Download Image 414 mk2

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Image 414 mk2
Image 414 mk2 loudspeaker. $2200
August 2005
Image Loudspeakers are just about a
New Zealand hi-fi institution. They
make speakers that sound and look
good, at prices that typically beat imported products by a significant margin. The company’s 400 range consists
of two stand mount monitors and five
floorstanders - the 414 model occupies
the middle of the range in terms of size,
frequency extension, and power handling. I’ve written about the 414s before,
but this model features internal differences that should count as improvements, so this is by way of a comparative review.
On view
The pair supplied for review was finished in what I took to be a Rimu veneer
- very nice, at any rate. Standing almost
a metre tall on their custom-made brass
spikes, they certainly look the business
- especially with the grills removed and
the drivers on display.
Not very much has changed externally about the 414. It’s a ported 2-½
way speaker, which means the upper
mid-bass cone, by Morel, rolls in to take
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over from the Morel soft dome tweeter sense of dynamism. To be honest, I
at 2400Hz. The lower cone starts wob- found nothing much to fault with the
bling at around 250Hz to add oomph crossover in the earlier model and once
to low frequencies. The box itself is sol- the latest review pair had broken in, the
idly braced and its base is sand-filled to upper registers were natural and welltighten the sound up in the bass. At the resolved.
rear of the enclosure is a flared reflex
Intriguingly, I found these new 414s
duct, so it pays to have a little room be- to be more sensitive to placement, not so
hind this model - I found a good metre much in the bass, where all floorstandfrom room boundaries paid off in terms ers pose challenges, but in the midrange.
of evenness and balance.
This may be a result of the crossover reWhat I’d really like to see is a plinth vision, or perhaps just a side-effect of
to bolt to the base of the 414 - a tall, top- changes made to my listening room. I
heavy speaker that
suspect it comes
can’t be tucked
of real improveaway against a They played basslines in a ments in the
wall needs a big- tuneful and agile fashion, clarity of the upger footprint. It
per-mids, which
could be an op- and a subwoofer would be meant female votional extra so left with little to do but fill cals were particuas not to unduly
larly believable.
stress those who in the very bottom end for I also discovered
live in a children,
the sake of atmospherics the 414s have a
pet, and drunken
special fondness
flatmate-free enfor
funked-up
vironment. I’d wager they’d look pretty soul/jazz, but if you prefer thrash metal
good on matching plinths, as do the they’ll oblige until your big hair drops
similarly dimensioned Linn Ninka’s.
out
As before, the 414’s voltage sensitivWhat’s new?
ity - which seemed a little higher to me
Image’s Chris Ball has revised the in these new models - enables them to
414’s crossover, the internal circuit go nice and loud. They played basslines
consisting of inductors, resistors, and in a tuneful and agile fashion, and a
capacitors that controls the distribu- subwoofer would be left with little to
tion of frequencies to the tweeters and do but fill in the very bottom end for
woofers. You can’t just feed a full-range the sake of atmospherics. While I had
audio signal from your amp to every hoped for some improvement in imagdriver in the loudspeaker - that would ing, this remained firmly in the realm
entail tweeters going ‘pop!’ as they tried of satisfactory. For some reason the
to reproduce big bass-notes, and frantic 414s wouldn’t throw an image beyond
bass cones trying to buzz and fizz like a their inner edges, but when they’re two
tiny treble unit. The net result is a sonic or three metres apart - as such speakers
mess and sometimes an electrical fire.
should be - that can be forgiven.
The exact changes made to the
crossover are a trade-secret, but the in- The verdict
tention has been to reduce anomalies in
Once again, the Images did a fine
the crucial frequency ranges where one job with everything thrown at them.
driver hands over to another. Chris has They let you know if your programme
paid particular attention to the tweeter- material was recorded inadequately,
to-upper midbass crossover, where the which puts them very much in the higreatest potential harm can be. So, has fi category. While they’d serve well as
it worked?
front speakers in a home-cinema setup, they’d be wasted there in a full-time
Getting an earful
capacity. All in all, a good speaker, and a
In my previous review I found the local one at that—Brent Burmester
414 sound to be neutral, detailed, and
full-bodied. This new version retained
all these characteristics, with a greater