U.K. - Hi-Fi+ review and Interview by Roy Gregory

Roy Gregory Trinity review is now available in Hi-Fi+ Issue 59
In what is the very first UK interview, Roy Gregory talks with Craig Milnes about the patented Torus design and explains how it was created and how it actually functions.

The full P.D.F. of the Trinity / Torus review as well as the U.K. interview can be downloaded here hifi+hi.pdf

Global events where you can experience Wilson Benesch

Italy Top Audio & Video Show Milan 19th - 21st September 2008
Hotel Quark - Via Lampedusa 11 A
Both Directors will be attending this event.

Singapore Formula 1 Race 25th - 28th September 2008
In collaboration with our colleagues Reference Audio with whom we have worked with for over a decade we will be celebrating the first ever Singapore F1 Race in style. To mark this auspicious event Wilson Benesch and Reference Audio will be making a very special presentation. A further announcement will be made in August.
Both Directors will be attending this event.

Russia, Premium Hi-Fi Show & Home Theatre. 3rd - 5th October 2008
Qvinta Rooms: 710 712
The Iris Congress Hotel, Moscow.

London, The Future is Carbon Stuff Live - 3rd -5th November 2008
Excel London. Room
Both Directors will be attending this event.

Bristol, The Future is Carbon Sound and Vision - 23rd - 25th February 2009
Marriott City Centre Hotel, Bristol.
The Conservatory.
Both Directors will be attending this event.

Munich High End Society 2009
This will be an important event that will mark the start of a new era for Wilson Benesch with one of the most respected names in German High End audio distribution. An announcement will be made in October.
Both Directors will be attending this event.

Other dates to be announced shortly :~

REDFERNS - IMAGE OF THE MONTH JEFF BECK

Geoffrey Arnold ("Jeff") Beck was born June 24th 1944 to Arnold and Ethel Beck in Wallington England. As a ten year old Beck sang in a church choir. As a teenager he learned to play a borrowed guitar and then made several attempts to build his own instrument.

Much of Beck's recorded output has been instrumental. Beck has earned wide critical praise and four Grammy awards for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

During Jeff Beck's time with the Yardbirds he pioneered the use of many new guitar techniques, such as the intentional use of feedback, heavy distortion and complex soloing. Rock critic Richie Unterberger wrote "While Beck's stint with the band lasted only about 18 months, in this period he did more to influence the sound of '60s rock guitar than anyone except Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townshend."
Rock critic Piero Scaruffi has described Beck as "Possibly the most influential guitarist in the history of Rock Music, one could say that rock music played with an electric guitar was invented by Jeff Beck. It was through him that the distortions, feedback, and many other techniques, that the rest of rock music did not rediscover until much later, became popular."

An interesting insight into his character comes from his work with George Martin at Air Studios whilst recording Blow by Blow. Beck was fastidious about over-dubs but never seemed to be happy with his solos. A few days after a recording, when he'd had time to digest his own performance, he would telephone Martin and say "I think I could do a better one on this track", and they would return to AIR to try again. Beck would play over and over until he was satisfied that he had performed his best. A couple of months went by and Martin received another phone call from Beck: "I want to do this solo again." Bemused, Martin replied: "I'm sorry, Jeff, but the record is in the shops!"

Jeff Beck and Nigel Kennedy have recently been rehearsing together (2008-07-24). Kennedy is in awe of Beck and the pair are looking at doing possible gigs and recordings together.

If Bill Murray cites him as his favourite guitarist then need one say more!

Russia - Stereo delivers massive Chimera Review.

Chimera Review in Stereo courtesy of our Russian distributor Qvinta.

russianreview.pdf

What Hi-Fi Ultimate Guide to Home Entertainment is out now

UK - October, exclusive new dealer opening in Leamington Spa

Watch this space for further announcments about the exciting new partnership between Wilson Benesch and Leamington Spa's new audio consultant, Number One. 1.jpg

Netherlands - Music and Emotion Review on the A.C.T. is now available in the Netherlands

Werner Ero's Review of the A.C.T. is out now, courtesy of our Dutch distributor Audio Excellence.

You can download the review here A.C.T.pdf

Audio Excellence http://www.wilsonbenesch.nl/
Looierij 11
4762 Am Zevenbergen
Holland
Tel: +31 168 335180
Fax: +31 168 335973
E-Mail info@audioexcellence.nl
Web www.audioexcellence.nl

Engines of Ingenuity No 2 - MELLOR DESIGNS

Engines of Ingenuity No 2
This year we celebrate a living designer, David Mellor CBE. Like the great John Smeaton who began this series, Mellor produced a design that relies upon our perception of light. In this case it literally dictates the people of Englands movement almost every single day. It is called, amongst other things, the traffic light.

David Mellor, Royal Designer for Industry, is unusual in this country in combining the activities of hands-on craftsman and designer with those of design entrepreneur. He has operated as designer, manufacturer and retailer, seeing the designer’s function as controlling a product through all stages from concept to customer. He has felt it his mission to improve design standards over a broad spectrum, directly affecting very many people’s lives.


Born in Sheffield in 1930, David Mellor trained originally as a silversmith. His Sheffield background gave him a particular affinity with metalwork. This developed onwards from his early years of making one-off pieces of specially commissioned silver, including table silver for British embassies, to the present relatively large scale operation. David Mellor’s well known ranges of stainless steel and silver cutlery are now manufactured in his own purpose-built factory in Derbyshire. Within the factory Mellors concern for the craftsmen within led to the introduction of new working practices. Whereas workers in the Sheffield cutlery industry have always specialised in a single operation, he introduced a new system whereby his cutlery makers rotate from task to task, increasing job satisfaction through a sense of involvement in the project as a whole. Following the design of the building the employees stopped being cutlers and became builders creating the principle wooden structures that would form the roof of the Round House.

The interior of the building is bathed in natural light to provide the perfect environment to perform craft skills of the highest standards. Many of the machines within the factory have been redesigned and modified by the same cutlers in order to perform specific tasks required of Davids designs.

David Mellor Design operates on the simple principle that well-designed equipment can improve your life.

David Mellor cutlery is manufactured in a purpose-designed modern factory in the Peak District National Park. The Round Building, designed by Sir Michael Hopkins, has won numerous architectural awards.

David Mellor was elected Royal Designer for Industry in 1962. He was Chairman of the Crafts Council 1982-4 and a Trustee of the Victoria & Albert Museum 1983-8. He holds Hon. Doctorates from the University of Sheffield, De Montfort University, Sheffield Hallam University, Loughborough University and the Royal College of Art.

Appointed OBE in 1981, and CBE in 2001.
Other notable designs.

1966 Square pillar box
Cast iron

Commissioned by the
Post Office. The design aroused controversy as a departure from the traditional pillar box.

1971 ‘Eclipse’ Saw and hacksaw frame

Part of a large range of Mellor’s designs for the leading Sheffield tool manufacturers, James Neill.

2005 'Pride' Stainless steel

David Mellor's earliest and most famous cutlery is now available in hand- finished, mirror polished stainless steel.

‘For me, in all aspects of my activity – from the architecture of our buildings, the selection of products for my shops, down to the choice of the right rivets for my cutlery – to aim for the highest visual standards has been paramount, and perfecting this skill has been one of the main aims of my life as a designer.’

Working practices within Wilson Benesch follow the same principles as those of Mellor with staff being involved in some way in every aspect of the company from design concepts through to finished product. Within the company there exists a huge range of processes that begin with raw materials and conclude with the finished product. We believe this to be almost unique in today's audio industry. A multi skilled group of people are engaged in many and extremely varied tasks but with recognised responsibilities in terms of key products. Like David Mellor the company enjoys an exemplary standard, that is well above average, staff retention level.

REDFERN IMAGE OF THE MONTH - Madeline Peyroux.

Peyroux was born in Athens, Georgia USA in 1974. Her family was in academia, and she has described her parents as "hippies". Her father moved the family to Brooklyn when Peyroux was six, so he could pursue a career in acting. She grew up in New York City and southern California, and when her parents divorced, she moved with her mother to Paris.

Peyroux started singing at the age of fifteen, when she discovered street musicians in the Latin Quarter in Paris. Seven years later she released her first album Dreamland, in 1996, and gained widespread attention. Time called it "the most exciting, involving vocal performance by a new singer this year". Peyroux soon found herself opening for Sarah McLachlan and Cesaria Evora, and made appearances at jazz festivals and on the Lilith Fair tour. Over the following six years Peyroux would be found busking in Paris, performing occasionally in clubs in the U.S., and generally living a low-key existence. She continued to contribute to works by other artists, but rarely appeared in clubs under her own name.

In an age where celebrities are expected to indulge all of the public curiousities, Peyroux eschews publicity and keeps a low profile. She has dropped "out of sight" for extended periods of time, as when she spent several years busking after the release of her first record.

On July 12th, 2007, she was awarded Best International Jazz Artist at the BBC Jazz Awards

Hail Joep! Audio Excellence has another set of golden ears!

REDFERNS IMAGE OF THE MONTH - QUINCY JONES

Quincy Delight Jones was born in Chicago, Illinois, the eldest son of Sarah Frances (née Wells), an apartment complex manager and bank executive who suffered from schizophrenia, and Quincy Delight Jones, Sr., a semi-professional baseball player and carpenter. His mother is a descendant of Mary Belle Lanier, the out of wedlock daughter of James Balance Lanier (second cousin four times removed of George Washington and first cousin of the maternal grandfather of John McCain) by an unknown African American woman.Jones is also of, Welsh, and West African/Central African ancestry (for the 2006 PBS television program African American Lives he had his DNA tested; the test showed him to be of Tikar descent) Jones discovered music in grade school and took up the trumpet. When he was 10, his family moved to Seattle, Washington; there he attended Garfield High School.

In 1951, Jones won a scholarship to the Schillinger House in Boston. However, he abandoned his studies when he received an offer to tour as a trumpeter with the bandleader Lionel Hampton. While Jones was on the road with Hampton, he displayed a gift for arranging songs. Jones relocated to New York City, where he received a number of freelance commissions arranging songs for artists like Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Gene Krupa, and his old friend Ray Charles.

Jones is recognised as a music impresario, conductor, record producer, musical arranger, Academy Award-winning film composer and trumpeter. During five decades in the entertainment industry, Jones has earned a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys,including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991. He is best known as the producer of the album Thriller, by pop icon Michael Jackson, which sold 104 million copies worldwide,and as the producer and conductor of the charity song “We Are the World”.

Jones first worked with Frank Sinatra when he was invited by Princess Grace to arrange a benefit at the Monaco Sporting Club in 1958. Six years later, Sinatra hired him to arrange and conduct Sinatra's second album with Count Basie, It Might as Well Be Swing (1964). Jones conducted and arranged 1966's live album with the Basie Band, Sinatra at the Sands. Jones was also the arranger/conductor when Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, and Johnny Carson performed with the Basie orchestra in St. Louis in a benefit for Dismas House in June 1965. The fund-raiser was broadcast to a number of other theaters around the country and eventually released on DVD. Later that year, Jones was also the arranger/conductor when Sinatra and Basie appeared on "The Hollywood Palace" TV show on October 16, 1965. Nineteen years later, Sinatra and Jones teamed up for 1984's L.A. Is My Lady, after a joint Sinatra-Lena Horne project was abandoned.

In 1968, Jones and his songwriting partner Bob Russell became the first African-Americans to be nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Original Song category. That same year, he became the first African-American to be nominated twice within the same year when he was nominated for Best Original Score for his work on the music of In Cold Blood. Jones was also the first (and so far, the only) African-American to be nominated as a producer in the category of Best Picture (in 1986, for The Color Purple). He was also the first African-American to win the Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in 1995. He is tied with sound designer Willie D. Burton as the most Oscar-nominated African-American, each of them having seven nominations.

UK Sheffield Region a Manufacturing Asset.

An Economic Asset for Sheffield and the City Region.

This research report was commissioned by Sheffield City Council. It provides a window on the exciting manufacturing economy of the Sheffield Region and highlights the challenges that this dynamic sector faces in a global economy. Wilson Benesch was selected as one of a number of companies in order to represent how industry has changed. The report provides intriguing statistical data that underlines just how important Modern manufacturers like Wilson Benesch are to the regional and national economy. Part of the report includes a film that can be downloaded from here.

The report was undertaken by Diana Buckley.

China - New Web Site launch via exclusive distribution - Richcoln Company limited

Richcoln - exclusive distributor for Wilson Benesch in the Republic of China.

Munich 2008 - The Future is Carbon

Munich High End Show links Wilson Benesch with its global distribution.

Thanks go to the High End Society Germany for making it possible to meet again with our global partners. This year Wilson Benesch provided its visitor with a "real world" audio system comprised of a £5,000 set of Audionet electronics the Trinity / Torus widebandwidth loudspeaker system principally connected by Clearer Audio Cables. Of course the key to success was the analogue system featuring the remarkable Nanotube One Tonearm.

Luke Milnes and Alex Chabalewski (the creator of the "Alex Configuration") tuned the system with two Torus. This combination provided a flat response from 65 to 20 Hertz in a very difficult room. Using two Torus made the considerable problem of addressing room modes a relatively easy task. The rest of the signal up to 100KHz provided the listener with wide bandwidth sound.

With visitors from almost twenty countries the show provided the chance for planning and discussion in a beautiful location. The Image above shows Design Director Craig Milnes explaining the design features of the Nanotube One Tonearm to Yannis Poutous of Audio Excellence, exclusive distributor for Wilson Benesch in Greece.

Luke Milnes, Craig Milnes, Christina Milnes and Alex Chabalewski

REDFERNS IMAGE OF THE MONTH - CHARLIE HADEN

Charles Edward Haden was born August 6, 1937. He is one of the most respected jazz bassists and jazz composers today. As a jazz double bassist he is probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman.

Haden was born in Shenandoah, Iowa. He was raised in a musical family, which often performed together. He sang with the family until until the age of fifteen when he contracted a mild form of polio that led to damage of the throat muscles and vocal cords, subsequently, Haden was unable to control his pitch while singing. Hadens interest in jazz and the double bass preceded the disease that led to his loss of vocal control.

He began playing professionally after moving to Los Angeles, including stints with pianist Hampton Hawes and saxophonist Art Pepper. He began playing with Ornette Coleman in the late 1950s, culminating with The Shape of Jazz to Come.

Beauty

"the future lies in a scientific education based on doubt and questioning, rather than on belief." Sir Harry Kroto
kroto.pdf

The Ultimate Guide to HI-FI is out now!

Hong Kong - AUDIOTECHNIQUE April Issue

Thanks to our Hong Kong distributor T.H. Yu of Elephant Audio for the latest 8 page review on the Trinity / Torus Solution.

Moorgate Acoustics Evening Presentation

Many thanks to Paul and Team Moorgate for making this years Open Evening such a huge success. The evening provided a superb venue for discerning audio and cinema consumers to meet with the Wilson Benesch owners and Moorghate staff. A variety of systems were demonstrated. We look forward to making next years event an even greater success.

Hamburg - Colour in a Beautiful European City.

Special thanks to Stephan Reifenrath - owner of the superb Reifenrath Studio at the centre of Hamburg.

REDFERNS IMAGE OF THE MONTH - UNKNOWN ARTIST

21st Century Blues - Unknown Artist
The Blues evolved from unaccompanied vocal music and oral traditions of African-American slaves and rural blacks into a wide variety of styles and subgenres, with regional variations across the United States and, later, Europe and Africa. The musical forms and styles that are now considered the "blues" as well as modern "country music" arose in the same regions during the nineteenth century in the southern United States. Recorded blues and country can be found from as far back as the 1920s, when the popular record industry developed and created marketing categories called "race music" and "hillbilly music" to sell music by blacks for blacks and by whites for whites, respectively.

The phrase "the blues" is a reference to the blue devils, meaning 'down' spirits, depression and sadness. In lyrics the phrase is often used to describe a depressed mood. The image above was taken by David during his recent visit to New Orleans and the New Orleans Jazz Festival.

Denmark / Sweden - HIGH fidelity - Arc Review

Thanks to our Denmark / Sweden distributor Radioactiv - Kaj Danielson, for the latest review on the Arc. Nummer 3.2008
download the p.d.f. here denmark%20review.pdf

Spain What Hi Fi Review courtesy of Evalitec

Trinity Review in Spain March Issue.
"Lo que mas sorprende de su rendimiento es su capacidad para ahondar en los graves"

Wilson Benesch Global Events that will be attended by the Directors / Designers during 2008.
Additional information on dates and locations will be provided nearer the time.


Germany Munich M.O.C. High End Show
Thursday 24th April - Sunday 27th April 2008
ATRIUM 4, 1ST FLOOR ROOM E110
Exhibition contents: This years Munich Show will see the Nanotube One Tonearm being used for the first time outside the U.K. This design takes advantage of engineering that functions at the quantum level in pursuit of ultimate performance. The understated design will provide the Trinity Loudspeakrs with the best possible signal. Download the press release here Nanotubeonetonearm.pdf


U.K. London ExCel What Hi Fi Sound and Vision Show
Friday Oct 31 - Sunday Nov 2
Room number one has been selected for the Wilson Benesch presentation at this years What Hi Fi Sound and Vision Show. ExCel is just 20 minutes from the centre of London and will provide an excellent opportunity for a broad range of technologies to be presented on one floor. Please see the floor map for further information. Stuff%20Floorplan%2020-02-2008.pdf

REDFERN IMAGE OF THE MONTH - BILLY COBHAM

Generally acclaimed as fusion's greatest drummer, Billy Cobham's explosive technique powered some of the genre's most important early recordings -- including groundbreaking efforts by Miles Davis and the Mahavishnu Orchestra -- before he became an accomplished bandleader in his own right.

William C. Cobham was born May 16, 1944, in Panama, where as a very young child he became fascinated with percussion. The Cobham family moved to New York City, and at age of eight he made his performance debut with his father. He honed his percussion skills in a drum-and-bugle corps outfit called the St. Catherine's Queensmen, and attended New York's prestigious High School of Music and Art, graduating in 1962.

In 69 he became part of Miles Davis' new fusion ensemble, and played a small part in the seminal Bitches Brew sessions; he also appeared more prominently on several other Davis albums of the time, including more aggressive classics like Live-Evil and A Tribute to Jack Johnson.

Cobham and John McLaughlin left the Davis' group and formed the Mahavishnu Orchestra, which debuted in 1971 with the seminal The Inner Mounting Flame. With Mahavishnu, In May 1973 while still with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Cobham recorded his first solo album Spectrum. Cobham went on to work with a broad range of artists leaving a wake that would inspire jazz and rock percussionists across the world.

Bristol Show 2008

The directors would like to thank everyone who has written to the company expressing their positive comments on our presentation at this years Sound and Vision Show. It was clear from the views expressed during the show that things were working. The room was constantly buzzing with enthusiastic and serious visitors enjoying a varied program of music and cinema.
Demonstration area 1 - 2 Channel System comprised of:
Nanotube One Tonearm, Ply cartridge Full Circle turntable. Audionet electronics, Clearer Audio cables, Trinity loudspeakers and Two Torus in an Alex configuration. This is where each Torus is fed by both channels and the frequency divided between the two. In this case from 45 to 30 Hertz for Torus One and 30 down for Torus Two.

Demonstration area 2 - 5.1 Cinema System comprised of:
Projection design Projector, UVEM Media Centre, Arcam Processor, Chord cables, Audionet Power amplifiers, Square Two Loudspeakers with Centre Square and Two Torus.

Special thanks go to Tony Revelle and Jerry Lewin and all the Audio X and Audio T organisation staff for making possible such a special event. Thank you to Adrian Cox of Moorgate Acoustics Sheffield for his obsessive attention to detail and high altitude expectations. Darren Smith of Clearer Audio cables for his huge contribution and wealth of knowledge on cable design. To our distributors who travelled to meet with us from Spain (Filipe Jimenez of Evalitec Solutions S.L., India - Jay Nihalani of Sound and Vision and Italy - Giovanni Spinneli. Plus all the dealers who took time out of their busy schedules to see what everyone was talking about at the Bristol Marriott.

Work has already started on the ideas that will make 2009 (the company's 20th anniversary celebration year) the best yet!

What Hi Fi - Trinity Review is out today

"Wilson Benesch is setting a lofty standard for standmounters"

"Perhaps most surprising is just how loud they can go without losing composure. Many standmounters just fall apart when asked to replay some bass-heavy dance music such as Insomnia by Faithless: not the Trinitys. In our medium sized test room, it was we who backed down before they did."

Quoted from What Hi FI March 2008

Odyssey Electronic Brochure now available for download

The Electronic Brochure provides first level information on the Odyssey Series. It includes technical background information on cabinet construction and driver technologies as well as technical specifications.

Download from here or the home page EB.pdf

Netherlands - Music Emotion report on Wilson Benesch

Thanks go to Werner Ero for his article in Music Emotion that is now available as a PDF at the bottom of this article. We would like to thank Jan and Kees Jan of Audio Excellence our distributor in the Netherlands for making this event possible. We would also like to thank all the dealers who attended the Premier Studio Arts's Audio in Naaldwijk for making it such a fantastic day with superb food and wine. Training focussed on Wilson Benesch technology and demonstrations of Trinity and Torus went on late into the evening all of which was documented by Werner who also interviewed the directors for this article.

Click here to download the pdf.
WB2007.pdf

also attached is the pdf of the Arc review that was done by Werner.

WBARC.pdf

THIS MONTHS REDFERN IMAGE- NINA SIMONE

The High Priestess of Soul
Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina. During her first recital at the age of ten her parents, who had taken seats in the front row, were forced to move to the back of the hall to make way for white people. Simone refused to play until her parents were moved back. This incident contributed to her later involvement in the civil rights movement.

On her debut album for Philips, Nina Simone In Concert (live recording, 1964), Simone confronted racial inequality that was prevalent in the United States with the song "Mississippi Goddam". It was prompted by the murder of Medgar Evers and the death of four children in the church bombing in Alabama. The southern states boycotted the single when it was released. With "Old Jim Crow" on the same album she reacts to the Jim Crow Laws.

Simone left for Barbados in 1970. Her relationship with her husband and manager, Stroud who was also in charge of Simone's income declined. Simone's divorce can be seen as the end of her music business in the USA, and the beginning of her (partially self-imposed) exile and estrangement from the world for almost two decades.

Her on-stage style could be somewhat unpredictable and aloof but during 80's Simone performed regularly at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London, where the album Live At Ronnie Scott's was recorded in 1984. Simone enjoyed engaging her audiences by recounting sometimes humorous anecdotes related to her career and music and soliciting requests.

On Human Kindness Day in 74 more than 10,000 people paid tribute to Simone for her music and commitment to humanity. Simone received two honorary degrees in music and humanities.She preferred to be called "Dr. Nina Simone" after these honors were bestowed upon her. On April 21st 2003 Simone was awarded an honorary diploma by the Curtis Institute, the school that had turned her down at the start of her career. She died two days later.

Nanotube One Tonearm. Another World's First

Wilson Benesch has pioneered the use of carbon fibre structures in audio design. The fibres which are 50 times thinner than a human hair impart immense strength and stiffness especially when shaped according to naturally correct forms like curves or hyperbolic tubes, both of which have been exploited in products by Wilson Benesch. It is well known that the structural performance capabilites of carbon fibre is well beyond that of all other known materials. With almost two decades experience in working and developing materials for audio applications, Wilson Benesch is ideally positioned to take advantage of the amazing potential of the perfect structure that may well dwarf the information age in terms of importance.

Nano tubes are 50,000 times thinner than a human hair. They are hollow cylinders of atoms with a range of unique properties: structural, electrical and chemical. They were discovered in 1991 by S. Iijima. They are the strongest materials that have ever been made and are the next step forward for dramatic improvements in performance in structures especially those made of carbon fibre / epoxy matrix.

The strength of the sp² carbon-carbon bonds gives carbon nanotubes amazing mechanical properties. The stiffness of a material is measured in terms of its Young's modulus, the rate of change of stress with applied strain. The Young's modulus of the best nanotubes can be as high as 1000 GPa which is approximately 5x higher than steel. The tensile strength, or breaking strain of nanotubes can be up to 63 GPa, around 50x higher than steel. These properties, coupled with the lightness of carbon nanotubes, gives them great potential in audio applications.

The Future is Carbonnano.pdf

Carbon fibre

The Future is carbon.

Please download the P.D.F. on this important new technology from Wilson Benesch.nano.pdf

Carbon composites, high energy impact absorbtion at work

We have tried to provide Youtube films on the Kubica crash before, but for reasons unknown to us they were removed from the youtube site. This version also shows a computer graphic of the crash. In the film you will see highlighted the critical carbon fibre elements that absorbed the colossal levels of energy that were involved in this impact.
This amazing film is a tribute to all those people who work in the field of engineering and the development of carbon composites. Kubica not only survived this 75g crash, but was also able to meet the challenges of racing again two weeks later!

Kubica Crash

Portugal - Square Two review.

Audio & Cinema en Casa review of Square Two by Jorge Goncalves courtesy of our Portugese distribution, Ajasom.

You can download this review by selecting the text WilsonBenesch.pdf

You canalso download the Square Brochure by selecting this textSquare%20Brochure%2031.01.08.pdf

DAVID REDFERN BOOK- The Unclosed Eye.

David Redfern was born June 7, 1936 in Ashbourne, Derbyshire England. His images have formed an integral part of the world of music. The ability to capture the moment and bring the worlds most famous artists within reach of us all is perhaps his greatest gift. His collection includes many famous images that have become iconic. In 1999 he published a book about his life, The Unclosed Eye. Many of the images that have appeared each month on the Wilson Benesch web site have been taken from this book and the huge Redfern collection. The book is available from Redferns, and for anyone with even the slightest interest in music is a fascinating read. An industrious photographer for 45 years, his collection is estimated at over 10,000 pictures.

REDFERN IMAGE OF THE MONTH-SIR J. DANKWORTH CBE AND DAME C. LAINE DBE

Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE was born in Essex on 20 September 1927. Johnny Dankworth, as he is commonly known, was brought up in a family of musicians. He had violin and piano lessons before settling eventually on the clarinet
After a period at London’s Royal Academy of Music, and national service in the army, he began a career on the British jazz scene, being voted Musician of the Year in 1949. During that year he attended the Paris Jazz Festival and played with Charlie Parker.
Among his best-known credits are the original themes for The Avengers and Tomorrow's World, plus the scores for the 1966 films Modesty Blaise and Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment. Dankworth’s active jazz life, which also includes many appearances and recordings with his wife, singer Dame Cleo Laine, shows no signs of abating and appeared with his wife recently on the Jools Holland Show. He remains a prominent figure in the British jazz scene. He was made a Knight Bachelor in the 2006 New Year's Honours List, the first British jazz musician to receive such an honour.

Dame Cleo Laine DBE, was born in Middlesex on October 28, 1927 to a Jamaican father and English mother who sent her to singing and dancing lessons at an early age. She worked as an apprentice hairdresser, librarian and for a pawnbrokers and did not take up singing seriously until her mid-twenties, however. She auditioned successfully for a band led by musician John Dankworth, with which she performed until 1958, when she and Dankworth married.She is the only female performer to have received Grammy nominations in the jazz, popular and classical music awards. Laine was made an Officer (OBE) of the Order of the British Empire for services to music. In the 1997 New Year's Honours list, Laine's membership of the order was elevated to Dame Commander, and she was appointed Dame Cleo Laine DBE (the female equivalent of a knighthood) in the 2006 New Years Honours list.

U.K. What Hi Fi Awards 2007

Wilson Benesch enters the mid market with another important award, this time from the U.K.'s most influential magazine What Hi Fi Sound and Vision.

Best Speaker Over £2,000 - Square Two.

GB Patent 2418559 Dynamic Loudspeaker

"Or do Something that's never been done before" Coldplay - Talk.
Dynamic Loudspeaker Patent granted. Torus Infrasonic Generator innovation moves forward.

Analogue-The ultimate test

Wilson benesch loudspeakers have always relied upon critical listening tests. A Reference quality Wilson Benesch turntable has always been used in these tests. The impulse response measurements below eloquently describes the time domain distorsions which are a direct consequence of the steep anti-aliasing filters used in some digital formats and by comparison the ideal ....analogue of course. It is possible to see the filter-induced "ringing" when compared to the analogue impulse.

This comparative analysis clearly underlines the importance of wide bandwidth sound and the relevance of ultrasonic sound in high performance audio systems. Trinity is the only loudspeaker capable of reproducing sound accurately to 100KHz. Significantly this is achieved whilst retaining the soft dome technology for the sound produced in the audible range to 20Khz. It follows that there is a complete absence of uncontrolled high level energy in the ultrasonic range that is commonly found in some hard dome, tweeter designs.

The image below was reproduced with kind permission of Merging technologies.

South Africa - Wilson Benesch moves forward with Aeolian.

We are delighted to announce that thanks to Andy Stuart, Managing Director of Aeolian, Wilson Benesch design is now moving forward in South Africa.

We wish Andy and his company every success with their business in the future.

Details of the company are stated below.

Tel: 011 487 2254
Fax: 011 487 2246
Cell: 082 413 2286
E-mail: ans@aeolian.co.za

Wilson Benesch cabinet architecture

Why does a Wilson Benesch loudspeaker sound so natural?
Part of the answer to this question is the cabinet architecture.

Put simply, sound is vibration. As such, sound can pass through many different substances - in fact, it requires the presence of a medium.

This simple harmonic motion animation describes the compression and rarification required to take place in a material for it to transmit resonant energy or in the case of air acoustic energy.

The speed at which sound travels is defined by the medium through which the waves are passing, and is often quoted as a fundamental property of the material. In general, the speed of sound is proportional to the square root of the ratio of the elastic modulus (stiffness) of the medium to its density.
VELOCITY OF SOUND IN METRES PER SECOND
RUBBER 40
CORK 400
LEAD 1158
WATER 1433
ACRYLIC 2680
CONCRETE 3200
GOLD 3240
WOOD 3300
BRASS 3475
COPPER 3900
HARDWOOD 3960
GLASS 3962
BRICK 4176
ALUMINIUM 4877
IRON 5130
PYREX 5640
STEEL 6100
DIAMOND 12000
CARBON FIBRE 18350


A Carbon fibre matrix has one of the highest ratios known to man being supremely stiff and of a very low density. This is one of the blocking structures that is disposed either side of the core.The woven carbon can be seen to exhibit small bundles of fabric each containing typically 5,000 fibres. The image below shows A 6 μm diameter carbon filament compared to a human hair. Within one layer of carbon there are billions of boundaries each of which plays its part in converting resonant energy to heat.


High Compression Foam Core.
Making a sound wave transfer through different layers of material with different densities assists in noise damping. The damping characteristics of the foam core used in Wilson Bensch A.C.T. structures possess one of the highest damping capabilities known to man. The sound waves are forced to travel through multiple foam cell air pockets and their cell walls as sound travels through the foam medium.

Critical Mass Damping
High mass high tensile strength steel structures are exploited for sub-baffles and bracing structures.

Two methods are used to control sound in a Wilson Benesch loudspeaker cabinet. Blocking and damping. No other cabinet in the world can be seen to deal with the problems of unwanted out of phase energy better than the materials deployed in a Wilson Benesch loudspeaker. This unique materials technology and the plant that creates it has been developed by Wilson Benesch to overcome the shortcomings of traditional materials that have been used in loudspeaker design to date.

Where did carbon come from?
Formation of the carbon atomic nucleus requires a nearly simultaneous triple collision of alpha particles (helium nuclei) within a the core of a giant or supergiant star.

This happens in temperature and helium concentration conditions that the rapid expansion and cooling of the early universe prohibited, and therefore no significant carbon was created during the Big Bang. Instead, the interiors of stars in the horizontal branch transform three helium nuclei into carbon by means of this triple-alpha process.

In order to be available for formation of life as we know it, this carbon must then later be scattered into space as dust, in supernovae explosions, as part of the material which later forms second- and third-generation star systems which have planets accreted from such dust. The solar system is one such third-generation star system.

UK- Cinenow-interview with Craig Milnes

Wilson Benesch Trinity loudspeakers extend bandwidth
What HiFi Sound and Vision Show 2007
Craig Milnes presents the Wilson Benesch philosophy of high definition, wide bandwidth sound reproduction which has lead up to Trinity, the latest addition to their product range, with newly a developed drive unit, W.B. One. He explains the technology used to enable these speakers to cover from 35Hz to 100kHz.

Cinenow web site

U.K. London WHAT HI FI Show 2007

Wilson Benesch put modesty asside and took the opportunity to demonstrate the "Best Speaker over £2,000" (What Hi Fi Award 2007) at this years Stuff Live Show in London. Also seen for the first time in the U.K. was the loudspeaker that is rewriting the rule book, Trinity. This design is capturing the imagination of audio enthusiasts all over the world. In Colorado is was partnered with Single Ended Triodes from DeHavilland in London it showed its strengths with the finest transistor based designs from Audionet. This weekend In Greece it will be demonstrated with Two Torus and Goldmund electronics.
The elegant new Stand for the Full Circle was seen for the first time. The only functional turntable at the show it captured the attention of all who passed by the room.

The Library of Torus Cone Standers, continues to grow with some interesting additions. A news section will be added shortly that will be dedicated to this most revealing art form. Thank you to everyone who took part.

Thanks also go to What Hi Fi for making it possible to exhibit in such a well organised event. Last but not least thanks go to Clearer Audio who managed to put up a good fight for the unofficial Best sound at the Show. The Reference Naim / Wilson Benesch Arc system that was being used to desribe the sonic strengths of Clearer audio cables were the topic of conversation from many who shared their views with us. We thank you all for attending our show and making the weekend such a successful event.

REDFERN IMAGE OF THE MONTH - CHRISTY MOORE

Christopher Andrew 'Christy' Moore was born on May 7, 1945, in Newbridge, County Kildare, in the Republic of Ireland. Irish folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist, he is one of the founding members of Planxty.

Moore was originally a bank employee who wanted to express himself using traditional music. A bank strike in the 1970s, which lasted over fourteen months, (and effectively paralysed Irish commercial life for the duration) resulted in Moore spending considerable time practising music. When the strike ended, Moore had already decided where his passion in life arose, and left the bank for good.

Moore's earlier years of heavy drinking, sleeping disfunctional hours, continual travelling, and often eating takeaway foods resulted in a decline in health, and several operations. Moore's battle with alcohol, and subsequent heart operations have taken their toll on the body, if not the spirit of the man. Moore, who channels much energy into his art, has been requested to not produce any more work for medical reasons, and has decided to abide by this, after earlier warnings were ignored. For this reason the volume of work produced since 1999 has declined dramatically.

Netherlands - Square Two Review - Music and Emotion - Werner Ero

Latest Square Review courtesy of Audio Excellence.
The article has been written by Werner Ero for the leading audio journal in the Netherlands "Music and Emotion"

"Stijlbreuk met behoud van kwaliteit." Quote from article
square2.pdf

USA - Positive Feedback Report by Adam Goldfine

POSITIVE FEEDBACK ONLINE - ISSUE 33
By Adam Goldfine.

Wilson Benesch

By now I assume most of our readers are familiar with the usage of exotic materials, especially carbon fiber, pioneered by British manufacturer, Wilson Benesch. Known for its incredible weight to strength ratio and superior damping characteristics, carbon fiber has found its way into many sophisticated applications from Formula 1 race cars to jet fighters and bombers. As explained by WB designer Craig Milnes the fibers can even be aligned to direct resonances where you want them (and away from where you don't). And in Wilson Benesch speakers they do just that essentially shunting whatever resonances do develop within the speakers to a physical ground resulting in extremely low cabinet coloration and improved dynamics. I'm not a physicist, but as an owner of the A.C.T. loudspeakers I can say the cabinets are remarkably inert and the sound is about as uncolored and dynamic as it gets. And their bass performance far exceeds what one might expect given their relatively small size.

New in the WB line up is the Trinity, a three way, stand mounted (the crossover is in the stands) monitor utilizing the carbon fiber based Advanced Composite Technology found in other WB designs. It is a ported design featuring a 7" mid-bass unit, a 25mm soft dome tweeter and a .75" super tweeter. Frequency response is specified as 46 Hz to 80 kHz +/- 2dB, the ultra-sonic performance being a big part of the raison d'etre of the Trinity. I could go on about the technology involved in this speaker but the technical description is six pages long and can be found at www.wilson-benesch.com. But be forewarned, these guys are at the cutting edge of materials research and utilization and some of this stuff will make your head spin.

The Trinity was designed to pair with WB's new Torus Infrasonic Generator to create a full range system. And that is how we heard it at the show. Driven by deHavilland Electric Amplifier Company, www.dehavillandhifi.com, tube electronics the Trinity provided the rich, dynamic and exceptionally musical sound Wilson Benesch has become known for. They have that startling real quality I mentioned in the YG Acoustics section above and that I've come to expect from my A.C.T. speakers. Bass from the Torus was deep, fast and well defined. (I was assured a Torus would be heading my way for review before long.) At $10,450/pair for the Trinity you are getting cutting edge loudspeaker technology and state of the art sound.

U.K. dealer announcement Music Matters Hatchend London

North West Londons premier Audio Studio Music matters Hatchend http://www.hatchend.co.uk/
Wilson Benesch / Naim.
System being featured is based upon Naim CD 555 and Wilson Benesch Chimera.
See dealer section for contact details.

U.K. WHAT HIFI Show announcement - Clearer Audio, Reference System - St Emilion Room

WHAT HI FI SHOW St. Emilion Suite located on the 2nd floor.
CLEARER AUDIO CABLES featuring:~
Copper-line Power-HUB
Copper-line Power Cables
Silver-line Speaker Cables
Silver-line Optimus Reference Interconnects
Wilson Benesch / Naim Reference System.

USA - Wilson Benesch Trinity Shines at RMAF

Rocky Mt 2007: Wilson Benesch Trinity Shines at RMAF
October 18th, 2007 — By The Absolute Sound
By Neil Gader
With the glitter of the carbon fiber cabinet catching the light, even from a distance I knew I was looking at a spanking new W-B speaker. Ricki Lee Jones was singing “A Case of You,” and the sound was what I’d come to expect from larger WB offerings–sublimely undistorted, smooth and detailed with resolution right down to the softest levels. It integrated beautifully with the Torus subwoofer–hardly a surprise. The Trinity is no more than about eighteen inches tall but it’s a three-way with an even more unique twist. Beyond the midbass driver and soft dome tweeter, WB has added a third element it calls The Sphere and hence the Trinity name. The Sphere is a super-tweeter dome of gold and ceramic designed to fill in the upper harmonics beyond 20kHz. The precision ground steel and aluminum alloy stands also reveal more WB innovation. It bolts into the cabinet structure of the Trinity and houses the hand built crossover allowing the Rhodium plated terminals to conveniently reside at the base of the stand. Augmented by DeHaviland’s tubed electronics and Gamut digital playback, this was one of the most highly resolved small systems at RMAF

M.I.T. Research paper, supplied by Ron Jiracek

God dwells in the detail.
The article below was supplied to us by Ron Jiracek. (in the image he is on the right side of picture next to Jim Riddel of Sounds Real Audio) Ron is a highly trained engineer and passionate lover of music, who has been enjoying Wilson Benesch design for some years. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of audio systems that deserves respect. The image above is a section through the human hearing mechanism that has been added by way of explanation. It describes the location of the tectorial membrane referred to in the article. The following quote is deried from another article that describes the nature of the tectorial membrane as being "inconceivably delicate and flexible; far more sensitively flexible in the transverse than in the longitudinal direction and the readiness with which it bends when touched is beyond description."


MIT finds new hearing mechanism
Discovery could lead to improved hearing aids
David Chandler, MIT News Office
October 10, 2007

MIT researchers have discovered a hearing mechanism that fundamentally changes the current understanding of inner ear function. This new mechanism could help explain the ear's remarkable ability to sense and discriminate sounds. Its discovery could eventually lead to improved systems for restoring hearing.

The research is described in the advance online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of October 8.

MIT Professor Dennis M. Freeman, working with graduate student Roozbeh Ghaffari and research scientist Alexander J. Aranyosi, found that the tectorial membrane, a gelatinous structure inside the cochlea of the ear, is much more important to hearing than previously thought. It can selectively pick up and transmit energy to different parts of the cochlea via a kind of wave that is different from that commonly associated with hearing.

Ghaffari, the lead author of the paper, is in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, as is Freeman. All three researchers are in MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics. Freeman is also in MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

It has been known for over half a century that inside the cochlea sound waves are translated into up-and-down waves that travel along a structure called the basilar membrane. But the team has now found that a different kind of wave, a traveling wave that moves from side to side, can also carry sound energy. This wave moves along the tectorial membrane, which is situated directly above the sensory hair cells that transmit sounds to the brain. This second wave mechanism is poised to play a crucial role in delivering sound signals to these hair cells.

In short, the ear can mechanically translate sounds into two different kinds of wave motion at once. These waves can interact to excite the hair cells and enhance their sensitivity, "which may help explain how we hear sounds as quiet as whispers," says Aranyosi. The interactions between these two wave mechanisms may be a key part of how we are able to hear with such fidelity - for example, knowing when a single instrument in an orchestra is out of tune.

"We know the ear is enormously sensitive" in its ability to discriminate between different kinds of sound, Freeman says. "We don't know the mechanism that lets it do that." The new work has revealed "a whole new mechanism that nobody had thought of. It's really a very different way of looking at things."

The tectorial membrane is difficult to study because it is small (the entire length could fit inside a one-inch piece of human hair), fragile (it is 97 percent water, with a consistency similar to that of a jellyfish), and nearly transparent. In addition, sound vibrations cause nanometer-scale displacements of cochlear structures at audio frequencies. "We had to develop an entirely new class of measurement tools for the nano-scale regime," Ghaffari says.

The team learned about the new wave mechanism by suspending an isolated piece of tectorial membrane between two supports, one fixed and one moveable. They launched waves at audio frequenci