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REVIEW: Audiosphere Model 3 Speakers

202.147.84.35


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Model: Model 3
Category: Speakers
Suggested Retail Price: $Aus 799 in 1979
Description: 23 liter spherical cast off-white concrete 2-ways, no HP xover
Manufacturer URL: Not Available
Manufacturer URL: Not Available

Review by Timbo in Oz ( A ) on October 01, 2004 at 01:33:39
IP Address: 202.147.84.35
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for the Model 3


I have owned and used these spkrs as my main pr since 1978 or so.

At the time I had owned Celestion Ditton 15's (tweaked with plastic film caps, bitumen, and clay'shot mix) after a pr of large Coral driver 3-ways, and a pr of Goodman's babies.

Part-time work at the leading audio shop in town put me in contact with a lot of good spkrsa nd enough people with good models for me to know what was on my shortlist. Plus a few demonstrator pairs.

Quad 57's - a black pr

Yamaha - NS1000M's in black

Ls3/5A's

B&W DM5's - demo

Spendor SA1- demo

Sequerra MET's- demo

all of the babies would probably have had DIY stand/column type subwoofers, a down-facing 10inch and port.

And then I heard these in prototype form. The guys had even worked for Duratone.

No they didn't iamge quite as well as the QUADs, although they were ahead of the NS1000's and all the above minis.

They played a lot louder and went deeper too, just enough for Bach's organ music on a baroque tracker action organs. They also did justice to R&R.

Fostex nee Foster drivers, 91db/w and an easy true 8 ohm load. Japanese drivers!!!!!!!??? metallised film plastic capacitors and air-coil inductors, on the tweeter! (Philips' yellow block polycarbs - low microphony*)

And they did not have any HP xover, the entire xover was for the big soft-dome tweeter whose VC was 35mm just a teeny bit bigger than the main drivers 38mm. A trap at FS ~ 1100, and a 3rd order filter @ 3.5k.

I am an ex-cathedral chorister (boy soprano then tenor) under the CofE's RSCM system. exams and alll. We regularly were recorde by the ABC (like the Beeb), and one couple - in the grown-up parts - were real 'philes, and could get copies of the recordings. Crossed pair into tube R2R's - in early 1960's.

So a new pr were gonna have to be good enough on voice to get singer's at work across to me, and do the deppth a big cathedral has etc. these are so open mouthed you can almost hear down a singer's throat.

I knew their model 2 Audiosphere which used another famous Coral driver the baby full range - the FLAT 5. But they did not do bass power or high treble. or play LOUD. Poor man's Quads but.

I listened to and commented on later iterations, and bought a production pair.

The only tweaks have been clay/shot on the main driver frame, bi-amping them, removing the xovers into large plastic jiffy boxes, and adding a gas-filled 4PDT relay for polarity switching from my seat. Just lately I poured oven dried sand into the jiffy boxes, and yes * this was still audible. I only did one side at first.

The difference was similar to the clay/shot treatment on one main driver or tightening up one spkrs mounting bolts. ? Pulls the image to that side a bit and increases clarity and quietness. Oh yes, we have cats, so the tweeters have been replaced with NoS ones.

I have found that positioning and room treatment make a far bigger difference than just about anything else.

BTA every other change in the feed-chain I made, was revealed sensibly to me since I got the 'spheres.

Eg. -

in the valve RIAA stage, the 50K corner as per SP15, going to a mixture of tefs and styro caps, and selected silver micas, and Vishay R's.

power amps

connecting amp 2 in triode mode.

Putting low mu but grunty tubes (instead of 12ax7's) in the power-amp gain stages, and resetting the valuse around them. very low NFB req'd. NoS Mullard gold-pin 6dj8 shared, and 2 x 6cg7's in LTP.

putting a CCS FET on each 6cg7 phase inverter driver.

They are of course very, very quiet right down into the bass, and all bass has a tactility and harmonic truth that is truly rare in speakers IME.

If you want an inkling of why I like them, it may help you to recall Gallo's older and bigger sphere products, especially the doubles and triples, and you'll be close.

They are very revealing of engineering and yet expand into the music. No they're not really ideal for Mahler, but one of the designers always brings a Mahler disc with him to visit, and the room isn't big.

Despite being most unlike AN's big corner-mount 2-way boxes they certainly do make sense of Quortrop's ideal of maximising the music on any recording, while maxismising the differences bewteen recordings as to engineering and 'feel'. Going valve played a part as well.

They start and stop very well - in ELS class IMO - which is neat, given my attachment to the impact and value of attacks and decays in our responses to music.


Product Weakness: Ugly? To some! No baffle dip compensation making room gain/positioning critical. HEAVY, even without the stands/sand and circular pavers.
Product Strengths: Clarity, imaging, speed and timbral accuracy, quite revealing of engineering and balance. Addictive.


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Two modified Leak St20's, 20wpc, and 6wpc in triode
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): a four valve pre-amp in a reused QUAD 22 box, separate PSU Mark 4, step up trannies
Sources (CDP/Turntable): TD150/SME/Damper/Denon
Speakers: Audiosphere model 3's, 91db/w
Cables/Interconnects: VdH, Supra and home brews
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Everything except commercial pop
Time Period/Length of Audition: ~ 25 years
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): 2 separate AC feeds
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition): detailed Inmates Sytems or see URL below sign-off.




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Topic - REVIEW: Audiosphere Model 3 Speakers - Timbo in Oz 01:33:39 10/1/04 ( 0)