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M O D A U D I O V I D E O M A G A Z I N E

S V SS u b t e r r a n e a nS p e c i e s

I s s ue

El e v e n

This issue marks a turning point for MOD Audio Video. Since our first issue in February 2009 when we launch this electronic magazine, we have always wanted to try something new, something revolutionary instead of grinding on the same old way. Print magazines may still be in existence but for how much longer? The success of the iPAD and many other eBook devices only serves to hasten that day. I look forward to the day when our children just need to haul a one kg eBook device like the iPAD to school instead of physical books that exceeds the baggage allowance for air travel.

These devices not only enable our readers to download eZines to read on the go but also to surf and read on the go. One of the key aspect is ‘search’ – to ease the ability of finding the information you want, when you want. Another is speed – how soon we can bring the information to you. An eZine harks of a crossover from printed magazines and the paperless digital age. It has limitations as far as search and definitely in terms of speed, even if it leaves print magazines in the dust, it’s time to move on.

But this eZine will not fade away, it would morph into something useful – it will become specialty editions to cover specific topics. Like a Buyer’s Guide of sort.

We have some surprises coming up for you in our revamped site www.mod-avi.com, we are working real hard to make it work as planned and we won’t launch till it works. Once it’s done, we will announce through our newsletter. Oh, you’ll receive a lot more of that too from this point on!

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Contents

Ecler

Professional Audio Products

At the recent Professional Audio and Video show at The Marina Bay Sands Convention Center, Wo Kee Hong Distribution Pte Ltd showcase their range of Ecler professional audio products. The highlights of this range of products from Spain:

BET Acoustics MASS 1015 Modular ‘array’ series loudspeakers full range loudspeaker – with built in 15-inch subwoofer, there is no need to add extra subwoofer. Comes in flightcase for portability, ease of rigging, storage and transport.

Right - Ecler pKUB compact amplifier Class D compact amplifiers – easy to use with microphone input 2 x 50 watts rms Below - NZA Network amplifier Ideal for using wifi network for audio distribution, the NZA series amplifiers are suited to installations where running cables are either too expensive or for non permanent installations.

Bottom right - COMPACT series mixers 19-inch rack mountable, compact mixers for users that needs multiple microphone inputs.

InCeiling speakers Kevlar cones for excellent sound quality, these in-ceiling speakers feature high powered neodymium magnets.

AUDEO series loudspeakers designed by Giugiaro Design - Suitable for stylish interiors of commercial and residential alike – for wall or ceiling mount, the AUDEO series loudspeakers are available in 3 ½ inch, 6 ½ inch and 8 inch.

Cl i c ko nl o g of o rs l i d es h o w

Yamaha makes some of the most advanced AV receivers money can buy and for 2010 we have 4 new models in the entry level series to thank for – loads of advance features we used to get only in midrange receivers not too long ago (and high end receivers before that). And Yamaha receivers are designed for ease of use – one touch source selection for instance. If your receiver is more than 2 years old, you might like to take a look at some of these brand new 2010 Yamaha AV receivers – all with 3D capabilities. At a price that would put a smile on your face!

First HDMI 1.4 is now the connectivity interface to go for. The four new models – RX-V467, RX-V567, RX-V667 and RX-V767 are all HDMI 1.4 compliant. The latter two models even offer HDMI Audio Return Channel. What's that for? Without Audio Return, should you watch free to air HDTV broadcast, you would need an additional cable – a toslink cable for instance – to send the audio signal back to the AV receiver. With Audio Return, both the Audio and Video signal can be sent via the same HDMI cable. You save money on an extra cable and simplify the connections.

Yamaha RX-V667

Now that homes are getting smaller, everything has to shrink to fit! More so with speakers. Big box speakers sound fantastic but if your room is too small, they won't perform as well. Boxy and boomy are not considered good sound! Enter compact speakers from Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS system – good looks and good sound with a small and compact footprint. Wall mount them if you want to as wall brackets come with the package!

The satellites are not full range drivers but a real 2-way design – how does Boston do it? Simple – taking a cue from Boston's range of in-car speakers, we have coaxial speakers!

A half-inch tweeter with a 2.5-inch midwoofer. Nice gold plated screw type binding posts are used instead of crappy spring loaded terminals make for a secure connection. The active subwoofer though just an 8-inch design with a 100 watt amplifier, Boston engineers have developed a proprietary 'BassTrac®‘ circuitry to enable the subwoofer perform better than any 8-inch subwoofer should!

The SoundWare XS 5.1 home cinema speaker system is available in black or white finish.

Boston Acoustics Soundware XS5.1

Isolation platforms are the best value for money audio accessory money can buy! Why? Think about it, you can change your CD or SACD player over and over but if you invest in one good isolation platform, it will last you a lifetime of upgrades. And not to mention, it makes everything you place on it sounds quieter with less noise, less interference and brings out the best of any component.

Silent Running Audio (SRA) isolation platforms are proven – for many years, in hifi shows like the CES, numerous manufacturers used SRA to demonstrate their equipment. SRA is the expert when it comes to equipment isolation, the years of research enables SRA to build a cost effective product that stands the test of time.

Whether it is a platform for your CD player or preamp, or a complete equipment rack, SRA makes some of the best in the business.

Silent Running Audio

Founded by David Belles, that’s where the name come from, he has been slaving for some thirty years making some of the best ‘old school’ amplifiers – no multi-layered and surface mount circuit boards, all discrete parts, no integrated circuits (op-amps), all analogue design and definitely Made in the US of A. Old school has its benefits – servicing these amplifiers is a snip – try comparing that with any ‘modern’ amplifiers using surface mount, multi-layered circuit boards? I seriously doubt any manufacturers using multi-layered surface mount circuit board designs are able to service any product within a couple of years after they discontinue the product. There are many audio enthusiasts who said modern amplifier designs somehow never sounded as good as it used to, I think we know where the blame lies!

For S$3900, you get an all discrete design, all American made amplifier with 125 watts rms per channel into 8 ohms and 250 watts rms per channel into 4 ohms, a whooping peak current delivery of 30 amperes, line only ‘pure performance’ integrated amplifier. It runs on Class AB which means not too hot though the massive heat sinks on the sides of the amplifier means thermal stability figures very much in David Belles designs. The amplifier is not DC coupled that explains the extremely wide bandwidth of 1 Hz to 70,000 Hz and a damping factor of 2000, the Soloist 1 promises amazing headroom and dynamics with sweetness and purity of sound.

Belles Soloist Integrated

After the successful launch of its Zii wireless loudspeakers, obviously there are many possible applications of wireless technology – outdoor speakers for instance. The new Creative Sound Blaster wireless rock speakers can be left to the elements – it can withstand rain for instance. Shape like a granite rock, the speaker is both discrete and complements outdoor gardens and patios. These speakers run on removable rechargeable batteries – a full charge will play continuously for 6 hours! The battery can be charged indoors and a charger is included. A USB transmitter connected to a desktop or laptop computer will stream the audio signal without the need for network configuration.

The Wireless Rock loudspeaker sells for $299 each. Available where Creative products are sold and also online at sg.store.creative.com

Pioneer’s entry range of AV Receivers are now 3D ready!

Equipped with HDMI latest version 1.4, the key aspect of the 2010 series is seamless digital connectivity – iPOD, iPhone and internet radio. iPhone/iPOD Touch users are provided with an app - iControl – which enables their iPhone/iPOD Touch to act as a remote control and control many of the functions of this receiver! Fully compatible with all HD sources, the VSX-1020 even offers analogue video conversion to full digital HDMI output so your older Component/SVideo/Composite Video sources can be scaled to full HD and output through HDMI. The Pioneer VSX-1020-K is now available through Pioneer authorized dealers.

Creative Wireless ‘Rock’ loudspeaker

Pioneer VSX-1020-K

Audiodesksysteme Ultrasonic Record Cleaner We started cleaning records with spray on fluids, roller pads, Discwasher brush pad, gooey wipe on-dry-peel off, the crappy Vac ‘o Rac, buffer pads of all kinds which are available back in the last century and some of which is still available today. Most of them don’t work as well as they claim and until the arrival of the Keith Monks record cleaner, a clean record is an illusion.

An effective cleaning cycle involves a process where the record is given a thorough scrub aided by a cleaning fluid with some kind of detergents to remove even the most caked on dirt. Then the fluid needs to be thoroughly removed leaving a clean, dry record. That’s the principle behind many commercial cleaners (the aforementioned Keith Monks and its derivatives, the VPI, Nitty Gritty, etc…) available today.

There is a new cleaner in town – one that uses ultrasonic waves to dislodge the dirt from the grooves. Using pure distilled water as the cleaning fluid, it dispenses for the need for detergents – instead it uses a combination of scrubbing action and ultrasonic waves in the fluid.

The Audiodesksysteme Record Cleaner is now available for $2999 and is a state-of-theart cleaner from Germany. The cleaner is very

compact compared to those mention earlier as it dispenses for the need to have a full sized platter. The cleaning fluid is poured into a well, the record to be cleaned is placed vertically (instead of flat down) between four microfiber scrubbing rollers. When the machined is turned on, the cleaning fluid is automatically applied to its playing surface while the record is gently rotated. The scrubbing rollers together with the ultrasonic waves in the fluid, gently removes dirt and grime.

How does the ultrasonic waves work?

Ultrasonic is sound generated above the human audible level.

“A physical effect called "cavitation" results from the generation of ultrasonic frequencies in a liquid. In this cavitation process ultrasonic "compression waves" are created by an ultrasonic transducer. When the amplitude of this soundwave increases to a level where the surface tension of the liquid is broken, the fluid will "tear" apart leaving behind millions of microscopic vacuum bubbles. These vacuum bubbles then rapidly compress or implode creating millions of tiny liquid jets small enough to clean inside the smallest grooves of an LP. This process, also called "microagitation," displaces any contaminants on the surface of the LP.”

Affordable 1080P Projector?

d e fi e! i t r alu e C tV s e B

Vivitek H1080FD! If you are serious about Home Cinema, you would choose a projector based system over any LCD or Plasma TV. Watching ‘Cars’ on a 150-inch anamorphic screen is an entirely different experience. And thanks to the competitive nature of projector business, you can have one of the most affordable Full HD 1080P projectors around - the Vivitek H1080FD DLP projector.

Vivitek is a Taiwan based company which designs and manufactures for many other brands. Vivitek also offers its own lineup of projectors for data and home cinema applications, and the H1080FD, though an entry level model at S$2388, it has Texas Instruments DarkChip2 with Brilliant Colour DLP processor while comparable projectors may only offer the aging DarkChip DLP processor. Hence the H1080FD offers superior colour, contrast and image quality. Oh did I mention about the low fan noise of 26dB from this unit?

Price vs performance, the H1080FD got the competition beaten hands down! These projectors are getting so good for the price, you might just be tempted to go for a first class sound system and screen instead of the usual case where the projector would soak up a sizeable chunk of your Home Cinema budget!

s e ri 52

seZ-W2

W W N y ® n n o ma

S alk W

Cool ‘n Comfy

I have not been playing with MP3 players for a while, I suppose that if I need music away from the car, I have my trusty Samsung Omnia. Yes, I know, should have got an iPhone but I got my Omnia before Starhub got the iPhone – so there!

So when Sony introduces another Walkman® MP3 player, I say, Thank You but I don’t need to carry another device with me. However my opinions were drastically swayed the moment I laid eyes on it. It was, literally, nothing like I’ve seen before. The new NWZW252 (why does all these guys need such long names – iPhone, iPOD sounds great!) was a, erm... an ear opener.

All right, first off, this little thing sounds good but we would all expect that from Sony won’t we? No, what is amazing is its form factor – this player comes in the shape of a pair of earphones/headphones, or is it a pair of headphones with a built in MP3 player?

Most MP3 players are pretty decent sounding if not for the fact they come with a pair of pretty lame earpieces. If this Sony player is to succeed, then the earphones need to be both comfortable and great sounding.

And they are!

This thing looks cool! And comfy too! Your ear canals are probably not the same size as mine; so one-size in-ear fitting grommets are not going to make everyone happy. So for this Sony player, a kit comprising various sizes of ear seals allow the user to choose what suits his or her’s best. It is very lightweight at 43gms so they won’t function as training weights for your neck, but they are so well shaped that they really hang on to you unless you do somersaults as part of your gym routine. And though water resistant, don’t go swimming with it, please! It has seals to

keep water away from the electrical component so it would withstand a thunderstorm should you be caught in one. After a workout, the dirt and sweat can be rinsed off the player, so no sweat here. Pun intended. I suppose it is OK to shower with it? A-ha, world’s first shower proof MP3 player. (Disclaimer – Sony says you can rinse it, I suppose they don’t mean taking a shower with it, it may get shampoo into your ear drums!)

This W series Walkman® MP3 player should appeal to both guys and gals – you have a two vibrant colours – shocking pink and lime green, the other two not-so-vibrant colours - white or black. This new Walkman® W series features a 2 GB memory. Music transfers with the Walkman® W series is simple enough – I could easily transfer music files directly from Windows Explorer or iTunes® to the Walkman® with its simple drag-and-drop interface.

Ease of use for those on the go means that a unique music navigation interface for quick music browsing is a necessity. When the ZAPPINTM feature is activated, the main chorus of each song is played, allowing users to easily scan through their music library, whether on multiple playlists and folders, to find the song they want to hear. Convenience.

This guy pretty efficient when it comes to playback time. Remember, it comes with have a very small battery given its compact size. It provides a respectable 11 hours of playback time after a full charge of 90 minutes, or if you were in a hurry, a 3 minute Quick Charge function would allow for 90 minutes of playback; and dun, dun, dun…this small, unique mp3 comes with a suggested retail price of S$129!

Stark Naked in all its Aluminum glory YG Carmel

The triangular cross-sectional can be view from behind the speaker

YG Acoustics has a new compact and affordable floorstander loudspeaker, the Carmel. Fabricated from solid billets of ‘aircraft grade’ aluminum, the enclosure is structurally rigid and inert, to allow the drive units to sing its true voice, with no cabinet colouration. YG calls their cabinet construction ‘Focused Elimination’ anti-resonance technology, which ‘reduces mechanical losses and gives the benefits of a low turbulance of a sealed design and low friction of an open baffle loudspeaker.’

Though, affordable and YG should not be in the same sentence but with the quality of their speakers, it would suggest the Carmel is perhaps one of HiFi’s greatest bargain. You get the same highly modified drivers (Scanspeak Ring Radiator tweeter and Scanspeak Revelator midbass units) as used in the Anat Reference II, the CNC machined speaker enclosure, their unique DualCoherent crossover where YG optimizes both frequency and time coherency, all that in a small footprint that spells smallroom friendly and most important, easier on the pocket.

The Carmel shares the same sonic cloth as the Anat reference, albeit paring some of the deep bass extension of its larger brother. It is after all, designed for smaller rooms where the Anat Reference may be a little too intimidating. Standing stark naked in all its aluminum glory, at just over a metre tall, each speaker weighs some 30 Kg. The cabinet design departs somewhat from the Anat Reference – it has a triangular cross sectional shape – to reduce internal cabinet turbulence and standing waves.

The New Digital Media Center is the CD player?

With the Audiolab 8200CD – Yes! In the age of digital downloads, it’s a wonder if any music lover actually buys a CD player! Audiophiles will of course have their wonderful uber expensive SACD transports, D to A converter, clock and upsampler, the average Joe just wants his music simple and inexpensive – most likely an iPOD. Who needs a CD player?

The new Audiolab 8200CD is likely to raise the possibility that you might just go out and buy – another CD player!! Here’s why:

array of quad ESS Technology’s Sabre 32 Bit DAC. This DAC claims a signal to noise ratio of 135 dB, perhaps the highest ever in single chip type DAC (as compared to the gated array as used by the likes of dCS and Chord, and we know how much those cost!).

a)

b)

All new super advanced 32-Bit/84.672MHz oversample/upsample multibit DAC array (4 DACs per channel!)

The heart of any CD worth its weight is the DAC or Digital to Analogue converter. CD

is encoded in 16 Bit, digital media files up to 24 Bit. More bits improve the

response smoothness, resolution and dynamic range. The 8200CD uses an impressive

Result – It sounds better!

USB input with asynchronous

Many AV receivers are sprouting USB inputs. Great, so what’s the problem?

Having a USB input to accept digital signal from your computer or portable media player could mean more jitter. Jitter affects the ability of the DAC to convert the digital signal to an analogue signal thereby creating distortion in the

process. Typical USB inputs basically just allows the data to stream through. In contrast, the digital data stream in the 8200CD is controlled by the clock in the source component. What Audiolab does in the 8200CD is to run the signal asynchronous – the data is regulated by the master clock in the 8200CD and not the source. This reduces jitter considerably. The USB accepts all the way to 24 Bit/192 kHz to decode the newest studio master quality music downloads. You can hear the pristine quality of such recordings over the humble 16 Bit CD! Result – Its sounds better! c)

User selectable digital filters with upgradeable software via USB

You can ‘tune’ the sound of the 8200CD by varying the filtering – 4 settings give user a choice to achieve the sonics that matches the system and type of listening biases. The setting works for both CD, digital and USB inputs.

1) Slow roll off for smooth response 2) Fast roll off for ‘crisper’ sound 3) Optimal Spectrum for the best balance of flat response and optimal lab performance 4) Optimal transient for enhanced transient response

Result – You have choices, where previously, there is none! d)

Did I mention digital inputs?

Apart from the CD and USB input, there are also dual digital inputs – both in optical and coaxial type inputs. Optical inputs at the 96 kHz and 24/192 kHz for the Coaxial inputs. These inputs allow for higher performance from your digital components – eg internet radio jukebox for instance.

Result – You have more options and better performance from any digital source. e)

Balanced circuitry with XLR output

Employing full balanced high current pure Class A circuitry enables the 8200CD to achieve a dynamic range of up to 120 dB. Both unbalanced RCA and Balanced XLR give user a choice and an audiophile a warm fuzzy feeling with XLRs! Result – Audiophile grade CD player/Media controller!

With all these features, it would suggest the Audiolab 8200CD could come with a fancy price tag? Audiolab gear sells for very, very reasonable price and the 8200CD with all that specifications is no different – it is - just $1200! This has to be the biggest bargain of the year!

Mission Impossible? Not the Mission MX! Good sounding speakers are not cheap and cheap speakers… well… sound cheap! Buying quality over quantity has always been the smart of doing things. Good stuff works better, last longer and gives us the emotional well being of using a product of premium quality. As much as every lady wants at least one LV bag in her collection, the truth is most of us would have to settle for something we can afford.

Affordability is now even more relevant – products like the latest Audiolab 8200CD player is cheaper and higher

spec-ed than its 8000CD predecessor. Economies of scale, highly efficient production lines and outsourcing through a globalised network enable better products at the same or even lower prices than before. All this is good because we get more value for every dollar we spend. And the more affordable the products are, the more they sell, take Ikea for instance. Many of their products remain the same but with efficient production and efficient packaging enables lower prices than the year before.

This brings us to the new Mission MX series full sized (meaning not desktop miniatures) loudspeakers.

The entry range features 3 bookshelves, 3 floorstanding and 2 center channels. The MX1 in particular stands out for its outstanding sound quality – adjectives like ‘fast’ and ‘articulate’ aptly de scribe the enthusiastic nature of this new speaker from Mission. For just $329 a pair, the MX1 comes with soft dome tweeter with a wave-guide to improve dispersion, fiber rein forced midbass cone and comes in walnut, cherry, rosewood and black ash finish.

The Cool Factor

The Mission Mini M-iSphere System

What good would a small desktop speaker is if it were to need a full sized amplifier to drive them?

Hence the M-iSphere amplifier – using a compact and cool running Class D amplifier with 20 watts rms, the Mini M-iSphere lifestyle music system, comprising a pair of the Mini M-iSphere speakers and amplifier.

The amplifier comes in the form of a slab of aluminum cylinder of 12cm diameter and only 2.5cm high. The compactness of the M-iSphere amplifier is attributed to the outboard AC power supply – like the one that comes with a computer notebook. Keeping the switching power supply outside of the case of electronics is a good idea – it cuts down potential interference.

Connections are simple – around the rear are one set of stereo RCA inputs and nice binding posts for speaker cables – a 1.5m mini jack to stereo RCA cable is supplied as are a generous 3m pair of speaker cables.

There is also a USB jack – good for charging a portable audio player. However, the USB port is not meant for audio signal transmission. You need the supplied RCA to mini jack for audio signal transfer.

A short listen to the Mini M-iSphere gives a very good account for a sub $500 system, not as good as a proper hifi quality amplifier like an Audiolab 8000, mind you, but good enough for this system to blow away any sub $500 MP3/iPOD speaker system, and probably a few over that price point too!

The system looks cool, and don’t forget, the M-iSphere speakers are available in, gasp, eight gorgeous and glossy colours!

About the size of a CD, the M-iSphere amplifier is incredibly cool (literally) and chic!

Mission Mini M-iSphere is sold by unit piece or as a 2-channel system

Subterranean Species

Ron Stimpson of SVS tells why there is more to subwoofers than meets the ear!

The subwoofer is one of the most misunderstood components in hifi. Audiophiles have a healthy disdain for subwoofers – it is said subwoofers have problems blending in with the main speakers and as a consequence, degrade rather than improve the sound. Better to have less bass extension than suffer poor bass quality! Then came home theater and suddenly subwoofers become a prerequisite component in the equation. Respect for subwoofer and subsequently, its sales, erm… boomed so as to speak.

Making a subwoofer is easy; car audio installers will testify to that, however perfecting one is the tough part. Witness the proliferation of DIYers making their own subs – pick any woofer, match with a box of suitable dimensions (a sealed box is easier than a ported box), find some textbook calculations on the web for the crossover – something simple to roll off the upper frequencies and just plug in any old amplifier lying around and voila, you’ve got a respectable sub! Or you can buy an entry-level active subwoofer off the shelf from as little as $150 and boom away happily, if that’s all that matters.

Except that, it isn’t that simple. Getting lots of bass is one thing; getting controlled extended bass is whole different ballgame. Most subwoofers today are active – meaning it comes complete with a built in amplifier. There is a good reason for this - the amplifier for subwoofers are designed differently from normal stereo amplifiers – it has to be able

to control the drive unit and its extreme back emf, it has to be able to deliver as much current down to 20 hz if not lower, as compared to 200 Hz, the amplifier has to be able to take on the impedance swings of the drive unit and maintain control, there need to be additional user controls to affect the phase response to ‘match’ with the main speakers which may be placed some distance away from the sub. A properly executed subwoofer design takes some clever wizardry. Is it all worth it?

Good bass quality enhances the music and movie experience, poor quality bass detracts from that experience. Though it may be argued that the average folk somewhere out there may have different ideas what constitute good bass, there is no argument when one is confronted with poorly controlled bass with no definition and worse, it makes you want to turn off the system. How then should one go about the business of picking a good sub?

As there are many subwoofer options available, many of which are from speaker companies cashing in on the demand to create a ‘one brand 5.1 or 7.1 system’. You can do better by choosing from the catalogue of a ‘subwoofer specialist’ than any ‘high end’ loudspeaker manufacturer. Subwoofer specialists have horned the art of making high performance subwoofers long before ‘point-one’ became a buzzword in audio. Subwoofer designers have its own set of rules, rules that don’t apply to ‘normal’ loudspeaker. That’s why there are great speaker brands that make some not-so-great subwoofers, it doesn’t

to visit his local distributor KEC Sound System and also to attend the recent Kuala Lumpur International AV Show where SVS products were demonstrated to an enthusiastic audience. MOD AV has the chance to meet up with Ron to find out more of what makes a really good subwoofer.

MOD AV: Let’s start from the beginning, how did you get into the subwoofer business?

Ron: I was in the US army and a pretty comfortable career in that. I’m also very much a hifi DIY enthusiast so I suppose many of my customers can empathized with that – I am not exactly your average hifi company, until recently, making nothing but subwoofers! Before I went the DIY way, I bought stuff from hifi stores like everybody else. I bought stuff that I thought was good, stuff like subwoofers from S##fire and H## Research. Though these stuff are The older BASH amplifier (left) vs the new SLEDGE amplifier (right) expensive but are not well made and not a whole lot of performance. The S##fire couldn’t go very deep and had cheap parts. Truly disappointing is an mean they are necessarily ‘bad’ but you could end up paying more money for less performance. Furthermore, as you can imagine, sub- understatement!

Lurking around DIY and Home Theater forums woofer designers have to be something of an expert in electronics as I realize I can make my own subwoofer, exchanging much as they are experts in drive unit and enclosure design. Not ideas from other forumers, buying parts from Madimany speaker designers are good electronic designers and vice versa. Now you know why subwoofers are such special components? sound and Parts Express, publish a few designs and All this brings us to the subject of this feature – Mr Ron Stimp- along the way get to meet up fellow enthusiasts. I son. Ron is the co-founder of SVS (he is the first ‘S’ and the other co- made my first sub in 1997, easy to make but you founder is a Mr Vodhanel, the ‘V’. Mr Vodhanel has since left the com- can imagine is a far cry from what we are doing pany) who made its name in subwoofers. Ron was in town recently,

now! It was a passive design and it made me realize there is a lot that goes into what I would consider a good subwoofer design.

I met Vodhanel at those forums and we struck up a friendship and we got around to make a couple of stuff together, sharing ideas and helping each other out. Both of us have day jobs and this subwoofer business sort of started off by selling subwoofers to other enthusiasts on the web. Our first sub, a passive design with a ported cylindrical enclosure – has good acoustical properties – no parallel walls, easy to damp, easy to make using inexpensive materials like ‘Sonotube’, which is used for home construction. It was a big subwoofer but with a very small footprint that you can easily put away.

As the demand grew, the business started taking shape.

Our subwoofer range today consists of our original big cylindrical ported subs that we started off with (much improved of course!), big ported box subs and small sealed subs. Each has its own application - you have to understand what is a subwoofer all about – exciting the air. Then we have all the Ts (Thiel/Small) parameters for a driver, enclosure and porting. As such, compact subwoofers don’t actually produce much bass, at least not much sub bass compared to a good large ported woofer enclosure.

Then you would need a lot of amplifier wattage just to squeeze a couple of Hz of low bass. But they are ok for small rooms – less extension, less power needed and room gain (room boundaries tend to

amplify the frequencies, the effect is known as room gain) to make up for it. And then we have a couple of tricks to make it work better. Still, there is no substitute for a nice large ported subwoofer for a mid to medium sized room. Ported subs are more efficient, you need less power and go deeper.

MOD AV: What is new for 2010?

Ron: We showcased the new SB12-NSD (Sealed Box 12-inch woofer New Surround Design) during the 2010 CES (SVS was not at the CES but at a private suite by invitation only). This is a new range of compact sealed box subwoofers that use some pretty innovative technology. The range stands at 5 models – a ten inch the SB10NSD, two twelves SB12-NSD and SB12 Plus, a thirteen inch SB13 Plus and a sixteen inch (yes, 16-inch) SB16 Ultra. The new SB models come with a new ‘Sledge’ amplifier with built in DSP.

MOD AV: How does the DSP work?

Ron: The DSP is a small IC that affects the behaviour between the amplifier and the woofer, it does not do any room correction. We have the AS-EQ1 for that purpose. The DSP Sledge amplifier makes the most of power transfer to elicit the SVS performance from the Plus series into the SB12-NSD. The result is flat extended response down to 20 Hz measured in-room. Not many comparable sized sub can do that! Not for one that sells for the price of the SB12-NSD! The Sledge DSP amplifier replaces the previous BASH digital amplifiers in all SVS subwoofers, an upgrade you can easily perform on earlier SVS subwoofers with BASH amplifiers. The old BASH amplifiers use analogue controls where the new Sledge uses digital rotary controls. On the SB12 Plus and SB13 Plus, this simplifies the rear panel with just one knob and an LCD display tells what mode you are in instead of separate knobs for level, phase and low pass settings. The old BASH has but a single Parametric EQ band, the new Sledge DSP amplifiers have 5 Para EQ bands, two of which can be user controlled. The other three are factory set. The BASH amplifiers are not good for subwoofers with a sub 4-ohm dip while the Sledge amplifiers have no problems with that. If there are readers who have the older SVS subwoofers, you will appreciate the improved sound

quality of the Sledge amplifiers as well as better reliability.

As a company, we believe in using the best parts, cutting corners to save a few cents? Nah, that’s not the way we do things. I heard companies could sit down and argue for hours on how to shave 10 cents off the production cost. We don’t think that is the way we would like to go. For example when we start designing the new Sledge amplifiers, we work closely with our suppliers. By the way, our amps are quoted in rms, we are talking about real power, not peak power or something like that. We already had our 400 and 800-watt design and we really need something in the kilowatt category. We sat down and discussed for a while how we can make something for over a 1000 watts. Their chief designer was clearly uncomfortable at the meeting and it was beginning to be a little frustrating.

Finally he uttered ‘you don’t need a 1000 watts’.

‘Yes we do and tell us how its going to be done and for how much?’ I said.

‘You don’t need a 1000 watts’ came again.

‘For the last time, we want a 1000 watt amp!’

Grudgingly, he conceded and said it can be done but said ‘it’s going to cost quite a bit more.’

OK, now we are getting somewhere, I asked ‘how much more’?

To cut a long story short, it wasn’t a lot more but the culture of some of these suppliers was the thinking that we are going to squeeze them to make a 1000-watt amp for the same price as our existing 800-watt amp! We are perfectly willing to pay more for a properly designed kilowatt amp. If it cost more to do it right, we are willing to pay the extra. In the end, we got our 1000-watt amp!

SVS is a small company and we do not enjoy economies of scale of larger companies so how do we keep our prices low? By putting more value in each of our product, like using good quality drive units made for us by Tympany (The company that makes Scanspeak, Peerless, etc.), efficient production and distribution that reduces costs and so on. Our most expensive subwoofers cost less than S$4000 and they perform better than subwoofers twice or three times that price.

That makes SVS inexpensive for what they offer.

The new subs also come with a perforated metal grille using steel pin retainers, not plastic pins, which are easily broken, to fit – then there are rubber grommets to stop any buzzing. It cost more but not having to re-supply the little bits here and there saves everybody the hassle. Little things but getting it right goes a long way!

Affordable and cost no object? How can these two words appear together when they are diametri cally opposite of what they mean? SVS choose these words to describe the revamped S series loudspeakers, Ron, the head honcho for SVS must have something up his sleeve when he coined this statement!

The S series loudspeakers from SVS are a line of affordable loudspeak ers for stereo or multi-channel appli cations. The first genera tion of the S series was well reviewed so as they say, a hard act to follow! So what does generation 2 offers? Fin ished in tough textured vinyl wrap, this finishing is more enduring than being decorative. But that’s as far as the ‘affordable’ part of this range of speaker ends.

The cost no object begins under the skin: · Improved crossovers – smoother response, better phase integration between the drive units, lower distortion, improved dynamics and transparency with better power handling. · A new soft dome tweeter – smoother response, better dispersion, lower resonance characteristics, better heat dissipation hence improved power handling as well. · New midbass drive units - with soft dust cap for smoother performance in the upper frequency range, lower distortion and more accurate response with lower colouration. · An improved and stronger (braced with thicker panels) cabinet with a new nondefractive metal grille.

SVS revamps the S series

S Class Home Cinema

I think SVS should call this something else – it seems to be an entirely whole new range of speakers!

Aesthetically, the vanilla flavoured S series wins no awards for looks, though hiding them behind curtains seems a bit drastic. The curved edge on the side panels departs from the usual V-groove’s ‘cut and fold’ cabinet construction.

The cabinet is internally braced, I believe that may only apply to the STS-02, the smaller speakers do not necessarily benefit from bracing. That said, the perforated metal grille is a departure from speakers in this price point, the last I remembered metal grilles resides with the likes of Martin Logans, not some box speakers selling from $350 a pair!

The range offers a pair of bookshelf, a pair of floor stander, a center channel and a dipole for surround applications. Depending on the size of your room, you can mix and match – for example using 2 pairs of the smallest bookshelf, the SBS-02 for front and rear, the SCS-02 center and any one of SVS subwoofer or all the way to the STS-02 floorstanding with the SSS-02 surround, the SCS-02 center and any SVS subwoofer combo. Pick and choose to suit your room or budget!

Here we take the middle ground, we used three SCS-02 (S$650 for a pair and S$350 for the center with its dedicated table top pedestal) in a LCR configuration – meaning the left, center and right loudspeakers are identical – giving a seamless sound field from far left to far right. The SBS-02 (S$350 pair) was employed for the rear as the surround dipoles SSS-02 (S$399 each) is not available as yet though that would be an ideal package.

The new SB-12NSD (S$1350) subwoofer provides the point one in the equation. For the audition, a Denon AVR1911 receivers is employed. Playback with Blu-ray, DVD and stereo CD material.

In the realm of high end AV, there is always the amount of sophistication built into the system to

enable the custom integrator to earn his keep. That is no longer the case when manufacturers like Denon (Yamaha, Onkyo, et al.) start putting into their receivers automated system calibration using Audyssey. This enable the buyer to bring the receiver home, setup the cables, set up the microphone and run the calibration software with nothing more than a tap on the remote. The system then send a series of sweep tones to check the system for correct speaker setup (ie not mixing up any of the channels with something else), level setting, phase setting, in-room acoustic calibration and so on. Usually within an hour of unboxing the receiver, the system is good to go!

Setting up the S series is no different from any other 5.1 system, stands while not exactly mandatory for the front left and right speakers, would be ideal for sonic considerations. Even then the non-resonant nature of the SCS-02 makes for an ideal wall mount speaker using brackets though strong brackets are recommended due to its 8.6 Kg weight. It would be nice to have the SSS-02 dipole surrounds but they are just starting to go into production and will only be available a couple of months after this issue is published. May be we will do a follow up later.

With the subwoofer set at the crossover point of 80 Hz with the speakers set to ‘small’, this gives a well-balanced sound as it crossover from the main speakers to the subwoofer without me being able to discern the presence of the subwoofer’s or be able to localized its location.

Firing up the system, we start off with a Blu-ray disc – Jumper. There is a lot of high density in the audio mix – for example when Hayden Christensen leaps through space

and time, to render that tremendous ‘whoosh’ of air that is to be felt as much as heard, is pretty demanding on the system. The punch and extension of the SVS setup was impressive in the way it moves an appreciable amount of air with enough deep bass extension to make the effect believable.

Speech intelligibility on this system rates a high score, voices were natural without undue emphasis – eg too bassy, which affects deep male voices or sounding too sibilant from poor quality drive units. The balance of the SVS is just about perfect. Separation of speech from a dense mix of outright cacophony is a severe test of both the speakers and the AV receiver’s ability to keep thing in check. I can expect this to be the domain of say, for instance, a high-end THX speaker system with a high perfor mance Processor/multi-channel amplifier system. Not something that cost less than $5000 for the whole package!

In this respect, the pairing of the Denon receiver and the SVS system is commendably outstanding – in performance and in the value-for-money stakes.

While it may not be surprising the SVS system perform admirably on Home Cinema applications, can it hack it on two-channel stereo? Through the Denon receiver, the system plays in a 2.1 configuration. While the SVS system will not threaten the existence of the likes of Wilson Audio or Revel Acoustics, it has enough going for

the occasional CD or MP3 through a music server or even an iPOD. The character is a little drier and less fluid sounding than say a nice little speaker like the Chario Piccolo Star (review elsewhere in this issue) or the Sonus faber Toy monitor, it doesn’t sound like a dog’s dinner either. Again, the tight and extended low end of the SB12 NSD helps to steer the sound away from being too clinical.

The SVS S 02 series is a well-balanced package for home cinema enthusiasts to consider. At under S$3000 for the system, there are no major complains, in fact it should be lauded for its accom plishments – well built, good sounding, well balanced, well integrated with the sub woofer, nice finishing if a little lacking in the Gucci department. Can you buy a simi lar system for the asking price of the com plete SVS package as above? Yes, it would be stupid to assume otherwise, you even have options from some well-respected names in loudspeakers. The only question I would ask of you is this, does these ‘wellrespected’ loudspeaker manufacturers makes a better sub than SVS? Can they inte grate the subwoofer as effectively as SVS does with the S series speakers? You may buy other great 5 point speakers from any body but SVS offers a great 5 point 1 system better than anybody I know of.

Slim is In Why do we want flat panel LCD/Plasma TVs? Because we have enough of the good old bulky CRT TVs! CRT TVs also limit us in size – 34 inches (a phenomenal CRT wide screen from Pioneer some 15 years back) is about the biggest I can remember. And the bigger the screens are, the bulkier they become. CRT TVs are as deep as they are as wide, making them humungous boxes to have around.

That’s exactly what makes flat screen TVs so desirable. There is no limit to how big the screen is but the depth, its slimnest, especially on the latest edge lit screens are now verging into another quantum of depth perception – typically less than 1.5 inches can be had (mounting hardware aside) . Slim has now become desirable and fashionable.

The race is on – who’s the thinnest?

Definitive Technology XTR-50

Apart from depth, there are some things CRT TVs can feature but you will never find in flat screen TVs – behind the big and chunky electron TV tube is tons of space for the imagination to work overtime. How does a built-in subwoofer (Toshiba, I think) sound to you (pardon the pun!)? It is not uncommon to find decent looking speakers in CRT TVs, even if they don’t sound high end.

In flat screen TVs, the flatness of the TV chassis mandates an equally slim set of speakers. We all know good sounding speakers come in big ugly boxes – just like CRT TVs, so it goes to say the speakers they put inside flat panel TVs don’t sound as good – electrostatics and Magneplanars aside, which need to be very large to achieve the sort of sound levels required – and the flatter they go, the worse they sound.

So the thinner our TVs become, the more we need external speakers. Unfortunately, the law of physics is again at play, flat speakers (eg. electrostatics and Magneplanars) that can be placed against the wall cannot be possible or even if it could, would sound just as bad as those speakers they used in ultra slim TVs. Or is it?

One of the first speaker manufacturers to challenge that notion is Definitive Technology and their latest flat screen companion is the Mythos XTR-50. This speaker is thinner than backlit LCDs and Plasmas and challenges the depth of edge lit LED LCD TVs. Designed to match the height of a 47” – 55” LCD TV, the XTR-50 boasts of 1.5 inch in depth when wall mounted! The speaker comes in a LCR configuration and is sold piecemeal – S$1118 each. You would need three units for front left, center and right. The rear channels can be in wall, ceiling or even small bracket mounted satellites. Definitive Technology offers all three options so you can choose what best suits your setup.

The speakers are supplied with wall brackets which the speaker is hung flushed over, leaving no trace of any sort of mounting hardware, very neat indeed! The drive units configuration is a tweeter flanked by two 3.5 inch midbass and another four 3.5 inch passive radiators – two on top and two below.

The midbass drive units are specially made for this speaker – it has an ultra shallow depth with an inverted outward dome shaped cone to aid dispersion as the drive units are sunk below the baffle. Do note this ‘dome’ is not the same as those dome midrange units from ATC or PMC; this is a small and compact midbass driver with the cone inverted out instead of inwards as most bass drivers. To reduce the depth of the speaker, the expensive neodymium magnets of the midbass drive units protrude through the back (though flushed) of the enclosure and sealed with a gasket. In effect the XTR-50 is a sealed enclosure.

Speaking of the enclosure, it is a beautiful aluminum extrusion, not some cheap plastic molding. As a result the speaker has some respectable heft – weighing some 2.3 Kgs each. Definitive Technology makes use of the heat conductive gasket around the magnet to conduct heat away from the driver into the aluminum casing to aid cooling. This allows the speaker to play louder with lower distortion as the motor unit is adequately ventilated.

The four passive radiators look identical to the two driven midbass but come without a motor and are driven by passively by air pressure within the sealed enclosure – it helps the admittedly limited excursion of the small 3.5 inch midbass drive units to move a little more air as if it were a significantly larger drive unit – six cones at 3.5 inch each may move as much air as a typical 5 ¼ inch midbass drive unit. Definitive Technology claims the speaker is capable down to 93 Hz. This is an important aspect to take note – you would need to set the subwoofer crossover higher than the usual 80 Hz, anything from 100 - 150 Hz would be more appropriate, try and see what works best in your particular setup. Otherwise there will be an appreciable dip in the critical 80 – 100 Hz region. Wall mounting a speaker should be a straightforward affair, if you can mount an Ikea wall shelf, you can mount the XTR-50.

Definitive Technology in-wall/in-ceiling UIW RS III surround speakers makes a great match to the XTR-50

Where you would mount the XTR-50 is more important, try the speakers for a couple of days – move them apart or closer until you find the optimal balance. There will be a tendency for most people to mount them just beside the flat screen as in the video – it will be too close and the speakers will sound peaky – move them further apart until the response sound smoother and more linear. Typically that would be anything from at least 6 – 8 feet apart and even if it looks a tad silly, there is no getting away from the fact that is how you need to set up any loudspeaker and the XTR-50 is definitely not an exception to the rule.

The center channel can be mounted above or below the screen. Oh, there is the tabletop stand option, but that’s so uncool and entirely defeats the purpose, nay, existence of the XTR-50!

The XTR-50 would come as a drastic shock when one moves from the flat screen internal speakers to this. There is no doubt the XTR-50 is a speaker proper – it plays loud and clean, detailed and snappy to listen to. The key to getting this performance is proper placement and crossover settings on your AV receiver. Having done so, the XTR-50 reveals its pedigree, the superb sonics from Definitive Technology. Fans of flat screen TVs can now have their cake and eat it as well. To better the XTR-50 would envisage full sized speakers. To me, the XTR embodies a balance - the essence of slim in terms of looks and performance in terms of sound quality. For that the XTR-50 earns high recommendations and would be a great success for its intended audience.

Battle of the Ultra Compacts Four ultra compact high performance monitors compared In my opinion, a compact music system is the bridge to the millions of iPOD users (250 mil and still counting!) who have never experienced what good hifi equipment can sound. Rather than force feed the masses about real hifi, wouldn’t it be a better idea to match their needs, with products designed to complement, not fight the iPOD? What better than a compact music system. Electronics have for years been miniaturized to fit into small boxes – witness the likes of compact CD Receivers (CD player, amplifier and tuner in one box) like Arcam’s Solo and Marantz CR502 with sound quality comparable to its separate brothers. If only loudspeakers can be miniaturized in the same way. Well, we got news for you – it’s already a done deal!

The Small Loudspeaker is a great idea. Bereft of any significant bass extension, and that essentially is, their greatest asset – you can always make up for the lack of extension with a small subwoofer – leaving the small midbass drive unit to concentrate on the upper ranges. That would also excite the cabinet less, sounding less coloured, less resonant. Smaller loudspeakers won’t take up much space and can be placed on a desk or a low side board, making expensive stands redundant. Perched on a couple of cones and away you go. A CD/Receiver with USB/iPOD input makes a good start and it would be good enough to go all the

ATC SCM 7 RCP S$1380 Sonus faber Toy RCP S$ 1800 Chario Piccolo Star RCP S$ 1380 Amphion ION RCP S$2000 way to a good discrete amplifier and a CD or music server based system.server based system.

It is with this premise the mini survey here picks on 4 very compact monitors. They are all entry models from the respective manufacturer’s line up. That means this quartet are properly designed loudspeakers, not mass produced speakers and the price tag reflects its pedigree - ranging from just over S$1300 to S$2000. These are serious high performance loudspeakers that just happen to be a little smaller than usual, but their build and sound quality is pure hi fi.

Click on image to shortcut to the review

ATC SCM 7 - The Traditionalist

Amphion ION – The Style Council

ATC is English and made their reputation in the recording studios as monitors. ATC makes their own drive units and have much to say about their ‘Super Linear’ magnet system that have less hysteresis which is a source of distortion for drive units. There is a white paper about this effect you can download here.

The SCM screams typical English loudspeaker, with real wood veneers. The 125mm paper coned bass driver is mounted on the cabinet and then an additional MDF baffle goes over it. The tweeter is then mounted on the additional baffle. This place the midbass, depth wise, further back as compared to the tweeter, the opposite of how Amphion does things. The tweeter’s mounting plate has a slight recess creating a shallow horn, what ATC calls a ‘waveguide’. The sensitivity of the SCM is low at 84 dB into 8 ohms and handles up to 300 watts rms, typical of ATC speak ers - lower than usual sensitivity but high in power handling. It is a heavy little one though, at 7 Kg each, the magnet structure of the midbass alone is 3 kg! This is also the only speaker that offers two sets of binding posts for biwiring/biamping. Dimensions is a boxy 300mm x 160mm x 230mm HWD. Of the four, this is the only infinite baffle (sealed box) loudspeaker and this speaker looks better on a stand than on your table.

Amphion is a Finnish loudspeaker company and their stuff is simply unique.

For instance, their speakers are designed with very low crossover points between the tweeter and the midrange or midbass, typically anywhere between 1200 – 1600 Hz. This way, their speakers avoid the critical 2000 – 5000 Hz transition region where our ears are sensitive to. The drive units are then time aligned – the tweeter is placed inside a shallow horn so that the central axis where the tweeter generates sound is in line with that of the midbass. The shallow horn also effect the dispersion of the high frequencies – Amphion called this ‘UDD’ or Uniform Directive Diffusion. We can simply interprete this as a controlled dispersion. More sound is directed towards the listener and less towards the room, this helps keep the ‘character’ of the room to a minimum. Put simply, this enables the Amphion speakers to behave more consistently from room to room. If you like what you hear in the shop, you probably hear very much the same thing when you bring them home.

The ION uses a 4.5-inch (115mm) paper membrane midbass and a 1-inch titanium tweeter. Sensitivity is median, around 86 dB/watt and handles up to 120 watts rms power. Standing tall and slim at 268mm x 134mm x 220mm HWD, weighing 4.7 Kg each, the speaker is finished in either black or white, which would suit a modern décor.

Chario Piccolo Star – Classy n Cheery Chario hails from Italy and is no wonder you’ll find solid walnut staves on the speaker sides as per another famous Italian loudspeaker. Chario makes a wide range of speakers to suit every need but the Piccolo Star is indeed the one that would make up your mind the moment you lay eyes on it. The finishing is superb, curves abound and you don’t find many straight edges here. The slight back tilt of the enclosure is classy.

The 100mm paper midbass is reinforced with carbon fibre and 1-inch soft dome tweeter with neodymium magnet looks like an honest deal. The 88 dB sensitivity of the Piccolo Star means this is one easy to drive loudspeaker. It takes up to 80 watts rms and an easy 8 ohm load. By far the smallest of the bunch here at 250mm x 135mm x 200mm HWD and also the lightest of the four at 3 Kg per speaker.

Sweet little guy.

Sonus faber Toy – Designer Class The entry range for Sonus faber, the famous Italian loudspeaker company, the Toy is a petite bookshelf designed for small rooms, to be placed on bookshelves or tables. The speaker is uniquely finished in black leather wrap and I have seen some limited samples in white leather as well, think of it as the Gucci or LV of hi fi. I wonder if Sonus can bespoke a pair with LV leather? Definitely a Designer loudspeaker!

The 4.5-inch midbass has a paper cone with some doping to stiffen/damp the cone while the neodymium magnet tweeter has a ring radiator to aid dispersion. At 87 dB sensitivity and an 8-ohm load, the Toy should be easy to drive. At just under 5 Kg per speaker, the Toy would not unduly strain any bookshelf or relationship.

How do they sound?

before compression start to set in on high level dynamics. Bass extension is obviously To even things out a bit, we decided to use a high powered amplifier to limited but not as bad as the SCM 7, given its lean character, it would mate nicely with a avoid compromising the least efficient speaker of the bunch – the ATC SCM 7. The good subwoofer. Mind you, this speaker is 2/3rd the size of the ATC! The solid state Belles Soloist One integrated amplifier (S$3900) with 180 watts per channel rms Belles is powerful enough to drive the Toy but I have a sneaky feeling the Toy would would make a great companion to the SCM 7s and undoubtedly would easily match better with a warmer sounding lower powered tube amplifier, say a 50 watter have driven any of the other 3 with less than half its rated output. But of course, EL34 Push-Pull. you want them to show their best side so it will be the case that we employ an The Chario Piccolo Star also has not much bass extension but what it has is a nice amplifier that is beyond reproach. midbass fullness to balance things out, a sub is not a necessity given the very balanced As we started with the SCM 7s, it was to be the first speaker on test. The SCM is more than satisfactory. It has superb coherence and a very sweet sounding midband.

7 has the biggest cabinet of the four but… not the best bass extension of the Musically, the Piccolo is outstanding, possibly the most listenable speaker of the four. four! Obviously being a sealed box, as compared to a ported enclosure, there will The way it handles recordings of varying quality is commendable, as a speaker, it veers be some limitations here. The low sensitivity is not helping much either. But what towards being forgiving rather than being analytical. The high frequencies do roll off bass it has is tight, clean and informative. Tonally, the SCM 7 is very neutral – neigently to compensate for the lack of bass, nicely done here. The soundstaging is not as ther warm nor clinical. I have some concern for its coherence though, voices have expansive as the Sonus faber but adequate separation makes the sound very believsome degree of discontinuity which I don’t hear in any of the other 3 loudspeakable and relaxing to listen to. This is the first speaker of this quartet that I can enjoy ers here. You would not notice this if you listen to the SCM 7s alone but once you listening music on a regular basis. And hear any of the other 3, it is apparent. The SCM looks good too!

7s is also one speaker that thrives on good Finally the most expensive of the four quality recordings, it is transparent to the – the Amphion ION. Make no mistake, the source, unforgiving and uncompromising ION is one classy act – it has superb drive truly of studio monitor standard, if that is unit integration, throws a large soundstage what you want. and for a small enclosure – really good bass Next we had the Sonus faber Toy. The Toy quality, better than the SCM 7s even if it is throws a commendably large stage for a very again limited in extension. Despite being small loudspeaker, rivaling the more expensive the only speaker with a metal dome IONs but the texture of the sound is a lot coarser tweeter, there is none of those annoying than any of the other 3 speakers here. There is metallic resonance that can be pretty irritat no doubt coherence much better portrayed ing to the ear. The sound is lively, engaging than the ATCs. The Toy has exceptional resolving if a little on the cool side. If you like a ability, low level dynamics are well portrayed The superb Belles Soloist Integrated Amplifier

warmer balance, the precision of the ION may not be your best option but in terms of sonic accuracy, the ION is spot on! The ION would benefit, nay demands a good amplifier (the Belles Soloist One integrated is a superb match) and anything less will have some compromise on its performance.

Assuming you were in the store and having a budget that would accommodate any of these 4 models, what would you choose? There are only 3 parameters that matters – how it looks, how it sounds and how easy it is to match with any system. Then there is the value for money equation – obviously you want the best sound for the least money. We got that covered here too.

Aesthetics

Amphion ION - in white for modern décor Chario Piccolo Star - for a more traditional décor Sonus faber Toy - for the leather fetish ATC SCM 7 - only the audiophiles would love

System matching

Chario Piccolo Star - an easy match Sonus faber Toy - careful matching needed Amphion ION - demands the best ATC SCM 7- demands the best but only deliver on high quality material

3 pts (tie) 3 pts (tie) 3 pts (tie) 1 pt

4 pts 3 pts 2 pts 1 pt

Sound Quality

Amphion ION - the best of the bunch Chario Piccolo Star - the most listenable of the bunch ATC SCM 7 - OK, it is neutral but unforgiving Sonus faber Toy - Lean sounding makes for a tiring experience

Value for money

Chario Piccolo Star - for the money, no horse run ATC SCM 7 - inexpensive for the quality Sonus faber Toy - a tad expensive for what it offers Amphion ION - hopelessly outclassed in the value equation

4 pts 3 pts 2 pts 1 pt

4 pts 3 pts 2 pts 1 pt

Group test winner Chario Piccolo Star

Total score Chario Piccolo Star Amphion ION Sonus faber Toy ATC SCM 7

Conclusion

14 pts 10 pts 9 pts 7 pts

After all being said, each of these 4 loudspeakers are highly recommended – even if each has to be met on its own terms. That means - it depends on what you are looking for. The ATC SCM 7s may seem to be a dog but nothing is further from the truth, it is a good loudspeaker – for the audiophile who wants a compact high definition monitor. You just need to pamper to its needs – a powerful amplifier, good recordings and a good pair of stands. It doesn’t look much but then again, professional tools like studio monitors are supposed to be functional, the nice real wood veneer cladding adds domestic acceptability even if it is a little old fashioned among its peers here.

The Sonus faber has its own fan club and they should not be too disappointed with what the Toy monitor has to offer. It is admirable the departure

of its founder has in no way rendered Sonus just ‘another loudspeaker company’. The spirit of Sonus faber lives on in the Toy series and the Toy monitor is the most current incarnation of the Sonus sound. What is the Sonus sound? A very organic sound, natural and harmonically faithful to the sound of real musical instruments. You cannot accuse Sonus speakers for sounding too hi fi-ish. The Toy monitor should be a best seller in the Sonus lineup!

The Amphion ION is by far, the best loudspeaker in the bunch. So why it is second best to the cheaper and rated lower than the Chario Piccolo Star? Rating products is not an easy task and if this bunch of speakers is presented to another reviewer, a different set of conclusion will arise. A good loudspeaker will perform as such when partnered with the very best electronics – the Amphion ION demands the best electronics if it were to perform. Assuming you have the best source and amplifiers but limited by space or perhaps would like to have a secondary pair of speakers but have to perform as well as your uber expensive and uber capable loudspeakers. That’s where the IONs fits the bill. A ‘no-compromise’ loudspeaker for the music lover as much as for the audio connoisseur. A truly remarkable loudspeaker for the money.

Finally, the little Charion Piccolo Star. Chario offers a package that I would describe as the most balanced in every respect – more than reasonable asking price, musical yet forgiving sound quality, ease of system matching with simple CD Receivers for instance and looks absolutely gorgeous with its solid walnut sides and contoured lines in a petite package. Truly deserving the ‘best of the bunch’ accolade from me.

S o n u sf a b e rFENI CE

WWW. HI GHENDRESEARCH. COM

The Phoenix Rises Sonus faber Fenice

The mythical Phoenix symbolises renewal, an apt description for one of the most successful loudspeaker company – Sonus faber. The reputation of Sonus lies in the heart of its founder Franco Serblin, who has shaped the likes of the Sonus Homage series, cumulated to the Stradivari in 2003, which marks the last of his designs. Since retired, post Franco Serblin, the company has rebuilt itself with a team of new and younger designers, but staying true to the original Sonus faber ‘sound’.

How does Sonus move from where its founder left off? The Toy and Liuto series are post Franco Serblin, while receiving accolades in the media, have been less than inspiring to say the least.

The Cremona in its ‘M’ upgrade fares better but is a hybrid of sorts – the original Cremona was designed by Franco and improved by the new team. Is the Cremona M better than the original Cremona?

Leather and walnut alone do not make a Sonus faber, as have many Italian manufacturers from Chario to Opera have copied the ‘look’ of a Sonus faber at one time or other. Even a Sonus faber with leather and wood, may look like one but does it sound like one? This question is especially relevant after Franco has departed.

What then, is the sound of Sonus faber? An expansive sound with natural tonal qualities, expressive and demure at times yet dynamic and muscular when brawn is called for. Such is the sound the current Sonus speaker designers, which we will call them the ‘New Team’, would have to deliver, from this point onwards in each and every Sonus faber loudspeaker, if not in full measure, at least a

quantum that commensurate with the asking price.

Mauro Grange, the new boss of Sonus faber needs to renew the company, before it becomes a brand name without its original soul, like so many hi fi companies that have gone East. He has to make an impact that would not be forgotten too easily or too soon. Sonus faber is at its crossroads. It needed a clean break from Franco, yet retain its sound identity that has made Sonus faber famous the world over. It needed a statement product. One that is free from the signature of its founder yet remains true to its core principles of the sound of Sonus loudspeakers.

The Fenice heralds the ‘new’ Sonus faber, it is like no Sonus of the past. It transcends, to rise above all previous Sonus faber designs. It will be a yardstick for all future Sonus loudspeakers.

Everything on the Fenice is new - the new team was given a free hand to design the ultimate Sonus faber loudspeaker. The new Fenice starts with a new enclosure design - the ‘lyra shaped’ cabinet - a departure from the lute shape that has been previously a Sonus signature – is fabricated from layered sheets of wood, into a marine ply, which is inherently self damping. Even then that is not enough. Double walls with a viscous elastic isolator plus heavy aluminum shells clamp the loudspeaker top and bottom and tensioned with a rod - tunes out all cabinet vibration. A new type of porting with extremely low ‘wind’

noise adds to the serenity of the enclosure. Finally, a special suspension system in the feet decouples the speaker from the floor. Give the speaker cabinet a slight nudge and it will rock gently! In doing so it gives the drive units a platform with the lowest noise floor and widest dynamic range possible.

This pose a problem – even the best conventional drive units are not capable of spanning the dynamic capability the Fenice enclosure offers.

They had to design their own drive units – looking through the parts bin of Scanspeak and other speaker suppliers, picking the best parts available, there remains compromises that needed new thinking to overcome. Like the baskets of the midbass drive unit. The new team has to fabricate a new basket structure which is not only stronger and more rigid but also able to act as an energy sink as well as a heat sink. This give the 6-inch fiber reinforced cellulose (paper) midbass an extremely wide dynamic range before clipping.

The low frequencies are covered by dual 10 inch bass drive units. The bass unit features sandwiched cone structure with a lightweight foam core and cellulose with fiber reinforcement skin is said to have a similar sonic characteristics to the midrange drive unit to ensure the continuity of the sound spectrum.

The lowest bass frequencies is covered by a side mounted 15 inch woofer. Again the cone is made from a sandwich structure with a foam core and cellulose fiber reinforced skin. A massive 4 inch voice coil and a progressive surround provides well-controlled and damped bass quality.

The Fenice has a new feature – Sonus calls it the ‘Sound Shaper’.

It allows the user to effect the balance between direct and reflected sound. In doing so it enables the speaker to adept to any room and listening taste of its owner. To create the effect, a second speaker is

Click on the above logo to see the YouTube video of the Fenice launch!

recessed mounted on the back of the Fenice. The 2-way speaker uses a one-inch dome tweeter and a 4.5-inch midrange with the same fibre reinforced cellulose cone. There are 4 preset levels as well as the ‘off’ setting. This rear speaker can be rotated slightly around its axis to effect the direction of the sound wave, for example it can be faced slightly away from certain boundaries to reduce the effect of standing waves. The combination of front radiation drivers and rear reflected radiation from the secondary speakers enable the Fenice to adjust the soundstage to suit the reverberation characteristics of the room it is playing in.

From a very reverberant room, the rear speaker can be set to the lowest setting or even switched off completely. For an acoustically ‘dead’ room, the rear speaker can be set for maximum output to add some delay. Its use can enhance the depth of the soundstage - by increasing the level of the rear speaker in relation to the front speaker. For a more upfront sound – simply reduce the rear speaker output and vice versa.

The crossover for the Fenice uses what Sonus calls ‘progressive slope’. This crossover design has been used in the Cremona M and Liuto series. It uses premium components – Jantzen cross coil inductors and Mundorf Silver/gold/oil capacitors.

The Fenice stands at 1.7m tall and weighs some 300 Kg per loudspeaker. Its bass extension goes down to 20 Hz and rated at 100 watts rms with a maximum input of 1000 watts. Sensitivity is a healthy 92 dB/w/m and rated at 4 ohms.

Sonus faber will only made 30 pairs of the Fenice, thereby instantly elevating this loudspeaker to a ‘collector worthy’ status, that is, if you can afford the 140,000 Euro price tag!

Goldmund Media Room Proteus – Take Two

Goldmund can be described as one of the most advanced audio companies in existence. While many audio companies choose to specialize, Goldmund went the whole nine yards with a complete ‘system’ based solution, and then more.

The more of course is DSP room correction using their proprietary software called Proteus. The result is the Goldmund Media Room, the final link in the audio chain.

The Media Room concept comes about when hardware designers have reached the limits of what is possible – faithful reproduction of the signal with negligible distortion and colouration. In essence, the electronics and sound transducers are close to perfection, any incremental improvements are marginal and come at great cost. However good the equipment is, it had to work in a room. Given that no two rooms are alike – the level of acoustic damping, reflective vs absorptive walls, floors and ceilings, shape of room, volume of room and so on, the room can add considerably its character to the sound, it is a wonder if any system could even give a semblance of fidelity to the recording!

That is where Goldmund Proteus comes in. Developed by some of the best acoustic engineers in Europe, Proteus is a software that controls the behaviour of a room, through the use of multiple speakers, each of which may contribute just a little acoustical output. The word here is to control, not to compensate. The latter suggests nothing more than a band aid approach, after the damage is done. To control the acous

tic of any room in real time requires tremendous computing power, something that can only be achieved with elaborate algorithms in the digital domain. It cannot be done in the analogue domain, while this would deter purists, if it can be done, many before Goldmund would have done so. Proteus is now offered through Goldmund range of digital preamplifiers.

Proteus is used for both 2-channel stereo as well as multi-channel audio/video as in the Media Room. Goldmund recognizes the Media Room customer is first and foremost, a discerning audiophile, Goldmund has taken the next step – to integrate both 2-channel and multi-channel into one software. Effectively creating the next generation software where a customer with a high end stereo Goldmund Epilogue system can upgrade progressively into a full fledge Goldmund Media Room.

Michel Revechon, MD of Goldmund was in town recently to update us on his latest development.

MR: Goldmund announced last December a Proteus software.

As you know, Proteus is designed to improve the performance of speakers and room acoustics. We used to have two different Proteus software as 2-channel and Media Room applications differ considerably. Now we integrate them into one – this enables a customer with a 2-channel system to progress

continuously to a complete a Media Room.

Most customers who invest in a full Goldmund system are audiophiles with a 2-channel system and now wants to progress to a Media Room with the same uncompromised quality achieved with their 2-channel system. This has been the biggest challenge in the last 5 years. In the last 6 months alone, we set up 7 media rooms with full epilogue system!

We believe a Home Theatre system can be as good if not better than a 2-channel system! Goldmund has done

the most research on room acoustics. When you have enough speakers in the room, the better you can control the acoustics of the room.

AES (Audio Engineering Society) uses multiple active speakers in concert halls to control resonance. They measure the room, find where the resonance nodes and place speakers there to stop resonance. In our Los Angeles Media Room, we use 50 speakers to control the acoustics, by turning them off (the speakers) the room resonance comes back!

Why do we need to use so many speakers in a Media Room? A room may have a lot of glass that is not easy to control its acoustics. Or asymmetrical rooms where one side is reflective while another side is absorptive We use a combination of hidden and exposed speakers – the output of all the speakers combined removes all these distortion inducing elements out of the equation. With Proteus, to prefect any room we use multiple channels with software to control all the transducers resulting in a purer, more involving sound without any of the resonance induced time and phase distortions to get in the way.

In the next CES in January 2011 – we will introduce what we call the ‘artificial first reflection’ – typical sound room has side walls to provide the primary reflection of sound from the main speakers. Goldmund then place speakers in the first reflection to ‘excite’ the room – controlled by Proteus software. This way, the nature of the room acoustic is no longer relevant, in fact equalized out by Proteus. We can choose to optimize the first order reflection to recreate the optimal ‘room’ conditions in any room, especially one that has problems with acoustics.

Another innovation we are introducing is the digital active crossover in our preamps.

Take any loudspeaker, remove crossover, replicate the crossover characteristics in the preamp, then we correct for phase and time distortion. The result is perfect recreation of the recorded signal. Proteus then takes care of the room and speaker interface.

Then we apply direct control of the drive unit by an amplifier; each drive unit has its own power amplifier. The system gains enormous dynamic range – it can play louder before the drive unit break up. Yes, it will cost more amplifiers but even that is not a big issue.

For example we can take a Telos 250 or 350, make them into a 3-channel amp in one chassis that will only cost, mmmm maybe 20 – 30% more. There will not be any sonic compromises as say when driving one loudspeaker, the tweeters and midrange drive units use less current than a midwoofer, so the incremental cost can be compensated with significant improvement in sound.

We have also recently introduced the Metis analogue range – our entry line for Goldmund. The new Metis analogue elec tronics comprises a preamp, poweramp and putting the two in one chassis we have an integrated amplifier (5K USD) using Telos cir cuitry - 100 watts per channel.

We also have two new Telos amplifiers – the small Telos 100 and the new flagship Telos 3500 with asymmetrical grounding to replace the Telos 5000 which has reached its limited run anyway.

From the Telos 350 onwards, the amplifi ers are level matched so that when you use any combination of amplifiers, for example, a Telos 350 for the tweeters, a Telos 1000 for the midrange and a telos 2500 for the mid bass, you do not need to match their output level.

How very often great speakers are let down by either mismatched or poor quality electronics? Take for instance, the Studio series speakers from ProAc. OK, so its the poor man’s ProAc (the ProAc Response series is the premium range), but there is no reason ProAc would come up with anything less.

We set up the ProAc Studio 130 floorstander driven with Atma-Sphere MP3 preamp and M60 monoblocs. Source is the current favourite Marantz SACD player of the moment – the KI Pearl by Ken Ishiwata.

Guess what? This system rocks!

A little brief about the system: The Atma-Sphere amplifiers hail from USA, the company is better known for their OTL transformerless tube amplifiers. MP 3 mk 3.1 is the entry level preamp from AtmaSphere (the dual chassis MP1 is the flagship). Atma-Sphere can custom this preamp to your needs – a basic line only preamp (from S$6500) all the way to a phono version with optional components upgrade – power supply regulation, V-Cap Teflon, Caddock resistor package and even a low output MC transformer.

The preamp features balanced input/output, star ground, zero feedback, 23 position stepped volume control build

Atma-Sphere + ProAc Studio 130 = Great Sound!

with 96 resistors. Build to last a lifetime; the MP 3 is eminently serviceable and ready for future upgrades! The MP 3 has been a consistent Editor’s Choice award for 2008/2009 by The Absolute Sound!

The M60 monoblocs (S$8600 a pair) is built like the S30 stereo except it comes in two chassis – eight 6AS7 output tubes per channel (the M30 has four output tube per channel) delivering a conservative output of 60 watts per channel in pure Class A! The pure triode based M60 features ultrawide frequency response of 1 Hz to 100 kHz, something not easily achieved through typical transformer coupled tube amplifiers! But that’s where the Atma-Sphere come on its own – it uses their own patented direct-coupled (OTL) output stage – no output transformers! Hence the extended bandwidth.

The ProAc Studio 130 (S$2800) can be deemed as the floor standing version of the Studio 100. Employing the same drive units, the larger cabinet enables the Studio 130 to extend the bass end to 25 Hz (the bookshelf Studio 100 goes down to 35 Hz). The reflex port of the Studio 130 is at the base of the speaker cabinet, making the speaker much easier to place.

It has been said, a name makes a person.

Hence, a suitable name for JM Lab’s flagship loudspeaker line that instantly signifies the pinnacle of loudspeaker design – ‘Utopia’ where a perfect balance of all elements is in sync with the balance of nature. Since the first Grand Utopia appeared in the early nineties, JM Lab has faithfully updated the loudspeaker - from the Grand Utopia to the 2006 Grande Utopia Be (beryllium tweeter) and in 2009 the Grande Utopia EM was introduced.

The Utopia line remains one of the most respected high-end loudspeakers, now in its third generation.

audio loudspeakers, the magnet in the motor system needs a certain amount of magnetic force to control the movement of the diaphragm. The greater the magnetic force, the better the control of the sound. Hence, as the quality of the drive unit goes up, it demands for a more powerful magnet to perform its best. There have been many different kinds of permanent magnets used to achieve higher magnetic gauss – neodymium, Permalloy, alnico and many others have been used but the king of magnets by far, is the electro magnet

A ‘Grande’ sound system

JM Lab’s Grande Utopia EM makes the stage!

The ‘EM’ signifies a new approach – EM stands for ‘Electro Magnetic’. Essentially, there are two kinds of magnets – permanent and electro magnets. The latter needs an electrical charge through the soft iron core to magnetize and once the electrical charge are removed, the magnetism is lost. Permanent magnets as its name implies, do not have this effect. So why would we need electro magnets? The magnetic strength of electro magnets, measured in gauss, is significantly higher than that of permanent magnets. For

sometimes known as the field coil system. The latest Grande Utopia EM employs an electro magnet for the large 16-inch subwoofer. This entails a plug in power supply to energize the field coil. The power supply can vary the voltage to effect the magnetic strength and in turn can be used like a form of variable ‘back emf’ of the drive unit.

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Other than the EM, the rest of the speaker employs similar drive units as in the outgoing Grande Utopia Be – dual midbass flanks the tweeter while a small bass driver hung over the speaker and the large subwoofer sits in the lower cabinet. Like its predecessor, it uses a separate enclosure for each drive unit. The seemingly complex crossover also provides a lot of user custom settings on the back panel – each of the drive unit can be attenuated to suit the listening biases and room acoustics though it is still a ‘passive’ loudspeaker.

Driving the Grande Utopia in this setup is a small and relatively obscure German amplifier manufacturer – ASR. The designer for ASR, Herr Friedrich Schaefer has some very unusual ideas about amplifier designs.

For instance, it may be universally accepted to house big amplifiers in two boxes – a preamp and a poweramp. Schaefer chose a different way of doing things –

all the audio processing and amplification are kept within one box with the power supplies external.

This way, the signal paths are kept to a minimum to avoid sonic degradation. The standard power supplies are AC supplies rectified to DC to power the circuit boards. There is an option to add battery power supplies to reduce noise and increase dynamic range for the preamplifier section.

The ASR Emitter as they are called, can be used with up to 4 external power supplies – dual AC and dual battery supply. The top of the line Emitter II Exclusive as it is called here uses the quad supply option. The power supplies are designed to be placed as far as the supplied cable allows – running DC voltages dictates a certain length and gauge for resistance loss. A nice latch on connector means the likelihood of knocking the cable off the amplifier or the power supply is not going to happen.

Also from ASR is the Basis Exclusive phono stage.

Again with a separate Battery power supply, the Basis Exclusive should be one of the quietest phono stage around!

The system is fed via three different source components – a Kuzma XL turntable with their parallel air bearing tonearm or a Marantz Reference SA-7 SACD player or even an earlier Theta Data transport and Gen VIII DAC. Cables are assortment lot from NBS Statement range as well as other reputed makes.

The system is set up in a medium sized living room, using the Grande Utopia as a yardstick, just about the smallest room suitable for this large loudspeaker - JM Lab recommends a room with at least 300 sq feet. You need enough listening distance away from the speaker for all the drive units to inte grate though you can ‘effect’ the sound convergence through ‘tilting’ the separate enclosures. Acoustic diffusers/absorbers line the sides and back of the room to cut down on the standing waves and flutter echoes.

The room seems a little on the ‘deader’ side than usual which do help to minimize effect of direct vs reflected sound.

The speaker terminals and plugged in power supply cable

The Field Coil power supply with 6 step variable control

Around the back of the speaker, the enclosure below that of the tweeter is the hidden crossover panel

...the cover pops open

A light nudge and...

You must wonder – how does the $240,000 Grande Utopia sounds like?

Does it render a ‘big’ sound? To put it lightly, the Grande Utopia EM driven by the ASR electronics is like no usual hifi system. Forget about all the superlatives because from what I hear, it starts to transcend into another reality! Is the system super critical of the quality of the recordings?

It should be but it isn’t, the ASR and the EM are such ‘quiet’ links in the chain that it adds very little noise but there is a definite character – a just so slightly softer edge than expected. This happens around the critical midrange region but once it goes into the bass region, the inherently tight grip afforded by the ASR and the Utopia’s EM 16 inch subs is beyond reproach. The high frequency as expected is very extended, most apparent when spinning black vinyl. For CD, there is that slightly dead, truncated character that screams ‘digital’. However there was not to be any sort of dryness or harsh edge. If digital is ever to sound right, here it is as good as it gets.