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RE: Heard a reference level planar speaker last Saturday

In addition to the graph, here are some quotes taken from the Colloms review:
"In general the bass was reminiscent of a well set up Tympani IV - high praise indeed - while the Signature goes further and appears to define the word 'slam' in an absolute manner. Free from audible compression at
any subjective sound level, this Duetta puts together correctly the weight, bang and edge of a transient bass note. Once you have heard it, you know it is right. All manner of drum sounds, large and small, were
played with conviction, and so obviously free from the boom, overhang, ringing, boxiness and blurring which are the norm with lesser speakers. Moreover, when wafting large quantities of open, free bass into the room, this speaker showed no loss of detail in the mid and treble."

Doesn't sound like 'one note bass' was an issue in normal listening.

"Response testing a speaker of this size in a listening room is rather a headache, and the curves here should be regarded as rough guides only. Graph 1 shows a 'snapshot' of the reference response at the recommended lateral and vertical listening angles. Given the circumstances, the result is quite remarkable, extending easily from 30Hz to 20kHz, and meeting approximate ±3dB limits above 200Hz."

Good or bad, sounds like planar measurements should be taken with a grain of salt to some extent.

"Save in the 30Hz 1/3-octave, the Duetta performed quite remarkably well in the listening room using the standard integrated RAR measurement (Graph 4). In fact over most of the range it is virtually flat, rolling
off above 16kHz and is correctly 'brighter' than the measurement for a system with a point-source dome-tweeter, since the Duetta approximates to a cylindrical radiator. Confirming the listening results, the output is exceptionally homogeneous, meeting tight ±2dB limits from 80Hz to 12kHz. Down to 40Hz the bass is unusually even too, within ±3dB of the 1kHz reference level; but at 30Hz the Signature moves into higher gear, with an undamped output rising 7dB or so above the adjacent bands. It didn't sound as bad as it looks, probably due to the low incidence of genuine 30Hz in programme; such effects placed at 40 or 50Hz are distinctly audible. The effect of the room must also be taken into consideration, and a larger space may well moderate this 30Hz effect."

Here possibly some support for 'one note bass' if one listens to recordings with significant 30 hz content. Or is it the result of the "19 x 13½ x 9ft lwh" room?

Taking the totality of the review's comments under consideration, I'd say that "Case closed" is about as accurate as was "Mission accomplished".


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