Tunglo sa tikas
One of my frustrations in life is failing to do what my brother, an electronics engineer, asked of me when he went to the
At the time, I knew nothing about sound reproduction other than simply enjoying music that I liked to hear from his system. I can no longer recall which model he had then, but I distinctly remember that the speaker was powered by a 211, 10-watt single-ended-triode tube stereo amplifier which he himself designed and assembled from electronic parts he bought from Raon, known then as
It took me more than 20 years to embrace the hobby through a circuitous road. By the time I remembered that I had one of the best-sounding loudspeakers ever made, the Klipsch had long been a culinary delight for the rats that infested the attic of our old house in Sta. Mesa.
I am suddenly waxing nostalgic because of an e-mail from Sonja Baudach, vice president for marketing of Avant-garde Acoustic Lautsprecher Systeme GmbH,
What are horn speakers anyway? Ever wonder why your voice becomes louder when you cup your hands around your mouth and shout? Why those battery-powered megaphones used by some Divisoria vendors to attract customers can sound thunderous? Did you know that the human ear and the famous Greek theater in
Horn loudspeakers use the same innate corporeal acoustic principle to replicate sound. A horn speaker system exclusively possesses the technology that can transfer low electrical power into high sound levels. With an efficiency rating of more 100dB and only about nine watts of power driving them, horns can reproduce almost exactly the quality and tonal characteristics of live sound.
The discovery of the transistor in the late 1940s, however, made way for other speaker systems two decades later. With transistors as tiny as a safety pin packing astonishing power, high efficiency — which was the main advantage of horns made by Klipsch, JBL and Altec Lansing, among others — suddenly became unnecessary in sound duplication. Thus began tube amplifiers’ and horn speakers’ short hiatus, as high-powered transistor amplifiers, which were proficient in driving even the most inefficient loudspeakers, ruled. Nonetheless, it didn’t take long for audiophiles to realize that nothing can surpass the sound quality reproduced by analog audio gears. Tubes, horns and turntables are back and the dizzying pace by which they are produced worldwide has only secured their future in the hi-fi industry.
I have yet to hear how Avant-garde horns sing and I plan to pay JR a visit sometime soon. What I am particularly interested in is how, with a price tag of $68,000 (I have no idea how much JR will sell it here) for its basic model, can Avant-garde compare with the Altec 290 horn (midrange) partnered with the JBL D140 (woofer) and JBL 075 (tweeter) which have a price tag 10 times lower at the Music Box in Dau, Pampanga?
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Some of my friends who are members of the audiophile website Wiredstate told me that a person who goes by the alias Solidtubes has written a mouthful against me. He has, again, without my permission and knowledge, posted some of my pictures to support his claim that I am endorsing his products. I vehemently deny any such endorsement, and categorically state here that I have never been and will never be part of any such scam, fraud, misinformation and hype. Let me remind Solidtubes (and Wiredstate, too) that there is a law that prohibits unauthorized posting and/or publication of pictures in any medium of mass circulation.
For comments and suggestions, please e-mail me at vphl@hotmail.com
