MIKE KALELLIS OF ANALYSIS AUDIO USA REPLIES TO MY REVIEW
Hello Ron,
Thank you for taking the time to write such a comprehensive review.
They are a wonderful sounding speaker, the Amphitryons even more so.
If I may, I have a few question to ask and a few clarifications to offer.
Questions:
1. Do Peter's Omegas have the crossbar that attaches the two feet together?
2. Do they have external crossovers?
3. You stated "3) When music is playing the entire frame vibrates." Is
there an audible component with the vibration?
Clarifications:
1. Peter's Omegas must be an old pair. The feet were redesigned some
time ago. The current Omegas stand vertical with no fear of falling
forward. Obviously, they can be push over if done so intentionally.
The Amphitryon and Orion have entirely different feet. Because the
speakers are a line source design, they can tolerate minor tilt back
with no negative consequences. I prefer them straight up. The smaller
sizes are better tilted back a bit.
2. The perforated steel back plate is part of the magnetic motor
structure of the driver. Somewhat akin to the pole piece of a dynamic
driver. The hole size (some of the holes are covered by the magnets)
is carefully calculated to handle the air velocity of the membrane at
full excursion at the frequencies the driver is designed to handle. If
the membrane had to move 1 inch (which it doesn’t – max total
excursion is about 10mm) then there may be issues of over damping. Low
frequency wave lengths are much longer than any internal cavity
dimension. The back plate is basically acoustically transparent.
3. The front cover of the Omega (and smaller Analysis speakers) is
designed to be semi-floating and to be decoupled as much as possible.
Feeling vibration is to be expected. If vibrations are heard then
something is wrong or the speaker is damaged.
4. As the authorized importer, distributor and repair center of
Analysis speakers, I consider our crossover levels as OEM. Our speaker
can be auditioned with internal and external crossovers. Below is a
brief description of the crossover options:
There are three levels of crossover options:
Level 1. Standard Internal Crossovers. We use high quality crossover
components that are carefully selected and matched to maximize the
performance of the speaker. Sonically, what you will experience is a
transparent presentation with excellent resolution, focus and tonal
balance.
Level 2. Standard Outboard Crossovers. In this level we use the same
high quality crossover components and place them in an outboard box,
one per speaker. Sonically, what you will experience is a more
"transparent" presentation, less veiled and better focus. The tonal
balance is unchanged. This level also allows you to bi-amp if you care
to.
Level 3. REF Outboard Crossovers. In this level we use specially
selected ultra-high quality, exotic crossover components and place
them in an outboard box, one per speaker. Sonically, what you will
experience is an even more "transparent" 3D holographic presentation.
Imaging, detail retrieval and focus is also improved. The tonal
balance is unchanged but the overall "feel' is of a richer more dense
performance. The REF level also allows you to bi-amp if you care to.
5. The crossovers are carefully designed for the best performance and
to seamlessly integrate both drivers. What Peter has done by flipping
the polarity of the tweeter is to very slightly changing the balance
around the crossover frequencies which better suites his taste or
perhaps works better for his given room behavior. Flipping the
polarity doesn’t hurt anything but I don’t recommend starting out that
way. Many people don’t perceive any difference.
6. As stated above, the feet have been improved. We ship the speakers
without the feet attached to make handling easier. Once unpacked, it
takes about 5 minutes per speaker to install the feet. We do offer
custom fabricated aluminum feet with and without wheels for anyone who
wants bomb proof.
7. As stated above, the feet have been improved. The actual speaker is
actually quite stiff considering its shape. If a person was strong
enough to hold the speaker from one of the short end in a straight out
horizontal position you would notice that the speaker does not sag or
twist.
The Omicron, Epsilon and Omega are all basically the same. They are
just longer as they go up in size. The Amphitryon and Orion are built
differently. They are much wider and thicker in size. Due to their
size, the design decision was made to build them much more robust in
order to maintain rigidity.
All materials have mechanical and sonic pros and cons. It is safe to
say that just swapping out one material for another without taking all
the material properties into account will make the outcome be quite
unpredictable. While there have been discussions about making changes
to the speakers, there is no decision to do so. There needs to be a
reason for making changes. The materials selected to be used in the
construction of Analysis speaker are selected for very specific
reasons. Are there better materials? Maybe. It depends on what you are
trying to change.
Analysis speakers have a simple classic style. Being a forever (last)
speaker for many people we don’t push the industrial design envelop to
keep up with styling trends. Maintaining the same architecture also
allows us to upgrade older speakers, if an upgrade is discovered.
There are trophy speakers, there are budget speakers and there is
everything in between. Technically speaking, at Analysis it‘s all
about receiving an electronic signal and as faithfully as we can
recreating a musical sound scape. It’s all about the music.
I hope my clarifications gives you a better understanding of Analysis speakers.
Best regards,
Mike Kalellis
Analysis Audio
MK Audio
908-377-4012