Untitled Document

Review: Ambience Reference 1600:
Hybrid Ribbon Loudspeakers Ambience’s flagship
Reference Series 1600s
deliver true music
By Nic Tatham

When was the last time you actually sat down, closed
your eyes and really listened to some music? I don’t mean chucking a CD on while cooking dinner, but actually sat in a quiet room with only yourself and the music. It’s not always possible, but if you get the opportunity, there’s nothing quite like just listening to music. And doing it on a really decent hi-fi system
makes the experience all the more pleasurable.
I’m slowly finishing off my dedicated listening room and being heavily insulated and soundproofed, inside’s a cocoon of silence from the outside world. And the first equipment I got round to setting up to review over the Christmas break included a pair of
Ambience’s Reference 1600 loudspeakers. Usually to organise product for review, you make a couple
of phone calls and wait for the courier to turn up. In this case though, things took a little longer than planned, mainly due to my slow progress with the
listening room. Tony Moore of Ambience built the pair, then drove them all the way up from deepest
country Victoria and delivered them to a friend who only lives five minutes away from me. The plan was he’d run them in for a couple of weeks, then I’d take
delivery when the room was finished. A couple of weeks turned into more like a couple of months, but finally I took possession.
The speakers were well and truly run in by now, which was just as well as the metal ribbons used in Ambience’s designs do take quite some time to really sound their best. Partnering these tall and imposing speakers (they stand 1.6 metres high) I had an array of
electronics and as the owner of a pair of Ambience’s Ultra 1600s, I was keen to hear just how different the Reference models sound over the trusty Ultras.
Amplification is key element with the Ultras and simply put, the better it is, the more you get out of the speakers. On hand I had a Redgum pre and
monobloc power amps (also reviewed in

"Music taste is a
personal thing, but not really with these loudspeakers -they'll happily play all manner
of material.
Nine Inch Nails
potent style of rock
and full frequency rage
is easily digested and
they motor through the
crashing snare drums of
The Mark Has Been
Made. That wholesome
and extensive bass
presence aside, the
ribbons open up a
truly controlled, crisp
and pacey midrange."
this issue), my ME 550II as well as the flagship ME 850 power amplifier, so there was no shortage of watts. Tony Moore uses a pair of French Audio Aero monobloc valve amplifiers himself,
with a pair costing around $30,000. One thing I've always found with his designs is no matter how esoteric, expensive or
just plain capable the amplification or source components, these tall ribbons consistently reveal the strengths (and weaknesses) of all partnering equipment, including cables. Some equipment simply gells with these loudspeakers and both Redgum
and ME amplification are a good example. Another, is Marantz'
integrated PM-17 amplifier, which Tony and other Ambience fans swear by. It's no ordinary integrated amp though and one of hi-fi legend Ken Ishiwata's best designs. Still, at about a tenth of the
price of the Audio Aero's, it's a sensible and affordable option to drive a pair of speakers such as these, that really appreciate quality amplification.
Ambience now manufacturers eight different models - four hybrid ribbon speakers, a ribbon centre channel and a bandpass Subwoofer. Over the years I have reviewed six of them, so I'm very
familiar with the brand. My Ultra 1600s are now about five years old and since then, Tony Moore has been continually upgrading and improving his designs, culminating in this the latest addition to the range. It was about 18 months ago that I had the larger flagship Reference 1800s and if you haven't got a huge living space to fill with music, then the 1600s are a bit easier to accommodate.
In my 4 x 7 metre space, they fill it quite happily.
The sum of all its parts make up the Ambience flagship Reference design and to this end Tony Moore goes to great (and expensive) lengths to ensure only the best components are used. The several magnets that line the crimped aluminium ribbon are neodymium 'rare earth' super-magnets - one alone is powerful enough to pick up a fridge.
Combined, Tony told me, there's enough magnetic force to lift a car! These form the 'powerhouse' of the ribbon section and compared to the standard series, produce five times the acoustical output energy. What this means is that the amplifier has to work
far less and the efficiency of the design is staggeringly high; 96dB to be precise.
Complementing the ribbons is a very high quality bass section, housed in a separate compartment which forms the speakers' base. Ambience sources its drivers from SEAS - a well known
Scandinavian driver manufacturer, but they're not standard issue drivers, these are custom made to Ambience's specifications. There are two of them, both 170mm in diameter and the internal wiring is with Analysis Plus - a very decent cable from the USA.
Nominal impedance of the Reference 1600s is around 4.3 ohms,
but because of that super high sensitivity, you don't need a huge
number of watts to drive them. The minimum rating is five watts RMS per channel, which would be the sort of figure some valve-based amplifiers would muster.

The recommended power is between 30 and 100 watts RMS, again the lower end of which is valve territory, but as Ambience states, with large amplifiers, extreme sound pressure levels are achievable. One of the characteristics of all Ambience designs is that they are able to play extremely loud without any fear of
driver or ribbon damage. I have pushed mine to what I thought would have been their limit, but these ribbons and SEAS drivers can really generate serious volume levels without distortion. You
may not want to generate this sort of antisocial volume, but it's comforting to know that the speakers can take it.
I settled on my ME 550II power amplifier to do most of the serious
listening and the first thing that struck me about the Reference 1600s compared to my older Ultras was the much tighter grip and speed of the bass. The twin drivers may be quite small but
their integration in the design produces vast amounts of low frequencies when required. But it's not all just quantity; the bass dynamics possess both power and punch. Forget about the need for a subwoofer, the low-end extension on offer entirely negates the need for one.
From there, the Reference 1600s simply build a sublime musical structure. Play a live set such as Jeff Buckley Live In Chicago and you're catapulted to the gig. The atmosphere is readily apparent and you can almost feel the emotion and passion in Buckley's vocals.
Something with a little less angst, the Telarc recording of Carl Orff's Fortune is a stern test, yet the Ambiences pass it with consummate ease. Within the broad soundstage, instruments are firmly locked into position and there's never any hint of blurring or loss of stereo imaging. With a gentle toe-in and the front spikes raised, the Reference 1600's positioning is a crucial part of their set-up as far as imaging and stereo depth is concerned. Give them space behind, as the ribbon also fires sound out the back and the bass enclosure is also rear ported.
Music taste is a personal thing, but not really with these loudspeakers -they'll happily play all manner of
material. Nine Inch Nails potent style of rock and full frequency rage is easily digested and they motor through the crashing snare drums of The Mark Has Been Made. That wholesome and ribbons open up a truly controlled, crisp and pacey midrange.
Getting back to simply listening to music on a really superb sounding pair of speakers has been something I haven't done for a while. Getting away from home theatre and enjoying just two channels is highly recommended to help put things back in perspective.
I admit it, I'm a fan of all things Ambience and its latest loudspeakers have me hooked. $8,700 is a considerable
amount of money for a pair of speakers, but the equivalent quality from an American manufacturer costs three
times or more. Such handcrafted quality from one of Australia's finest loudspeaker designers, I can't recommend these latest Ambience flagships highly enough. AVL

Ancillary Equipment: Rega Planar 3 turntable,
ME 24 preamplifier, ME 550II power amplifier, ME 850 power amplifier,
Redgum CD-5 ENR CD player,
Nordost Flatline loudspeaker cables

(Review supplied by courtesy of the AVL.magazine)....

Nic Tatham.
Audio & Video Lifestyle Magazine

"Music taste is a personal thing, but not really with these loudspeakers -they'll happily play all manner of material. Nine Inch Nails potent style of rock and full frequency rage is easily digested and they motor through the crashing snare drums of The Mark Has Been Made. That wholesome and extensive bass presence aside, the ribbons open up a truly controlled, crisp and pacey midrange."	this issue), my ME 550II as well as the flagship ME 850 power amplifier, so there was no shortage of watts. Tony Moore uses a pair of French Audio Aero monobloc valve amplifiers himself, with a pair costing around $30,000. One thing I've always found with his designs is no matter how esoteric, expensive or just plain capable the amplification or source components, these tall ribbons consistently reveal the strengths (and weaknesses) of all partnering equipment, including cables. Some equipment simply gells with these loudspeakers and both Redgum and ME amplification are a good example. Another, is Marantz' integrated PM-17 amplifier, which Tony and other Ambience fans swear by. It's no ordinary integrated amp though and one of hi-fi legend Ken Ishiwata's best designs. Still, at about a tenth of the price of the Audio Aero's, it's a sensible and affordable option to drive a pair of speakers such as these, that really appreciate quality amplification. Ambience now manufacturers eight different models - four hybrid ribbon speakers, a ribbon centre channel and a bandpass Subwoofer. Over the years I have reviewed six of them, so I'm very familiar with the brand. My Ultra 1600s are now about five years old and since then, Tony Moore has been continually upgrading and improving his designs, culminating in this the latest addition to the range. It was about 18 months ago that I had the larger flagship Reference 1800s and if you haven't got a huge living space to fill with music, then the 1600s are a bit easier to accommodate. In my 4 x 7 metre space, they fill it quite happily. The sum of all its parts make up the Ambience flagship Reference design and to this end Tony Moore goes to great (and expensive) lengths to ensure only the best components are used. The several magnets that line the crimped aluminium ribbon are neodymium 'rare earth' super-magnets - one alone is powerful enough to pick up a fridge. Combined, Tony told me, there's enough magnetic force to lift a car! These form the 'powerhouse' of the ribbon section and compared to the standard series, produce five times the acoustical output energy. What this means is that the amplifier has to work far less and the efficiency of the design is staggeringly high; 96dB to be precise. Complementing the ribbons is a very high quality bass section, housed in a separate compartment which forms the speakers' base. Ambience sources its drivers from SEAS - a well known Scandinavian driver manufacturer, but they're not standard issue drivers, these are custom made to Ambience's specifications. There are two of them, both 170mm in diameter and the internal wiring is with Analysis Plus - a very decent cable from the USA. Nominal impedance of the Reference 1600s is around 4.3 ohms, but because of that super high sensitivity, you don't need a huge number of watts to drive them. The minimum rating is five watts RMS per channel, which would be the sort of figure some valve-based amplifiers would muster.
The recommended power is between 30 and 100 watts RMS, again the lower end of which is valve territory, but as Ambience states, with large amplifiers, extreme sound pressure levels are achievable. One of the characteristics of all Ambience designs is that they are able to play extremely loud without any fear of driver or ribbon damage. I have pushed mine to what I thought would have been their limit, but these ribbons and SEAS drivers can really generate serious volume levels without distortion. You may not want to generate this sort of antisocial volume, but it's comforting to know that the speakers can take it. I settled on my ME 550II power amplifier to do most of the serious listening and the first thing that struck me about the Reference 1600s compared to my older Ultras was the much tighter grip and speed of the bass. The twin drivers may be quite small but their integration in the design produces vast amounts of low frequencies when required. But it's not all just quantity; the bass dynamics possess both power and punch. Forget about the need for a subwoofer, the low-end extension on offer entirely negates the need for one. From there, the Reference 1600s simply build a sublime musical structure. Play a live set such as Jeff Buckley Live In Chicago and you're catapulted to the gig. The atmosphere is readily apparent and you can almost feel the emotion and passion in Buckley's vocals. Something with a little less angst, the Telarc recording of Carl Orff's Fortune is a stern test, yet the Ambiences pass it with consummate ease. Within the broad soundstage, instruments are firmly locked into position and there's never any hint of blurring or loss of stereo imaging. With a gentle toe-in and the front spikes raised, the Reference 1600's positioning is a crucial part of their set-up as far as imaging and stereo depth is concerned. Give them space behind, as the ribbon also fires sound out the back and the bass enclosure is also rear ported. Music taste is a personal thing, but not really with these loudspeakers -they'll happily play all manner of material. Nine Inch Nails potent style of rock and full frequency rage is easily digested and they motor through the crashing snare drums of The Mark Has Been Made. That wholesome and ribbons open up a truly controlled, crisp and pacey midrange. Getting back to simply listening to music on a really superb sounding pair of speakers has been something I haven't done for a while. Getting away from home theatre and enjoying just two channels is highly recommended to help put things back in perspective. I admit it, I'm a fan of all things Ambience and its latest loudspeakers have me hooked. $8,700 is a considerable amount of money for a pair of speakers, but the equivalent quality from an American manufacturer costs three times or more. Such handcrafted quality from one of Australia's finest loudspeaker designers, I can't recommend these latest Ambience flagships highly enough. AVL