Know anything about Pentagram Loudspeakers?
Some good additional background and information on the Pentagrams is provided in post no. 49 of this thread. Among many other things, he notes that the P10's were the reference speakers of a reviewer at "Audio" magazine. Regards, -- Al |
I used to build these for Mr Levy. The P-10 is a 3 1/2 way, incorporating a 15 inch "passive damper" that crossed over mechanically at about 60Hz and was 3db down at 16Hz or so. The woofer was made by Becker. Any 15" (preferably paper) passive can be used to replace the original, but it must have an added 16oz weight hot glued to the center and be suspended from an internal support in the middle of it's linear excursion with 1/4 inch rubber bands, such that it returns to center when flexed. It was attached with t-nuts, so it's easy to remove and install. If you have the original damper you might use the original weight. We used heavy washers and eye bolts. The tweeter is a Panasonic leaf, quite good for it's time. Replacing it will probably require adjustment to the crossover. The speaker sounded best at the time placed 1/3 into the (preferably large) room and driven by high power push-pull amps like the CJ Premier 1 and Quicksilver M190, or really good sand like the Bedini 25/25. Its strengths were great imaging and bass equivalent having two subs. Tonality could be adjusted slightly by toeing them in, but your best bet was to be VERY accurate in placing them, relative to the listening position. In an equilateral triangle with the speakers the base and the listening position the apex, they would disappear. The cabinets use high quality wood veneers and black Formica tops. Finishes included walnut, light oak, and Brazilian Rosewood, and we made a few with 10 coats of black lacquer painted by a car painter. We had a lot of fun back then, but they were very expensive to make, since Mike used high quality parts, including the best caps and resistors, and parallel leads composed of Kimber Kable and Live Wire, equating to 10ga internal cabling, which required one BIG soldering gun! That's all folks! Best Wishes |
Researching Alta Audio brand speakers, I came across this thread. Hope to audition AA speakers fairly soon, but no dealer near me, so must travel. Till then, wondering if anyone on this thread has heard them. Almarg, your assessment of Pentagrams supports the strong endorsements relayed to me re: Mr. Levy's skills as do the reviews of AA products I've read. Anyone's experiences with any AA products would be appreciated. Hopefully models that don't cost more than my car...Lol. Thanks in advance. |
RC22, I haven't heard any of the Alta Audio speakers, but I too have read favorable comments about them. And of course they have the benefit of 30+ years of additional experience Mr. Levy has had since his Pentagram days. About a year after my previous posts in this thread I moved on to a $15K pair of the highly regarded Daedalus Ulysses speakers. They are of course better than the Pentagram P10 in various ways, but I'll say that they certainly don't make me regret that I had used the P10 for all those years. And as I said earlier in the thread the P10 handily outperformed several other large speakers I briefly owned and then sold during those years, including B&W 801s and two different pairs of large vintage Tannoys. Best of luck in your search. Regards, -- Al |
