On the Bench

The calibrated microphone was placed 1 foot from the speaker, pointed horizontally towards the mid-point between the two tweeters.

At our standard test output of 100 dB, and using a 50 Hz sine wave test signal, THD+N measured at just over 7%. This is why Bolzano sells a subwoofer to go with the speakers. I probably would use a processor crossover of 80 Hz from the 3003s to the sub, because this amount of distortion is a bit high for my tastes.

At 1 kHz, THD+N was a much better 0.23%. At this point, the sound was still coming out of the mid/woofer.

Our SMPTE/DIN test for IMD yielded 2.7% IMD. Again, the mid/woofers were still producing all of the sound, as the crossover frequency is 4.5 kHz.

With a 5 kHz sine wave, THD+N was a bit less than 1%. The sound was now coming from the tweeters.

With test signals of 5 kHz and 6 kHz, the A+B peak at 11 kHz was 40 dB below the fundamental, and the B-A peak at 1 kHz was at - 58 dB.

At 10 kHz, THD+N was 1.64%.

For 10 kHz and 11 kHz, the A+B peak at 21 kHz was 36 dB below the fundamental, while the B-A peak at 1 kHz was 65 dB below.

The room response was reasonably flat between 200 Hz and 16 kHz, but rolled off beyond these. The low end rolloff can be improved by placing the speakers near corners (I placed them several feet out from all walls). The high frequency rolloff is probably due to the tweeters facing up and down rather than out into the room, and will not be altered by placement.

Impedance stayed around 8 ohms for most of the spectrum, and the electrical phase remained between ± 45⁰, which is good. The peak at 70 Hz is the tuning frequency of the woofer enclosure's port. Below the tuning frequency of a ported enclosure, the bass output deteriorates. This is another reason for using 80 Hz as a high-pass cutoff with these speakers, and directing the rest of the bass to a subwoofer (configured with the bass management of a preamp/processor).

Conclusions

The equipolar configuration of the Bolzano Villetri BV HF3003s made them a bit more sensitive to room placement than my dipolar speakers, but every design has its benefits and liabilities. The fact that the sound emanates in a 360⁰ fashion results in a good soundstage no matter where you sit in the room. That means not only a great musical experience for everyone, but terrific sound effects for movies as well, anywhere in your home theater space.

Their price reflects their appearance, and the Bolzano Villetri BV HF3003 speakers are definitely in the furniture class that would beautify any fine home.

 

- John E. Johnson, Jr. -