HIFI 98 Coverage: Speakers
Egglestonworks
Before you even listen to the Egglestonworks $100,000 dollar speakers you are struck by the magnificence of the highly polished Black Italian granite enclosures. This latest model doesn't yet have a model number, but a speaker with two tweeters and nine woofers (that's right, nine woofers) is so impressive it almost doesn't need a name.
Egglestonworks utilizes a compound tweeter and woofer design to increase power handling, creating a more open sound. The two tweeters are stacked on top of each other and placed inside the enclosure. While you only see one tweeter (the other one is hidden behind it) the tweeter package alone is a whopping 7.5 pounds.The woofers are configured in a similar manner, yet instead of being stacked on top of each other, they are placed back to front inside the enclosure. In the case of this model, there are nine woofers, therefore only three are visible to the naked eye. The third woofer in each plane is vented toward the back. Put Egglestons' new speakers on your list when considering Wilson Grand SLAMMs and Martin Logan Statements. They are that good.
B&W
Five years in the making, the B&W's Nautilus 800 Series is ready to ship in July. The 801($11,000 a pair) is a three-way vented system that sports a uniquely designed curved wood enclosure, formed by molding twenty-four layers of birch wood laminates. It houses a 15-inch driver with a 4-inch voice coil. The FlowPort (TM) venting system flares on both interior and exterior openings. The woven-Kevlar midrange and treble drivers are housed in separate enclosures as is the crossover. The high frequency driver used throughout the line, is a 1-inch aluminum dome tweeter that promises lower distortion and higher power handling.
The other contenders in B&W's high end line up include the Nautilus 802 ($8,000 a pair), 803 ($5,000 a pair) and 804 ($3,500 a pair). The 802 has smaller diameter woofers, for a narrower and shallower enclosure. The slimmer 803 employs dual 7-inch woofers with the same midrange and tweeter transducers found in the 801 and 802. The 804 is the smallest floor-standing speaker in the line and the 805 is a bookshelf design that can be used for center and surrounds in a home theater environment.
Atlantic Technology
Atlantic Technology compared their well-established System 450THX ($4,800) home theater speaker system with their newer, low-cost system the System 270 ($2,400). All of the speakers are smaller and require stands, unlike the 450 THX which supplies four floor-standing speakers for the mains and surrounds. Both systems include a powered subwoofer in addition to the five speakers.
The 270 system's smaller profile makes it easier for more consumers to get excited about a multi-speaker system. A justifiable interest considering how impressive the film Air Force One sounded on such a small and low priced system.
Christopher Hansen, Martin Logan, VTL, Cardas, Wadia and Z-Systems
Winner: Best Sound of the Show
LA audio icon, Christopher Hansen was responsible for two outstanding demonstrations. Their largest room concentrated on the ultimate two-channel sound system featuring Martin Logan's Statement II loudspeakers, 6 VTL Wotan amplifiers plus a Wadia front end. Christopher Hansen used the new 6 channel Z-Systems EQ configured as an 18 band, 2 channel EQ plus their room was professionally analyzed, treated and EQed by studio designer, Bob Hodas. Their room was highly stylized as was their presentation featuring glossy photos of the equipment being used, lush plants and dim halogen lights. It was clear from the moment you walked in you were going to experience something special.
The $70,000 Statement loudspeakers consist of the two parts: the electrostatic dipole and the sub woofer towers. The VTL mono block Wotan M-1250 Signature ($27,500 a pair) amps delivered an awesome 600 watts per channel (triode mode) to the dipole towers and 1250 watts to the woofers. The Wadia 270 CD transport ($7,950) was coupled with the Wadia 27 Decoding Computer ($8,950) to fed a direct signal to the VTL amps without any preamplifier. The only other electronics came from Z-Systems (RDQ6) for fine tuning, room equalization and volume control. The imaging was to die for and the bass was amazing. Even with $100,000 speakers next door and $100,000 plus music systems all around, it can safely be said this room took the prize.
Wilson, Runco, Krell, Transparent and LA Audio Video
Los Angeles Koreatown A/V heavy hitters LA Audio Video teamed up with some serious power players to help Wilson launch the MAXX loudspeaker system. Priced around $40,000, MAXXs look and sound like a smaller version of Wilson's high dollar Grand SLAMM system. It shouldn't be shocking that with Cheryl and Dave Wilson being exotic car enthusiasts that they showed speakers ranging in finish from BMW Green to Ferrari Fly Yellow.
You could tell the MAXX loudspeakers are awesome. Unfortunately, the Xcess woofers were subject to boomyness in many parts of the room. The video demo of the system featured a Runco 961 and Faroudja VP-401, Krell electronics and Transparent Cables. Wilson showed an impressive video clip on these speakers, a video clip that they intend to stream on to the internet in coming weeks.
Revel
The Revel speaker line is designed to get great sound in the home, not just the lab. Their theater system consisted of five amazingly finished, small speakers called Gems and a powered subwoofer featuring a separate 1200-watt amplifier that is capable of reproducing frequencies as low as a sizemicly active 16 Hz. Mark Levinson 33H amplification was used to deliver 150 watts to the front L/C/R and 300 watts per channel into the rears. Aesthetically, the Revel speakers are striking in their bold and high tech styling. The word is, the same industrial design firm that came up with the Mark Levinson amplifier's look also designed the Revels. With a quick listen, I found the system to perform quite well, producing sharp imaging and amazing dynamics.
Sonicweld
For $29,700 a pair including subwoofers you can have loudspeakers cut from a solid block of aluminum. The one-piece machined aluminum used to create a Sonicweld loudspeaker is completely and certainly inert. The crossover has no reactive parts in the signal path to prevent audible anomalies. The Sonicweld speaker is a dipole design to minimize loudspeaker-room interference, allowing the drivers to operate in an environment free from cavity resonances. Despite their claims of sonic perfection, a working prototype was unavailable during the press preview days.
Paradigm Reference
Paradigm, a leader in high performance - high value loudspeakers, flexed their home theater muscle at Hi-Fi 98 by demoing their active theater speaker system. Active speakers are all the rage in pro audio applications because they represent a more direct, compact and economical way to reproduce sound. The complete Paradigm system shown was priced at a little more than $7000 and comes with everything from cables to stands to a stunning finish.
Christian
Originally designed for professional use, The Studio ($7,000) loudspeakers from Vince Christian Ltd. are equally at home in the smaller, more intimate listening room. The enclosure is made out of a medium density fiberboard material and is internally braced. The maximum driver diameter is five inches allowing for the speaker's unusually narrow 6.75-inch width. The speakers will be available later this summer.
Meadowlark Audio
Taking a rather spiritual approach to speaker design, Meadowlark Audio delivers the Kestral, Petrel, Shearwater and Blue Heron loudspeakers. The phase aligned, first order design is basic to each model, yet each offers its own unique characteristics. The 2-way Shearwater ($2,500), was the only model on display and even with the two-way design, the 7-inch carbon fiber woofer delivered impressive bass response. Their literature indicates the bass line transmission is only down 3 dB at 35 Hz.
Monitor Audio
Canadian speaker manufacturer Monitor Audio introduced the Studio 60 loudspeaker, the company's new flagship product. The speaker ranges from $10,000 to $12,000 depending on the finish, the most expensive being the piano rosewood. It delivers extraordinary bass with out a subwoofer, due to its dual woofer design. The most remarkable feature is its extraordinary presence and imaging which easily noticeable in a brief demonstration.
NHT
NHT displayed the brand new SuperTwo ($750 a pair) tower loudspeaker, featuring a vented, 6.5-inch down firing, long throw subwoofer that delivers bass down to 35 Hz. The SuperTwo includes the same tweeter and midrange drivers found in NHT's SuperOne. The down firing sub and narrow baffle allow the SuperTwo to be placed next to big-screen TV's or wall units without degradation of bass response. SuperTwos are tonally matched to SuperOnes so you can easily mix the two speakers into a home theater. The speaker will be available in July.
NXT
NXT showed working prototypes of their flat panel speaker designs. Fundamentally different from conventional speaker designs, NXT's operating principle relies on complex vibrations in panels, rather than pistonic motion of a diaphragm. Unlike the conventional speaker, NXT exhibits a number of properties such as flat power response, wide and uniform directivity with frequency, resistive impedance response and a diffuse-field radiation. Uniform power response distributes energy evenly. Wide directivity provides uniform tonal balance and its inherent diffussness makes reflected sound less destructive. NXT's flat panel speaker design can be incorporated anywhere speakers are used, home theaters, cars, computers and phones. NXT is a radical technology that The Revolution intends keep a close eye on.
Pioneer
Pioneer unveiled their Elite Reference Speaker System ($4,500) which is styled to integrate and complement the Elite product line of components and large screen TV's. Heading the design team was Andrew Jones who has had years of experience in speaker design with both KEF and Infinity.
The main feature of the system is its installation flexibility due to the Iso Radiant Imaging System (I.R.I.S.). It is a compound drive unit with the tweeter in the center and the midrange radiating around the tweeter. The I.R.I.S. can be rotated preventing the need to toe in the entire speaker cabinet. Separated from the tweeter and midrange is a 6.5 inch midrange driver and a down firing 12" inch woofer with a 300 watt amp. The center channel is small and curved to attractively sit upon an Elite large screen TV. It includes the same midrange and tweeter used in the main speakers. The rear speakers have controlled directivity as the tweeter can be rotated for pinpoint localization or greater diffussness.
Large Scale A/V Demos A/V Products Video Speakers
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