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The Entry Level #23
"Hi, honey," Ms. Little said. "Going home to play with your cartridge?"
I made a face, nodded, sighed. Sensing some sharp-witted remark forming in Nicole's filthy mind, I beat her to the punch: "Yup, that's what I call it."
"A lot of strange things went through my head," Nicole admitted, "but I'll keep them to myself."
"Why?"
"I'm a lady."
Ms. Little laughed. Nicole and I spontaneously broke into a song-and-dance routine of the Tom Jones classic: She's a lady! Whoa-oh-oh, she's a lady! People on Newark Avenue paid no attention. But not even Tom Jones could hide my frustration.
"Seriously, what's wrong?" Nicole asked.
I explained that I'd been working on a review of a phono cartridge—"the little thing on a record player that holds the needle"—and it had been giving me headaches. "I can't figure out how to get it properly mounted."
Nicole giggled. "But you had no problem setting up Natalie or Kristen's turntables."
"Natalie and Kristen both use the Music Hall USB-1. That turntable includes its own special cartridge. All you have to do is screw it in."
"You're making this difficult for me, Stephen."
"I'm not playing around, Nicole. It's really hard."
"I give up."
"I'm about to give up, too."
How I got into this mess
About a year ago, Art Dudley surprised me with the gift of a gently used Dynavector DV 10X5 high-output moving-coil cartridge. AD had reviewed the Dynavector in our October 2003 issue. At the time, it sold for $360; the price has since risen to $450. Art told our readers, "This colorful, well-balanced, chunky-sounding cartridge played music extremely well, with a bonus of very fine stereo imaging. In other words, it's a great all-arounder. More money can buy more drama, impact, scale, and transparency . . . but the Dynavector DV 10X5 should give you most of what I think you need at a bargain price. Wildly, highly recommended."
With me, Art was less restrained and far more succinct: "This cartridge will change your life."
Change my life? How was I supposed to feel about that? I was intrigued and excited, but also scared. Change is messy and loud; it disrupts my sense of order, my illusion of control, my peace and quiet. But it can also be invigorating, rejuvenating, essential for growth. Recalling the advice of a close audiophile friend (Don't be afraid of the hi-fi!), I opened the Dynavector's tempting gold box, admired the brilliant red cartridge inside, and let my mind wander. I saw wild colors shooting from my loudspeakers. I saw three-dimensional images dancing in my listening room. I heard the irreparable tearing of tonearm leads, the sudden snap of a delicate cantilever, the death rattle of dropped headshell screws. I closed the terrible gold box, set it atop my LP shelves, and told myself that I would get to it—in time. There was no need to rush.
The box stayed shut until this past April, when John Atkinson and I decided that I should review the new VPI Traveler turntable, which had made such a great impression at the New York Audio and AV Show. At $1300, the Traveler would be too expensive for inclusion in "The Entry Level," but it would make the perfect subject for my first full-length equipment report. When I realized that the Traveler doesn't come equipped with a phono cartridge, I thought of Art's Dynavector.
"The Traveler works great with the Dynavector!" VPI's Mathew Weisfeld told me.
That settled that. But installing the damn thing wasn't so easy.
But wait
Before I could use the Dynavector DV 10X5 on the VPI Traveler, I would have to become familiar with its sound on my Rega Research P3-24 turntable—a fact that I found appealing for a few reasons: First and most important, there'd be no way to responsibly and confidently judge the Traveler's sound without first being able to characterize the Dynavector's sound. In an attempt to evaluate a specific component, that component should be the only variable introduced to the review system. Second, because my audiophile friends say that moving-coil cartridges are simply cooler than their moving-magnet counterparts, I've often wondered how my Rega would respond to an MC design like the Dynavector. And third, it had come to my attention, through several uncomfortable interactions not only with those same friends but also with disinterested hi-fi dealers, Stereophile readers, and anonymous forum posters, that my Rega's Elys MM cartridge is, to put it nicely, sorta lame. (Womp womp.)
"But wait—how so?"
"It just kinda sucks, man."
"Oh."
Come to think of it, in the many times I've encountered various iterations of Rega's famed Planar 3, either at a show or at a shop, the turntable was never equipped with Rega's own Elys. The cartridge that most often accompanied the turntable was, in fact, the Dynavector DV 10X5. You'd think that would have been motivation enough, but I was still scared.
The task of reviewing the VPI Traveler was the push I needed to finally face my fears and make the change.
It was time to play with my cartridge.
False start
My initial attempt at installing the DV 10X5 on my Rega P3-24 was entirely unsuccessful. When I opened the gold box and closely inspected the contents, I found, in addition to the cartridge itself, only a single mounting screw—no other hardware whatsoever. What was I supposed to do with a single screw? In search of clues, I returned to Art's original review.
Turned out that Art had had two main complaints about the DV 10X5: First, the mounting holes weren't threaded, which made installation slightly more difficult than usual; and second, the Dynavector's shape and size mandated the use of the included cheap, shallow-headed mounting screws. And then I read, "With few exceptions, the first thing I do when I get a new cartridge is to gleefully throw away the mounting hardware supplied with it."
Hmm.
So I had a tantalizingly pretty, potentially life-changing Dynavector DV 10X5, but no way of attaching it to my Rega P3-24. It was the perfect opportunity to request a new sample and learn more about the DV 10X5. I contacted Dynavector USA's Mike Pranka, who informed me that the latest iteration of the cartridge has one very useful improvement: threaded mounting holes.
A shiny, new DV 10X5 was in my hands in no time. It came in a nice black box with all the necessary hardware.
The necessary hardware
What's the big deal about moving-coil cartridges? What makes them cooler than the moving-magnet variety? In our 2005 Buyer's Guide, Wes Phillips broke it down simply. In MM cartridges, a tiny magnet is attached to the cantilever at the end opposite the stylus. As the stylus traces an LP's groove, its side-to-side and up-and-down motions drive the magnets through small coils of wire, creating electrical signals that are then passed on to the phono preamplifier. In MC cartridges, the wire coils are attached to the cantilever and the coils move in front of fixed magnets. The coils are generally lighter than the magnets, making MC cartridges more responsive to the microscopic motions of the stylus in the groove. Improved response equals better sound: in general, more inner detail, greater drama, scale, and grace.
On the other hand, because the wire coils of an MC cartridge must be extremely small and the wire itself extremely fine, MC cartridges are usually more expensive than MM cartridges. Additionally, those light coils generate weaker signals than MM designs, requiring additional amplification in the phono preamplifier or by an outboard step-up transformer—clearly a daunting proposition for the budget-minded audiophile.
The beauty of a high-output cartridge like the Dynavector DV 10X5 is that you get the benefits of an MC design without needing the extra gain. The cartridge, therefore, places less responsibility on the preamp—an especially attractive attribute, considering that high-quality (ie, high-output, low-noise) phono preamps are neither cheap nor easy to manufacture. But to achieve its higher output, the cartridge must use coils of higher mass, which, if not properly implemented, can minimize the benefits of the moving-coil design. To solve this problem, Dynavector employs a proprietary coil-winding machine—a tool that no doubt contributes to the DV 10X5's attractive price. According to Mike Pranka, Dynavector "has been perfecting the art of coil-winding for decades." The company uses coils of exceptionally low mass for their given output: 2.5mV, in the case of the DV 10X5.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
Can You visYoualize Yourself Wearing Denon Headphones?
With their Music Maniac line, Denon targets listeners completely obsessed with music and willing to put down the dough to reflect their commitment—essentially, the audiophile. Their product literature shows a middle-aged man, handsome (an audiophile?), and with time on his hands to dive into his collection. He listens to his over-ear Music Maniac Artisan AH-D7100 ($1,199) plugged into a Denon receiver while lounging. A cool breeze blows back his curtains. He could be at his beach house in the Bahamas or just taking a break at home. Either way, in this moment it is just him and his music.
The Denon Music Maniac Artisan
The Artisan rocks a patent-pending 50mm “Free Edge Nano Fiber Driver”. This technology circumvents permanently affixing the driver to the baffle by fixing the headphone’s driver to a polypropylene rubber surround first, which is then fixed to the baffle. The ultra-rigid nano-fiber driver, an improvement on their previous micro-fiber driver, is given room to breathe behind itself with the space provided by the rubber surround. With the Free Edge Nano Fiber Driver technology, Denon promises “the high performance sound of a box speaker in such a small form factor, expanding the frequency range to lower levels while reducing distortion.” The Artisan model features hand-carved African mahogany ear cups that rotate a full 360 degrees on a ball & socket design allowing the ear cups to rest comfortably at whatever angle fits the listener’s bone structure the best. Per the specifications, the Artisan has a 110db sensitivity, 5—45k frequency response, and 25ohm impedance.
Also in the Music Maniac line is the more “affordable” over-ear AH-D600 ($499) which has a lower sensitivity at 108db and 25ohm impedance. It also uses the 50mm Free Edge Nano Fiber Driver technologyand a patent-pending pentagonal earpad design. The reasons for the price difference between the $499 AH-D600 and the more than twice as costly Artisan model include:
- Hand-carved African mahogany wood ear cups which are not featured on the AH-D600s
- The 99.9999999% oxygen-free 10-foot long cable that comes with the Artisan is measured to spec unlike the AH-D600s 10-footer which is not measured to spec and only states itself as “oxygen-free”
- The Artisan model comes with an aluminum stand to hold your cans; the D600s do not.
The dual balanced armature based Music Maniac AH-C400 in-ears are housed in shiny and stiff Zinc Die-Cast housing. Like the two on-ear Music Maniac designs, it features an iPhone/iPod microphone and control. I listened to the AH-C400s at a September press event, and despite the loud surroundings, I could still tell this pre-production model sounded sick. I found their sound similar to the in-ear UE900s ($399.99). D&M Headphone Category Manager Petro Shimonishi informed me the AH-C400’s designer was actually listening to some Ultimate Ears while designing the AH-C400s. While similarities existed in their up-front and clear projection and palpable but uncolored midrange, the Denons offered more air and sense of recording space height while the UEs opted for depth within the sounds. The UE900s’ high end was more smoothly resolved compared to the Denon’s crisper high-end extension. This could lead one to consider the UEs highs a touch blunted compared to the Denon’s, but the Denon’s also came along with a slightly harsh treble.
The Denon Globe Cruiser: elegance and culture can be bought for $499.
The Globe Cruiser line positioned towards business travelers and others constantly on-the-go includes the on-ear noise-cancelling AH-NCW500 ($499) and the in-ear noise isolating AH-W200 ($179). The AH-NCW500 offers sophisticated style. It reminds me of an old leather couch, worn down by rears over the years. If personified, the Globe Cruiser is refined and experienced and prefers Caetano Veloso to Cream. His life is stressful, but his music is relaxing, like his old leather couch.
The on-ear Globe Cruiser models use a Bluetooth connection exclusively over the apt-X codec and claim CD quality audio over a wireless connection. Ballsy, like the Global Cruiser himself.
This guy is an asshole.
The Globe Cruiser on-ears integrate microphones into the headpiece and one can control incoming calls, volume, and music playback via the pinwheel on one side of the earcup. When testing these out for a short period, I listened via Bluetooth connection to some of Feist’s Let it Die, a modern audiophile classic. Through the Globe Cruiser on-ears, the guitars sounded relaxed and surrounded by air. When connected via Bluetooth, one does not control the volume of playback from one’s phone but instead on the built-in integrated amp within the headphone. The amp volume is turned up or down by rotating the wheel on the right ear cup forwards or backwards. If the battery on the integrated amp runs out (it’s supposed to last for 10 hours), the headphones can run in passive mode via 3.5mm connection. The on-ear Globe Cruisers are designed to fold flat for storage and run on a rechargeable battery. The two models of the Globe Cruiser, the AH-NCW500BK/Black and 500SR/Silver, retail for $499.
For those who prefer to travel light, Denon also offers the AH-W200 Globe Cruiser in-ears for $179. Featuring an adjustable neckband, these in-ears wrap behind your neck, and their lightweight look and feel more truly match the nature of someone constantly on the move. The in-ears also utilitize a Bluetooth 3.0 wireless connection and a 5-hour rechargeable battery.
Heaphones from the future…the Denon Exercise Freaks.
The third division in the Denon’s new line of headphones is the Exercise Freak obviously made for people who need their jams while running or lifting. Unlike the penny-loafer feel of the Global Cruiser, the Exercise Freak is more like an Adidas sandal: bouncy, rubbery, and colorful. Available in tarmac black, pool-water blue, or a finish-line yellow, the Exercise Freak AH-W150s are sweat-proof and use a reflective band on the neck to make yourself visible while running at night. Each color retails for $149. Be careful though, the Exercise Freaks cannot run without Bluetooth connectivity i.e. it does not come with/allow connection via a 3.5mm cable. If your playback device does not have Bluetooth connectivity, avoid these.
Finally, we have Denon’s Urban Raver line of headphones, designed specifically for bass-lovers. The over-ear AH-D400s ($399) have an LED ring on the ear cup which glows in Skrillex blue when activated. While charging the headphone’s integrated amp battery, the LED ring pulses in red.
Reminds me of…
Denon specifically states the type of music the Urban Raver is made for: “perfect for bass-heavy Techno, Trance, Drum & Bass tracks.” Listening to Andy C’s Jungle/Dub/Trance remix of Major Lazer’s “Get Free”, the Urban Ravers went incredibly DEEP reproducing the track’s throbbing hoovers and bass blasts with hefty weight and pressure but lacked textural detail in the bass opting for size, depth, and impact in the lower frequencies. Using a 50mm driver and massive cushy earcups, these headphones look as powerful as they promise. The on-ear AH-D400s have a 115db sensitivity, a 5—37k frequency response, and provide 12 hours of Bluetooth playback via a rechargeable battery but also work in passive mode.
The in-ear AH-C300 Urban Ravers use two 11mm drivers mounted in parallel in each earpiece. Each driver uses Denon’s patent-pending Double Air Compression Driver technology. The in-ears retail for $249.
Both the over-ear and in-ear Urban Ravers utilize a built-in control wheel for iPod/iPhone/iPad volume control, phone calls, and playback.
The AH-C300s use a nozzle profile for extended comfort.
Each of the four Denon Headphone lines has a suggested accompanying smartphone app. The Denon Club app for the Urban Raver connects listeners to TuneIn radio, as does the Denon Music app for the Music Maniac series. The Globe Cruiser app connects listeners to their devices travel apps instantly all from one screen. The Exercise Freak’s Denon Sport app uses your phone’s GPS to map and measure the distance and speed of your workouts. All three of these apps allow users to create custom EQ curves and share them with other Denon app users.
But as introduced and then totally ignored for the majority of this article, Denon has also just released another app: their new VisYOUalize yourself app, which allows listeners to connect to their iTunes libraries or to the online Soundcloud catalog, create a three-dimensional image-mapped version of their own face (or a friend’s) based on an uploaded photo, and manipulate the graphics. This 3-D-ified head is fitted with the Denon headphone of your choice and then bobs along with the music. The image’s face is overlaid with different styles of graphic EQs with adjustable color and intensity settings. Watching your disembodied head bob along with the music thing is actually pretty darn creepy. The folks at Denon showed me their renderings with their cats. Definitely cuter. The image at the top is of my dad bouncing along to some Rodrigo y Gabriela.
The new Denon website (http://usa.denon.com/us/headphone) features the same little programmable head game but looks way cooler/more terrifying on a bigger screen. There one can also find out more about the various new Denon headphones.
So which is right for you? Most of the grimey-raver kids I’ve chilled with probably would not spend/have over $400 to spend on headphones and would rather opt for some nitrous unless they DJ professionally or if their daddy gave them the cash, two possible subdivisions of the Urban Raver market. I guess Wall Street bros into the club scene dig trance too. So this headphone’s target expands to everyone who digs the music indicated by Denon (“Techno, Trance, Drum & Bass”) that can also afford it. Maybe they are targeting the Wall Street club bros. $499 is always a lot to pay for headphones, especially if they are targeted to a youth-based music demographic.
The Exercise Freaks are sleek and futuristic and look great for actual exercise freaks, but only offer Bluetooth compatibility. If working out with a chunky iPhone on your hip is a hindrance, think twice before buying these (a hip-attachable case is provided with the Freaks in case you are still interested).
The Music Maniac line is directed obviously at people who love music, a target so large by people who would admit to being part of it, only people with the wallet big enough to show their love will matter, but maybe that’s their intended target to begin with: music lovers with money.
The Globe Cruiser is the most clearly and correctly targeted headphone of the line with a price-point and image both matching their intended target. People constantly travelling for their job most likely earn the disposable income to shell out $500 for some sophisticated ‘phones that match the cultured and confident feel of the Globe Cruisers. I predict success with this line.
One question these clearly targeted and designed products make me ask is does sound even matter to the non-audiophile when deciding their headphone purchase? Consumers hope that purchases are reflections of who we are on the inside, and the headphone, an incredibly personal and often-used tool, should be the ultimate expression of our personalities. This is why there are so many companies jumping into the headphone market. It’s not a competition based on sound. It’s one based on who can connect the clearest to the customer as to how the music one listens to makes them feel as a person. Denon does a great job of having their headphones embody the suggested music and lifestyles with each of these ‘phones, and since they are so specific with their targets, hopefully customers will more easily identify themselves with the ‘phones.
In a recent meeting I had with another headphone manufacturer, one that was selling their luxurious appeal and color options rather than their sound technology, the majority of our conversation was spent discussing “price points” and how that would determine success in the headphone market. While the price point of the Urban Raver lines may be mismatched to its intended target, at least Denon is effectively differentiating their products with a strategy other than using a celebrity (Simon Cowell! Michael Phelps?) or by different color options (mustard yellow cans does not equal good sound). Instead, Denon is targeting people by specific lifestyles and hopefully the consumers will be able to identify themselves with their message.
Source : stereophile[dot]com
High-End Tunes to Go
I was pulled over by a beefy young Trooper, lights blinking furiously. Oops. [heh heh]. He saw Kathleen and I weren't nuts, checked the papers and my license, then checked out the Lexus very carefully with his flashlight. There was much oohing and ahhing.
"Got a GPS (Global Positioning System) I see," he said.
"Yeah, officer, the SC 430 is only one of two in the New York area, the other's at the Javits for the car show! Hard top goes down into the trunk, and it's got an amazing Mark Levinson audio system in it! Hey, I don't own it, I'm a journalist, I just play a rich man on TV! I get to play with it for a couple of weeks, then bye-bye."
He was smiling. "How's your license, Jonathan?" he asked. We were on a first-name basis by then. (K-10 had the good sense not to blow cigarette smoke in his face.)
"Clean as a whistle!" I chirped. "Okay, lemme see what I can do for you," he said as he headed back to his cruiser.
At the Consumer Electronics Show last January, John Atkinson and I were asked by Madrigal Audio Laboratories if Stereophile would like the use of Lexus' hot new SC 430 coupe for a month or so. We could then write up the Mark Levinson Premium Sound System contained within, of course.
We looked at each other. Nah...
[in best Chris Rock voice] JUST KIDDING!
It all seemed like a dream. But in early April, there it was—a gleaming SC 430 with pearlescent white-over-tan interior, being off-loaded in front of emapUSA's offices on Fifth Avenue. Such a spectacle.
It attracted attention like...well, like Marilyn Monroe the night she sang "Happy Birthday" to JFK? Like Julia Roberts on the phone begging you for a date? Hot, hot, HOT! (Where's Buster Poindexter when you need him?) A guy in Range Rover told me Toyota makes the best cars, bar none...and would I mind if he gave the Lexus the 20/20? I got innumerable thumbs-ups from strangers, and huge, approving grins met K-10 and me no matter where we drove.
The question thrown at me all too often by less couth Noo Yawkahs was: "Hey! How much you pay?" Everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame. Slowed down in traffic and trying to vary what had become an almost inevitable dialogue, I told one guy, "Too much!" Which elicited the following outraged response in prototypical Noo Yawkese: "Hey! You tellin' me I can't afford that thing?"
Thankfully, the traffic opened in front of us and the SC 430's quad-cam V8 whooshed us into the sunset before further mayhem ensued. Even the toll-taker on the Jersey Turnpike, stirred from her stupor, chirped, "That the new Lexus? Cuuuuute!"
The SC 430 lists for around $60,000, if you want to know. Its top-up profile is reminiscent of the Audi TT's, but more sculpted and less the bathtub shape of an upside-down jelly-mold Porsche 356. The front is blunt but scythes its way quite cleanly through the air—modern computer-aided design, no doubt—so little noise or wind buffeting disturbs top-down motoring, even at high speeds. And I'm a high-speed kinda guy.
Riding with the hard top up gives you an unbelievably quiet interior space in which to lollygag and enjoy the car's rich fitments. Speeding along effortlessly at high zip is a doddle, thanks to a huge-hearted, big-torqued engine with tons of grunt on demand. The SC 430 is a hero—it was a gas, as it were, to press its pedal to da metal.
The Lexus's closing speeds were so much higher, with so much more mass involved than our little low-mileage 1984 BMW 318i, that it occasionally made even the ever-fearless Kathleen jump. And let's just say that the sophisticated traction control, which allows smooth, feather-touch braking, takes a bit of getting used to when changing direction suddenly. Ahem.
The steering wheel, on its motorized adjustment shaft, is a pleasure of ergonomic style and function. The seats can be set to two memory positions. The whole thing simply reeks of luxury. Outside, the SC 430 strikes a nice, contemporary stance with big wheel rims and slim-sidewall tires, which is very popular these days.
The Levinson component
When I tried to get the lowdown on the SC 430's sound from Madrigal CEO Phil Muzio—see David Lander's interview elsewhere in this issue—I collided with someone who is very passionate about the Lexus/Mark Levinson project. I'm not being fatuous (for a change)—Muzio's got religion, and its name is Mark Levinson; everyone at the ML division of Madrigal has done his or her job so well that Lexus came to them: "Do you think Mark Levinson would consider doing an audio system for us?" Well, duh, as it were. According to Muzio, ML had only been considering it for...the last nine years!
"We did it because we always had an appetite to bring what we consider the ML signature sound and refinement to automobiles. But you need a low enough ambient noise level to allow it." Turns out their earlier LS 400 had a noise factor 3dB better than those of several other luxury brands, and Lexus was looking for a replacement for Nakamichi.
The pieces fell into place. As Muzio explained, Harman owns Madrigal, JBL works with Toyota, JBL is another Harman company, and Harman has a "terrific" OEM car stereo division, And in Japan, Lexus employs a lot of audiophiles! So when Lexus' engineering department did the market research, Mark Levinson came out in the top three. "So they came to us..." mused Muzio, amazement still in his voice.
Queried closely about skeptical audiophiles who will no doubt accuse Lexus and ML of badge engineering, Muzio said, "The motivating factor for the mission was to replicate in their car, as closely as possible, that emotional experience people who love music get in their home. People spend a lot of time in their cars—for some, even more listening time than at home. To that end..."
The Mark Levinson Premium Sound System comes standard in the Lexus SC 430 and is an option for the LS 430, GS 430, GS 300, and LX 470. Each Lexus vehicle installed with a PSS is voiced with separate digital EQs, and the SC 430's fairly small cabin mandates a very nearfield experience, as Muzio described it. "Almost like the sound at your computer," he rued. But Mark Levinson uses a proprietary digital signal processing algorithm on the PSS CD player, and with the car's top up, "spatialization" is added by two rear side channels. All of the system's discrete EQ is automatic and separate for CD and FM, top up or top down. There's also Automatic Sound Leveling, which compensates for volume changes depending on ambient noise thresholds. The DSP is realized using Analog Devices SHARC (Super HARvard Computer architecture) chips.
The system is powered by eight discrete amplifier channels based on Mark Levinson amp topology. "Not just an LSI (Large Scale Integrated circuit) like you find on amp chips in other OEM car systems," Muzio enthused. All channels driven, the Mark Levinson Premium Sound System cranks out 240W, 20Hz–20kHz, with 0.01% distortion, according to Muzio. He points out that those "amps on a chip" from other OEM companies never get below 0.1% distortion—a full order of magnitude higher.
Muzio spoke on the phone with me of the literally hundreds of hours he spent in each Lexus model doing their setups. I asked him how he knew he'd hit the mark in each Lexus the ML system went in.
"I used to be a musician. I know when I know. It's a purely emotional thing. After we've got the right electrical parameters and gone all through the double-blind testing, picked which caps go where...It was like that with the No.32 Reference. We knew it was done when we forgot what we were doing and just played music."
We are driven!
There are nine custom-engineered speakers in each SC 430. When I settled my bustle into the luxurious seats and took it all in, I spotted a pair of circular tweeters mounted close in on the "sail" (where the air vent window used to be on older cars) next to the A pillar. These turned out to be ¾" titanium-dome numbers with ferrofluid cooling and neodymium magnets to give very low distortion, about which Muzio is pretty adamant. "In a car, in the nearfield, you sense distortion as harshness and brightness." Below each tweeter, just under each door's upper sill sits a 2½" midrange driver, placed there because it has the same directivity characteristics as the tweeter—important, as there's no center speaker. (A center-channel front driver is used in the GS 430 and GS 300 to create a better image across the dash, while the LS 430 and SC 430 use horn-loaded compression drivers to achieve a high level of directivity in the audible frequency range to aid imaging.) Each door bottom carries a rigid 6" by 9" neodymium-magnet/Kevlar-composite cone midrange driver.
Moving to the back seat...uh, forget it. It's not much more than a nicely upholstered package shelf, or a space for your Louis Vuitton duffel—wow, it's cramped. The rear double-bucket seat might be okay for midgets with no legs, but no way, man. If you managed to wedge yourself in back there, as did our long-suffering photographer, you'd notice the rear side-panel grilles, behind which are 4" mid-high ceramic-magnet (not neodymium) drivers, and feel the 8" subwoofer behind the back seat cushion. The sub's driver once again uses a neodymium magnet, with a copper-clad aluminum voice-coil and a special surround for long excursions.
And can that baby woof! The bass gets way down there, especially with the top up because of the improved acoustic environment mostly due to space being properly pressurized, as well as the trunk not having the hard top sitting in it. The sub driver even sports a patented spider of aramid fiber—a very strong, lightweight, and heat-resistant polyamide.
Muzio recounted how he worked with the vehicle designers to redo the rear "seat" profile and sculpt its (very upright) back for optimal acoustical output from the sub. They even named the system: IVE, for Integrated Vehicle Enclosure.
The trunk can be viewed as a custom enclosure with baffles molded in as part of the trunk to best tune the chamber. Of course, there are two conditions of operation, as they ML characterize it: Top up "and a-way we go!," as Jackie Gleason would say; or top down, more "Step thees way, chérie."
"The internal volume of the chamber changes when the top's down, and the compensation we designed for that is a big part of the story," Muzio explained. "Getting a good tonal balance both ways was one of the real obstacles to overcome in such a relatively small cabin." In short, it's a sophisticated systems approach, like everything Madrigal does, and Muzio feels he's succeeded with his baby.
"Sitting on top of the drivers as you do in the SC 430, you've got to start out with much less distortion. So all EQ is digital because you've got to watch out for phase shift in a car environment—the customers will pick that up in a New York minute."
On the Road
Hey man, what—you think it was, like, bad?
No way. It sounded fantastic. The only problem I had was with all the maniacal people yelling at me "How much?" There was no question that there was anyone who didn't lust after it. Even babes eyed it thoughtfully.
The bass could shiver your liver, matey. On Peter Kruder's Peace Orchestra (G-Tone G-CD 004), the low bass synth set the armrests a-vibratin'. (A few pre-production prototype nits turned up, nothing serious.) With the top up, the bass was always truly awesome.
There was a nice transition to the upper bass and midrange proper, which you'd never guess was coming from the door. You can use the controls to adjust the mids and highs just so, not to mention the bass, which has a subwoofer mode. All controls are easy to use and sensibly laid out.
I listened to the system for hours on end with a variety of discs. And with the mid and high controls no CD was too out of hand to deal with. I could make any CD I played sound enjoyable in the movable feast that is an ML PSS-equipped SC 430, top up or down (but with slightly better sound with the top up)—all while moving along cushily at a blistering pace while adjusting the heated seats just right for my tushy.
Sound fade front to back and left to right is also available, of course. Old man. And the head unit can swallow six CDs right—no need to head for the trunk. A glossy but slightly sticky door on this pre-production car hinges down to cover the radio/CD/tape controls. (But I couldn't find the Cannon or Eject buttons, apologies to Ian Fleming.) The Global Positioning System glides back into the center of the dash and a nicely finished cover slides over it on key-off, while the wheel motorizes back into the dash. Shaken, not stirred—right, old chap?
Sportsmen! Step across the line!
So who are the buyers of the Lexus SC 430 with Mark Levinson Premium Sound System?
"We wanted a system so that music can play an important part of the emotional experience of riding in the car," said Muzio. Even at 120mph with the top down, as Outlaw Phil confesses to have done.
It was a gas dropping the top to the many catcalls and motoring in the still-cocoon-like luxury of the SC 430. Getting nippy? Pull over, mash a button while staring into the eyes of the beauty sitting next to you, and pop that hard top back in place. Hold the button past its "I'm done!" ping and the windows slide up, too.
While I'm sure the larger LS 430 proves a more friendly environment for high-end car audio, the pleasure of the SC 430 lay in its choice of sensual realms: closed-top lux or open-top motoring, Corinthian leather up the pipick, and the finest-sounding car system I've ever heard. And that engine...oy, don't ask.
What can I say? You can afford it and it's your taste? Go for it!
Source : stereophile[dot]com
