge to readers.
Matt Poisson, Born Jan 4th 1983 in a small town in OnCreated using Apple Computer’s Pages software
program and translated into .pdf document format.
Writing Opportunities:
If you have an interest in audio equipment, especially
quality affordable or vintage gear, please contact the
publisher for guidelines. Specific areas of interest
being looked for are vintage wood-sided equipment
and tube fanatics.
Advertising:
Retail shops dealing in both new and used audio
equipment are highly encouraged to advertise as this
e-zine was created specifically to support your business. For rates please contact the publisher at:
[email protected].
Affordable$$Audio: is now accepting manufacturers
advertising. You’ll find our monthly rates very appealing. Please contact the publisher for an advertising packet.
[email protected].
Copyright Notice
All articles are the property of Affordable$$Audio.
Manufacturers need only to ask permission to reprint
or post a link to the web page.
tario Canada. I was a peculiar child, taking into consideration my favorite toys to play with were extension cords of
all lengths.
Stew Nelless, Currently reside in southern Alberta (Canada) about 150 miles south east of Calgary. I'm in my
early 40's , 2 grown kids, been with the same girl for 25
years. One thing I have impressed upon my kids is that
music is important in life and we often mark our lives by
the music we hear along the way.
Clarke Robinson is a 37 year old Web Designer from the
San Francisco Bay Area. He wastes countless hours of
his life listening to jazz on headphones, at times long after
his wife and two daughters have gone to bed.
Michael Jarve, 24 years old, and lives in the heart of
Minnesota’s Iron Range. In life is an ISP network technician and overall computer geek, when not trying to tweak
or restore gear. He dreams in shades of h/k, Kenwood,
and Altec.
Affordable$$Audio Review Calendar Index:
Issue 1, January 2006
Adcom GFA 535 Amplifier
Linn Keilidhs Speakers
Outlaw RR2150 Receiver
Polk Audio LSi9 Speakers
Totem Dreamcatcher Speakers
Issue 2, February 2006
Staff Biographies:
Mark Marcantonio- Editor, Owner, Publisher
Is a school teacher in the Portland, Oregon metro area.
Audio has been a fascination/budget drain since his early
teenage years.
Steve Eddy, 57, is a longtime journalist and jazz writer
currently doing freelance writing. He lives in Southern
California with his wife, Diana, and
son, Brian.
Advent Baby II Speakers
Audiolab 8000A Integrated Amplifier
ElectriPrint 300DRD Amplifier
Energy Connoisseur C-9 Speakers
Infinity Kappa 200 Speakers
Nakamichi SR4A Receiver
Paradigm Titan V Speakers
Issue 3, March 2006
GR Research AV-1 Speakers
HSU STF-2 Subwoofer
Bob LombardWas a field service technician/manual writer for a machine Marantz CD-5000
Sansui TU-7900
tool company. Now retired, tripping along through The
Golden Years.
Issue 4, April 2006
John Hoffman, Resides in the sunny Tri Cities of
Washington state. Enjoys spending his
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Alegria Audio Rosa Speakers
QSC PLX-2402 Amplifier
Totem Acoustic MITES Speakers
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