Home  High-End Audio Reviews  Audiophile Show Reports Partner Mags  Hi-Fi / Music News

  High-End High-Performance Audiophile Review Magazine & Hi-Fi Audio Equipment Reviews

  High-Performance Audio Reviews
  Music News, Show Reports, And More!

  Celebrating 29 Years Of Service To Music Lovers

 

Enjoy the Music.com
HIFICRITIC
Volume 11 No. 3
July / August / September 2017

A Special Focus On Loudspeakers And Their Design
Editorial By Paul Messenger

 

HIFICRITIC Volume 11 Number 3 July / August / September 2017

 

  In his column that starts on the next page, Stan Curtis begins by discussing the crucial importance of bass extension in defining the whole business of high fidelity. He goes on to describe his own experiments, mainly with very large horn and panel constructions, and I must admit I had a very good – albeit rather too brief – time with the enormous Tannoy Kingdom Royals not long ago, which turned out to have a beautifully even bass delivery, albeit from a large port-loaded drive unit. But maybe I should be adding a codicil of a more practical nature.

For example, I've rather enjoyed using the tiny little cast-iron JERN speakers, alongside active REL T/5i subwoofers, as a refreshingly compact alternative to the much larger floorstanders that normally occupy my room. The sat/sub combo might not have delivered superior performance, but it didn't fall far short, and the end result was definitely a lot more lounge-friendly. Indeed, the JERN inventor recently showed me a circular ‘on wall' prototype, again made from cast iron and only 2-3in deep, that I'm looking forward to trying as an even more discreet and lounge-friendly package....

My more recent experiences with the single-driver Pearl Acoustics Sibelius speaker (see Subjective Sounds) do rather make me question whether deep bass (which of course they don't have) is actually necessary. But going back to a system with plenty of extension does deliver something that is normally considered ‘hi-fi', whether justified or not.

 

HIFICRITIC Volume 11 Number 3 July / August / September 2017

 

The very fact that I've spent two full months enjoying a pair of Sibelius' must say something about the inherent direct-coupled appeal of the single-driver approach, despite its restricted bandwidth. There's certainly a bit of extra magic with such an approach, especially in the midband, but reverting to the full range B&W 800D3s made me realise that this is really a ‘six of one' situation. Indeed, I'd go so far as to describe the Sibelius speaker as equally valid in its own way, even though it obviously takes a very different – and in some ways a more mature – approach to high fidelity.

The single-driver performance is certainly rather different from the far more widespread ‘speakers with bass' approach. After the last couple of months experience I've come to the conclusion that it's not only entirely valid, but actually a superior approach, inasmuch as one is unlikely to choose this particular route until multi-way loudspeakers have been tried.

However, the bottom line for those seeking serious bass extension has be a multi-way approach, either with a large passive speaker (such as the B&W 800D3 or Tannoy Kingdom Royal), or by using a part-active speaker system, such as the JERN + REL subwoofer (or two).

Alternatively I've recently been experimenting with some Hart Audio speakers which have built-in bass amplification and lots of little LF speakers firing out of the back. This arrangement seems to work quite well, delivering deep bass from a relatively compact Tannoy DC-based stand-mount. Indeed, the only obvious drawback is the need to add mains power!

 

– Paul Messenger
Editor

 

Subscribe!

Click here to subscribe to HIFICRITIC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

Premium Audio Review Magazine
High-End Audiophile Equipment Reviews

 

Equipment Review Archives
Turntables, Cartridges, Etc
Digital Source
Do It Yourself (DIY)
Preamplifiers
Amplifiers
Cables, Wires, Etc
Loudspeakers/ Monitors
Headphones, IEMs, Tweaks, Etc
Superior Audio Gear Reviews


Show Reports
Capital Audiofest 2024
Toronto Audiofest 2024
UK Audio Show 2024
Pacific Audio Fest 2024
HIGH END Munich 2024
AXPONA 2024 Show Report
Montreal Audiofest 2024 Report

Southwest Audio Fest 2024
Florida Intl. Audio Expo 2024
...More Show Reports

 

Videos
Our Featured Videos


Industry & Music News

High-End Audio & Music News

 

Partner Print Magazines
audioXpress
hi-fi+ Magazine
Sound Practices
VALVE Magazine

 

For The Press & Industry
About Us
Press Releases
Official Site Graphics

 

   

 

Home  |  High-End Audio Reviews  |  Audiophile Show Reports  Hi-Fi / Music News  About Us  |  Contact Us

 

 

All contents copyright©  1995 - 2024  Enjoy the Music.com®
May not be copied or reproduced without permission.  All rights reserved.