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Reference 3a Loudspeakers
MM DeCapo
For a
company that has been making loudspeakers for over twenty
years, Reference 3a is a surprisingly little known name.
Designer Daniel Dehay has been awarded many patents for his
unique and creative designs, dating back to the mid sixties.
Among other things, Mr. Dehay was the first to realize the
importance of phase alignment. He patented the motional
feedback system, developed the first push-pull isophase
woofer system (used by KEF) and was a consulting engineer to
Audax (manufactures raw drivers).
Reference 3a speakers
(manufactured in Canada) have garnered accolades from music
lovers around the globe. Few
speakers have captured the hearts of audio reviewers and
audiophiles like the Reference 3a MM de Capo. The number of
rave reviews are almost too numerous to count.
What is it about the design of Reference 3a speakers that
make them so special? Though no single element makes a great
product, it's the way the elements that
make or break a design. However, in the case Reference 3a,
there are several interesting factors. Let's explore.
The most taxing element of a
loudspeaker is the crossover. Inside many speakers are
complex, multi-element designs using capacitors, resistors,
inductors. These components represent the the most
"destructive" part of the speaker system, sapping power and
inducing phase and timing errors. What if the crossover could be eliminated?
Better sound, right? Yes, and Reference 3a has done just
that. Here nothing encumbers the path between the amplifier
outputs and the midrange/woofer. A single custom made
multi-plate paper and oil capacitor protects the tweeter.
This simple-is-better philosophy results in a loudspeaker
that is incredibly phase and time coherent, is highly
sensitive (92dB) and presents a benign impedance load.
Almost any amplifier can drive Reference 3a speakers,
including low power single ended designs.
One need not be an audiophile to appreciate the Reference
3a speakers. Immediately one hears the correctness
of timbre and harmonic integrity. Spatial recreation is astounding.
While many of the qualities we as audiophiles describe with
our fancy vernacular, the sense of those individual
characters blend into a seamless musicality. Listening to
Reference 3a speakers you'll find captured by the music, not
by the speaker.
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Proprietary, handmade driver
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Eleven gauge van den Hul silver alloy wiring
for the woofer
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Twelve gauge van den Hul silver/carbon
wiring for the tweeter
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Drivers matched to within 1dB
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Ultra rigid, ultra lightweight carbon fiber
woofer/midrange cone material
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Drivers run at high voltage for 72 hours
before matching
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Variable cabinet wall thickness reduces
resonance
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Dual suspension tweeter keeps the voice coil
centered in the gap at high levels
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Solid copper Cardas jumpers (bi-wiring is
recommended)
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Folded pipe linear port design allows near
wall placement
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+/- 10 degrees phase accuracy
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Exotic, handmade multi-plate paper and oil
capacitor
Frequency response 48Hz - 20kHz Sensitivity 92dB Impedance 8 Ohms Dimensions 11"W x 15"H x 13"D -
$2990 in natural or red Maple, $3289 in
piano black lacquer
Veena
The
elegant new Veena offers outstanding performance at very
reasonable cost. Following in the tradition of other Reference
3A designs, the Veena employs a very full range driver as part
of a two-way system using the simplest crossover possible; a
single capacitor. Drivers are precisely placed on the
critically sloped front baffle in a perfect alignment for the
most coherent propagation of sounds. The 7” direct coupled
main driver is complimented with a new custom tweeter. The
sophisticated enclosure design uses extensive vertical and
horizontal bracing for a rigid, non-resonant cabinet. High
quality internal wiring and five-way binding posts complete
the design.
All in all, another wonderfully
musical design from Reference 3a.
7” directly coupled main
driver Ultra simple, single
capacitor crossover (multiple flat plate, paper in foil
design) Sloped front baffle time
aligns the drivers Extensive internal
bracing resulting in a solid, non-resonant enclosure. Three large pod feet for
stability and mechanical grounding Very stable, tube
friendly, impedance - 8 Ohms Sensitivity 89dB Frequency Response 42Hz - 20kHz Dimensions 36" H x 13" W x 5" D
(measured at the top) $3495 - Natural Maple, Cherry Red Stained
Maple, $3845 Piano Gloss Black
Review - Enjoy the Music Review
Episode
The latest introduction
from Reference 3a, the Episode fills the gap between
the Veena and Grand Veena. The Episode shares the sleek
angled enclosure of both the Veena and Grand Veena, in a size
that fits comfortably in most any environment. The Episode
includes the same super-tweeter found in the Grand Veena.
Kicking in at 20 kHz (where the tweeter trails off) and
extending out to 100 kHz, the super-tweeter adds a sense of
delicacy and air, enhancing performance in a subtle but
meaningful way.
7” directly coupled
main driver Ultra simple, single
capacitor crossover (multiple flat plate, paper in foil
design) Sloped front baffle
time aligns the drivers Extensive internal
bracing resulting in a solid, non-resonant enclosure. Three large pod feet
for stability and mechanical grounding Very stable, tube
friendly impedance - 8 Ohms Unique super tweeter
adds air and dimension $5500 in natural
Maple, red Maple or black Maple. $6050 in piano black
lacquer
Grand Veena
The Grand Veena adds
scale and weight to the refined performance of the smaller
Reference 3a
models. Long prized for resolution of subtle detail and
accurate harmonic timbre, until now these designed were not
known for a big powerful sound. The Grand Veena
combines both ends of the dynamic envelope and frequency
realm.
The Grand Veena is a tall, slender tower housing five
seamlessly integrated unique drivers. The front baffle is
tilted back at a critical angle and the drivers are positioned
precisely for correct time alignment and sound wave
propagation. The multi chamber cabinet provides isolation to
avoid interference between the drivers operating at different
frequency ranges.
The
hand-built 7" (170 mm.) main driver is hyper-exponentially
shaped and covers a wide range of the music evenly. Utilizing
advanced materials and techniques the driver is designed to
not require crossovers and it is coupled directly to the
amplifier. The potentially harmful effects of crossover
components are removed from the path so the musical signal
arrives at the driver uninterrupted and intact. Every tiny
musical detail is tracked precisely and immediately.
Two powerful 8" (21mm.)
long excursion bass drivers are used for extended low
frequencies. Very stiff and light cones of Fiberglass and
Kevlar in honeycomb construction are used to eliminate driver
break-up modes. Rigid cast metal driver frames are used to
ensure mechanical integrity. A unique acoustic device is
constructed internally to absorb excess pressure generated by
the enclosure's standing waves to avoid interference with the
driver's motion. With only a quasi-second order low-pass
filter, low frequencies are tuned to extend flatly down to
36Hz. while significant information is still realized at even
very low 20Hz.
"Given the space to strut their stuff, the Grand Veenas bring
a neutrality and immediacy that spoils you for most other
speakers under $20,000. You can pick these up for $7990 (maple
finish) or $8800 (high gloss black piano finish). Reference 3A
design their own bass and midrange drivers and directly
connect the midrange driver to the amplifier. Then they use
the simplest and highest quality components to match the
tweeter and bass driver output levels to the midrange. An
expensive Murator Exciter sitting above the tweeter ensures a
completely open sound even if we aren't supposed to hear that
high. These speakers represent an easy load and work well with
tubes or transistors. I'm not crazy about the looks but that's
about all I can say that's negative. On the plus side they
made the very best of every recording I threw their way."
— Phil Gold, Enjoy the Music. Blue Note 2008 Award for
best components of the year.
7” directly coupled
main driver Dual 8" long
excursion woofers Ultra simple, single
capacitor crossover (multiple flat plate, paper in foil
design) Sloped front baffle
time aligns the drivers Extensive internal
bracing resulting in a solid, non-resonant enclosure. Three large pod feet
for stability and mechanical grounding Very stable, tube
friendly impedance - 5 Ohms (+/- 0.5 Ohm) Unique super tweeter
adds air and dimension -
Efficiency: 90 dB. 1Watt/meter
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Frequency response: 36Hz - 20 kHz (+/-) 3dB
$8795 in natural
or red Maple. $9200 in piano black
lacquer
Review - Enjoy the Music Review
Dulcet
Three years in the making, the
Dulcet represents the lat est in the line of superb loudspeaker
designs from Reference 3A. For it's diminutive size, the bass
extension is both surprisingly deep and very resolved bass,
thanks in part to a custom woofer, hand built by Divergent
Audio.
Like other Reference 3A speakers, the Dulcet uses no
crossover.
Particular
attention has been paid to the enclosure design. Careful
design, construction and materials selection results in a
particular inert cabinet.
In many ways, the Dulcet sets the standard
for monitors in this price range. Even though it is the
entry-level speaker from Reference 3A, it gives up nothing in
quality and refinement.
Proprietary, handmade driver -
Drivers matched to within 1dB
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Ultra rigid, ultra lightweight carbon fiber
woofer/midrange cone material
Drivers run at high voltage for 72 hours
before matching Solid copper Cardas jumpers (bi-wiring is
recommended) Frequency response 48Hz - 20kHz Sensitivity 88dB Impedance 6 Ohms Dimensions 7.5"W x 12"H x 9.5"D $1795, or $1975 in
Premium Finishes Absolute Sound Editor's Choice Award
winner
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