Shopper HF's editors take the work out of selecting the best-sounding model for your budget.
by Peter Dobbin and Michael Riggs
This spring's new speaker introductions range from small, two-way systems
to complex, multi-driver behemoths. Representative of the diversity of
the season's new entries are (1) Infinity's Reference Standard II, (2)
B&W's DM-16, (3) Sound of O's
Gabriel, (4) American Acoustics Labs' Impression IM-96, (5) Altec Lansing's
Model 1012, (6) Snell's Type I, (7) Boston Acoustics' A-150, (8) Itone
Audio's VMPS IIA/R Super Tower, and (9) Sansui's SP-L750.
Though no two speaker systems ever sound exactly alike, so many models are available (see "Surveying the Scene") that in any city or town you probably can hear an adequate cross-section of the various types. Yet, unless you are disciplined in your listening evaluations, the very abundance of competing models can make shopping a long, frustrating ordeal.
Our time-honored solutions to the problem of selecting the right loudspeaker for your tastes and needs address a number of variables: the size and liveness of the listening room, the amount of amplifier power available, the load a particular speaker presents to the amplifier, and so on. Approaching from this vantage, however, the novice audiophile is often left with a bewildering array of theories and parameters to commit to memory, obscuring the most important variable-how the speaker sounds. Simplification is possible if we make some reasonable assumptions, addressing the situations you are most likely to encounter.
First, let's assume that your listening room is of "average" size--about 15 by 20 feet with 9-foot ceilings. Some urbanites may complain that these dimensions are too generous and suburbanites may gasp at their meagerness, but a few feet more or less in any one direction should not he a major stumbling block.
Second, though adequate volume levels can be generated with amplifiers or receivers rated at as little as 20 watts (13dBW) per channel, we will assume that you have (or will someday buy) a unit capable of 40 to 50 watts (16 to 17 dBW) per side. At moderate listening levels with highly compressed program material (e.g., most rock music and FM broadcasts), the extra power won't mean much, but relatively uncompressed recordings, DBX-encoded discs, and digital discs will put a premium on power. Also, having enough power at the outset presumably frees you to audition speakers across a wider sensitivity range; even a speaker with relatively low efficiency can be driven to adequate listening levels in our "average" room with a 40-watt receiver.
And third, though impedance characteristics of loudspeakers vary from model to model, most are rated from 4 to ohms and should not present a difficult load for most amplifiers. Here again, we must make an assumption namely, that you are not planning to run two pairs of speakers simultaneously. Most amplifiers are not designed to work well into loads of less than 4 ohms, and two 8-ohm loudspeakers will present such a load, with momentary excursions to even lower impedances. If you think you might want to add another pair someday or are seeking a second pair to add to an existing stereo setup, make sure that the impedance is rated at a minimum of 8 ohms. HIGH FIDELITY's test reports can be a big help here.
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Surveying the Scene
A Lexicon of the Latest Loudspeaker Introductions Acoustat's Model Three ($750) is similar to the company's Model Two full-range electrostatic but was made slightly larger for somewhat more extended bass response.
Acoustic Research is offering its Super Value series of two-way bookshelf speakers. The smallest of the lot, the AR-18S, has an 8-inch woofer and sells for $90, while the largest, the AR-38S, has a 10-inch woofer and sells for $150. All were developed using AR's computer-aided design techniques and are said to be about 2 dB more efficient than the old bookshelf line.
Altec Lansing has two new midsize systems: the two-way Model 1010 ($200) and the three-way Model 1012 ($300). Both speakers use what Altec calls an energy-refracting transducer, or "sound prism," to handle high frequencies. It consists of slots that bend and delay some of the sound to control directivity.
American Acoustics Labs' latest design is a two-way compact bookshelf system, Model IM-96 ($240 the pair). The unit incorporates a soft-dome 1 inch tweeter and 6-inch woofer along with a rear-mounted 6-inch passive radiator.
Apature's R-T ribbon tweeter (available as an add-on for $100) is the starting point for all three of the company's complete systems. These include the two-way R-8 ($180) and three-way RI0 ($300). The Trident system ($500) consists of a subwoofer with two I0-inch drivers and two satellite speakers.
Audio Electronics Systems calls its three latest speakers the PC (phase coherent) series. Each employs a new woofer design with a flat, high-density diaphragm. The top-of-the-line Model AES-100 ($550) is a four-way system with two 10-inch flat-diaphragm woofers, a 3-inch soft-dome lower midrange driver, a 1 1/2-inch soft-dome upper midrange driver, and a 1-inch soft-dome tweeter. The AES-70, a three-way system, and the two-way AES-60 are priced at $300 and $150, respectively.
BML offers four Tracer Reference loudspeakers, ranging from the $200 Model 10, which uses one 6-inch woofer, to the $900 Model 130-I1, which has two 8-inch woofers. All are two-way designs with 1-inch dome tweeters.
BSR's newest in the Power handlers series is the Model 888 ($200), a side-firing three-way tower with two 8-inch woofers, a single 8-inch midrange, and a 2 1/2-inch tweeter.
B&W crossed the Atlantic with additions to the top and bottom of its Domestic Monitor series.
The DM-16 ($895), a three-way phase compensated speaker with a sloped front-baffle and a 9-inch woofer, fills the niche vacated by the discontinued DM-6. The much smaller DM-22 ($225) uses an 8 1/2 inch woofer and a 1-inch dome tweeter.
Both are said to have benefited from the work that went into the design of the highly regarded Model 801 Monitor.
Benjamin Electroproducts is marketing three loudspeakers manufactured by Vieta Audio Electronica of Spain.
These range from the compact B-4200 ($300) to the floor-standing omnidirectional B-10,000 ($1,750). Bertagni Electroacoustic Systems (BES), after a couple of false starts, is back in business with a whole new series of flat-panel bipolar loudspeakers. All four models ($200 to $550) use BES's unique polymer diaphragm drivers, which are made to vibrate by the impact of what the company calls an acoustic hammer.
Beveridge's System-4 ($3,000), which resembles the larger and more expensive System-3, is a hybrid that uses electrostatic elements above 200 Hz and two I2-inch dynamic drivers below.
Boston Acoustics has entries at the bottom and middle of its line. The smallest is the A-60 ($200 a pair) with an 8-inch woofer and 1 1/2-inch cone tweeter.
The A-150 ($550 a pair) uses the same three drivers as the top-of-the-line A200 in a smaller enclosure.
Byers Stephens Corporation, a new company from Mountain View, California, has six speakers employing either transmission-line or bass-reflex loading techniques. At the top of the line is the Model 1031 TC, a two-piece system with a 10-inch Bextrene woofer mounted in a floor-standing enclosure.
Canton has two new models this spring. One is a powered satellite/subwoofer system called the LSet Plus ($1,300). The other is the Ergo ($1,750), a floor-standing tri-amped loudspeaker with built-in amplifiers and electronic crossover.
Celestion presents its Ditton 300 ($400), a three-way system with a 10 inch woofer.
Cizek Audio has produced two subwoofers intended primarily for use with other speakers in its line. The $250 Model SW-5W, for use either singly or in pairs with Cizek Sound Window speakers, has a 10-inch woofer and a 10 inch passive radiator, plus a passive crossover that permits either summed or stereo operation. The KA-20, designed to match the KA-I mini-speaker, employs two 10-inch woofers in an acoustic suspension cabinet made of koa wood. It sells for $1,400 with the KA-20X electronic crossover; extra subwoofers alone, for stereo operation, sell for about $800. GLI, Inc., known primarily for its professional sound-reinforcement speakers and electronics, turns its attention to the home market with the Model MR-II loudspeaker. The unit features three horn-loaded solid-state super tweeters, four 5 1/4-inch mid/low-frequency drivers, and a rear-mounted 15 inch passive radiator. The MR-I1, housed in a walnut cabinet and equipped with overload protection circuitry, costs $350. Genesis Physics has replaced most of its line with reworked designs.
The four new models, sold in mirror-image pairs, range from the two-way
Model 1 ($100) to the three-way Model 320 ($330), with two 8-inch woofers in an acoustic suspension enclosure.
Infinity calls its latest model a direct descendant of the $20,000 Reference Standard system and has named it accordingly: the Reference 1 Standard II. The system--with two 10-inch polypropylene 1 woofers, three 5–inch dipole midranges, 11 and two Emit tweeters--is shaped like a curved, solid oak wing and is designed to minimize diffraction effects. The Reference Standard II, which stands 48 inches high, costs $650.
The meter with Itone Audio has revised its gargantuan VMPS Super Tower as the IIA/R ($1,430) with improved polypropylene midrange drivers. Standing more than 6 feet tall, it has sixteen drivers and is reportedly able to produce sound pressure levels of 101 dB at 1 1 watt (0 dBW) of input.
JBL has a successor to its floor standing L-150. Claimed to incorporate improved midrange and high-frequency drivers and a new crossover network, the L-150A costs $695.
Jensen has broadened its line with the introduction of four speakers in its Systems Series, borrowing techniques used in its high-end System B and C designs. The new models range from the two-way System 200 ($130) to the System 500 ($290), a four driver three-way speaker with a rear-firing 2-inch tweeter for improved dispersion.
KLH's Model 170 two-way bookshelf speaker ($100) is the lowest priced system in the line to have a polypropylene woofer. The company is also initiating the Series 500 line, featuring 2 1/4-inch cone tweeters and polymer-impregnated woofers. The four models. which are claimed to he highly efficient, range from the 8-inch, two-way Model 508 ($100) to the 15-inch, three-way Model 5 I5 ($350). KM Laboratories, a Belgian manufacturer, is offering the AC-550 floor standing bass-reflex speaker ($450), which allows electronic adjustment of both high-frequency directivity and low frequency response. The AC-550's driver complement consists of two 9 inch woofers and three I-inch dome tweeters.
Ken wood continues its exploration of cone construction. For the LS 1000 ($250) two-way bass-reflex system, it uses thermal shock treatment to form a 10-inch woofer into a bowl-shaped ridged "cone" said to be extremely stiff and highly inert.
Koss's latest is the Model 201/ Kossfire ($210), which has dual angled tweeters for wide treble distribution and high power-handling capacity. Bass is handled by a 12-inch ported woofer, the midrange by a 5-inch cone.
Mission Electronics has added the two-way Model 700 ($185) to the bottom of its line. It combines a 9-inch woofer and a I-inch soft-dome tweeter in a ported enclosure. The Ltiijji n speaker comes in mirror-image pairs.
Paisley Research of Canada has six two-way loudspeakers. The least expensive is the Model 10 ($160) with a 10 inch paper woofer, and the premium model is the 500 ($400) with an 8-inch Bextrene woofer.
Petroff Labs' Kephren loudspeaker ($400), a trapezoidally shaped Floor-standing system, makes use of a 12-inch polypropylene woofer, a cluster of four 41/2-inch polypropylene midranges, and a dome tweeter. The cluster operates from 100 Hz to 5 kHz, which the manufacturer says results in unusually uncolored reproduction.
Petrous Electronics' RBH/Petrous 1' Qo r SW-12-W is a subwoofer system that consists of a 12-inch polypropylene cone with a dual voice coil mounted in a glass topped walnut enclosure.
Phase Research, a Dallas-based company, incorporates a leaf tweeter and polypropylene woofer in its two-way ported speaker systems. Dubbed a Line Energy Driver-or, somewhat confusingly, LED-the leaf tweeter consists of a polymer membrane and photo etched aluminum voice coil. Phase Research uses an LED 5 inches long to cover the frequency range from 1.6 to 20 kHz in its Little-d speaker ($210) and a 7 inch version in the Model R ($360). Revox's new top-of-the-line system is called The Symbol ($1,300). A three-way design, it houses a 12 1/2-inch woofer, a passive radiator of similar size, a 2-inch plastic-cone midrange, and a 1 inch dome tweeter in a floor-standing cabinet.
SKS, Inc., a new company, claims super-accurate transient response for the Intaglio ($500), a two-way system. Its designers claim that the speaker can handle 10-millisecond tone bursts at 1,200 watts.
Sansui's SPL series of loudspeakers is said to be designed for both high efficiency and high power-handling capacity. Both the $650 SP-L750 and the $500 SP-L550 use a 12-inch woofer plus horn tweeters and super-tweeters.
Shahinian Acoustics calls its new subwoofer the Contra-Bombarde ($850), a stereo unit with dual 8-inch drivers in twin slot-loaded horn enclosures.
Snell uses conventional dynamic drivers in an unconventional configuration in its Type 1 system ($1,195 per pair). The design is said to eliminate floor reflections that cause interference ripples in the frequency response of the direct sound. Both the woofer and the tweeter are mounted near the floor on a sloping baffle, with the tweeter half obscured by a second reflective baffle sloping up from the floor.
The Sound of O, from Berkeley, California, is offering the time-aligned Gabriel loudspeaker ($1,400). A large floor-standing model, mounted on casters, it houses a 15-inch woofer in a Thiele-alignment ported enclosure. A 10-inch lower-midrange driver is mounted in a sub enclosure, and the 6 inch upper-midrange and I-inch treble drivers are mounted on a stalk above the bass cabinet.
Speakerlab, the Seattle-based manufacturer of speaker kits, is changing its marketing approach this spring. Each of the three new Wave Aperture tower speakers is being offered in a pre-assembled version only, with prices ranging from $139 to $300. The top-of-the-line Model S-500 contains a leaf tweeter, 4 1/2-inch midrange driver, 10 inch polypropylene woofer, and 12-inch passive radiator.
Technics has three new speakers using flat drivers with honeycomb internal structures for high rigidity and more nearly pistonic motion. The SB-8 ($500) bass 13-inch woofer, 3-inch midrange, and 1-inch tweeter. The SB-6 ($400) employs the same midrange and tweeter with a 10-inch woofer; the smallest of the three, the SB-4 ($300), has an 8-inch woofer and a 2-inch midrange.
3D Acoustics' newest design is the Model 3D-8 ($165) with an 8-inch acoustic suspension woofer and two 2-inch tweeters.
Weber Electronics' six systems range from the small two-way LBK-200 to the tall five-way Aural Fifteen. Weber's SW-212 subwoofer has two I2-inch drivers and can be used as a coffee table or game table.
Unitronix Corporation is marketing Polish-made Impact speakers: four models, starting with the bookshelf Model 2 ($150) and topped by the floor standing Model 8 ($400).
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With those basic-and reasonably safe-assumptions in mind, you can proceed to the task of choosing a loudspeaker. For that, we offer the following three-point shopping guide to getting the sound you want for the price you want to pay.
1. Decide on a Budget If you've been out of the market awhile, don't be surprised that $50 speakers of hi-fi quality are no longer to be found. Like everything else, good speakers have become more expensive.
But unlike many other consumer goods, they also have become better. Most full-range models start at around $125, and discounts are not as readily obtainable with speakers as they are with audio electronics. For slightly more money--say, around $200 each--you should hear a dramatic improvement in sound quality. Above that price, fine points of discrimination come into play, and the sky is the limit on pricing. No matter what price range you select, however, you should have no trouble finding at least four or five competing brands to audition in your locale.
2. Bring Records or Tapes
Any dealer you visit will have a (ache of records with which to demonstrate his wares, but likely as not it won't include the ones that would tell you what you need to know. What you want is a speaker that will make your records sound the way their producers intended them to, or at least the way you would like them to sound. Which means that you should take records or tapes you are familiar with to use for your speaker evaluations.
Ideally, you should listen to speakers in an environment that approximates the acoustics of your own listening room-actually in your listening room, if possible. At the very least, try to have the models you audition moved to positions in the showroom recommended by their manufacturers or, if any of those turn out not to be practical placements for your home, to positions that approximate the ones you would use there. Placement can have a strong effect on a speaker's sound, especially in the bass. For example, unless specifically designed for mid-wall placement, a speaker so positioned will almost certainly sound bass-shy compared to a similar system placed against the same wall but resting on the floor rather than a shelf. Dealers sometimes intentionally position speakers so as to exaggerate differences between designs to the benefit of the ones they most want to sell.
3. Keep an Open Mind
If you go into a store insisting that you must have a linear-phase loudspeaker with an electrostatic tweeter, a horn midrange, and a transmission-line woofer, chances are that's what you'll walk home with, even if it has a long tail and floppy ears and howls at the moon.
It never hurts to have an understanding of the technical side of audio, but don't let a lot of design details obscure your perception of how a speaker actually sounds-which is, after all, what really matters. There are speakers, good and bad, in all sizes and shapes and with all manner of drivers. Similarly, there are good and bad speakers in every price range, so fiscal pain is no guarantee of aural pleasure. Go for the sound, not for the hype.
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(High Fidelity, USA print magazine)
Also see: The Critics Go Speaker Shopping [June 1981]
Acoustat Model Two full-range electrostatic loudspeaker [review, Jun. 1981]