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By xyz:
Two-way dynamic system with 6 1 / 2 " ported woofer and 1" dome tweeter in concrete enclosure. Frequency response: ±3 dB, 50 to 20,000 Hz. Efficiency: 89 dB. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Weight: 30 lbs each.
Dimensions: 13" H by 10" W by 10" D. Price: $495/pair.
IMPORTER: Scandinavian Sounds, R O. Box 3656, San Clemente, CA 92672.
A little over a year ago, we tested an early pair of these little speakers, and, while we found a lot to like about their sound, we also found a couple of really irksome ergonomic faults.
The cable connections were recessed into the bottom panel of the speakers, and ac cess for the speaker cables was via a channel too shallow and narrow to permit the use of anything larger than 16-gauge zip cord. Then there were the connectors for the cables: screw terminals, which is certainly okay, but oriented with the axis of their fastening screws parallel to the bottom of the speaker. If your speaker cables use spade lugs, you had to bring these in to the connectors from the sides, or the lugs would cause the cables to protrude below the base of the speakers. (I just bent the tabs downwards to a shallow angle.) In addition, the rivet assembly of the connector lugs was not all that tight; the lugs could be easily rotated by hand, while the fastening rivets stayed put. This poor mechanical connection was a virtual guarantee that the electrical connections would lose their integrity sooner or later.
Since that time, Rauna has solved all three problems by replacing the screw terminals with so-called "banana jacks," and locating them at the rear of the speaker- something they should have done in the first place. Note that these jacks are not 5-way binding posts: they accept banana plugs and nothing else.
There's another, less dramatic, change.
The thin layer of black plastic on the top of the concrete enclosure of the first Tyrs, which made a high-pitched sound when tapped, has been replaced by a piece of wood sheet firmly cemented in place. Tap ping the top now elicits a sound like concrete (which, as you may remember, is the enclosure material): merely a "bink, bink." I don't really believe the original non-rigid top did any harm, because it was backed up by solid concrete, but the new top looks nicer, and its solid "sound" is more reassurance that the Tyr's enclosure is about as rigid and inert as you can get.
The original Tyrs had a slightly snarly quality to them; the IIs don't. They are, however, still a little on the bright side, and all it takes is a bit of brightness or upper midrange "glare" from the amplifier to turn this into a steely hardness. (For a suitable driving amplifier, look through reports in past issues for "laid-back" amplifiers with an open but smooth high end.) Despite the snarliness, the first Rauna Tyrs were surprisingly good for their size and price. The new ones cost exactly $100 more, and sound it. They have really remarkable inner detailing, even at what I consider to be high listening levels (95 dB). There is virtually no increase in hardness as you turn the volume up.
Lower-midrange reproduction is excellent. The large instruments of the orchestra come through with correct weight and color, and piano bass has just the right amount of characteristic "thrumbb." Imaging and soundstage presentation were both very good. On good recordings, the soundstage is wider than the speaker separation, with depth so convincingly portrayed that you almost expect to see the back of the performing hall. Toed inwards so that their axes cross right in front of the center listening seat, the Tyr Ils provide firm and specific images across a fairly wide (5 feet) range of seating positions.
I was particularly impressed with the Mark II's high end (please note that this is significantly higher in frequency than the slight brightness referred to above). Unlike many high-end speakers, which tend to sound tipped up at the top, the T'yrs' high end was smooth and open, yet in perfect proportion. It sounded dull at reduced listening levels, but almost perfectly natural at realistic listening levels. (This change in HF content is perceptual, and relates to the ear's diminishing sensitivity to high frequencies at reduced listening levels. Consult your Fletcher-Munson curves. Every hi-fi family should own a set.') Only at the extreme top do they show a marked deficiency, in the lack of sheen from such things as violas and brushed or struck cymbals.
For the size of these speakers, bass performance is amazing. There is usable bass range down to around 40 Hz, and the quality of that bass is very good. String basses and bass drum have plenty of body, and kick drum has surprising impact and exemplary control.
The Tyr Mark IIs are speakers I could happily live with if I couldn't afford to pay more. They did not reward prolonged listening with a growing sense of unease or a gunny sack of minor irritations, and many recordings played through them waved my emotional red flag. (I get goose bumps when sound really gets to me.) Ultimately, though, the new Tyrs have a certain coolness, which, though not all that disturbing, makes them less ingratiating on most program material than the somewhat excessive warmth of many other systems. The Tyrs were at their best with small performing groups, and were
[1. Not yet available as platinum castings from the Franklin Mint.]
less convincing with large symphony orchestra, pipe organ, full chorus-things that call for a big, robust sound. This coolness is not a matter of bass/treble balance, which is, in fact, just about perfect. It is more a function of the middle range, which sounds slightly depressed through the 500-to-2000-Hz region.
At their original-release price of $399, the Tyrs had some pretty stiff competition but were generally half a head above that competition in sound quality. At $499, they are probably a bit more than $100 worth of better than before, but are now only neck-and-neck with some other modestly-priced champions. notably the Siefert Maxim Ills and the Dayton Wright LCM- Is. There is no obvious winner in this class, since all speakers-even very good ones-have their own peculiar strengths and weaknesses. The Tyrs are cool, the DWs warm, the Sieferts a bit hard and sizzly.
There is one area where the Tyrs just wipe out the competition: enclosure inert ness. Concrete may be impractical for a large speaker system,' but it certainly produces the most solid, non-radiating enclosure possible for a small system. And it shows: the 1),, rs have the least colored middle range of any system in this price class that I know of. (Midrange colorations are vowel-like qualities imparted to all sounds, qualitatively unlike the kind of broad response dip that the Tyrs seem to have.) All in all, the new Rauna Tyrs are excellent performers. Like all the others with a circa-5500 price tag, they have their own distinct personality. If you're not aware of what you like and dislike in reproduced sound, audition these before buying. If you do know, you can probably figure out from this report whether or not you'll like the TYRs.
[2. Okay. so how would you like to try optimizing the room positions of a pair of 250-lb. loudspeakers?]
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[based on a March 1986, Stereophile review article]
Also see:
THE SYNTHESIS LM-20 AND LM-250: A NEW LINE OF TOP QUALITY SPEAKERS
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