Details

Category: Reader Feedback

Created on Monday, 20 May 2013 07:37

Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Reader

To Doug Schneider,

First of all, thank you very much for your review of the PMC twenty.24 loudspeakers!

I did not have the chance to hear a pair yet but, being in the process of trying to find a fine pair of speakers which would suit my tastes, I'm trying not to look at all the contenders in my price range (up to €5000), but, still, try to give some space to speakers I would not have thought of before.

At the moment, I've pretty much decided to try the Salk SongTower Supercharged (which I've also never heard before but can send back), but I really liked the JMR Abcisse (with which I've spent a whole day for testing, along with the smaller Cantabile Supreme, also very nice). I would also really like to have the chance to test the twenty.24 but it's quite hard in southwestern France.

I've never seen any comparisons between these three loudspeakers (or even two of them) and I was wondering if you might have had the chance, through testing or shows, to hear all three and provide some feedback on how you think they might compare.

Have you heard the JMR Abcisse or the Salk SongTower Supercharged and, if it's the case, how do they compare to the twenty.24?

Thanks in advance for any feedback you might provide!

Best regards,
François Dorion

I’ll first break the bad news to you: I’ve heard many speakers over the years, but never anything from Salk or JMR, so I can’t tell you how the PMCs would compare to them. PMC is pretty is easy to find around here, but Salk and JMR aren't in my neck of the woods.

But what might help to know is that for the amount of money you’re willing to spend (€5000 is equivalent to about $6500), you should be able to get an astonishingly good set of speakers. I know you said that you don't want to look at everything out there, but I do encourage you to look beyond only those brands you've picked so far. If you're open to that, keep the models you have in mind on your list, but also consider these brands: KEF, Sonus Faber, Paradigm, PSB, Music Culture, Amphion, Dynaudio, Harbeth, and Focal, to name just some of them. From my experience, these brands all produce top-class designs well worth considering.

Sorry I couldn’t be of help with the specific brands you mentioned, but I hope that what I’ve said does help with your search so that you end up with a great set of speakers. . . . Doug Schneider

Details

Category: Reader Feedback

Created on Thursday, 16 May 2013 06:35

Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Reader

To Doug Schneider,

Thanks for your interesting 2009 review of the Harbeth M30. Have you heard the M30.1? I have been thinking of buying these speakers or the Dynaudio Confidence C1s or the Penaudio Cenyas. I have a medium-size room and listen to a wide variety of music, but especially jazz and vocals. Thanks so much for any input you can give.

Charles Klein

Funny you should bring that speaker up. I was just at High End 2013 in Munich and I stopped by the Harbeth booth to admire it. It wasn’t playing, mind you, but I was thinking that we should probably get a pair in for reivew; in fact, I was talking with the North American distributor last year at the TAVES event and he was suggesting a similar thing. The M30 did some special things, especially with voices, so the M30.1 is definitely worth checking out, since designer Alan Shaw said he improved upon the original design substantially. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you how they’d compare to the C1s or the Cenyas, at least not right now, but I do promise to follow up on this. . . . Doug Schneider

Details

Category: Reader Feedback

Created on Saturday, 18 May 2013 08:38

Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Reader

To Howard Kneller,

I was searching the Internet to understand what the Audio Research LS27’s gain settings do when I came across your great review. First, as a former recording engineer (from the '70s through the '80s), I appreciate your reverence for the 808.

You noted ARC recommended you listen using the highest gain setting. Any explanation why? Do you have any views on the qualities and the reason for such a recommendation?

I have the LS27 paired with ARC Reference 210s and Sonus Faber Amati Anniversario speakers. My previous "real" stereo had a PS Audio preamp, which had a switch that essentially made the preamp a straight wire with the potentiometer, as you describe, but amazing transparency came with that mode.

I know it all comes down to what you like (and I love to crank rock with the High setting), but I am trying to understand what ARC is doing with the three settings and now, why they recommend High.

Thanks much!
Stacy Baird

Thanks for your e-mail. My review of the LS27 was several years ago. However, as stated in my review, I used the highest gain setting based on Audio Research's advice and the characteristics of my components at the time. Unfortunately, I don't recall what impressions I had, if any, with the lower settings.

I checked with Audio Research's Dave Gordon and he had the following to say about the issue: "The gain of the LS27 is 24/18/12dB via its balanced outputs, 18/12/6dB via its single-ended outputs (High/Medium/Low). The full "native" gain of the circuit is 24dB balanced, 18dB single-ended. The Medium and Low outputs simply attenuate the full gain of the LS27, with a slight loss of information. We do this because some people need the full 24dB BAL/18dB SE of gain; for other people that is too much gain, depending on the output level of the source (CD player, tuner, phono stage, etc.) and the sensitivity of the amplifier. If it is usable, the High gain setting will provide the most transparency, detail and dynamics because there is no attenuation."

I am glad to find someone out there who also appreciates the 808s. Most people don't know how good or influential they were. I hope this helps. . . . Howard Kneller

Details

Category: Reader Feedback

Created on Wednesday, 15 May 2013 08:56

Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Reader

To Doug Schneider,

I just read your response to a reader. I have the Leben CS600 and Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grand speakers. At low and medium volume, they are magical. However, when I turn up the volume to "room filling" levels, the treble becomes harsh and brittle sounding. I've tried different tubes and various positions but nothing works. At this point, I'm ready to sell and try something different.

Ed Tiesse

I’m not surprised that the amp works well at low and medium volume levels, because it doesn’t take that much power to get half-decent output from a speaker. To go louder, though, you might need quite a bit more power, since each 3dB SPL increase from the speaker requires a doubling of amplifier power. That harsh and brittle sound you’re hearing is likely nothing more than the amp running out of power and distorting. . . . Doug Schneider