Koss 76 manual Crosstalk, configuration of the speaker places the

	configuration of the speaker places the
	tweeter rather low. We finally put it
	at woofer height, but slanted down so
	that it pointed toward the tweeter. The
	resulting frequency response curve (top
	right), is very good, especially through
	the upper midrange and the top end, The
	waviness in the lower part of the band is,
getting the tone wrong on a couple of the	as usual, due to room modes. Of course
really large drums. But because the bass	there’s not much in the way of very
response is necessarily limited, the prob-	low bass. Clean response mostly ends
lem wasn’t more than detectable. Much	at 50 Hz, and even then the waveform
more noticeable was the furious rhythm	(second image at right) isn’t really clean.
and the energy. That odd scraped gourd	Below that you’ll hear sound, but not the
in the introduction came on with power,	fundamental tone.
and so did the whistle. The kick drum,	The 100 Hz square wave (bottom
which some speakers simply ignore	right) is quite good, with barely a glitch
(perhaps fortunately), was surprisingly	on the riser, and a funny little lateral
good. So was Feldman’s piano.	wave almost certainly caused by distor-
We were curious to see how the	tion in the bass. But then we do test at
Castle Richmonds would do on our usual	high levels: 100 dB reference level at that
battery of technical tests. We began by	1 m distance.
drawing its impedance curve, which is	By the usual high end standards,
shown in the graph above. Despite the	these are low-cost speakers. They prob-
claim of an 8 ohm impedance, the curve	ably won’t be the cheapest in the store,
actually gets rather closer to 4 ohms	however, and people not used to high end
over an important part of the range,	gear may find their gaze wandering over
and considerably below 4 ohms at high	to speakers half the price and triple the
frequency.	size. But you’re buying music, not scrap
We set up our precision calibrated	iron. For a price most people can either	fivepacks. We were thinking that you
microphone 1 m in front of the Rich-	pay or save up for in a reasonable time,	could add a subwoofer and you’d have a
mond, but weren’t certain how we	they’ll amply justify buying something	home theatre system that would make
should orient it. We usually position it	other than a mini system.	your home-theatre-in-a-box neighbors
on axis with the tweeter, but the inverted	Too bad they’re not available in	green with envy.

CROSSTALK

In an ideal hi-fi world speakers would	No of course it can’t play a full orchestra	able with, and you can start to discover their
all be affordable and equally suited to re-	at realistic volume. Of course it can’t repro-	numerous assets. I’m talking about image,
producing all types of music effortlessly. In	duce kettle drums and plucked basses real-	depth and width, all of which are perfectly
the real world, many speakers strain with	istically. But what it can handle it handles	acceptable. If the bottom end could use a
the task of handling the weight of complex	with aplomb. It has none of the grey opaque	little more weight, the midrange is very
music. This one was no exception.	sound of too many inexpensive speakers. It	good and gives the music considerable rich-
Choosing a pair of speakers is often a	plays music, for real.	ness. The sensitivity of the musicians, heard
sum of compromises, and, in this case you'd	I was bemused by the quality touches	through these speakers, is contagious.
best limit your music listening to smaller	Castle has provided even at this price. The	Add to that a multitude of details, good
groups, with or without voices. You'll ac-	terrific wood finish for one. The curved	inflection, lyrics you can always follow.
tually be happily surprised, as I was, with	grille (best left off, as usual) for another.	These qualities make you forget, or at least
these speakers' ability to deliver a clearly-	And have you noticed that they went to the	forgive, an occasional hardening here and
defined image, and the solid, palpable pres-	expense of making right-left mirror image	there, and perhaps a bit of drag on certain
ence of each performer.	speakers?	rhythms.
—Albert Simon	This is a class act all the way.	On the æsthetic side, you can hardly
	—Gerard Rejskind	help noticing the refined wood finish that
This is a much smaller speaker than any		invites you to touch them, to appreciate
Castle we had ever tested, but its consider-	Despite their modest price these little	their satin smoothness. These cabinets
able virtues make it a worthy member of a	speakers can give their owners a lot of plea-	were made by artists, not mere laborers.
distinguished family.	sure. Find a volume level they’re comfort-	—Reine Lessard

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ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 37