A two-way with Scan-Speak 8542-05 and Vifa D25AG 35-06
By Lars Mytting
31 Dec 1996
The Sound
After breaking in both pair of speakers, I called together some friends for listening tests. The main characteristic of the speaker is its up-front midrange and very clear treble. The instruments tell you "Hey, I'm here", without being over-impressive.
A favourite track soon became Cowboy Junkies' "The Trinity Sessions", where Margo Timmins's voice was very present and involving, with lots of details and room information. Dynamics and transient response was good, but not exceptional. No really deep bass, but firm, with good control. -3db ca. 50 hz.
The drawback was that it did not have that refined homogenity which I would demand from a true high-end speaker, and some midrange harshness was present. I have no measuring equipment, but listening tests with the woofer alone convinced me that this was not distortion from the tweeter, but woofer cone breakup.
The tweeter did a excellent job even if it had heavy working conditions. Its qualities were confirmed when I later (yes, later..!) read in Stereophile (Jan. 1994) about the Audio Artistry Mozart speaker. It uses a Vifa metal dome crossed at 1800 hz - and thereby achieved "excellent midrange dispersion" (Quote page 107: "Its ability to suspend a wide, spacious soundstage in the front third of my Reference Room is quite remarkable".)
|
Top
