Two-Channel Speakers Eggleston Works The Nine Floor-standing Speakers
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Eggleston Works The Nine Floor-standing Speakers A Secrets Speaker Review |
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| Written by Jason Victor Serinus | |||||||
| Sunday, 27 April 2008 | |||||||
Page 5 of 5
Air and Depth, Before and After Enhancement I have never experienced the degree of soundstage depth I’ve heard on some set-ups when listening to my own system. Since I’ve reviewed a number of speakers, my hunch is that this has something to do with my particular room dimensions and the large open space on either side of the speakers. Yes, I do experience the depth phenomenon, but it is not very pronounced. Then again, I’m not complaining, because I do not find the depth phenomenon very pronounced in live performance. In fact, when faced with the glory of the San Francisco Symphony or Diane Schuur or Imani Winds with Wayne Shorter or bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, all of whom I’ve heard live in the last month, soundstage depth is the last thing on my mind. Nonetheless, The Nine creates a lovely sense of soundstage depth in my room. Air around instruments also seems natural without being over-pronounced. As mentioned above, the speaker’s generosity of midrange has a lot to do with this. What greatly improve soundstage depth and air in my room are two major sound enhancement products: Shakti Hallographs and Bybee Golden Goddess Speaker Bullets. I hasten to call either a “tweak,” given their price. First, the Hallographs. I use four Shakti Hallographs: one behind each speaker, and one directly in line with each, placed along the sides of the listening area midway between the speakers and my listening seat. (People with smaller rooms might achieve greater benefit by placing the Hallographs in the rear of the room).
In my generous-size room, with its variety of surfaces, materials, and shapes, I use the Hallographs behind the speakers as false corners, to help contain, focus, and control the sound. How they do this, I do not know. But I do know that the slightest change of position – the Reference Recordings folks heard this during our set-up, by the way, when I rotated each Hallograph a quarter degree toward the center to achieve greater brilliance on top, and they commented on the difference – affects both soundstage width and tonal balance from top to bottom. Too open, and the sound gets diffuse, losing color. Too narrowly focused, and the sound gets overly rich, with instruments squooshed together. Get it just right, and you achieve ideal tonal balance, a realistic soundstage, and more control than without the Hallographs. The things are so sensitive it’s scary. Hallographs positioned along the sides of the room, midway between the listening seat and the speakers, do wonders to enhance soundstage depth and realistic layering. They too affect tonal balance, so you have to get them just right. I confirmed their effects by removing them temporarily before writing this review, and immediately experienced a pronounced foreshortening of the soundstage. Keith Johnson opined that he understood what the Hallographs do, and that socks very carefully hung on coat hangers might accomplish the same thing. Even if that were the case, I doubt few readers would want their listening rooms to look like a Chinese laundry. (My spouse would sock it to me but good if I ever tried this). Nor would pets resist the temptation to jump toward those socks, blowing hours of careful adjustment. The Shakti Hallographs are a far more expensive, but far more easily adjusted, visually tolerable alternative. I also use the latest iteration of Bybee Golden Goddess Speaker Bullets to connect the speakers to my speaker cables. Yes, I know. The thought of four little devices that cost over $4000 total understandably rubs some folks the wrong way. (Hey, I can’t possibly afford them). But Jack Bybee began his career as an aerospace engineer, and has solid science to back him up. Besides, dismissing something out of hand without making the effort to experience it hardly smacks of open-mindedness or intellectual curiosity. In the midst of writing this review, Jack Bybee coincidentally sent me the following: People keep asking me what is 1/f noise and why it isn't addressed by others? One short answer is that most people (electrical engineers and audio circuit designers) don't have a clue what 1/f noise is and how it can affect audio/TV etc. I have attached a paper that explains what causes 1/f noise and how it can be measured [“Proposed System Solution for1/f Noise Parameter Extractio”n by Roberto Tinti, Franz Sischka, and Chris Morton]. I hope this paper can be useful... The Bybee Golden Goddess Speaker Cable devices not only help remove 1/f noise but also act as an inverse dispersive delay line. There is a lot of info available on the net regarding delay lines. The problem with most delay line solutions is that they create massive amounts of 1/f noise. That is why I combined two solutions into one package. In my experience, the greater silence and transparency bestowed by the Bybees on an already exceptional pair of speakers has enabled me to hear details of execution and interpretation that I have never heard before. Playing Cecilia Bartoli’s most recent recorded triumph, Maria, I am able to hear the slight variations of dynamics and shading that constitute bel canto at its finest. I love the things. Conclusions I have spent a long time – far too long, with The Nines. I have done so for purely selfish reasons. I have grown quite fond of these babies, and will be sad to see them go. But other speakers are on their way, and there’s only so much room at the Inn. Eggleston Works’ the Nine is a speaker that makes listening a pleasure. It is never harsh or obtrusive, never blunt or jarring. This speaker sings, gracing music with its true and detailed midrange, enviable transparency, and natural warmth. Surprisingly full-range, save for the lowest frequencies, The Nine is a speaker that will easily win the hearts of those who audition it. At this moment, I consider it a definite contender for Secrets’ 2008 speaker-of-the-year.
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Amplification
Loudspeakers
Cabling
Power
Analog
Accessories
Main System Room Dimensions
Upstairs Second System:
Computer System Comments (1)
 The music matters...
written by Jay , May 03, 2008 As audiophiles, we spend an inordinate amount of time discussing the equipment, room treatments, tweaks, system synergy, tube rolling, power conditioning, etc., etc. ad nauseum...to the exclusion of the music. I was at Jason's house when Keith Johnson played the Strauss piece mentioned in this review. I was transported. Of course the system/source/room were all top notch. But what mattered was the music. It was a completely enrapturing experience (and I am a classical music novice). It reminded me that the equipment serves the music, not the other way around. Write comment
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